The broader context to the turn in the Epstein saga is the established fact of Mr. Trump’s friendship with Epstein, even though the President has refuted all knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities and that he severed relations years ago. Indeed, even though there was no mention of suggested criminality, Mr. Trump’s name was writ large in the 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate that congressional lawmakers released recently. The information suggests that Epstein did communicate with several other noted social elites including former Prince Andrew of the U.K., Mr. Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon, and former Harvard president Larry Summers. In what appeared to be a bid to deflect attention away from himself and his associates while acceding to the demand to release the files, Mr. Trump has also said that he would direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the links that Epstein might have to former President Bill Clinton, JPMorgan and Chase banks, and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, a Democratic donor. Whatever insights the files reveal, it is clear that Mr. Trump has had an association with a high-society criminal guilty of sex crimes against minors and likely against women too. The question is whether voters, especially women in his conservative base of supporters, will consider this association sufficient grounds to back away from Mr. Trump and from MAGA politics more generally.