‘Unbelievable’: Donald Trump fumes at questions about Jeffrey Epstein after revelation that long-hyped ‘client list’ doesn’t exist
Discontent is growing among Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters after his administration’s abrupt dismissal of the Epstein case.
World
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Discontent among Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters has risen from a simmer to a boil over his administration’s claim that the so-called Jeffrey Epstein “client list”, long hyped by his own appointees and advisers, does not exist.
The American President lost patience with reporters as he was asked about Epstein during the prelude to a cabinet meeting.
“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years,” Mr Trump said.
“You’re asking – we have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable. Do you want to waste the time?”
His allusion to Texas, there, was about the catastrophic floods in America’s second-largest state, which have killed more than a hundred people.
“I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, when we’re having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration,” said Mr Trump.
Also present at the cabinet meeting was Attorney-General Pam Bondi, Mr Trump’s choice to be America’s chief law enforcement officer.
Ms Bondi referred to an interview she did with Fox News back in February that has, shall we say, gained notoriety in the past 48 hours.
“In February, I did an interview on Fox,” Bondi said.
“And it’s been getting a lot of attention, because I was asked a question about the client list. And my response was, ‘It’s sitting on my desk to be reviewed.’ Meaning the file, along with the JFK, MLK files as well. That’s what I meant by that.
“That’s it on Epstein,” she added, seeking to shut down further questions.
During that interview in February, Ms Bondi implied to Fox News that the Epstein client list was very real, and in her intray.
“The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients? Will that really happen?” anchor John Roberts asked her.
“It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,” said Ms Bondi.
“That’s been a directive by President Trump.”
Cue excitement from the conspiracy theorists who’d long believed, with no small amount of nudging from figures in the MAGA media world, that the federal government had been hiding evidence that incriminated prominent men.
Yesterday, however, a memo from Ms Bondi’s department – unsigned and undated – was revealed to the public. And it said no client list ever existed.
“A systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list’. There was also no credible
evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions,” the memo said, as first reported by Axios.
“We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” it added, along with another conclusion that displeased the theorists: Epstein did, in fact, commit suicide in his prison cell.
“Consistent with prior disclosures, this review confirmed that Epstein harmed over one
thousand victims. Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials,” the Department of Justice said.
“One of our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.
“To that end, while we have laboured to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein and ensured examination of any evidence in the government’s possession, it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
Case closed, then. Nothing to see here.
“She was saying the entirety of all the paperwork, all of the paper,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said today, referring to Ms Bondi’s interview, under questioning from Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy.
But the follow-up questions, here, are obvious.
Ms Bondi is not alone in having hyped up the Epstein material before quietly seeking to dismiss it. FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Mr Trump’s personal lawyer Alina Habba – since appointed to be US Attorney for New Jersey – all fall into the same category.
“It is incredibly disturbing,” Ms Habba told British broadcaster Piers Morgan earlier this year.
“We have flight logs, we have information, names that will come out.
“There were so many individuals that were hidden and kept secret and not been held accountable. I believe in accountability.”
No names have come out. The closest thing to a release of actual, new information came in February, when the White House gave binders full of Epstein-related documents to handpicked right-wing influencers.
But the binders turned out to contain almost nothing that was not already publicly available.
At the time, Ms Bondi described them as “phase one” of a looming, broader release, with further phases to come. So much for that.
The influencers who received the documents, with such glee and fanfare at the White House, are now among those slamming the Trump administration and accusing it of a cover-up.
I want to stress, before I quote these people, that they are prone to indulging in what we might charitably call suppositions. But Mr Trump and his White House chose to elevate them as credible figures, and so their words do carry weight.
Liz Wheeler, a podcast host, posted today about Mr Trump “snapping at a reporter” for asking about Epstein.
“Trump is massively misreading his base on this one,” said Ms Wheeler.
“People CARE about Epstein. Not only because of the grisly crimes against children, but because there’s evidence of a government cover-up.
“Now government officials are telling us to ignore the evidence in front of our eyes and believe them, without evidence. Nope. Not gonna do it. We voted for radical transparency and JUSTICE. President Trump should not underestimate how much goodwill he’s lost among his base due to Pam Bondi’s mishandling of the Epstein files.
“People are furious. I would know, I was the collateral damage in Bondi’s infernal Epstein binder debacle. She should’ve been fired on the spot.
“Pam Bondi didn’t tell us the truth. She seems more interested in being a Fox News star than keeping promises. Something is fishy about the Epstein stuff.
“Patting us on the head and telling us ‘nothing to see here’ is infuriating.”
“I understand the rage people have for demanding the Epstein client list and arrests,” said Rogan O’Handley, aka “DC Draino”, another of the handpicked influencers given Epstein files earlier this year.
“Every influencer there that day feels the same anger watching pedo elites get away with the most heinous crimes.
“We want justice, and almost all of us have called for the client list and arrests for years.
“Influencers do not control the Epstein Files. We aren’t the federal government. We’re regular people who became outspoken activists to help save America, and we were roped into this messaging exercise without any prior planning or co-ordination.”
The criticism, among Mr Trump’s supporters, runs deeper.
“Good grief,” said radio host Megyn Kelly.
“That was no bueno, guys! That was no bueno, OK?”
“What is she saying?!” she said of Ms Leavitt.
“She’s nervous. And the truth is not her friend, for whatever reason.”
We could keep going for some time.
“Pam Bondi is just keeping the tens of thousands of child porn videos for herself,” said podcaster Tim Pool.
(I am going to jump in here and defend Ms Bondi from that one particular, ridiculous comment. Yes, the Department of Justice is reportedly withholding thousands of videos that show child sex abuse. Of course it is. The Department of Justice is not going to publicly release footage of underage sex crimes, for reasons any halfwit could understand.)
“This two-minute clip makes Trump and his entire administration look so bad I don’t even have words for it. Just watch,” said YouTuber Clint Russell.
“Why are you even asking about the thing I campaigned on releasing for months?” asked the right-wing figure Matt Wallace, with no small degree of sarcasm.
And so forth.
During last year’s election campaign, to which Mr Wallace alluded, Mr Trump never explicitly promised that a client list would be made public. But he did hint at it.
“Yeah, it’s very interesting, isn’t it?” said Mr Trump at one point in 2024, when a podcast host said it was “very strange” that a list of Epstein’s clients had never emerged.
“It probably will be, by the way,” said Mr Trump, referring to such a list’s release.
“I’d certainly take a look at it.”
Julie K. Brown, an investigative journalist with The Miami Herald, based in Florida, has been among the most dogged experts on the Epstein case for years.
Throughout all the politicking, she has sought to stress that while there are still many files from the case that remain hidden from public view, there was never any proof that Epstein kept a “list” of his clients.
“As I’ve written too many times to count, there ARE massive amounts of FBI/Department of Justice files that have not been released, or those that are available are so heavily blacked out that they are unreadable,” she said on social media after the memo emerged.
“The FBI and DOJ can release these files (redacting the names of the victims) so that the public knows what the FBI did and didn’t do to investigate others involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
“The ‘list’ is a red herring. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t names contained in those FBI files. Dozens of women were interviewed after Epstein’s arrest in 2019, and a lot’s happened over the past eight years since my series exposing the cover-up was published.”
Here is a link to Ms Brown’s latest breakdown of which Epstein documents are public and which remain obscured.
“Is there a Jeffrey Epstein Client list? Probably not,” she stressed again today.
“But the FBI and DOJ have a lot of files that likely contain names of people suspected of helping Epstein.
“Hint: Google ‘FBI Vault’ and enter Jeffrey Epstein’s name. Look at the files. All blank.”
Originally published as ‘Unbelievable’: Donald Trump fumes at questions about Jeffrey Epstein after revelation that long-hyped ‘client list’ doesn’t exist
Surprise winner in Albo’s China trip
A surprise winner has emerged from Anthony Albanese’s big six-day business blitz in China.
Robbie Williams’ heartbreaking health update on mum
Music superstar Robbie Williams has revealed how his parents’ lives have been turned upside down by their health battles.