Trump demands people "move on" from Epstein scandal and launches sexist tirade against CNN reporter
Washington DC - President Donald Trump furiously lashed out at enduring questions about the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal and demanded that Americans just move on.
The fallout from the latest release of millions of documents linked to Epstein continued, with former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary set to testify in Congress later this month.
Trump, meanwhile, insisted once again that he had been cleared by the newest trove of files as he faced renewed questions at the White House over the disgraced financier.
"Nothing came out about me other than it was a conspiracy against me, literally, by Epstein and other people. But I think it's time now for the country to maybe get on to something else like health care or something that people care about," Trump said.
Trump added that it was "not a Republican, it's a Democrat problem," despite his name – and that of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and far-right billionaire Elon Musk – appearing thousands of times in the files.
The 79-year-old spent months trying to block the disclosure of files linked to Epstein, before relenting late last year when an initial tranche of files was released.
But the slow and botched publication has only further inflamed outrage. The names of some victims, who were supposed to be anonymized, were left unredacted in the latest release, prompting them to petition a US federal court for an "immediate takedown" of the government website showing the files.
A US federal judge on Tuesday canceled a court hearing set for Wednesday, saying that "the parties were able to resolve the privacy issues."
US attorney general, Pam Bondi, wrote to the judge on Monday that all documents requested by victims or counsel had been removed for further redaction.
Trump targets CNN's Kaitlan Collins again
Trump's efforts to move on from the scandal have grown increasingly frantic and angry. On Tuesday, he unloaded on one of his favorite targets, CNN's chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins, who dared to ask him about the concerns of Epstein's victims.
"You are the worst reporter," he railed. "No wonder CNN has no ratings, because of people like you."
"You know, she's a young woman," Trump continued, as Collins tried to bring the focus back on Epstein's victims and their families. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile... I don't think I've ever seen a smile in your face."
Before moving on to another journalist's questions, he added: "You know why you're not smiling, because you know you're not telling the truth and you're a very dishonest organization, and they should be ashamed of you."
Trump has persistently reserved his worst insults and outburst for female journalists, including previously Collins.
Cover photo: Collage: MANDEL NGAN / AFP & REUTERS

