Tucker Carlson Says 'The Order to Cover for Epstein' to Withhold Files 'Came From Trump Directly' in New Interview

Tucker Carlson stated that Donald Trump directly ordered him to withhold the Epstein files from being released to the public.

The former Trump supporter made the claim during an interview with Vanity Fair, published Wednesday, September 16.

The journalist noted that he didn't understand why the president would try to protect Jeffrey Epstein.

“I don’t feel any need to cover for Epstein. So I said, ‘You shouldn’t either.’ In the end, it came from Trump directly,” he said.

Chris Whipple asked the former Fox News host to clarify what he meant when he said: “It came from Trump directly.”

“The order to cover it up came from Trump,” he replied.

Carlson also revealed during his conversation with the reporter that the president wanted the files related to the dead predator covered up because he suspected that it was a plot to target him.

“I asked him why. And he gave me this long, very emotional explanation that this was all a plot against him, like Russiagate,” he explained.

“My position from the beginning with Trump, I said it to Trump, was, ‘I don’t understand why you would ever keep any of this stuff secret.’ And I got like a bunch of different answers,” he insisted.

After Carlson's interview was published, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis defended the president.

“Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein,” Bis said.

“And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him,” she added.

The former Trump loyalist’s relationship with the POTUS soured after they clashed on the government’s handling of many issues.

Perhaps the most notable among them was Carlson's concern with just how much of the materials that were released were redacted.

In fact, many have even accused the Trump administration of trying to protect certain high-profile individuals by hiding their names in the files, whom they believe many victims might have been trafficked to.

The president himself has addressed the issue on multiple occasions, including making a statement last year, where he said, “This is a Democrat hoax that never ends! You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation. We gave him everything, over and over again, more and more, and nobody’s ever satisfied,” per Mediaite.

“What they’re trying to do with the Epstein hoax is get people to talk about that instead of speaking about the tremendous success, like ending seven wars,” he continued.

“I ended seven wars. Nobody’s going to talk because they’re going to talk about the Epstein whatever,” he insisted.