Donald Trump scolded a reporter on Tuesday for asking a question about Jeffrey Epstein, amid a backlash by some MAGA world figures dismayed that the administration’s dismissal of conspiracy theories surrounding the late convicted sex offender.
At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, a reporter asked Trump’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi, about a Justice Department and FBI memo that there was “no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.” The memo also said that, after a review, they supported the conclusion that Epstein died by suicide while in incarceration in 2019. The federal authorities also said that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
The reporter noted that the memo “left some lingering mysteries.”
“One of the biggest ones is whether he ever worked for a American or foreign intelligence agency. The former labor secretary who was U.S. attorney [in] Miami, Alex Acosta, he allegedly said that he did work for an intelligence agency. So could you resolve whether or not he did?” The reporter also asked about a jailhouse video that was released of Epstein on the night be died, which has drawn scrutiny because a minute was missing from the footage.
Trump then stepped in. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years. We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things… and are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.”
He then turned to Bondi. “Do you want to waste the time answering?”
“I don’t mind answering.”
Trump added, “I can’t believe you are asking a question about Epstein, at a time when we are having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration.”
Bondi first addressed a comment she made back in February on Fox News, when she was asked about a supposed Epstein client list. “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,” Bondi said then. She also said that the missing minute in the video was actually due to a routine reset that the Bureau of Prisons does of its security footage. “We are looking for that video to release that as well,” she said.
On Tuesday, Bondi said that she meant that she had the Epstein file to review, along with other files having to do with the JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. video. She said that she had “no knowledge” about Epstein being an agent.
The DOJ/FBI memo, though, has been condemned by MAGA figures like Alex Jones and Laura Loomer. Members of the Trump administration, including JD Vance, have in the past amplified theories that Joe Biden’s administration was hiding information related to Epstein. Vance even berated reporters for not asking questions about the case.
Bondi’s comments did not appear to assuage her MAGA critics. Lindell TV posted, “Now many are asking: If Epstein was not an intelligence asset, and there is no client list, what exactly was the DOJ sitting on? And why did so many former officials, including U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, suggest otherwise?”
