When House Democrats released emails which showed Jeffrey Epstein claiming Donald Trump “knew about the girls”, rightwing news channels in the US reacted the same way: with silence.

Viewers of Fox News and other conservative networks would have had no idea that the president allegedly spent hours at Epstein’s home with one of his victims. Rightwing media largely kept quiet on all of it, apart from a notable slip when a progressive guest on Sean Hannity’s show repeatedly told his audience: “Trump’s all over the Epstein files.”

A similar playbook was in use as Republican infighting over the emails began, with up to 100 Republicans preparing to defy Trump’s wishes by voting for the so-called Epstein files to be released. Rightwing news viewers were kept in a state of blissful ignoranc

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