Trump-Epstein latest: FBI agents were told to 'flag' any files that mentioned the president, Sen. Durbin says, as an Epstein accuser recalls an encounter with both men
While reviewing files related to the late accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, about 1,000 FBI agents were instructed by Attorney General Pam Bondi to "flag" any records that mentioned President Trump, according to Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In letters sent to Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on Friday, Durbin said that his office had received information that the attorney general 'pressured' the agents to conduct a review of about 100,000 Epstein-related records on 24-hour shifts.
'These personnel were instructed to 'flag' any records in which President Trump was mentioned,' Durbin said. The effort, he added, was 'haphazardly supplemented by hundreds of FBI New York Field Office personnel, many of whom lacked the expertise to identify statutorily protected information regarding child victims and child witnesses.'
Durbin concluded his letters by demanding to know why the agents were told to flag records in which Trump was mentioned and what happened to any such records that were flagged.
He requested that Bondi and the top FBI officials provide any new information and materials related to the matter by Aug. 1.
The fallout over Epstein
The inquiry comes amid an ongoing fallout that has engulfed the Trump administration over its handling of the investigation into Epstein, who died by suicide in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Epstein has long been the focus of unfounded conspiracy theories — fueled by Trump and some of his prominent supporters — which claim the disgraced financier was murdered to conceal the names of powerful people on a secret 'client list.' Trump said he would consider releasing additional government files on Epstein and directed the Justice Department to conduct an exhaustive review of any evidence collected in its investigation.
Earlier this month, the DOJ and FBI released a two-page joint memo, concluding Epstein 'committed suicide in his cell" and had no such 'client list' and that "no further disclosures" were warranted in the case.
The memo enraged Trump supporters, who accused the president and his administration of breaking their promise to release all of the Epstein files, and it put Trump's relationship with Epstein back in the spotlight.
Last week Trump lashed out at his supporters for their focus on what he now describes as the 'Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.'
On Friday, the president sued the Wall Street Journal over a report that he sent Epstein a racy birthday letter. He then directed Bondi to unseal grand jury testimony in Epstein's criminal case.
Epstein accuser says she told FBI about an encounter with Trump
The New York Times reported Sunday that Maria Farmer, a former Epstein employee and accuser, had told the New York Police Department and the FBI about an encounter she said she had with Trump in Epstein's office:
The encounter with Mr. Trump, Ms. Farmer said, occurred in 1995 as she was preparing to work for Mr. Epstein. She said she told the authorities that late one night, Mr. Epstein unexpectedly called her to his offices in a luxury building in Manhattan, and she arrived in running shorts.Mr. Trump then arrived, wearing a business suit, and started to hover over her, she said she told the authorities.Ms. Farmer said she recalled feeling scared as Mr. Trump stared at her bare legs. Then Mr. Epstein entered the room, and she recalled him saying to Mr. Trump: 'No, no. She's not here for you.'
Farmer told the Times that she had no other alarming interactions with Trump and did not see him engage in any inappropriate conduct.
The White House denied the account of the meeting in Epstein's office while pointing to Trump's assertion that he had a falling out with Epstein years before his 2019 arrest and ultimately banned him from Mar-a-Lago.
'The president was never in his office,' White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to the paper. 'The fact is that the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep.'
Pressure from Republicans and Democrats in Congress
Meanwhile, there is increasing bipartisan pressure from Congress for more transparency from the Trump administration on the Epstein matter.
Appearing on ABC's This Week on Sunday, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee called the possible unsealing of grand jury material a 'good start' but made clear he wants the release of as many files as possible.
Burchett is one of at least 10 House Republicans to join an effort launched by Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie and California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to force a symbolic vote on whether the Trump administration should release all of the Epstein files.
Congress does not have the authority to compel the Justice Department to release the files, but any vote would amount to a loyalty test among House Republicans regarding the Epstein case.
Last week, Trump said Republicans "got duped" by Democrats on the Epstein conspiracies.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., scoffed at the idea Democrats were to blame for Trump's Epstein troubles.
'The president blaming Democrats for this disaster is like that CEO that got caught on camera blaming Coldplay,' Klobuchar said on CNN's State of the Union Sunday. 'This is of his own making.'
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1 of 4 | House Democrats have asked the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, pictured in jail before his 2019 death, to produce a book his associate Ghislaine Maxwell compiled for him in 2003 of letters from then-friends, including President Trump, to celebrate his 50th birthday. File Photo by New York State Division of Criminal Justice/EPA-EFE July 26 (UPI) -- House Democrats are demanding the release of a document held by Jeffrey Epstein's that allegedly contains a letter signed by President Donald Trump. The so-called "birthday book" is said to contain information about the convicted sex trafficker's personal relationships and was put together by his convicted former associate Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. Maxwell herself was given a 20-year federal prison sentence in 2021 for helping Epstein procure young women, and spoke Friday with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche about the late financier's criminal activities. "Recent public reporting indicates that the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein is in possession of a document commonly referred to as 'the birthday book,' compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003 in celebration of Mr. Epstein's 50th birthday, which has clear relevance to this case," Rep, Ro Khanna, D-Calif., wrote in a letter addressed to three lawyers at separate New York City law firms. "Public reporting indicates that President Trump submitted a poem and drawing for the 'birthday book,' which contains messages and illustrations from wealthy and powerful friends and associates of Jeffrey Epstein." The letter is co-signed by Khanna, ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. "The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has issued a subpoena to depose Ms. Maxwell, the book's alleged creator, and should be permitted to review its contents," the letter reads. In the opening sentence, lawmakers accuse Trump of continuing "desperate attempts to quell public interest in the release of files related to his longtime friend, convicted sex offender and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein." Maxwell, who on Friday answered questions "honestly, truthfully" over several hours according to her lawyer, is set to appear in front of the House Oversight Committee on August 11. The 63-year-old was given partial immunity during the meeting where she was "asked about every single, every possible thing you could imagine. Everything," her lawyer David Oscar Markus later told reporters. Maxwell's appearance Friday is unrelated to the subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee, which is conducting its own investigation. The letter penned by Khanna and Garcia asks for the book to be released by August 10 so members can review its contents prior to Maxwell's scheduled deposition. "The book is relevant for ongoing congressional oversight of the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein investigation and prosecution, as well as the Trump Administration's decision to declassify and release only a handful of documents from its Epstein files while withholding others from the public," the letter reads. "Information gathered from this document may also inform the development of legislative reforms addressing sex trafficking networks, financial regulation, or other critical matters of public policy." Epstein died in 2019 while in custody in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. His death was ruled a suicide ahead of his scheduled trial on federal charges related to sex trafficking.
