White House Nixes Calls for Epstein Special Prosecutor
Speaking from the briefing room, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt faced a number of questions from reporters about the Administration's decision to not release any more files from the case, which has alienated many of Trump's most ardent supporters. Leavitt said that the White House had no authority over the release of sealed documents and deflected blame toward the Justice Department and the courts.
'In terms of redactions or grand jury seals, those are questions for the Department of Justice, those are also questions for the judges who have that information under a seal,' she said. 'That's out of the President's control.'
The comments came amid a wave of backlash triggered by the Department of Justice's memo earlier this month declaring there is no 'client list' tied to Epstein, the deceased financier and convicted sex offender, and that no further criminal charges or disclosures would be coming. Many in Trump's base began accusing him of falling short of what they expected him to do with the Epstein case, partly because of years of rhetoric from his allies—including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel—that a trove of damning information would be revealed if Trump returned to power.
Leavitt insisted that the President supports transparency 'if the attorney general and the Department of Justice comes across any other credible evidence.' But she also made clear Trump is not entertaining calls—some coming from MAGA-aligned lawmakers like Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene—for a special prosecutor to investigate further.
'The President would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That's how he feels,' she said.
Leavitt defended Trump's handling of the case, praising what she called an 'exhaustive review' conducted by Bondi, Patel, and Patel's deputy Dan Bongino—three Trump loyalists installed during his second term. 'They've spent many months going through all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein,' Leavitt said, adding, 'the President has been transparent. He has followed through on his promises to the American people, but he doesn't like to see Democrats in the mainstream media covering this like it's the biggest story.'
That message has not quelled the unrest within Trump's base. High-profile voices from the MAGA world, including retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk, and conservative commentator Benny Johnson, have openly criticized Trump's rhetoric and the Administration's sudden shift in tone on the release of documents related to Epstein.
On Wednesday, Trump lashed out at his critics from the right, calling them 'stupid' and 'foolish' for falling for what he labeled the 'Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.'
'My PAST supporters have bought into this 'bulls—,' hook, line, and sinker,' he wrote on Truth Social, arguing that Democrats had 'conned' them.
Leavitt, asked to clarify Trump's choice of words, insisted he was not dismissing Epstein's alleged crimes, but rather criticizing Democrats, and alluding to the Biden Administration not drawing similar pushback for not releasing more information on the case. 'The fact that Democrats have now seized on this, as if they ever wanted transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein,' she said, 'they didn't do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes.'
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Check out more newsletters The upstate city is part of the economically struggling Southern Tier that borders Pennsylvania and higher taxes that Mamdani is proposing for the Big Apple are out of sync with the region, the GOP leader said. Federman said he even has liberal friends in Williamsburg, Brooklyn who are terrified of a Mamdani mayoralty. 'Proposals to raise corporate taxes and taxes on the rich are not popular in Williamsburg and not popular in the Southern Tier,' he said. 3 The Post's coverage of Mamdani's meeting with city business leaders. State Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs said the GOP scare tactics of trying to make Mamdani the bogeyman won't work, especially when they have to defend President Trump's hardline policies. 'Typical Republican distraction. 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