“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said on Monday that President Donald Trump’s military strike on Iran may not be for the shifting reasons he and his administration have used to try to justify the assault.

“This military mission has been dubbed Operation Epic Fury,” he said, referring to the name the president and the Pentagon have used.

Then, Colbert offered a hint at what the operation is really all about.

“Fun fact: Epic Fury is an anagram for forget Epstein,” Colbert said.

Trump has faced renewed questions about his relationship with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was once a close friend of his, since the release of files related to the case earlier this year.

Trump’s name appears repeatedly in the files. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said last month that he searched the unredacted files available to lawmakers for “Don,” “Donald,” and “Trump” and received more than 1 million results.

Some critics believe the strike on Iran was to draw attention away from those questions ― and not just on the left.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) hinted at that as well with a message on X:

PSA: Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won’t make the Epstein files go away, any more than the Dow going above 50,000 will.

See more in Colbert’s Monday night “Late Show” monologue:

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