Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly informed President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared in the files related to Jeffrey Epstein, as part of an ongoing review of documents connected to the case. The information was shared during a routine briefing, which included discussions of other high-profile individuals also mentioned in the files, according to reports from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche clarified in a joint statement that nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution. It is known that Trump’s name was previously associated with Epstein, as it appeared in publicly available documents. However, the presence of a name in such files does not imply any wrongdoing. Trump and Epstein had socialized in the early 2000s, but Trump reportedly banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago in 2007 after an incident involving a club member's daughter. Trump has since distanced himself from Epstein, stating in 2020 that he had not spoken to Epstein in 15 years and was “not a fan.”
Epstein, who was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges at the time of his death in 2019, was accused of abusing numerous underage girls and facilitating their exploitation. During the briefing, Trump indicated he would leave it to the Justice Department to decide whether to release any additional Epstein-related files, which Bondi noted contained sensitive information.
White House spokesperson Steven Cheung dismissed the reports as “fake news,” asserting that they were part of a broader narrative pushed by opponents of Trump. The decision not to disclose further files has drawn criticism from some segments of Trump’s support base. Meanwhile, Blanche announced plans to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former associate, to gather any relevant information regarding criminal activity.