Pam Bondi makes another claim on the Epstein files. Even Republicans are skeptical
Published in News & Features
It’s been nearly 70 days since U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi promised the public a release of the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
It took a skeptical remark from a top Republican congressman to force her to explain why she hasn’t followed through.
“There are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn and there are hundreds of victims,” Bondi told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “And no one victim will ever get released. It’s just the volume and that’s what they’re going through right now. The FBI is diligently going through that.”
Bondi was responding to newly expressed doubts from Rep. James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who told a MAGA-friendly podcaster he does not believe the Justice Department is in possession of the records detailing the high-profile sex-trafficking case.
“The attorney general does not have them or she would’ve turned them over. The president ordered them released, the attorney general ordered them released. We all know they have not been released,” Comer told Benny Johnson in an interview that aired Tuesday.
Without presenting any evidence, the Kentucky congressman expressed fear that Justice Department staffers in the previous administration destroyed relevant documents that could imperil political and Hollywood elites who associated with Epstein.
But Bondi poured cold water on that theory, explaining that time — not a conspiracy — was the reason the files have yet to see the light of day.
Presented with Bondi’s comments, a Comer aide maintained that, “Over the years, possible Deep State actors within the DOJ may not have preserved all Epstein documents.”
Bondi last promised the release of Epstein files in February, mentioning that the disclosure would include “a lot of flight logs, a lot of names.” But on the following day, documents distributed to a handful of right-wing influencers consisted of largely previously available materials, offering little new information.
The attorney general then accused the FBI’s New York office of withholding thousands of pages, ordering the transfer of a “truckload” of documents for the FBI to review.
Conservatives quickly lambasted Bondi for broken promises.
“The Epstein file thing was a disaster. They embarrassed themselves. They stepped on a rake for no apparent reason,” said Megyn Kelly, a loyal Trump administration cheerleader, at the time.
The Epstein case received a burst of new scrutiny last month after the apparent suicide of Virginia Giuffre, who provided pivotal testimony that exposed the extent of Epstein’s sex-trafficking network. Giuffre’s lawsuit against Epstein friend Ghislaine Maxwell led to the unsealing of numerous court documents, shedding greater light on Epstein’s operations and associations.
Epstein reportedly took his own life in a New York jail cell and Maxwell is currently incarcerated at a correctional facility in Tallahassee, serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and offenses related to Epstein.
Glenn Greenwald, the journalist and civil liberties advocate, posted Wednesday that he takes Bondi at her word that the FBI is reviewing a tranche of videos, but added that she should reveal if Epstein had any ties to the government.
Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. Attorney in Florida who oversaw Epstein’s controversial 2008 plea deal, reportedly stated during his vetting for a Trump administration position that he was told Epstein “belonged to intelligence.”
“We should, however, find out — and quickly — if Epstein worked with or for any specific intelligence agencies,” Greenwald said.
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