Good points—I think you are on the right track.
That said—the administration should have known (from Trump 1.0) that such operations existed even if they did not know operational details. Their best move from day one should have been to do what many folks around here wanted—which was to downplay the entire Epstein matter—at least until they had quietly investigated it internally.
Yeah, but Epstein was erased in the latter portion of Trumps 1st presidency, under the influence of the Deep State. His pick of CIA director sucked. And we all know Bill Barr and Director Wray are trash.