Trump
Administration Acknowledges Lack of Evidence From Epstein Documents
After
Attorney General Pam Bondi promised big revelations for months, the Justice
Department noted a lack of evidence for conspiracy theories, including a
“client list” and a jailhouse murder.
Devlin
Barrett Matthew
Goldstein
By Devlin
Barrett and Matthew Goldstein
Devlin
Barrett reported from Washington, and Matthew Goldstein from New York.
July 7,
2025
For
months, Attorney General Pam Bondi promised the release of documents on the
disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that could reveal damaging details,
drumming up anticipation over the files, long a source of speculation and
conspiracy theories.
But on
Monday, a memo by the Justice Department undercut her own statements, pouring
cold water on baseless claims. It amounted to a catalog of conclusions that
affirmed those reached years earlier by investigators, including that Mr.
Epstein killed himself while in a Manhattan cell awaiting trial.
“This
systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list,’” the memo said.
“There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent
individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could
predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”
“No
further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted,” the memo continued,
adding that the work of the Justice Department and the F.B.I. on the records
had been thorough.
In the
six years since his death in 2019, the case of Mr. Epstein has become a public
obsession for a segment of Trump supporters, some of whom have accused two of
his most senior advisers, Ms. Bondi and the F.B.I. director Kash Patel, of
slow-walking the review and release of the case file.
A release
of related documents in February, which Ms. Bondi had similarly hyped, fell
flat, drawing widespread derision as much of the information was already in the
public domain.
While
many had been awaiting what Ms. Bondi declared would be “Phase 2” of the
release of the so-called Epstein files, the new memo sought to end any such
expectations. It included an hourslong video, whose existence was previously
disclosed, of the hallway outside Mr. Epstein’s jail cell.
The video
released by Ms. Bondi and Mr. Patel, however, appears to be missing a minute
just before midnight. The digital clock on the screen jumps from 11:58:58 p.m.
to 12:00 a.m. Officials did not immediately have an explanation for the
apparent gap.
The memo
goes on to chide those who have pushed their own theories of what crimes may
have gone unpunished related to Mr. Epstein, who was accused of paying girls
for sex acts, often under the guise of “massages.”
“One of
our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to
victims,” the memo said. “Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves
neither of those ends.”
Yet in
February, asked on Fox News about the so-called client list, Ms. Bondi replied,
“It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.”
Asked
about the seeming contradiction at a news conference on Monday, the White House
spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, said that Ms. Bondi was referring to the
entirety of the Epstein case file. “The Trump administration is committed to
truth and transparency,” she said.
Even
before its official release, the Trump administration faced criticism for its
handling of the issue, with the billionaire Elon Musk posting disapprovingly on
social media on Monday that “no one” had been arrested in the Epstein case. (In
fact, Mr. Epstein himself was arrested, and his longtime assistant was charged,
tried and sent to prison for her role in his abuse of minors.)
Last
month, as Mr. Musk engaged in a vicious public feud with the president, the
world’s richest man suggested Mr. Trump had something to lose in the release of
the records.
“Time to
drop the really big bomb,” Mr. Musk wrote on social media. Mr. Trump, he said,
“is in the Epstein files. That is why they have not been made public.” Mr. Musk
did not offer any evidence, but soon added, “The truth will come out.”
He later
deleted the post.
The
decision to end releases of information by Ms. Bondi drew criticism from
Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, whose staff has been investigating more
than $158 million in payments the billionaire investor Leon Black made to Mr.
Epstein for tax and estate planning services. The lawmaker has repeatedly
pressed Ms. Bondi and others in the Trump administration for information about
Mr. Black and other “high-profile individuals” and financial institutions who
either paid fees to Mr. Epstein or managed his money.
“My
committee investigators have seen substantial evidence in the possession of the
Trump administration pertaining to prominent Wall Street figures financing
Epstein’s operations,” Mr. Wyden said in a statement. “The best-case
explanation for the Trump administration on their mishandling of the Epstein
case is rank incompetence, but the much likelier explanation is that Trump and
wealthy people around him have things to hide.”
Mr. Black
has long maintained he did nothing wrong in paying Mr. Epstein for tax and
estate advice and was unaware of Mr. Epstein’s conduct.
Simply
being mentioned in the investigative files related to Mr. Epstein does not
necessarily mean much. Criminal case files are frequently full of victim
identities, as well as the names of witnesses and other innocent people who
came into contact with suspects or evidence in a case.
Mr. Trump
and Mr. Epstein had crossed paths over the years, both fixtures of wealthy
social circles in New York and Florida. In a 2002 interview with New York
magazine, Mr. Trump said he had known Mr. Epstein for 15 years, calling him a
“terrific guy” who was “a lot of fun to be with.”
In that
same interview, Mr. Trump added, “it is even said that he likes beautiful women
as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Devlin
Barrett covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The Times.
Matthew
Goldstein is a Times reporter who covers Wall Street and white-collar crime and
housing issues.
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