Trust in the American government is at an all time low.

In the past week, MAGA supporters and Democrats alike blew a fuse when the Trump administration began gaslighting the country about a trove of Epstein files. Previously, the U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, reported the existence of “tens of thousands” of files regarding Epstein’s mysterious island and sex trafficking ring. Since speculation began at the beginning of this month, both her and the president have vehemently held that Americans who yearn for the truth are being ridiculous and that this is old news. Now, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and President Trump now claim there is not a client list and that the files never existed.

Needless to say, many questions have risen, with one chiefly among them, “Will we ever be able to trust our government at all?” ONC interns told us how they feel about it.

Question posed to interns: After witnessing politicians and celebrities across the political spectrum deny the existence of the Epstein files and client list, how would you rate your trust in the government from 1-10, with 10 being the highest? Moreover, how would its release affect America’s future? Please elaborate on your rating.

Overall, I would rate my trust in the U.S. government at about a 2 out of 10. The government has a long history of concealing information when it is not convenient to produce. A clear example is the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, initially dismissed as “Russian disinformation” by former intelligence officials, only to later be confirmed as legitimate through a congressional investigation.

Additionally, Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of exposing the Epstein client list, yet he now appears to be turning on his supporters for asking him to follow through. This indicates that the list likely contains the names of public figures whose exposure would end their careers. It has become increasingly clear that no matter which party is in power, the government tends to protect high-profile individuals rather than prosecute them, especially when those individuals hold influence across political, financial, or media institutions. Until full transparency and accountability are prioritized over political convenience, trust in the government will continue to decline.   

-Selah

Regarding the U.S. vs. Epstein narrative, the U.S. government may have just forfeited (that is, if it ever intended to fight it). With the DOJ declaring there’s no client list and the president calling the files “fake,” the message seems loud and clear: protecting the powerful takes priority over public trust. For a case that’s lingered for decades, this quiet dismissal is jarring. The government’s performance might earn a 1/10. Likewise, when it comes to transparency, it seems the government has given the public’s right to know a 1/10 too.

-Ellie

My trust in the government is a wary but firm 0/10.

After years of news, several arrests, an important “suicide,” some mysteriously deceased victims and a handful of Netflix documentaries, the government found out that Epstein and Maxwell sex trafficked underage girls to…nobody. A simple Google search will tell you the U.S. government has lied to us for years, but, this time, it’s different. Americans are more informed than usual because it is such a high profile case and Trump basically campaigned on releasing the files (there are many online compilations of he and his administration making comments about it). They vehemently assured America of the case’s reality years and are now backpedaling. Why? Nobody can be certain, but all signs point to the obvious: The president is either extremely guilty, or the info inside these files would cause an uprising (probably both). As several people have noted on Threads, “Trump has more photos with Epstein than I do with my grandma.”

Out of respect for the victims, whose side has been mysteriously hushed up, I must add that many of them and their parents are still alive, and these events happened not so long ago. The comments being made to minimize the destruction of the case are disgusting, disgraceful, but not unpredictable. Moreover, the families are no doubt under an NDA or were paid off to stay quiet by Trump and other high rollers. He, along with countless others are guilty of corrupting the innocence of dozens of girls. (I need to reiterate this: Not women. Girls. Think of your younger siblings, granddaughters or daughters: That is who was violated in the worst ways imaginable). An operation of this scale would be merely impossible for just one man, Epstein, and his accomplice, Maxwell who is still alive and in prison. Aside from this truth, Epstein was involved in national security matters, as he has a loooong history of being involved with foreign governments.

A blind man can see that the government is a bald faced liar. Anyone who says differently is either kidding themself, blissfully unaware or an accomplice. Furthermore, this may be the first time that we the people have agreed on something presently and had the power to make change, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as Americans. After decades of slowly reaching an untamable boiling point, the American people’s lid has blown clean off. The government is exposed and completely in the open. This is a recipe for disaster. My question is, are we approaching a real uprising, or will this, like many other cases, be swept under the rug?

-Masie

Acknowledgement: The ideas represented are those of each individual intern and do not represent ONC.