It seems like a simple decision for Donald Trump's administration – release files related to the late convicted paedophile financier Jeffery Epstein, or keep them out of public view.

But battles raging among the US president's supporters in some of the more conspiratorial spaces online suggest that the choice facing Trump is not easy at all.

In those spaces, users argue about whether to trust the White House, and they speculate on what might be going on behind the scenes and Trump's strategic acumen - which some fans liken to playing a game of "4D chess".

"Don't get distracted by the Epstein shills," wrote one commenter professing his steadfast support for Trump on TheDonald, a popular message board filled with news, conspiracy theories and language ranging from salty to extremely offensive.

"I have not once called for the Epstein files to be released because I'm not a complete and total [fool]," the commenter added.

But that sentiment is far from universal.

"Epstein transparency NOW!!!" came one reply.

Another user criticised the president over his recent statements that lambasted supporters for focusing on the Epstein issue: "Don't [lash] out at your own base… That makes you look guilty."

As the saga rumbles on - fuelled by reports giving further details of Trump's relationship with Epstein, and justice department meetings with Epstein's partner in crime Ghislaine Maxwell - pro-Trump online spaces heavily invested in conspiratorial thinking are divided in much the same way as more mainstream Republicans.

Trump was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, but has not been accused of any wrongdoing as part of the investigations into his former friend.

According to Trump, the pair fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. The White House has recently suggested that their fallout was connected to Epstein's behaviour, and that "the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep".

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