
Trump-whisperer Laura Loomer sharpens her knives for Pam Bondi
Loomer called on FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino to ask for Bondi's public resignation Friday morning, writing on social media that Patel and Bongino had clashed with Bondi over the investigation.
Loomer also claimed that Bongino had taken the day off from work 'to evaluate whether or not he wants to continue his position,' which POLITICO has not independently confirmed. Axios later reported that Bongino did not attend work on Friday after butting heads with Bondi earlier this week.
'Pam Blondi is very damaging to President Trump's image. She drags the administration down and the base doesn't want her as AG,' Loomer wrote in a post on X. 'She is harming Trump's administration and she's embarrassing all of his staff and advisors by creating a PR crisis for them. It's incredibly unfair to President Trump and his team.'
In a statement, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields disavowed reports of infighting surrounding the investigation within the administration.
'President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims," Fields said. "This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.'
The Trump administration announced Monday night that a DOJ and FBI review found no evidence that Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 in a New York jail cell, kept an incriminating 'client list' long sought after by conspiracy theorists.
Loomer's pressure campaign is the latest development in an episode of Republican infighting about the investigation, with MAGA supporters fuming at Bondi's Justice Department for not releasing more information about its findings.
Loomer, who has sought an official role in the administration, has long had the president's ear, repeatedly targeting those whom she views as disloyal to the president.
In April, Loomer took credit for Trump's firing of several National Security Council officials and criticized Trump's pick to be the Pentagon's top lawyer, accusing him of seeking to undermine Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
She has met with senior administration officials — including Vice President JD Vance — and continues to have sway over the president's online base.
Even so, Trump has at times attempted to distance himself from Loomer, who has a history of promoting far-right conspiracy theories and has described herself as a 'proud Islamophobe,' with some Republicans warning that Trump's ties to the far-right activist could cost him votes in the 2024 election.
In a Friday morning social media post, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote that he worked closely with Patel and Bongino on the memo and that all three officials signed off on the memo's contents and conclusions.
'The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo's composition and release is patently false,' Blanche wrote.
The DOJ referred to Blanche's statement, and the FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Why It Matters Trump has experienced a widespread backlash, including from parts of his MAGA base, since a memo by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI in July stated there was no evidence of a blackmail plot by Jeffrey Epstein and there would be no new charges against the financier's associates. Some commentators have suggested they were led to believe there would be major new revelations following public statements from Trump administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi. U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media at Trump Turnberry golf club in Scotland on July 28, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media at Trump Turnberry golf club in Scotland on July 28, to Know Mark Epstein told BBC Newsnight: "In the 2016 election, we were talking about the election and Jeffrey told me that if he said what he knew about the candidates, they would have to cancel the election." Trump and Hillary Clinton were the candidates for the Republicans and the Democrats, respectively, in 2016. Trump and Hillary Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, have always denied knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's criminal sexual abuse of minors. Newsweek is unable to verify Mark Epstein's claims. Mark Epstein gave an interview to the BBC's Newsnight in the U.K. on Friday, July 25, in which he argued the New York financier did not commit suicide in his jail cell in 2019, contrary to the official decision by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson. He was then asked whether he thought Jeffrey Epstein "knew things about powerful people," by interviewer Matt Chorley. "Absolutely," he replied, "I believe so, yes. Jeffrey mentioned he had dirt on people. He didn't tell me what he knew. But he led me to believe that he had dirt on people. 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