The Justice Department and FBI are struggling to comprise the fallout from this week’s determination to withhold data from the Jeffrey Epstein intercourse trafficking investigation, which rankled influential far-right media personalities and supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The transfer, which included the acknowledgment that one explicit sought-after doc by no means truly existed, sparked a contentious dialog between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at the White House this week. The spat threatened to shatter relations between them and centered partially on a information story that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice Department.
The cascade of disappointment and disbelief arising from the refusal to reveal extra, much-hyped data from the Epstein investigation underscores the struggles of FBI and Justice Department leaders to resolve the conspiracy theories and amped-up expectations that they themselves had stoked with claims of a cover-up and hidden proof. Infuriated by the failure of officers to unlock, as promised, the secrets and techniques of the so-called “deep state,” Trump supporters on the far proper have grown stressed and even demanded change at the high.
Trump requires MAGA base to finish ‘Epstein Files’ obsession
Mr. Trump expressed frustration in a social media posting on Saturday (July 12, 2025) over the divide amongst diehards of his “Make America Great Again” motion over the matter, and expressed help for Ms. Bondi. His prolonged put up made no point out of Mr. Bongino.
“What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’” Trump wrote. “They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.”
Tensions that simmered for months boiled over on Monday when the Justice Department and FBI issued a two-page assertion saying that they’d concluded that Epstein didn’t possess a “client list,” although Ms.SBondi had intimated in February that such a doc was sitting on her desk, and had determined in opposition to releasing any extra data from the investigation.
The Department did disclose a video meant to show that Epstein killed himself in jail, however even that raised the eyebrows of conspiracy theorists due to a lacking minute in the recording.
It was hardly the first time that Trump administration officers have failed to satisfy their pledge to ship the proof that supporters had come to count on.
In February, conservative influencers had been invited to the White House and supplied with binders marked “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” and “Declassified.” But the binders contained information that had largely already been in the public domain.
Afterward, Ms. Bondi said an FBI “source” informed her of the existence of thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents and ordered the Bureau to provide the “full and complete Epstein files.” She later said officials were poring over a “truckload” of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI.
But after a months-long review of evidence in the government’s possession, the Justice Department determined in the memo Monday that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” The Department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims, and “only a fraction” of it “would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.”
The Trump administration had hoped that that statement would be the final word on the saga, with Mr. Trump chiding a reporter who asked Ms. Bondi about the Epstein case at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
But Ms. Bondi and Mr. Bongino had a tense exchange the following day at the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
Part of the clash centered on a story from the news organization NewsNation that cited a “source close to the White House” as saying the FBI would have released the Epstein files months ago if it could have done so on its own. The story included statements from Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel refuting the premise, but not Mr. Bongino.
The news publication Axios was first to describe the conversation.
Mr. Blanche sought to stem the fallout Friday with a social media post in which he said he had worked closely with Mr. Patel and Mr. Bongino on the Epstein matter and the joint memo.
“All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo. The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo’s composition and release is patently false,” he wrote on X.
Also Friday, far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is close to Mr. Trump, posted on X that she was told that Bongino was “seriously thinking about resigning” and had taken the day off to contemplate his future. Mr. Bongino is normally an active presence on social media but has been silent since Wednesday.
The FBI did not respond to a request seeking comment, and the White House sought in a statement to minimize any tensions.
“President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims,” said spokesman Harrison Fields. “This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.”
