Fox News host: Epstein story 'doesn't go away'

Fox News anchor Bret Baier acknowledged on Tuesday the growing public frustration over President Trump's push to move past Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex trafficking case.

"I mean, the story doesn't go away here," Baier said at the start of Tuesday's episode of "Special Report," leading into a news story on the latest Epstein updates.

Baier credited Trump later in the episode for successes on border security and trade negotiations but said the Epstein case has continued to dominate political discussions.

"He's got a lot of things done, but this is where the oxygen has been for much of the media," he said.

Trump has repeatedly sought to tamp down the growing furor over the Epstein case after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week that it concluded Epstein did not have a "client list" and died by suicide in 2019, despite years of speculation to the contrary.

Trump on Wednesday admonished and sought to distance himself from supporters who have pressed for more information about documents related to Epstein.

In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump dismissed the uproar over the Epstein files as a “scam” perpetuated by Democrats and suggested he no longer welcomed his backers who have called for more transparency around the documents.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump accused "selfish people" of trying to distract from his administration's accomplishments by continuing to focus on "a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein."

His administration's handling of the Epstein case has created a rift within Trump's base, though.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who initially deferred to the administration, urged the DOJ on Tuesday to release all the files related to Epstein in its possession. 

"It's a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide," Johnson said in an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson.