Washington-For months, Attorney General Pam Bondi has promised to release documents about investor Jeffrey Epstein who could reveal compromising details, generating great expectation around the files, which have long been a source of speculation and conspiracy theories.
But on Monday (7), a memorandum from the Justice Department contradicted his own statements, cooling the unfounded allegations. It was a catalog of conclusions that confirmed those already reached years earlier by investigators, including Epstein committed suicide while in a cell in Manhattan awaiting trial.
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“This systematic review has not revealed any ‘incriminating customer list,” said the memorandum. “Nor were it found credible evidence that Epstein was blackmailed individuals as part of their actions. We did not find evidence that could underpin an investigation against unsuccessful third parties.”
“Any other disclosure would not be appropriate or justifiable,” the memorandum continued, adding that the work of the Justice Department and the FBI on the records was thorough.
In the six years since his death in 2019, the Epstein case has become a public obsession for a Trump supporters segment, some of whom accused two of his closest advisers, Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel, to delay the review and disclosure of the case file.
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The disclosure of related documents in February, which Bondi had also promoted, failed, attracting wide mockery, as most of the information was already in the public domain.
While many awaited what Bondi claimed to be “phase 2” of the disclosure of so -called Epstein files, the new memo sought to end such expectations. He included a video of hours of duration, whose existence had already been released, from the corridor outside the Epstein cell. The memorandum added that there would be no more information from the files of the case.
The document also scolds those who promoted their own theories about crimes that could have been unpunished by Epstein, who was accused of paying girls for sexual acts, often under the pretext of “massages.”
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“One of our greatest priorities is to combat child exploitation and bring justice to the victims,” said the memorandum. “Propagating unfounded theories about Epstein does not serve any of these goals.”
However, in February, questioned at Fox News about the supposed customer list, Bondi replied, “It’s on my table now for review.”
Asked about the apparent contradiction at a press conference on Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Bondi referred to the full file of the Epstein case. “Trump administration is committed to truth and transparency,” he said.
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Even before the official disclosure, the Trump administration faced criticism of the way he dealt with the subject, with billionaire Elon Musk posting on social networks on Monday his disapproval because “no one” was arrested in the Epstein case. (In fact, Epstein himself was arrested, and his longtime assistant was accused, tried and sent to prison for his role in the abuse of minors.)
Last month, while Musk was involved in a fierce public dispute with the president, the richest man in the world suggested that President Donald Trump had something to lose with the disclosure of the records.
“Time to release the really big bomb,” wrote Musk on social networks. Trump, he said, “It’s in the Epstein archives. That’s why they weren’t made public.” Musk showed no evidence, but soon he added, “The truth will appear.”
He later deleted the post.
Bondi’s decision to end the disclosure of information received criticism from Senator Ron Wyden, Oregon’s Democrat, whose team has investigated more than $ 158 million in payments that billionaire investor Leon Black made Epstein for tax and heritage planning services. The parliamentarian repeatedly pressured Bondi and other members of the Trump administration for information about Black and other “high profile individuals” and financial institutions that paid fees to Epstein or managed their money.
“My committee researchers have become substantial evidence in possession of the Trump administration related to prominent Wall Street figures by financing Epstein’s operations,” Wyden said in a statement. “The best explanation for the poor conduct of the Epstein case by the Trump administration is blatant incompetence, but the much more likely explanation is that Trump and rich people around him have things to hide.”
Black has always stated that he did nothing wrong by paying Epstein for tax and heritage counseling and was unaware of Epstein’s conduct.
Being mentioned in Epstein -related investigative files does not necessarily mean much. Criminal case files often contain identities of victims, as well as names of witnesses and other innocent people who had contact with suspects or evidence in the case.
Trump and Epstein have crossed paths over the years, both figures of social circles rich in New York and Florida. In a 2002 interview with New York magazine, Trump said he had known Epstein for 15 years, calling him “Fantastic Cara” and “a lot of fun to be together.”
In the same interview, Trump added: “They even say that he likes beautiful women as much as me, and many of them are young.”
