Following the reported suicide of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, President Donald Trump took to Twitter over the weekend to push bizarre, baseless conspiracies that the Clintons may be behind Epstein’s death.
Trump’s attempts to fan the flames of conspiracy — without any evidence whatsoever to back up his claims — received rounds of condemnation across the U.S., including from Democratic presidential candidates like former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
However, according to the White House, Trump’s collapse into conspiracy wasn’t an effort to stoke his far-right conspiratorial base. Rather, according to presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s conspiracy theories are actually just a way of indicating that the president wants a thorough investigation of Epstein’s death.
In a Sunday morning appearance on Fox News, Conway defended Trump’s conspiracies, claiming that Trump “just wants everything to be investigated.”
Conway also pointed to previous and ongoing investigations into questions about the Trump campaign’s relationship with Russia as a reason to pursue further investigation into Epstein’s death. “Epstein has done some very bad things over a number of years, so let’s continue to investigate that,” she added.
Kellyanne Conway calls on continued investigations into Jeffrey Epstein. #FNS #FoxNews pic.twitter.com/DFqKfP4mB7
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) August 11, 2019
Conway also downplayed links between Trump and Epstein, despite documented evidence of their previous connections. “Trying to connect the president to this monster from years ago, where they’re seen dancing in a video, versus other people who were actively, I suppose, flying around with this monster on his island, which was known as ‘Pedophilia Island’ — perhaps there’s a public interest in knowing more about that,” she said.
There is, of course, no evidence that Epstein was secretly murdered — let alone that the Clintons played a role in his death. However, that didn’t stop Trump on Saturday from sharing a tweet implying just the opposite.
As it is, few other prominent Republicans, if any, have followed Trump’s lead in trying to pin Epstein’s death on the Clintons.
And Conway’s husband had a different take on the matter. As George Conway wrote on Twitter, “Let’s not mince words here: The President of the United States is a nut job.”
Let’s not mince words here: The President of the United States is a nut job. pic.twitter.com/6qe2vNeM8Z
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 10, 2019
All told, Kellyanne Conway’s statements regarding the president’s behavior were one of the few options for defending a man who is now accusing a former president of premeditated murder, all in order to cover up supposed sex crimes.