It seems like a simple decision for Donald Trump’s administration – release files related to the late convicted paedophile financier Jeffery Epstein, or keep them out of public view.

But battles raging among the US president’s supporters in some of the more conspiratorial spaces online suggest that the choice facing Trump is not easy at all.

In those spaces, users argue about whether to trust the White House, and they speculate on what might be going on behind the scenes and Trump’s strategic acumen – which some fans liken to playing a game of “4D chess”.

“Don’t get distracted by the Epstein shills,” wrote one commenter professing his steadfast support for Trump on TheDonald, a popular message board filled with news, conspiracy theories and language ranging from salty to extremely offensive.

“I have not once called for the Epstein files to be released because I’m not a complete and total [fool],” the commenter added.

But that sentiment is far from universal.

“Epstein transparency NOW!!!” came one reply.

Another user criticised the president over his recent statements that lambasted supporters for focusing on the Epstein issue: “Don’t [lash] out at your own base… That makes you look guilty.”

As the saga rumbles on – fuelled by reports giving further details of Trump’s relationship with Epstein, and justice department meetings with Epstein’s partner in crime Ghislaine Maxwell – pro-Trump online spaces heavily invested in conspiratorial thinking are divided in much the same way as more mainstream Republicans.

Trump was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, but has not been accused of any wrongdoing as part of the investigations into his former friend.

According to Trump, the pair fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. The White House has recently suggested that their fallout was connected to Epstein’s behaviour, and that “the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep”.

Although the contents of any unreleased documents remain unknown, the existing materials in the public domain mention a number of high-profile figures who were connected to Epstein – though that does not imply any illegal activity.

The president previously said he would be open to making public more information on Epstein. But he changed his position earlier this month, saying the case was closed.

The frustration over what many Americans see as a simple request is now being given voice by some prominent allies of the president.

“Look, I’m where I’ve been every time y’all ask me this question,” said Thom Tillis, a US senator in Trump’s Republican Party who has sometimes tangled with Trump. “Release the damn files.”

A US justice department official spoke to Maxwell in prison on Thursday, although few details emerged about what she was questioned about and how she responded.

Although Trump’s biggest supporters are sticking by the president, many are trying to square their backing for his Make America Great Again (Maga) movement with what they apparently see as his stonewalling of further information drops.

Maga influencers have found themselves on the defensive as they try to stand by their man after years of demanding Epstein transparency – a call that was endorsed by Trump during last year’s presidential campaign, and vociferously pushed for years by several top administration officials including FBI director Kash Patel.

Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist with a huge social media following, who is an informal yet influential White House adviser, posted a link to a news article in which she said “Trump is not implicated” in the Epstein files.

Along with messages of support, blowback on X came fast:

“How would you know.”

“He literally partied with Epstein.”

Dozens of other users responded with memes and historical pictures of Trump and Epstein together, before they fell out.

And messages like “We want to see the Epstein files!” – which one follower posted at conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk – seem about as common online at the moment as the most popular slogan used by case obsessives: “Epstein didn’t kill himself.”

The phrase is a reference to one of the most common conspiracy theories, that Epstein was killed by an unknown assailant and did not take his own life, as the official narrative states, when he died in prison in 2019.

The justice department and FBI rejected that theory in a memo earlier this month. They also said they had no rumoured Epstein “client list” that could implicate high-profile associates besides Maxwell in Epstein’s criminal operation.

It was that memo that kicked off the renewed focus on Epstein that has recently dominated the US news cycle.

After initially questioning government officials, and demanding more document releases, many popular Maga influencers – including Loomer, Jack Posobiec, and pro-Trump Substack blogs and sites like ZeroHedge – appear in recent days to be backing off the topic and trying to turn the attention of their audiences elsewhere.

But others – including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and podcaster Benny Johnson – have continued to cover the saga in detail.

The episode has driven even some of Trump’s most steadfast supporters to turn on the president.

Earlier this week Jacob Chansley – the so-called QAnon Shaman who was sentenced for rioting at the US Capitol in January 2021 wearing horns, fur and face paint – posted a string of expletive-laden messages directed at Trump on X. His account was deleted shortly thereafter.

However, the administration’s efforts to highlight other stories do seem to have worked to diffuse the energy in some of the most conspiratorial pro-Trump spaces.

On TheDonald, the latest twists in the Epstein case are only one discussion of many.

Commenters are also talking about topics like vaccines, the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s late-night show, and documents recently declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Those declassified documents, although confirming the prevailing view that Russia tried to influence the race, led Trump allies to call for the arrest of former President Barack Obama after Trump accused his predecessor of trying to falsely tie him to Russia.

Obama labelled Trump’s comments a “ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction”, and was joined by other Democrats who called Gabbard’s move a blatant attempt to change the subject.

As with the once-promised release of Epstein files, Gabbard may have set up even bigger expectations among the Maga faithful for a reckoning.

Those still chatting about the Epstein case find themselves in discussion threads trying to work out what they speculate could be hidden meanings behind Trump’s actions, and asking questions such as why the Democratic administration of Joe Biden didn’t release Epstein case documents – if indeed they contain any material that could damage Trump’s reputation.

Some of the president’s supporters are caught between their desire for more information and possibility of damaging their movement if the story rumbles on.

“For 10 years the leftists have been looking for something, anything, to drive as a wedge between Trump and MAGA,” wrote one TheDonald contributor. “This has been their most successful attempt yet.”

Someone else shot back: “Trump made the wedge himself by running his mouth.”