The Epstein files: What's Trump's best move?

Washington Post

14-07-2025

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'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?'' a frustrated President Donald Trump groused on Truth Social over the weekend. The cause of his frustration: A revolt among typically allied commentators over his administration's handling of the case around billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who died in federal prison in 2019 awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
For years, MAGA circles had hyped the existence of a client list that would implicate a web of Epstein's powerful friends, while also calling into question whether Epstein's death had been a suicide. Instead, the FBI and Justice Department announced that no such list existed and that Epstein had indeed killed himself.
Now, top members of Trump's administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, are being berated in right-leaning media circles for either not releasing more information or overhyping what had existed. How does the president get out of this mess? I discussed the question with my colleagues James Hohmann and Megan McArdle.
— Philip Bump, columnist
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Philip Bump Which do you think is true: That there were never any secret files about the disgraced financier in the first place or that the administration is now trying to keep them under wraps? Or neither?
James Hohmann Whatever or whoever is actually in the files aside, there's a pending cert petition in front of the Supreme Court on this case. No responsible U.S. attorney would release info that could upend Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction. Trump's team painted themselves into this corner though, so I don't exactly feel sympathy for the dog that caught the car. I hope the files get released — whatever exists.
Philip Right — but the administration didn't say 'we can't release the files because of SCOTUS.'
Megan McArdle I suspect that the files got to Bondi's desk and turned out to be … well, boring is not the right word. But not the exciting conspiracy she had imagined. There's a sort of a Catch-22 here: Releasing files that do not validate the conspiracy would simply convince people they were in on the conspiracy.
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Philip So why was it that this issue caused so much frustration within Trump's base? Why not any of the other issues where Trump's promises didn't match his actions?
James It's hard to overstate how big a deal this was in MAGA world. It's such an unforced error that they handed out the binders and Bondi teased more to come. There's a lot of the agitation to oust Bondi, who MAGA alleges is motivated by other agendas.
Megan I think because it plays so deeply into what the base feels: that the powerful collude to exclude and gaslight them.
Philip I think that's right — my column Monday looked at how Trump suddenly finds himself inescapably stuck on the 'powerful' side. Now, onto the supporting cast: What do you all think is the over/under on Bondi, Patel and Bongino staying with the administration for another year?
Megan Under for two out of three, but I'm not sure which two out of three.
James Trump literally stood by Bondi at the FIFA game in New Jersey on Sunday. She's doing everything to preserve her job, including a fresh purge of career employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases. And Trump expended too much political capital to get Patel confirmed to ditch him in less than a year. Bongino has a job that's not Senate confirmable — easier to see him going.
Megan Fair points, James. I just think any job in a Trump administration is highly contingent on his changing whims.
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Philip So what's Trump's play here?
James I've heard that Trump, separate from Epstein, has been frustrated that Bondi hasn't been more aggressive in pursuing Trump's enemies. Obviously, that will feel wild to people who know Bondi has done quite a lot in that vein. Perhaps this prompts the attorney general to do more on the retribution front. I bet Patel and Bongino try to take on a lower profile coming out of this, at least for a little while.
Megan I also think that's the play, but I'm not sure the audience will let this go. The Epstein conspiracy has a lot of legs in part because it does look pretty conspiratorial. A wealthy man whose funds are somewhat mysterious in origin, a secret island, a mysterious suicide — and now Wired has reported that the 'raw' surveillance footage of his cell appears to have been edited. ('Their foot slipped,' perhaps?)
Philip Releasing the video without explaining the missing minute on the front end was a pretty astonishing own-goal. So, if you're top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, what do you do?
James Jeffries (New York) will play the role an opposition party is supposed to play in our system. Democrats such as Rep. Jamie Raskin (Maryland) are already turning GOP talking points from the past few years against them. A lot of prominent conservatives have commented on social media that all the truth should come out; Democrats are gleefully recirculating them. And it shouldn't be partisan: Both parties should want to expose anyone affiliated with Epstein's horrific crimes.
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Philip Now it's time to play our favorite Trump Era game: Does This Matter™?
James Doubtful. Charlie Kirk quickly fell in line after the president called him, following comments he made at a Turning Point event about Bondi. And, to Megan's point, any job in Trumpworld is contingent. Alex Acosta lost his job as labor secretary in 2019 amid furor over Epstein.
Philip Although, in 2019, Trump was also thinking about an upcoming election. And for at least some of 2019, Epstein was still alive!
Megan In the short term, no, it doesn't matter. But I wonder whether this isn't a bit like vaccine skepticism. Trump thought he was steering the wave of resistance to covid lockdowns. But when he tried to convince MAGA to take the vaccine that was the single best achievement of his presidency, it turned out he was only surfing the wave, not controlling it. Over time, that resistance to vaccines mattered more and more — which is why we now have an anti-vaccine quack running the Department of Health and Human Services.
James It's naive, but the Trumpworld people who claimed they had a 'list' that never existed really should own up to that. But doing so risks prolonging the story for them another few cycles.
Philip Well, we'll get the truth once Bongino returns to his podcast and resumes tellin' it like it is.