"Where Is Phase 2": Musk Stirs Epstein Pot Again After Trump Fires Prosecutor

Billionaire Elon Musk has once again targeted the Trump administration over the refusal to release documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, appearing to suggest the denial may be due to the mention of US President Donald Trump's name in the case files. For years, Trump and his Republican allies have benefited from conspiracy theories surrounding the case that fueled the conservative MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement and targeted his political enemies.

But now in power, Trump is faced with an unfamiliar role of trying to shut down the conspiracy theories amid persisting furore over files related to the accused sex trafficker. Trump's former "first buddy' who spent months in the White House alongside the president, is not making the task easier for the Republican by repeatedly suggesting his involvement in the case. 

Replying to a post asking, "What happened to all the evidence against Epstein?", Musk wrote on X, "Yeah, where is it?"

Yeah, where is it? https://t.co/9evoiWG4kl

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2025

He also asked, "Where is Phase 2" of the Declassified Epstein Files released by  Attorney General Pamela Bondi in February earlier this year. Musk's posts came hours after the Trump administration abruptly fired Maurene Comey, a Manhattan federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, was facing federal charges of sex trafficking minors when he died by suicide in jail in 2019. It was alleged that he paid teenage girls money to perform sex acts and used his onetime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, to recruit and manage his stable of victims. Epstein had pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed after his death. Maxwell, for her part, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of conspiring with Epstein to aid his abuse for nearly a decade.

Trump and Epstein have been documented to have known each other socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. During Maxwell's trial, she and Epstein's longtime pilot Lawrence Visoski had testified that Trump had flown on the disgraced financier's private plane multiple times. However, mere acquaintance or mention in an FBI file is not by itself incriminating, since such files often contain witness statements or even bad tips. 

Trump has denied ever being on the plane and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The saga burst back into the news last week after the Trump administration reversed course on its pledge to release documents it had suggested would reveal major revelations about Epstein and his alleged clientele. That reversal has enraged some of Trump's most loyal followers.

In an effort to contain the fallout, Trump and White House officials are weighing a range of options, including unsealing new documents, appointing a special prosecutor and drafting executive actions on issues such as pedophilia, according to a Reuters report. 

Trump and senior aides have also reached out to key MAGA-aligned influencers, urging them to dial down their criticism of the administration's handling of the Epstein investigation and shift focus to broader priorities for the America First movement, the report said.