A hypothesis struck me as I collected the paper this morning (the news was of the US easing sanctions on Russian oil). A lot of people are wondering why Donald Trump (and, by extension, his administration) seems determined to avoid any criticism of Russia, or any action harmful to Russia's interests. The natural assumption is that Russia "has something" on Trump, in which case the question is "but what?" One common speculation was the existence of the alleged "pee tape" but I didn't find this particularly convincing, given what we already know about Trump's record (Stormy Daniels, E. Jean Carroll, "grab them by the pussy" etc.)
The hypothesis I formulated (which I stress is entirely supposition at this stage, with no supporting evidence) goes as follows:
Then the question "what does Putin have on Trump" would have the answer "proof that Trump ordered Epstein's murder in order to protect himself". And, very likely, details that might corroborate other allegations against Trump, such as the suggestion that he may have raped a 13-year old girl.
It would be interesting to know why members of his administration are going along with the kid gloves handling. Possibly they have just picked up the hint without being explicitly told. Possibly he has instructed them to do so but given no indication why (or, of course, he may have lied, something for which he has a penchant). Maybe someone should ask them.
As I say, just a hypothesis at this point. I am absolutely not saying that Trump did order Epstein's murder. I just want a record of it so that, in the unlikely event that it turns out to be true, I can claim some kind of prescience.