I have something to admit: I am tired of hearing about Jeffrey Epstein. 

A lot of people are surprised to hear I haven’t bought into the conspiracy, but it's true. I do not think the vast majority of the people named in the Epstein files are a part of some international sex trafficking scheme. 

Still, I have little sympathy for those who have willingly associated themselves with Epstein long after any reasonable person would have done so. Further, I lack any sympathy for President Donald Trump and his administration suffering as a result of the conspiracy, because they fanned the flames of it and handed Democrats a political opportunity as a result. 

We've seen that in Congress, where lawmakers are incentivized to continue putting on a show for as long as possible. Most recently, that includes a subpoena of Attorney General Pam Bondi. It will lead to nothing, again. And we've seen how the victims keep being ignored.

Epstein saga is perfect conspiracy. I'm skeptical of allegations.

The Epstein saga is the perfect conspiracy. I think it has captured attention by promising a sweeping takedown of the world’s powerful while delivering nothing close to that. Trump, alongside others in the MAGA world such as Dan Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel, changed their tune from the allure of a grand exposé to a version of "nothing to see here" as soon as they got into government.

Conspiracy theorists allege that this is because there is an interparty cabal preventing it from happening, with each release of documents, ignoring that the alleged cabal is now run by MAGA.

As far as I can tell, Epstein was a perverted socialite who wanted to be seen with other wealthy people. This sort of figure can get a long way in celebrity circles, and certainly can get you close to famous people like Trump, who is known to elevate anyone capable of flattery into his circle. 

But all of this intrigue about a grand reveal, if only the government releases every single file associated with Epstein, has, to this point, not been backed up by reality. Yet, it still isn't going to go away. Why?

The Trump administration played with fire and got burned

Trump attempted to wield the Epstein conspiracy as a tool to get himself reelected. The allure of all of the files being released was likely not a major part of his reelection success, but his campaign opened up that can of worms nonetheless.

Bondi herself promised early in the administration that she had the Epstein client list "on my desk right now to review," but later acknowledged that such a list didn't exist. Yet I struggle to really feel bad for Bondi here, or for anyone else in the administration, at that.

I don't really feel bad for Trump, of all people, getting flak for it. Particularly given that it appears his Justice Department has seemingly held back files from release that might be embarrassing or scandalous for him. He thought that he could use the files to get reelected, and trot out a little show release of some information, and that it would satisfy the promises he made.

However, he underestimated the hunger that his constituency has, and how Democrats would respond to shortcomings.

The president put himself in this situation, both because of his sleazy relationship with Epstein and because he is the one who fanned the flames of the conspiracy in order to get reelected. 

For all of the above reasons, I am tired of hearing about the Epstein files. I am sick of disingenuous people using a conspiracy theory to promise that they will reveal the misdeeds of all of their political enemies if only the American people put them in charge. I hope the victims can find peace and support in the middle of all of this.

Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

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