After years of conspiracy theories about how he died and politically motivated allegations about just which celebrities were on his “client list,” were you surprised at Monday’s news that accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide rather than murder, and that no client list exists?

That’s our Question of the Week for readers.

The news came in a Justice Department memo in which officials said the case is now closed and that no more documents pertaining to it would be released.

But just after her confirmation as attorney general in February, Pam Bondi told Fox News that a client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review.” President Donald Trump invited social media influencers to the White House, where they were given binders marked “The Epstein Files: Phase 1.”

MAGA notables claimed prominent Democrats including Bill Clinton would turn up on the client list. Liberals — plus Elon Musk — claimed Trump would be there. Six weeks ago, Musk wrote on X that “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files.”

But the Justice Department’s ruling on the case has not quelled the controversy. Commentator Robby Starbuck said of Bondi’s previous comments on a client list: “Was she lying then or is she lying now? We deserve answers.”

Do we deserve any more answers? Or was it fairly clear all along that Epstein, understandably despondent over his arrest and likely long prison sentence, died by suicide in a New York City jail cell? Who was served by prolonging the so-called mystery of his death and of the possibility of a client list? A disappointed Musk wrote on X on Monday that “no one” had been arrested in the Epstein case. But Epstein was certainly arrested on charges of paying underage girls for sex, and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison for child sex trafficking.

Will this be the end of the story? What does it say about the public’s appetite for scandal? Is it just human nature to be transfixed by a sordid tale that also ensnared royalty such as Prince Andrew?

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