Ezra Klein begins one of his recent podcasts by telling a joke that has been making the rounds. Basically, a conspiracy theorist dies and ascends to heaven. God is there to greet him and explains that as part of the celestial welcome, he will answer any question the man has.

“Please, I must know the answer to this one,” the man says, “who killed John F. Kennedy?” God answers instantly, “That’s easy: Lee Harvey Oswald.” Shocked, the man murmurs, “This goes higher than I had thought!”

This is the dilemma in which Donald Trump finds himself. Whatever he does to deflect and distract from the Jeffrey Epstein morass only deepens the suspicions — including those about the two men’s relationship.

According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 69% of Americans, including 62% of Republicans, believe the government is hiding Epstein’s alleged client list. This is understandable; there are so many unanswered questions about Epstein. How did he become so rich? What is in the mountains of computer files and videos recovered from his homes and properties? Since he had already tried to commit suicide once while in jail, why was he not monitored properly afterward?

But there is a larger problem for Trump. Since the “birther” charges against Barack Obama, he has encouraged, ridden and profited from a wave of conspiracy theories that accused the so-called deep state of all kinds of crimes, which were then quickly covered up.