US President Donald Trump rejected inquiries on Tuesday, July 15, regarding his name appearing in investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein, claiming the documents were “made up” and that Attorney General Pam Bondi should make any verifiable claims public.
When asked on the White House lawn if Bondi had informed him that his name was in the files, Trump responded, “No, no.” “She’s given us just a very quick briefing on the credibility of what they’ve seen”.
Trump continued by accusing his political rivals of being behind the controversy, saying, “I would say these files were made up by Comey and Obama, made up by the Biden administration. We went through years of that with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.”
“But she’s handled it very well,” he continued. “Whatever she deems credible, she should release”.
The comments coincide with mounting criticism from Trump’s followers, who claim Bondi is betraying his pledges of openness. Bondi released a two-page memo last week declaring that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted,” which drew criticism from both parties.
Despite acknowledging that Epstein’s sex trafficking had harmed over a thousand victims, Bondi stated in the memo that the Justice Department had not found any evidence to support charging any uncharged third parties. Bondi also verified that Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial, citing prison security footage to support his claims. However, because of antiquated technology, one minute of each day’s footage is missing.
Trump has made several attempts to disassociate himself from the disgraced financier, despite their previous social connections. Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were the only people ever charged. Maxwell is currently incarcerated for 20 years.
Additionally, the president dismissed Elon Musk’s assertions from last month that the Epstein files contained Trump’s name and that this was the reason they hadn’t been released to the public.
Trump attempted to silence persistent questions during a Cabinet meeting last week. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years. That is unbelievable,” he remarked.
Trump attacked what he described as politically motivated investigations in a social media post over the weekend, defending Bondi: “Why are we giving publicity to files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the losers and criminals of the Biden administration? They created the Epstein files just like they created the fake Steele dossier.”
Trump seems eager to move past the Epstein scandal, portraying it as just another political smear connected to his long list of enemies, even as criticism from some of his own supporters grows.
