My theory on the whole Epstein thing is a bit out there, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit at this point.
I've always believed that these presidents are figure heads and don't truly run the show. There are much more powerful and influential people above them pulling the real strings. Your everyday pish they'll leave to the president, but the big decisions they make.
They set Trump up to win the election. He was running against a piss poor candidate and they played a blinder getting the people to vote him in again. I still feel he was a better candidate than Harris, but also believed he was going to expose a lot of the shadiness.
Before the election, there really wasn't a whole lot about him and Epstein together being shown through the media. A couple of little things, but nothing really definitive. My guess is this was all being held back for leverage. They needed him to make this go away and having dirt on him is the perfect way to do it. He either makes it go away, or he exposes himself in the process. Him being shot in the ear could have also been a warning shot/threat by said establishment also.
If I was in his position and clean, why wouldn't I release ALL the dirt. By doing so you are only going to gain more supporters and show the people who voted that you're doing what you said you would.
And just for the record, this isn't me stating fact, or even believe this to be true. Just something I pondered that makes a tiny bit sense as to why he's doing a 180 on these Epstein files.