Trump under fire for defending Pam Bondi over handling of Jeffrey Epstein files
WASHINGTON: Four sources familiar with White House discussions say President Donald Trump has become tired of defending Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Justice Department’s Jeffery Epstein files and wants her to accept responsibility for clearing up the mess.
“One thing that’s been clear is his feelings about it,” a White House insider told NBC News. “This now resides within the DOJ.”
When questioned about the White House’s assessment of Bondi’s performance, another senior White House official said that they thought the issue had “stabilized.”
A major divide has developed between Trump and key members of his MAGA base as a result of the administration’s failure to reveal the entire scope of the government’s investigation into Epstein, who committed himself in prison while awaiting trial on accusations of sex-trafficking kids in 2019.
According to these sources and a person close to the White House, Bondi is not in danger of losing her job since she is dependable and popular with the president and White House top staffer Susie Wiles. However, Trump is no longer willing to take the blame for her.
The Department of Justice refrained from commenting.
Trump instructed his attorney general to ask a judge for authorization to reveal “pertinent” grand jury evidence from the Epstein investigation after saying on Tuesday that Bondi should decide whether to share “credible” information from Epstein-related documents. On Friday, Bondi submitted the necessary application to the court.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters Thursday that the Justice Department, not Trump, was responsible for dismissing federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, who worked on the Epstein investigation, this week.
All of this seems to point to Trump’s attempt to turn the Epstein storm in Bondi’s direction.
According to someone with knowledge of White House conversations, “I do think that he likes and respects Pam, but she has undoubtedly caused some headaches for them.” “She has made mistakes, but ultimately, she is almost certainly just following instructions at this point, so I think she is very safe.”
Leavitt praised Bondi’s accomplishments in an NBC News statement, although he made no reference to the Epstein incident.
Leavitt said, “Attorney General Pam Bondi is working tirelessly to remove violent criminals from our streets, stop the weaponization that has rotted our justice system, and assist President Trump in making America safe again.” “Her efforts are appreciated by the president.”
Encouraged by Bondi and other high-profile members of Trump’s inner circle, many of his most ardent supporters have long held the view that the federal government concealed material that was detrimental to Epstein’s relationships with some of the most powerful and wealthy individuals in the country.
An Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now,” Bondi said in a February interview with Fox News, awaiting approval and publication. “Epstein binders” were promoted by her department and sent to MAGA influencers. However, rather than extremely sensitive and damaging data, the binders included information that was already in the public domain.
Additionally, Bondi’s department came to the conclusion that the government lacks proof of the three primary elements of conspiracy theories involving Epstein—a client list, a plan to blackmail high-profile individuals, or foul play in his death—in a report that was covertly distributed at the end of the Fourth of July weekend. The unsigned Justice Department document sparked a full-fledged political fracas among the president’s base of support, which was confirmed by mainstream media sites.
According to one White House source, the president was mostly left to fill the information vacuum caused by the leak of that letter and the Justice Department’s lack of follow-up in the aftermath.
For most of the last two weeks, right-wing activist and Trump buddy Laura Loomer has been attacking Bondi on social media, calling her “Blondi.”
Last Monday, Loomer said on X, “I’ve been exposing Pam Blondi since BinderGate.”” Back in February and March, I received a phone call from several White House employees pleading with me to stop disparaging Hillary. However, this week I’m not receiving any calls to halt. It says a lot, doesn’t it?
Some of Trump’s most devoted supporters, such as Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, distanced themselves from him on the matter as Trump fans demanded more information from the president and the attorney general. On Truth Social, he replied by denouncing his party critics as “weaklings” and asserting that he no longer wanted “their support.”
Perhaps because they first miscalculated the Epstein imbroglio’s enduring potency among the MAGA movement, Trump and White House officials have found it difficult to move beyond it since the July Fourth weekend.
The president does not need to attempt to silence the internal criticism all at once, according to Trump ally and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
“Trump will methodically find ways to satisfy his base that he’s serious and they’ll get this thing done,” Gingrich said. “This is a problem, not a crisis.”