President Donald Trump's second run has been built on numerous promises, but out of them all, the coveted release of the Epstein files remains one of the most controversial.
Even six years after the shamed financier was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, there are more questions than answers when it comes to the convicted pedophile, his potential accomplices, and the mythical little black book.
The POTUS has been praised for his endeavors to make America 'great' again, with grand ambitions to build a Golden Dome to protect the USA and his proposed tariff dividend.
Still, a dark shadow looms over the Trump administration in the form of the Epstein files.
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There were calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to resign over her much-hyped release of the Epstein files, with heavily redacted dossiers and whole segments being omitted when they were handed out to a number of high-profile Republican influencers.
In the aftermath of the Oversight Committee releasing documents as part of the ongoing investigation into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Donald Trump has pulled a spectacular U-turn and suggested the files could be unleashed in their entirety.
Despite the Epstein files remaining largely tucked away, it's been hard to keep them out of the spotlight thanks to reports that his little black book doesn't exist, as well as Elon Musk's spectacular claims that the President himself is named inside.
Things are rumbling forward, with the Republican-controlled US Congress voting to release the Epstein files in their entirety. With an almost unanimous vote of 427-1, they voted to force the Justice Department to release the files.
Pressure mounted before the vote took place, with around two dozen alleged Epstein survivors holding pictures of their younger selves outside the US Capitol. They were joined by Democratic and Republican lawmakers who championed the release of the files.
The bill will now go to Trump's desk for his signature, although the BBC notes that he could've ordered the release without it needing to go to a vote.
There have been complaints that the current administration has been stalling the release of the files, with plenty of conspiracy theories about whether Trump's potential naming in the records has been a deciding factor.
There are mounting allegations, with political commentator Jon Stewart saying he's 'sure' Donald Trump is named within. On November 17's edition of The Daily Show, Stewart discussed “the very normal and not shady handling of the Epstein files."
Referring to a series of recently released emails that suggested Trump "knew about the girls," Stewart added: "This Epstein thing is no Democrat hoax, and you know it’s real because Trump’s allies are working overtime to distract, or in the case of Fox News, not even a mention."
Stewart maintains that Fox tried to distract from the Epstein files by turning its attention to the likes of the Treasury phasing out the penny, the growing popularity of Christian music, and Kamala Harris going 'crazy for carbs'.
Claiming that Trump is 'flailing' about the release, Stewart concluded: "If he had nothing to hide, he could have declassified and released these files at any time, and how do I know this? He said so.”
Sharing a Fox News clip of Trump criticizing Joe Biden in 2022, the current President is seen saying: "If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying, ‘It's declassified.'"
Still, as Stewart reminded us, Trump being included in the Epstein emails isn't necessarily evidence of guilt.