Trump's team promised transparency on Epstein. Here's what they actually delivered.

USA Today

a day ago

A timeline shows what President Donald Trump's inner circle said about there being more to the Jeffrey Epstein story and their calls for Trump, as president, to reveal it all.
WASHINGTON – For years, members of President Donald Trump's inner circle have called on federal officials to release their files on Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Since Trump took office, Trump administration officials have propelled that campaign forward, suggesting new names from Epstein's purported client list and new accountability were in store.
"Absolutely," Alina Habba said when asked by British journalist Piers Morgan in February if "we are likely to see criminal actions being taken" in relation to Epstein. Habba was serving as counselor to the president and is now the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey. "To hide lists, to protect political friends, all of that, we don't have time for that."
"It's a new day, it's a new administration, and everything's going to come out to the public," Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News host Sean Hannity in a March interview.
Many who were eagerly awaiting the administration's next steps are now stewing in disappointment at what the Trump administration has delivered. In a July memo, the Justice Department and FBI said their "systematic review" of documents related to Epstein "revealed no incriminating 'client list.'"
"(W)hile we have labored to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein ... no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted," the offices said.
After his team made such concrete promises, the report this week was tough for many Trump loyalists to swallow. Some of the president's most ardent supporters were in uproar.
"I'm going to go throw up actually," said right-wing radio show host Alex Jones in a July 7 video post on X, as tears welled up in his eyes.
"Shut down the FBI," former Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington posted on X July 8.
"No one believes there is not a client list," Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said in a July 8 post on X.
The outrage comes after years of claims from Trump's inner circle that the government has been hiding information on Epstein's possible associates and the circumstances of his death.
While conspiracy theories have mounted online that a political elite had Epstein killed so he couldn't reveal the identities of others involved in his alleged sex-trafficking crimes, New York's chief medical examiner ruled in 2019 that Epstein died by suicide. The Justice Department memo this week echoes that finding.
That hasn't stopped some right-wing commentators from speculating that the administration is perpetuating a cover-up.
"Why is Pam Bondi's Justice Department covering up Jeffrey Epstein's crimes and murder?" right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson posted on X July 8.
USA TODAY combed through years of public statements that may shed light on why so many Trump supporters are angry. Trump allies and top-ranking members of his administration have long promoted theories that there was more to the Epstein story and that Trump, if re-elected, would reveal the full picture.
Here's a timeline of what they've said:
2021: JD Vance posts about Epstein's mysterious jail death
2023: Bongino: People not telling the truth; Patel: Biden FBI has Epstein's 'black book'; RFK Jr.: Wants 'real answers'
2024: Trump: 'Weird situation' with jail camera at time of Epstein's death'; Vance: List should be released
Feb. 2025: Bondi, others cite names, flight logs; promise action, accountability on Epstein files
March 2025: Bondi says 'truckload' of files delivered by FBI
July 2025: Bondi releases memo denouncing 'unfounded theories'; Trump deflects question about Epstein documents
(This story has been updated to correct a spelling error.)