Conspiracy theories

President Trump remains baffled over the endlessly churning Epstein List controversy. “We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening,” he Truth Socialed Saturday. “We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.” Calling Epstein “a guy who never dies” raised some eyebrows with the Alex Jones wing of the party. But for the non-conspiracy minded, the MAGA infighting over the Epstein List, whose release was a major Trump campaign promise, has us reaching for another bowl of popcorn. Trump’s exasperation began to show at last week’s cabinet meeting, when a reporter asked him a question about the Epstein List. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?

Kash Patel and Dan Bongino have this week found out the painful way that running the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a lot harder than podcasting. Having spent years on endless shows suggesting that the "Epstein Files" could reveal the Deep State’s darkest secrets, the now Director and Deputy Director of the FBI find themselves insisting that, contrary to what they may have said, Jeffrey Epstein did, in fact, kill himself; that he did not have a list of blackmailable clients; and that he sexually abused more than 1,000 girls pretty much all by himself.Nobody believes that, of course, and Donald Trump’s angry reaction on Tuesday to a reporter who dared to ask about the most famous sex offender of all time, has done nothing to put the conspiracy theories to rest.

The official rationale for closing the FBI investigation into Jeffrey Epstein stinks and President Trump must know it – even if he can manage to feign incredulity that anyone should still want to talk about the disgraced financier. "Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years," he responded testily on Tuesday to a reporter’s question at a cabinet meeting about whether Epstein had ever been an intelligence agency asset. "Are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable. Do you want to waste the time? I mean I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein." Crucially, Trump didn’t deny Epstein was a spook, and neither did Attorney General Pam Bondi to whom he passed the question.

The death of the financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein at Manhattan’s notorious Metropolitan Correction Center has been ruled to be a suicide, and one that took place entirely by Epstein’s own hand, without any external interference. At least, that’s the story according to the Department of Justice and the FBI, who have also announced for good measure that the so-called Epstein Files, which supposedly contained the details of his high-profile clients, do not exist. After the disappointment of the decidedly low-profile release of the JFK-assassination files earlier this year, this is a second blow for conspiracy theorists who have been assured by the government that there is definitely, 100 percent nothing to see here. Will this be enough for them?

Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, he did his sex crimes in private and no one who associated with him – much less visited his properties, including his Little Saint James private island, need be investigated or charged. That’s the FBI’s latest version of events, announced this morning, after an apparently lengthy investigation of the dead financier’s belongings.  “This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list.’ There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” the FBI statement said.

Here we are again, Meghan’s latest cringe-inducing social media offering: an 80-second video of her twerking in a hospital delivery room while heavily pregnant with her daughter Lilibet. The clip, posted to mark her daughter’s fourth birthday, shows the Duchess of Sussex doing what can best be described as suggestive dance moves beside her hospital bed, complete with shimmies and rowing motions, while Haz joins in wearing a hoodie. It’s peak Meghan, really – simultaneously oversharing and attention-seeking while complaining about the invasion of privacy.

A man set himself on fire outside of former president Donald Trump’s trial in New York City this afternoon. Nearby media outlets caught the disturbing scene on camera, in which his body was engulfed in flames, with a nearby reporter urging for a fire extinguisher. One person attempted to pat down the fire with his jacket, until another arrived with the fire extinguisher. An eyewitness told PIX11 News they were standing next to the man when he began pouring a flammable liquid on himself. The witness claims that the man made political statements before starting the fire. Newsweek's Katherine Fung reports that the man was apparently holding a sign that included a link to a Substack with a letter entitled: "I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial.

Cockburn may be a devoted Valentine’s Day cynic, but he’s still all in for celebrity romance. He’s happy to hear that love is in the air between Huma Abedin, the former Hillary Clinton aide, and Alex Soros, son of George Soros and successor to his father’s Open Society Foundation. Conspiracy theorists worldwide will doubtless be sending their well wishes. On Wednesday, Abedin and Soros posted pictures cuddled up on a Parisian Valentine's date. The two sat at a restaurant table covered with gifts and roses. And more than seven years since her divorce from the disgraced Anthony Weiner and a scandal ridden marriage, Abedin deserves a romantic getaway.   Abedin, nearly ten years' Soros’s elder, could not have hitched up with a more eligible operative.