‘Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?' Trump interrupts reporter to defend Bondi
The only evidence disclosed as part of the memo was a video meant to definitively prove that the wealthy financier had taken his own life in jail in 2019. Even that disclosure did little to quiet conspiracy theorists who believe he was killed.
Online detectives disappointed
The department's client list revelation was especially dismaying for conservative influencers and online sleuths, given that Bondi in a Fox News interview in February had intimated that such a document was 'sitting on my desk' for review. Bondi insisted on Tuesday that she had been referring to the Epstein case file as being on her desk, as opposed to a specific client list.
'That's what I meant by that,' she said.
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She also defended her earlier public statements suggesting that the FBI was reviewing 'tens of thousands' of videos of Epstein with 'children or child porn'. The Associated Press published a story last week about the unanswered questions surrounding those videos and the Justice Department's refusal to provide clarity.
The memo on Monday did not suggest that the videos in the government's possession depicted Epstein with children, instead referring to images of Epstein as well as more than 10,000 'downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography'.
'They turned out to be child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein,' she said.
But she did not explain why the department could not release other files from the 'truckload' of evidence she said was delivered to the agency months ago.
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Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk accused former Trump strategist Steve Bannon of being in the Epstein files. He made a similar claim against Trump himself last month during the pair's spectacular falling-out, before later retracting the comment and saying he had gone too far.
Bannon and Musk have been sparring in public, with Bannon suggesting on his show WarRoom last week that Musk should be deported back to South Africa over his plans to create a third political party in the United States.
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Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘Serious business': Author Michael Shellenberger pokes holes in Trump White House's claim there are no Epstein files
American author, journalist and endowed professor at the University of Austin, Michael Shellenberger, has poked holes in the Trump White House's claim there are no Epstein files, crediting the United States President's base for "demanding answers" after a joint investigation concluded the notorious sex predator was not murdered and did not blackmail anyone. Jeffrey Epstein did not keep a "client list" and he was not murdered during his short-lived stay in a Manhattan lockup, the Justice Department and FBI reportedly concluded in a joint probe. According to a memo, obtained by Axios, the FBI and the US Justice Department under President Donald Trump found no evidence to suggest Epstein had blackmailed powerful figures or kept a so-called "client list". The memo states no further charges will be laid in connection with the Epstein case, apart from those already brought against the disgraced financier's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and related offences. As part of its findings, the Department of Justice also released hours of CCTV footage from Epstein's 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell, concluding the disgraced financier died by suicide, despite the conspiracy theories which have swirled in the years since. Mr Shellenberger said the White House's finding there were no Epstein files was at odds with the swathe of reporters and top officials who said there were 'truckloads full' and scores of videos. 'Epstein's victims have said that they were videotaping the sexual activity, the sexual abuse, the sex trafficking,' he told Sky News on Wednesday. 'Most people that have covered this, and by the way, it's left-wing, right-wing mainstream news media… (have said) that this was a sex blackmail operation with ties to the intelligence community. 'The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency was at Epstein's apartment multiple times that was reported by the Wall Street Journal. Bill Gates famously was there and his ex-wife told a reporter that it was a major reason for their divorce.' Mr Shellenberger said the Epstein controversy was 'serious business', not only due to the sex trafficking, but because it led to the 'undermining of democracy' if politicians were being entrapped in sex blackmail operations. The independent journalist said the US Attorney General, Director and Deputy Director of the FBI had said there was 'a lot here' in terms of an investigation into the Epstein scandal. 'Before Trump was elected, his director of the FBI, Kash Patel, said that there was a cover up occurring because of the people on the list,' he said. Social media erupted in criticism for the Trump administration after it announced there was nothing new to see in the Epstein scandal, just weeks after X owner Elon Musk posted a pointed accusation at the US President, claiming he was named in the files. 'I will say, credit to Trump supporters. They have not taken what the Trump administration has said at face value. They're demanding answers,' Mr Shellenberger said. 'They've shown a lot of independence here, which I think is a positive sign for our democracy. It's sort of one of the side things that's come out of it.' Mr Shellenberger said President Trump had a 'pretty well documented' relationship with Epstein. There were photos and videos of them together, and the US President has spoken on it. 'The best argument that there is nothing linking Trump to Epstein is that the people that tried to prevent Trump from becoming president tried to put them in prison… all in the so-called lawfare to prevent Trump from becoming president,' he said. 'If they had Trump tied to Epstein, I don't know why they wouldn't have used it. 'On the other hand, if there's a lot people implicated, maybe it's considered the nuclear option and there's just so many people implicated. I mean, again, the current FBI director last year said that there were people in Congress who were implicated by this.' Mr Shellenberger said the Trump administration's update on the Epstein files had not coincided with other conspiracies being brought into the light, which was a major campaign promise from the US President. ' The reality is they just haven't delivered on this particular part of Trump's campaign promise, which was not just transparency, but also really reforming the intelligence community, which we haven't done for 50 years,' he said.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Unbelievable': Donald Trump fumes at questions about Jeffrey Epstein after revelation that long-hyped ‘client list' doesn't exist
Discontent among Donald Trump's most vocal supporters has risen from a simmer to a boil over his administration's claim that the so-called Jeffrey Epstein 'client list', long hyped by his own appointees and advisers, does not exist. The American President lost patience with reporters as he was asked about Epstein during the prelude to a cabinet meeting. 'Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years,' Mr Trump said. 'You're asking – we have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable. Do you want to waste the time?' His allusion to Texas, there, was about the catastrophic floods in America's second-largest state, which have killed more than a hundred people. 'I can't believe you're asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, when we're having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration,' said Mr Trump. Also present at the cabinet meeting was Attorney-General Pam Bondi, Mr Trump's choice to be America's chief law enforcement officer. Ms Bondi referred to an interview she did with Fox News back in February that has, shall we say, gained notoriety in the past 48 hours. 'In February, I did an interview on Fox,' Bondi said. 'And it's been getting a lot of attention, because I was asked a question about the client list. And my response was, 'It's sitting on my desk to be reviewed.' Meaning the file, along with the JFK, MLK files as well. That's what I meant by that. 'That's it on Epstein,' she added, seeking to shut down further questions. During that interview in February, Ms Bondi implied to Fox News that the Epstein client list was very real, and in her intray. 'The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients? Will that really happen?' anchor John Roberts asked her. 'It's sitting on my desk right now to review,' said Ms Bondi. 'That's been a directive by President Trump.' Cue excitement from the conspiracy theorists who'd long believed, with no small amount of nudging from figures in the MAGA media world, that the federal government had been hiding evidence that incriminated prominent men. Yesterday, however, a memo from Ms Bondi's department – unsigned and undated – was revealed to the public. And it said no client list ever existed. 'A systematic review revealed no incriminating 'client list'. There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions,' the memo said, as first reported by Axios. 'We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,' it added, along with another conclusion that displeased the theorists: Epstein did, in fact, commit suicide in his prison cell. 'Consistent with prior disclosures, this review confirmed that Epstein harmed over one thousand victims. Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials,' the Department of Justice said. 'One of our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends. 'To that end, while we have laboured to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein and ensured examination of any evidence in the government's possession, it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.' Case closed, then. Nothing to see here. 'She was saying the entirety of all the paperwork, all of the paper,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said today, referring to Ms Bondi's interview, under questioning from Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy. But the follow-up questions, here, are obvious. Ms Bondi is not alone in having hyped up the Epstein material before quietly seeking to dismiss it. FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Mr Trump's personal lawyer Alina Habba – since appointed to be US Attorney for New Jersey – all fall into the same category. 'It is incredibly disturbing,' Ms Habba told British broadcaster Piers Morgan earlier this year. 'We have flight logs, we have information, names that will come out. 'There were so many individuals that were hidden and kept secret and not been held accountable. I believe in accountability.' No names have come out. The closest thing to a release of actual, new information came in February, when the White House gave binders full of Epstein-related documents to handpicked right-wing influencers. But the binders turned out to contain almost nothing that was not already publicly available. At the time, Ms Bondi described them as 'phase one' of a looming, broader release, with further phases to come. So much for that. The influencers who received the documents, with such glee and fanfare at the White House, are now among those slamming the Trump administration and accusing it of a cover-up. I want to stress, before I quote these people, that they are prone to indulging in what we might charitably call suppositions. But Mr Trump and his White House chose to elevate them as credible figures, and so their words do carry weight. Liz Wheeler, a podcast host, posted today about Mr Trump 'snapping at a reporter' for asking about Epstein. 'Trump is massively misreading his base on this one,' said Ms Wheeler. 'People CARE about Epstein. Not only because of the grisly crimes against children, but because there's evidence of a government cover-up. 'Now government officials are telling us to ignore the evidence in front of our eyes and believe them, without evidence. Nope. Not gonna do it. We voted for radical transparency and JUSTICE. President Trump should not underestimate how much goodwill he's lost among his base due to Pam Bondi's mishandling of the Epstein files. 'People are furious. I would know, I was the collateral damage in Bondi's infernal Epstein binder debacle. She should've been fired on the spot. 'Pam Bondi didn't tell us the truth. She seems more interested in being a Fox News star than keeping promises. Something is fishy about the Epstein stuff. 'Patting us on the head and telling us 'nothing to see here' is infuriating.' 'I understand the rage people have for demanding the Epstein client list and arrests,' said Rogan O'Handley, aka 'DC Draino', another of the handpicked influencers given Epstein files earlier this year. 'Every influencer there that day feels the same anger watching pedo elites get away with the most heinous crimes. 'We want justice, and almost all of us have called for the client list and arrests for years. 'Influencers do not control the Epstein Files. We aren't the federal government. We're regular people who became outspoken activists to help save America, and we were roped into this messaging exercise without any prior planning or co-ordination.' The criticism, among Mr Trump's supporters, runs deeper. 'Good grief,' said radio host Megyn Kelly. 'That was no bueno, guys! That was no bueno, OK?' 'What is she saying?!' she said of Ms Leavitt. 'She's nervous. And the truth is not her friend, for whatever reason.' We could keep going for some time. 'Pam Bondi is just keeping the tens of thousands of child porn videos for herself,' said podcaster Tim Pool. (I am going to jump in here and defend Ms Bondi from that one particular, ridiculous comment. Yes, the Department of Justice is reportedly withholding thousands of videos that show child sex abuse. Of course it is. The Department of Justice is not going to publicly release footage of underage sex crimes, for reasons any halfwit could understand.) 'This two-minute clip makes Trump and his entire administration look so bad I don't even have words for it. Just watch,' said YouTuber Clint Russell. 'Why are you even asking about the thing I campaigned on releasing for months?' asked the right-wing figure Matt Wallace, with no small degree of sarcasm. And so forth. During last year's election campaign, to which Mr Wallace alluded, Mr Trump never explicitly promised that a client list would be made public. But he did hint at it. 'Yeah, it's very interesting, isn't it?' said Mr Trump at one point in 2024, when a podcast host said it was 'very strange' that a list of Epstein's clients had never emerged. 'It probably will be, by the way,' said Mr Trump, referring to such a list's release. 'I'd certainly take a look at it.' Julie K. Brown, an investigative journalist with The Miami Herald, based in Florida, has been among the most dogged experts on the Epstein case for years. Throughout all the politicking, she has sought to stress that while there are still many files from the case that remain hidden from public view, there was never any proof that Epstein kept a 'list' of his clients. 'As I've written too many times to count, there ARE massive amounts of FBI/Department of Justice files that have not been released, or those that are available are so heavily blacked out that they are unreadable,' she said on social media after the memo emerged. 'The FBI and DOJ can release these files (redacting the names of the victims) so that the public knows what the FBI did and didn't do to investigate others involved in Epstein's sex trafficking operation. 'The 'list' is a red herring. But that doesn't mean there aren't names contained in those FBI files. Dozens of women were interviewed after Epstein's arrest in 2019, and a lot's happened over the past eight years since my series exposing the cover-up was published.' Here is a link to Ms Brown's latest breakdown of which Epstein documents are public and which remain obscured. 'Is there a Jeffrey Epstein Client list? Probably not,' she stressed again today. 'But the FBI and DOJ have a lot of files that likely contain names of people suspected of helping Epstein. 'Hint: Google 'FBI Vault' and enter Jeffrey Epstein's name. Look at the files. All blank.'
Sky News AU
13 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘Explosive stuff': James Comey under criminal investigation over Russian collusion hoax
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