Donald Trump is once again at the centre of the Epstein storm, and this time the pressure is coming from all directions. As new documents, redactions and missed deadlines pile up, the question at the heart of the headline is answered plainly. Trump is furious because the Epstein case is threatening to blow wide open in ways he can no longer control.
Trump Over Epstein Pressure
Cohen opens his episode by describing a familiar scene. Trump yelling, not in defence of transparency, but in opposition to it. Citing reporting from The New York Times, Cohen explains that Trump became enraged after allies hinted at naming men accused by Epstein's victims. According to the account, Trump warned that releasing information would mean 'my friends will get hurt'.
Cohen frames this moment as revealing. 'That is not the language of someone worried about victims,' he says. 'That is the language of someone worried about consequences.'
The outburst reportedly followed a press conference by Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had threatened to identify abusers. Trump's reaction, as Cohen notes, reinforces growing suspicion that the resistance to releasing files is not legal caution but personal fear.
The controversy deepened with the latest batch of Epstein related documents. Cohen highlights one detail that immediately raised alarms. A photograph of Trump with Ghislaine Maxwell was found on Steve Bannon's phone, yet the image was redacted from public release.
This is significant, Cohen argues, because Trump himself signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act. That law explicitly bars redactions based on embarrassment, political sensitivity or reputational harm. 'Neither Trump nor Maxwell are victims,' Cohen points out. 'So why is that photo hidden?'
For Cohen, the redaction is not a clerical error but a flashing warning light. He notes that redacting material in direct contradiction to the law invites scrutiny not just of the files, but of the Justice Department's motives.
New Emails Contradict Official Testimony
Adding to the pressure are newly released emails from 2019, which Cohen says directly contradict earlier Senate testimony by senior law enforcement officials. The emails show federal investigators actively issuing subpoenas to potential Epstein co-conspirators at a time when officials publicly claimed there was no credible evidence of trafficking beyond Epstein himself.
Cohen mocks the careful wording of past testimony. 'I would bring the case yesterday,' one official had claimed, while simultaneously insisting the evidence did not exist. Cohen responds sharply, saying, 'That is tough talk wrapped in a very convenient escape clause.'
The timing only makes matters worse. The Justice Department missed a legally mandated deadline to release all Epstein related files. Another deadline looms, requiring officials to explain every redaction to Congress. Cohen suggests this explanation will be difficult to justify under oath.
A Crisis Trump Helped Create
Perhaps the most damaging point Cohen makes is that Trump himself fuelled this fire. For years, Trump and his allies energised their base by promising to expose Epstein's powerful network. Trump repeatedly hinted that lists existed and that he would release them.
'He weaponised outrage,' Cohen says. 'And now that outrage is aimed straight back at him.'
Cohen argues that Trump assumed he could redirect his supporters, as he has done before with political enemies and institutions. But Epstein is different. 'People draw a line at sex trafficking,' Cohen says. 'They are not willing to just move on.'
That is why Trump's anger matters. It signals loss of control. The Epstein files, once a campaign talking point, have become a threat capable of fracturing alliances and exposing uncomfortable truths.
As Cohen concludes, 'This is not a witch hunt. This is a monster Trump created. And now it is standing right in front of him.'
