DOJ made Donald Trump aware of decision not to continue investigations related to Jeffrey Epstein
According to the Wall Street Journal, Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, informed President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the federal government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein, which had been reviewed by the Department of Justice and the FBI.
The Journal reports that Bondi and Blanche told Trump the DOJ would not release further documents because the files contained child pornography and private details of victims.
Trump reportedly said he would respect the Justice Department’s decision to withhold additional Epstein records. Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.
The Journal also noted that many other prominent names appeared in the documents, though their inclusion does not imply criminal wrongdoing.
The Trump administration did not publicly address the decision until July, sparking backlash among some supporters who had expected more transparency after earlier promises to release the records.
The DOJ and FBI later stated that their review “did not uncover evidence” warranting new criminal charges.
When asked by ABC News on July 15 whether Bondi had told him his name was in the files, Trump said: “No, no, she's — she's given us just a very quick briefing,” before going on to make unsubstantiated claims that the files were the work of political adversaries.
Asked again by ABC News after the Journal’s article was published, White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said: “The fact is that the President kicked [Epstein] out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than another fake news story pushed by Democrats and the liberal media—just like Russiagate, which the President was right about.”
In a joint statement, Bondi and Blanche said: “The DOJ and FBI reviewed the Epstein files and concluded as outlined in the July 6 memo. Nothing in the documents justified additional investigation or prosecution. We have also filed a motion to unseal the grand jury transcripts. As part of our standard briefing, we informed the President of the findings.”
FBI Director Kash Patel, who had previously called for full disclosure of Epstein records before joining the administration, said: “The memo released on July 6 is consistent with the FBI and DOJ’s thorough review. The criminal leakers and Fake News media continue their efforts to smear President Trump, and this story is just another example.”