>>511074974
Note: this is answering your question and not a reflection of my personal views.
Trump is calling it a βhoaxβ in the same way he labeled past investigations like βRussiagateβ or the impeachments β not necessarily because the Epstein scandal itself is fake, but because he believes the narrative being pushed about his involvement is misleading or politically motivated.
In his view, there was no substantial evidence in the files the FBI had β mainly illegal content (CP) that couldnβt be released or used to implicate high-profile figures without further admissible proof. Heβs suggesting Democrats set a trap: they urged him to βexpose everythingβ knowing the material wouldnβt yield public charges or names, and that the Department of Justice (under their control for years) wouldnβt follow through. So the βhoax,β from his perspective, is that he was made to look like he was covering up for elites, when in reality, there was nothing actionable he could release.
Thereβs also the complication of Epsteinβs 2008 plea deal, which included unusually broad immunity for any unnamed βpotential co-conspirators.β That deal, while legally controversial and likely unenforceable under normal standards, created a legal gray area. So even if there was evidence implicating others, Trump could argue he was bound β or at least limited β by the scope of that agreement and DOJ constraints.
So to Trump and his defenders, the βhoaxβ isnβt that Epsteinβs crimes didnβt happen, but that Trump was falsely portrayed as hiding evidence, when legally and practically, he may have had very little room to act.