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The revelation this week from The Wall Street Journal about Donald Trump and the so-called Epstein files was shocking — and, for those following the administration closely in recent weeks, not shocking at all.
According to the Journal, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Trump during a White House meeting in May that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files. The fallout continues as we speak, with the White House and Republicans in Congress facing that age-old Washington question: What did they know, and when did they know it?
That question is likely to continue to dog the administration and its allies as more information emerges, and their statements in recent weeks and months are likely to attract more scrutiny amid growing questions about whether the administration deliberately attempted to mislead the American public and downplay information in the Justice Department’s possession about Trump’s relationship with and connections to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
We have gathered below some of the most significant statements that Trump and his senior officials have made on the topic, focusing in particular on what they have said since Trump returned to office.
Several key themes emerge. Head straight to the timeline here.
For starters, there is a conspicuous rhetorical shift that occurs after May, when Bondi and Blanche reportedly briefed Trump. The administration’s statements became more terse, and Trump in particular began pointing the finger at people — the Democratic Party and the mainstream media — that had little to nothing to do with the Epstein frenzy.
Even before May, Trump himself tended to add qualifiers to his statements that he does not typically use when he talks about investigations — like the probe intothe origins of the Trump-Russia investigation by special counsel John Durham — that are of interest to him.
In an interview with Fox News last June during the heat of the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said that he would release more information if reelected but hastened to add that he was concerned about the impact of revealing more material on third parties and the possibility that there might be “phony stuff” in the government’s investigative files. More recently, Trump has said that he supports the release of “credible” information and “pertinent” grand jury testimony while accusing the media of focusing on old news.
These are concerns that Trump does not typically invoke in other settings. Taken together, Trump’s comments suggest the possibility that he suspected that there may be politically damaging information about him in the files and wanted to preemptively discredit revelations about him. Following the reported briefing in May, Trump appears to have sought to narrow the government’s public disclosures to avoid releasing information. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing linked to Epstein.
White House communications director Steven Cheung pushed back on this column, saying that it’s “nothing more than out-of-context frame grabs of innocuous videos and pictures of widely attended events to disgustingly infer something nefarious.”
“The fact is that The President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media,” he said.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment but a Justice Department spokesperson previously called the Journal’s story “a collection of falsehoods and innuendo.”
Moreover, since Trump’s inauguration, Trump and his senior officials have provided increasingly terse comments, shifting goalposts, changes in public expectation-setting and at times non sequiturs. There has been a conspicuous move-along, nothing-to-see-here approach to the subject that now appears more deliberate.
Bondi, for instance, said in early May that there are “tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn,” but no credible media outlet or political figure has ever suggested that any such material should be released. The question for people focused on this issue has been — has always been — what is in the government’s other investigative material, including witness statements, written correspondence, financial records and flight logs, among other things.
Over the last week, the Trump administration’s public-facing efforts to gather and provide more information have also been curious on their face. The administration has moved to unseal grand jury testimony and is seeking information from Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking and other crimes and is now serving a federal 20-year prison sentence.
These efforts have one conspicuous thing in common: The results are out of the government’s control. A Florida judge this week denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal the grand jury testimony, and Maxwell is unlikely to generate credible information that the government can act upon given her serious credibility problems, as well as her motive to lie or otherwise shade information to curry favor with the Trump administration in the hopes of a pardon or commutation of her sentence.
In fact, there is no need for the government to do either of these things to satisfy those clamoring for more information. The vast majority of information in the government’s possession is not grand jury testimony, and it is not with Maxwell. On their face, these appear to be efforts to satisfy the public — to look like they are doing something — without generating a meaningful volume of new or credible information, and without providing some portion of the large volume of material in the government’s possession that, as a legal matter, they do not need anyone’s permission to release.
Jan. 30
Kash Patel vows to expose Epstein connections
During his Senate confirmation hearing to be FBI director, Kash Patel responded to Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s question on investigating “who worked with Jeffrey Epstein in building these sex trafficking rings” by saying, “I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened in the past and how we are going to countermand missing children and exploited children going forward.”
Patel’s commitment followed a lengthy history of his own stoking interest in conspiracy theories surrounding the Epstein investigation and Epstein’s death.
Feb. 21
Pam Bondi says client list is “sitting on my desk”
Asked on Fox News if the DOJ would publish Epstein’s client list, Pam Bondi replied: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump.” Bondi and the White House have since said that the attorney general was referring to the entire tranche of documents related to the Epstein prosecution, rather than a “client list.”
Bondi’s comments to Fox continue to dog her. The DOJ and FBI have since said that there is no “client list,” but that does not address the possibility that there is information in the government’s possession linking prominent individuals like Trump to Epstein in unsavory or embarrassing ways.
Feb. 27
Bondi hands out “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” binders
At a White House event for MAGA influencers, Bondi distributed declassified binders containing documents related to the Epstein case. However, little of the contents provided new information.
Bondi’s theatrical display appears to have backfired spectacularly. Conservative influencers expressed frustration with the limited release of new information. And despite the “Phase 1” label on the binders, there have been no subsequent phases of disclosures.
Unspecified day in May
Bondi reportedly tells Trump his name appears in the Epstein files
The Wall Street Journal reports that some time in May, Bondi told Trump at a briefing that his name appears multiple times in Epstein files, including in potential instances of hearsay about Trump, who had previously socialized with Epstein.
The precise date of this reported meeting has yet to be identified, but it may have triggered a critical inflection point in the administration’s handling of the issue and its public statements on the subject.
May 7
Bondi references “tens of thousands of videos”
Bondi told reporters at the White House, “There are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn and there are hundreds of victims.”
Bondi’s comment is of course disturbing. But no credible figure has ever suggested that material like this should be publicly released.
July 7
DOJ memo: There was no “client list,” and Epstein’s death was a suicide
The DOJ released a memo stating there was no “client list,” and no evidence of foul play in Epstein’s death.
The administration seemed to want to put the issue to bed quietly with this relatively terse and unsigned joint DOJ-FBI memo. “Case closed” was the notion. But it quickly fueled an outcry among Trump supporters who had long believed that Epstein was murdered and that he kept a list of pedophile clients.
July 8
Trump calls Epstein questions a “desecration”
Pressed by reporters about Epstein, Trump lashed out, calling media focus a “desecration” in light of the Texas flooding. "Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years," Trump said. "Are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable.”
Trump’s apparent frustration with the continued focus on Epstein was out of character. Trump is well known to fixate on things in the past when they interest him. (He is still talking about the Trump-Russia investigation from his first term.) On top of that, public interest in Epstein has been driven largely by the political right, including Trump himself and his top law enforcement officials.
July 12
Patel defends DOJ memo, calls conspiracies false
Kash Patel posted on X: “The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been,” and pledged to serve “as long as [Trump] calls on me.”
As the backlash against the administration grew, rumors spread that resignations might be coming from Patel and FBI deputy director Dan Bongino — who also previously fueled Epstein conspiracy theories. Both men stayed put, for now. Patel’s brief and incurious public statement was at odds with his lengthy history of publicly stoking interest in Epstein and advancing the very conspiracy theories that he is now attempting to debunk.
July 13
Trump defends Bondi as “fantastic”
On Truth Social, Trump wrote: “They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!" He added, “We're on one Team, MAGA.”
Trump appeared to be circling the wagons amid growing criticism of Bondi’s handling of the situation.
July 15
Trump downplays Epstein case as "boring"
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he didn’t understand the obsession with Epstein, calling it “pretty boring stuff” and accusing the media of pushing it.
Someone apparently forgot to tell the 2024 version of Trump, as well as Vice President JD Vance, Patel and Bondi that this was all “pretty boring stuff” that they had been talking about for years.
July 15
Trump claims Bondi never told him about his name appearing in the files
A reporter asks Trump about Bondi’s Epstein review: “Specifically, did she tell you at all that your name appeared in the files?” Trump’s answer: “No, no, she’s — she's given us just a very quick briefing.”
As we now know, the Wall Street Journal reports otherwise.
July 16
Trump calls Epstein case a hoax invented by “Radical Left Democrats”
Trump took to Truth Social, assailing the controversy around the White House investigation into Epstein and renouncing his supporters who bought into this “bullshit,” hook, line and sinker.
The notion that this was a “hoax” concocted by Democrats is diametrically opposed to the reality of the situation. If it was a “hoax,” then it was a hoax that Trump and his allies helped to perpetrate against the American public.
July 17
Karoline Leavitt: No special prosecutor for Epstein
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump “would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case.”
Some Trump allies like Steve Bannon had called for a special prosecutor, but that was almost certainly never in the cards, for both legal and political reasons.
July 17
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump allegedly wrote Epstein a racy letter to mark the disgraced financier’s 50th birthday in 2003
The Journal reported that Trump had signed a letter that featured cryptic lines and was framed by the drawing of a naked woman: “May every day be another beautiful secret.” The president called the letter fake; POLITICO has not independently verified it.
Could this be among the files that were recently reviewed by the DOJ and FBI?
July 17
Trump asks Bondi to unseal grand jury transcripts
Trump publicly urged Bondi to petition the courts to release grand jury testimony. Bondi responded: “We’re ready to move the court tomorrow.”
One Florida judge has already rejected an attempt to unseal grand jury transcripts, but other judges could rule differently. Even if the DOJ is successful, the grand jury testimony is highly unlikely to provide the sort of detailed and materially new information about third parties that is of interest to those who have for years been clamoring for more information.
July 18
Trump sues the Wall Street Journal over its report
Trump sued the Rupert Murdoch-owned publication, seeking at least $20 billion in damages. “This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media,” he wrote on Truth Social.
It remains to be seen how the case will shake out. On its face, Trump’s complaint against the paper appears to be relatively weak, and when courts rule on the merits of Trump’s media lawsuits — as opposed to the parties settling — Trump typically loses. On top of that, Trump has been known to withdraw his own lawsuits when he faces the possibility of embarrassing discovery. If Trump is deposed, the Journal’s lawyers are likely to ask him extensive questions about the letter in question and more broadly about his years-long personal relationship with Epstein.
July 22
Trump urges DOJ to “go after” Obama
With no sign of the political firestorm ending, Trump urges his Justice Department to pursue former President Barack Obama for an alleged, and baseless, scheme to rig the 2016 election. Of the Epstein drama swirling around his presidency, he claimed, “I don’t follow it too much.”
When all else fails, Trump has some tried and true tactics. They include going after Obama and complaining about the 2016 election. Thus far at least, these efforts have fallen flat and have not staunched public interest in Trump’s relationship with Epstein.
Seb Starcevic and Gregory Svirnovskiy contributed to this report.
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