The Attorney General invited MAGA influencers to see the first tranche of the Jeffery Epstein files — now the White House says there’s “no specific timeline” to release the rest.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released the “first phase” of declassified files on February 27 related to the now dead sex offender. She even invited some conservative online personalities to the White House to see the files for themselves. Conservative commentator Rogan O’Handley, known online as DC Draino, was among the group who was given a white binder labelled “The Epstein Files: Phase One.”
At a briefing on Monday, O’Handley asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt when to expect the “bulk of the files” to be released or any arrests related to the matter. She said she doesn’t have a “specific timeline” for their release.
“I can assure you that the Attorney General and her team are working on this diligently,” Leavitt said, before calling Bondi a “bulldog.”
The tranche contained redacted court documents, most of which had been “previously leaked but never released in a formal capacity by the U.S. Government,” the attorney general said at the time. These include flight logs and Epstein’s contact book, containing names of his alleged associates.
Bondi requested the FBI deliver the remaining documents the next morning. As of May 1, only the first phase of documents has been released.
Last week, a reporter asked President Donald Trump when the public could expect to see the release of more documents. He said he wasn’t sure but that he’d speak to the attorney general for more information.
“I do know that we’ve done the RFK, the Kennedy, Martin Luther King is out there very shortly, so we’ll find out,” Trump added. “We’ve really announced we’re doing them in full transparency.”
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to release the documents. The White House has vowed to be committed to “transparency” as the president signed an executive order in January regarding the declassification of documents related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King.
Bondi release of the first tranche of Epstein files was met with cries of disappointment over a lack of new information.
Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna raged on X: “THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment. GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!”
Far-right activist Laura Loomer also fumed: “There is one person who takes the blame for what happened today. It’s @PamBondi.” She wrote: “I think she should resign. She went on Fox News and said the files were on her desk. Then she went on Fox News last night and said we would have files today. She is a total liar.”
Epstein, who had a number of high-profile friends and acquaintances, including two U.S. presidents – Donald Trump and Bill Clinton – and celebrities like Prince Andrew, died in a New York jail in 2019 where he was being held on sex trafficking charges. He had previously been jailed after pleading guilty in Florida to procuring a girl below the age of 18 for prostitution.
Many – including the MAGA influencers – are hoping that the documents they want Bondi to release will shed new light on his crimes, and whether anyone else may have been involved. The only other person to have been charged with any offences is his confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving 20 years in prison on sex trafficking charges.
One of Epstein’s most outspoken victims, Virginia Giuffre, died in an apparent suicide in Australia last week. She had been among those leading the way in demanding justice for Epstein.
