Washington is ablaze with controversy as Attorney General Pam Bondi faces sharp rebuke from Donald Trump’s loyal MAGA supporters over the Justice Department’s fumbling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
This ongoing saga, now stretching into its third week, has fractured Trump’s base, consumed the capital’s attention across all three branches of government, and sidelined the president’s key policy goals.
Politico reported that for years, Trump’s allies have pushed theories that the federal government holds a secret “client list” tied to Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in prison in 2019 from an apparent suicide, allegedly implicating powerful Washington elites in heinous crimes.
Many in Trump’s circle expected explosive revelations upon his return to power, believing he would unearth evidence of foul play or hidden conspiracies surrounding Epstein’s death and supposed murder—claims the Justice Department has since dismissed as baseless.
Earlier this month, the Trump-led Justice Department poured cold water on these hopes, stating both the client list and murder theories lack merit, and refusing to release further details due to the disturbing nature of footage involving Epstein’s alleged victims.
MAGA supporters erupted in frustration, directing their ire at Bondi, who just months ago in February hinted she possessed substantial evidence on the Epstein case, only to seemingly backtrack now.
“She has very little time to turn this around,” warned a House Republican speaking anonymously, reflecting the growing impatience within the GOP conference.
That sentiment stings, but let’s be fair—Bondi’s not dodging accountability while sipping coffee; she’s battling a cornea tear that forced her to skip a key anti-trafficking panel at CPAC, sending a deputy instead.
Still, health challenges aside, the fury isn’t subsiding, with another GOP insider lamenting, “She is in for a rough September,” signaling a long road ahead past the August recess.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has joined the chorus, publicly demanding transparency on CBS last Thursday, questioning the Justice Department’s opaque approach to the Epstein matter.
Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie, a staunch advocate for disclosure on the Judiciary Committee, is rallying for a floor vote on a bipartisan bill to force the release of all Epstein documents, with Bondi’s testimony expected soon.
House committees aren’t sitting idle either, approving two bipartisan subpoenas—one for the full Epstein case file and another for a deposition with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator serving a 20-year sentence.
Last Friday, the Justice Department sought permission from three judges to reveal grand jury transcripts from Epstein and Maxwell’s cases, only to hit a wall due to strict secrecy rules, with a Florida judge denying the request and two New York rulings pending.
On Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell in Tallahassee, a meeting her lawyer David Oscar Markus called “productive,” adding, “She answered all the questions truthfully.”
Yet skepticism lingers, as Speaker Johnson mused to reporters on Wednesday, “Could she be counted on to tell the truth?”—a fair question about a figure tied to such grave crimes, echoing doubts long held by the Justice Department itself.