Trump-Epstein latest: FBI agents were told to ‘flag' any files that mentioned the president, Sen. Durbin says, as an Epstein accuser recounts 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,' 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 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 '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 as many files as possible released.
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 on 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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