During Mr. Trump's first term, his labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned following criticism of his handling of Epstein's 2008 plea deal when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida. Epstein served 13 months in a jail work-release program after he was originally accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls and young women.

President Donald Trump and his aides have settled on silence as a strategy to stamp out criticism of his refusal to release files detailing the federal government's investigation of Epstein, according to a senior administration official and Republicans familiar with the White House's thinking.

The case of Jeffrey Epstein, sex offender and former friend of the president, has blown up into a major headache for the White House.

Any time I say anything about Epstein, they’re like, ‘Why didn’t Joe Biden’s — why didn’t Joe Biden release the files?’ And this is what I say: Have you met Merrick Garland?” Tanden

The satirical animated show parodied Trump over the Epstein files and other issues, sparking a stern response from the White House. The July 23 episode took multiple shots at the US President, including a depiction of him being in bed with Satan. The South Park Trump referenced the GOP leader and his recent comments about Jeffrey Epstein.

Mark Epstein, the older brother of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, refuted the White House’s claims that President Trump never visited the disgraced financier at his office. “That’s