During an interview appearance on Fox News on Friday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she is reviewing the Jeffrey Epstein client list.
“It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,” she said. “That’s been a directive by President [Donald] Trump.”
Why It Matters
Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead in a cell in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide, but it prompted a wave of conspiracy theories due to his well-documented connections to public and powerful figures.
While hundreds of pages of court documents that named people with ties to Epstein—including Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Britain’s Prince Andrew—have been unsealed, many of them were not accused of wrongdoing and were already public. They included victims of sex abuse, his employees and others with only a passing connection to the scandal.
Those names were not the rumored list of Epstein’s purported clients that some believe would implicate high-profile figures in sex crimes.
On the campaign trial, Trump suggested he would be open to releasing the Epstein “client list.”
What To Know
America Reports host John Roberts asked Bondi on Friday if she had seen anything in the files that surprised her.
“Not yet,” the attorney general responded.
Bondi also discussed the release of Epstein’s list with conservative commentator Benny Johnson at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
“I was briefed on that yesterday. I can’t talk about that publicly, but President Trump has given a very strong directive and that’s going to be followed,” Bondi said on Thursday, adding that it involves “a lot of documents.”
Asked by Johnson whether Americans can expect “actual movement on this,” Bondi said: “Donald Trump doesn’t make empty promises. I think promises made, promises kept. And that’s why we’re all there to carry out his directive about making America safe and prosperous.”
In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine that he had known Epstein for 15 years and called him a “terrific guy.”
“He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it—Jeffrey enjoys his social life,” Trump told the outlet.
Trump, however, told reporters in the White House that he was “not a fan” of Epstein in 2019.
“I had a falling out with him a long time ago,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan.”
During Friday’s interview on Fox News, Bondi said she is also reviewing files related to the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. at the directive of the president.
Trump signed an executive order on January 23 ordering the director of national intelligence and attorney general to present a plan for the “full and complete release” of records relating to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy.
The order states that the release of the records is in the public’s interest.
“Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth. It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay,” the order reads.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
What People Are Saying
Pam Bondi said during an interview with Fox News in November that anyone named in documents related to Epstein who is “still fighting to keep their names private…they have no legal basis to do so unless they’re a child, a victim or a cooperating defendant.”
Donald Trump said on a podcast in September that he had never visited Epstein’s private island where prosecutors said Epstein’s alleged abuse of underage girls took place.
Asked why the names of those who did visit the island was not public, Trump said it was “very interesting” and that he would “certainly take a look at” releasing it.
What Happens Next?
The Trump administration is continuing to review the release of the sealed documents.
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