Pam Bondi reportedly told Donald Trump in May that he's named in Epstein files
A White House official did not dispute Trump's name is mentioned in the Epstein files, telling USA TODAY that briefing binders Bondi prepared for MAGA influencers in February included the president's name. But the official rejected any suggestion that Trump engaged in wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
Bondi told the president that he and many other figures were named in the documents, according to the reports from the Journal and CNN. The Journal cited "senior administration officials," while CNN cited "sources familiar with the discussion."
Being named in such documents doesn't mean the person broke the law.
'The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep," said White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, referring to Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
"This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about," Cheung said.
The reports offer potential additional context for the Justice Department's decision not to make the Epstein files public. In a memo released July 7, the department said a review of the documents failed to turn up any incriminating list of clients who may have been involved with Epstein in a sex-trafficking ring.
The same review found no evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent people, or that he was murdered while in custody, according to the memo. New York's chief medical examiner ruled in 2019 that Epstein died by suicide, but Trump himself has previously expressed suspicion about that conclusion.
"Certainly about the way he (Epstein) died, it would be interesting to find out what happened there because that was a weird situation and the cameras didn't happen to be working, etcetera, etcetera," Trump said on Fox & Friends Weekend on June 3, 2024.
Trump faces backlash over Epstein files decision
The revelations come as the Trump administration has faced an intense backlash over the Justice Department's decision not to disclose the Epstein files. Earlier this year, Bondi made public statements that built up intrigue about the Epstein files.
"It's a new day, it's a new administration, and everything's going to come out to the public," Bondi told Fox News host Sean Hannity in a March interview.
Amid the scrutiny, Trump has tried to shift attention to other red-meat topics that resonate with his MAGA base, including unsubstantiated allegations that former President Barack Obama committed 'treason' during the 2016 election when intelligence agencies found Russia was attempting to influence the election in Trump's favor. 'It's time to go after people,' Trump said on July 22.
Trump on July 15 alleged that his political enemies 'made up' the Epstein files when a reporter asked whether Bondi told the president that his name is in the files.
"No no," Trump said. "She's given us just a very quick briefing. And in terms of the credibility of the different things that they've seen, I would say that these files were made up by Comey, Obama, they were made up by the Biden ‒ and we went through years of that with the 'Russia, Russia, Russia' hoax."
Trump has said Bondi should release all 'credible' information from the Epstein files.
Last week, Trump said he directed Bondi to ask a federal court to produce 'all pertinent Grand Jury testimony' from federal cases brought against Epstein and his associate, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. A federal judge in Florida rejected one of the administration's requests July 23. Two other requests are still pending in a Manhattan federal court.
The Epstein files contain large volumes of images of Epstein and victims who were minors or appeared to be minors, the Justice Department and FBI said, as well as more than 10,000 videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography. The agencies' July 7 memo said federal authorities found "no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials and will not permit the release of child pornography."
The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story has been updated with additional information.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump told by Bondi that he's named in Epstein files: reports
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