It's a pretty reliable rule of thumb that when President Donald Trump calls something a "hoax," it's true. He insists that the strong indication, which seems likelier by the week, that he participated in Jeffrey Epstein's exploitative exploits is another hoax.

Assume that on this one, he's telling the truth. If so, he sure isn't acting like it.

Let's recap, shall we?

Of the 20,000 emails obtained by the House Oversight Committee from Epstein's estate, a reported 1,000 mention Trump.

Here's what Trump told New York Magazine in 2002: "I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy ... It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."

Here's what the former Chief Operating Officer at Trump Plaza between 1987 and 1990 said about the Trump-Epstein friendship: "In my mind, (Epstein) was his best friend, you know, (throughout) the time I was there for four years."

Numerous women have come forward to relate their disturbing experiences with Trump in Epstein's company. Model Stacy Williams told The Guardian, "It became very clear that (Epstein) and Donald were really, really good friends and spent a lot of time together."

Likely not discussing tariffs.

Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. There are plentiful photographs and videos of Trump and Epstein together — at Mar-a-Lago, at Epstein's parties, at one of Trump's weddings and at social events. Not long ago, the Wall Street Journal published a birthday letter, apparently from Trump to Epstein, including Trump's drawing of a naked woman, evidently signed by Trump, with the following bit of "dialogue" between the two. "We have certain things in common, Jeffrey," it states. "Yes we do, come to think of it," comes the reply. "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret," comes the response. Trump maintains that this, too, is a "hoax," and has sued the Journal. The Journal stands by its story.

Over two dozen women have claimed that Trump sexually assaulted them in one fashion or another. One, E. Jean Carroll, won a jury verdict that he had sexually abused her. Trump paid a porn star $130,000 to stay silent about an affair with her shortly after Trump's third wife gave birth to their child. Trump claims that this was also a "hoax."

A 2005 tape published in 2016 recorded Trump boasting about his ability to grope and kiss women because of his celebrity status. "I just start kissing them," he said. "It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything ... Grab them by the p***y. You can do anything."

Here's convicted sex offender and indicted sex trafficker Epstein to his assistant, convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell in 2011: "I want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is Trump. (Redacted name of victim spent hours at my house with him."

Here's Epstein in a 2018 email about Trump: "I am the one able to take him down."

And here's Epstein in a 2019 email about Trump: "Of course he knew about the girls."

It's a "hoax", says Trump.

Sure.

That's why Trump abruptly sent his personal lawyer, now Deputy Attorney General, to Maxwell's prison cell for two days, and emerged with a statement from Maxwell that she did not witness any "inappropriate" conduct by Trump, before she was promptly transferred to fairly plush new quarters at a different correctional facility. Of course, Maxwell also says she did not witness Epstein do anything inappropriate.

For Trump, it's quite a situation. And so, in order to lobby a Republican Congresswoman to remove her name from a Congressional petition that would force the Justice Department to release its files on Epstein, top administration officials invited her to the White House Situation Room to try to twist her arm.

The Situation Room.

Trump's most stalwart supporters, those who have defended every patently corrupt and egregious act, profess to be perplexed that Trump is blocking the disclosure of the Epstein files. "Why doesn't he just release them?" conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly wondered last week.

Duh.

Jeff Robbins' latest book, "Notes From the Brink: A Collection of Columns about Policy at Home and Abroad," is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books and Google Play. Robbins, a former assistant United States attorney and United States delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, was chief counsel for the minority of the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. An attorney specializing in the First Amendment and a longtime columnist, he writes on politics, national security, human rights and the Middle East.

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