In a defiant clash with the press and public sentiment, President Donald Trump has dismissed the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking scandal as a closed chapter, even as new documents threaten to expose the rot at the heart of the global elite.

The strategy is clear: deny, deflect, and demand silence. President Trump has explicitly told the American people that it is time to "move on" from the Jeffrey Epstein saga, a statement that has ignited a firestorm of criticism across the political spectrum. This demand comes on the heels of the Department of Justice declaring its review of the Epstein files complete, with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stating there are "no grounds" for further prosecutions. "There's a lot of correspondence... but that doesn't allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody," Blanche claimed.

But the public is not buying it. The "move on" narrative hit a wall of skepticism, exacerbated by a tense exchange between Trump and CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins. When pressed on the files, Trump resorted to a familiar tactic of belittlement, ordering the reporter to "smile more," a jarring attempt to trivialize a line of questioning about systemic sexual abuse and trafficking.

The Files That Won't Die

Despite the administration's desire to bury the story, the House of Representatives is digging in. The congressional inquiry is set to heat up in February, with high-profile subpoenas already issued. The disconnect between the DOJ's "nothing to see here" conclusion and the public's demand for accountability is widening.

• The Clinton Factor: Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton are scheduled to testify, a spectacle that Trump's allies might usually relish, but one that now carries unpredictable collateral damage.
• The Shadow of Complicity: The files released so far have implicated princes, ambassadors, and billionaires. The fear in Washington is not about who has been named, but who is yet to be named in the unredacted documents that victims are fighting to release.
• Justice Denied: For the victims of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the President's call to "move on" is a final insult, a signal that the powerful will always protect their own.

A Nation Divided

Trump's attempt to close the book on Epstein may be his boldest gamble yet. It bets that the American public is too exhausted by scandal to care about justice. However, the story has "a life of its own," fueled by internet sleuths, independent media, and a deep-seated populist anger against the impunity of the ruling class.

The President may want the country to look away, but the ghosts of Little St. James are not so easily exorcised. As long as the questions remain unanswered, "moving on" looks less like healing and more like a cover-up.