WASHINGTON. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi informed former President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The revelation adds to political pressure on Trump, whose administration has faced criticism for backtracking on promises to release files related to Epstein. For years, some Trump supporters have promoted conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s client list and his 2019 prison death.
Following the Journal’s report, the White House issued a mixed response. While an initial statement dismissed the story as “fake news,” a White House official later clarified that the administration was not denying Trump’s name appears in the files. The official said Trump was already included in a batch of materials Bondi assembled in February for conservative influencers.
Trump, who socialized with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, was listed in Epstein’s contact book and appears multiple times on flight logs for Epstein’s private jet. Epstein’s longtime pilot previously testified that Trump had flown on the aircraft, though Trump denies ever doing so.
Much of the material has already been released in connection with the criminal case against Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her conviction for child sex trafficking and other crimes.
Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein and has stated that their friendship ended long before Epstein’s legal troubles began.
Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche released a statement saying, “Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts. As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Bondi and Blanche told Trump during a White House meeting that his name, along with those of many other prominent individuals, appeared in the files.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, following a prior 2008 conviction in Florida that resulted in a controversial 13-month sentence.
Under increasing political pressure, Trump recently directed the Justice Department to pursue the release of sealed grand jury transcripts related to Epstein. However, on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg denied one such request, ruling it did not meet exceptions to grand jury secrecy rules.
Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee approved a subpoena seeking all Justice Department files related to Epstein, with bipartisan support; three Republicans joined five Democrats in the vote.
The Journal also reported last week that Trump allegedly sent Epstein a provocative birthday note in 2003. Trump has denied the letter’s authenticity and is suing the Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch, calling the note fake.
Amid growing dissatisfaction from his political base, Trump has attempted to shift the narrative, including promoting unsubstantiated claims that former President Barack Obama interfered with his 2016 campaign. Obama’s office dismissed the allegations as “ridiculous.”
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that more than two-thirds of Americans believe the Trump administration is hiding information about Epstein’s clients.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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