{"id":17957,"date":"2026-04-02T07:34:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T14:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=17957"},"modified":"2026-04-03T07:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T14:49:14","slug":"a-look-at-how-the-epstein-files-dogged-pam-bondis-time-as-attorney-general-associated-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=17957","title":{"rendered":"“A look at how the Epstein files dogged Pam Bondi\u2019s time as attorney general”, Associated Press"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Back to News<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Attorney
Attorney General Pam Bondi listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BY  JENNIFER PELTZ<\/a>Updated 9:02 PM PDT, April 2, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 After Pam Bondi became U.S. attorney general<\/a> last year, conservative influencers, online sleuths and others who wanted the government to disclose all it knew about Jeffrey Epstein thought they might have a champion in the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So did Jess Michaels, one of the legions of women who have said they were sexually assaulted by the late financier and convicted sex offender with a roster of powerful friends in business, politics and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018Well, maybe a woman stepping into this role will finally, finally get the truth,\u2019\u201d Michaels recalled Thursday, after President Donald Trump announced Bondi was out<\/a> of the nation\u2019s top law enforcement job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe had this opportunity to be a hero and to really do right by survivors of sexual violence and trafficking,\u201d Michaels said, \u201cand she chose not to.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The furor over the \u201cEpstein files,\u201d as the trove of investigative records came to be known, wasn\u2019t the only controversy of Bondi\u2019s tenure. But the arc \u2014 first raising expectations for a big reveal, then declaring there was nothing to see, and ultimately a forced, flawed document dump \u2014 was a stubbornly problematic storyline that ran through her time as attorney general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bondi rejected criticism of her handling of the matter, and Trump on Thursday praised her as \u201ca Great American Patriot and a loyal friend.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE COVERAGE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What to know about the Justice Department\u2019s Epstein files<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>A timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>House Democrats release photos of Trump, Clinton and Andrew from Epstein\u2019s estate<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michaels and other Epstein victims watched it all with shaken trust that Bondi\u2019s departure alone won\u2019t likely rebuild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not about a single person,\u201d accuser Annie Farmer said Thursday. \u201cIt is about a government and judicial system that has repeatedly failed Epstein survivors.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a glance at Bondi\u2019s part in the Epstein saga:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 2025: The binders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Freshly confirmed as attorney general for a president who had suggested on the campaign trail that he\u2019d open more government documents on Epstein, Bondi whetted appetites by declaring on Fox News that \u201cyou\u2019re going to see some Epstein information released.\u201d And when a host asked about \u201creleasing \u201cthe list of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s clients\u201d \u2014 a long-rumored, never-seen sex trafficking roster \u2014 she replied that it was \u201csitting on my desk right now.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day later, conservative commentators and content creators were brought to the White House to get DOJ binders<\/a> emblazoned with \u201cThe Epstein Files: Phase 1\u201d and \u201cDeclassified.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attempt to showcase transparency soon backfired, once it emerged that the contents largely were already public. Bondi demanded that the FBI give her \u201cthe full and complete Epstein files,\u201d and she later said that she\u2019d unearthed a \u201ctruckload\u201d of previously withheld material and that \u201ceverything is going to come out to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 2025: The walkback<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After months of anticipation, the Justice Department said it wouldn\u2019t release any more Epstein material<\/a>. A court had sealed much of it to protect victims, and \u201conly a fraction\u201d would have come out if Epstein had gone to trial, the agency said in an unsigned memo. It added that authorities hadn\u2019t found evidence that merited new charges or investigations and that \u201cperpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein\u201d wouldn\u2019t help victims get justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, it said, there was no \u201cclient list.\u201d As for Bondi\u2019s prior comment that it was on her desk, officials said she had meant the overall case file. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservative influencers, among others, blasted the turnabout and questioned Bondi\u2019s capability. But Trump stood by her, scolding a journalist for attempting to ask her a question about Epstein at a White House Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump had himself raised questions for some years<\/a> after Epstein\u2019s 2019 death in jail<\/a> as the financier faced federal sex trafficking charges<\/a>. After the Justice Department memo, however, the president suggested there was nothing more to say<\/a> about Epstein and the country, including his own supporters<\/a>, should simply move on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

November 2025: The legislation <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Amid a drumbeat of disclosures<\/a> that begin to exact consequences for some powerful people \u2014 particularly Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a>, Britain\u2019s former Prince Andrew \u2014 Congress passed legislation<\/a> to force the Justice Department to disclose its investigative files on Epstein. Trump signed it into law, casting the quest for Epstein information as a Democratic-led distraction from the Republican agenda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, at his urging, Bondi announced that the U.S. attorney in Manhattan would investigate Epstein\u2019s ties<\/a> to some of the Republican president\u2019s political foes, including Democratic former President Bill Clinton. None has been accused of misconduct by Epstein\u2019s accusers; nor has Trump, another former Epstein friend. Both Clinton and Trump have said they knew nothing about Epstein\u2019s misconduct and cut ties with him many years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 2025: The first batch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the statutory deadline for making the Epstein files public, the Justice Department released only some of them<\/a>. While the records included some material the public hadn\u2019t previously seen, including some candid photos of Clinton, the documents didn\u2019t break major ground and included little about Trump. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department said it was continuing to review other Epstein records to make sure that victims were protected<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Democrats cried cover-up<\/a>, bill sponsor Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., accused the Justice Department of breaking the law by missing the deadline and redacting too much, and some Epstein accusers also questioned the extensive redactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

January 2026: The big release<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Justice Department began releasing a huge cache of additional Epstein documents, videos and photos, though others remained under wraps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The records pulled back a curtain on favor-trading and frank communications<\/a> in a chummy elite that looked past Epstein\u2019s 2008 guilty plea to solicitating prostitution from an underage girl in Florida. Some high-flying Epstein friends resigned or lost jobs in corporate America<\/a>, academia<\/a>, big law firms<\/a>, the British<\/a>, Slovakian<\/a> and Norwegian<\/a> governments and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the documents disclosed highly personal information<\/a> about some victims while redacting<\/a> the names of Epstein correspondents in, for example, emails that appeared to refer to the sexual abuse of underage girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gloria Allred, an attorney for numerous Epstein victims, said Thursday that Bondi betrayed them by failing to protect personal information in the files. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe has destroyed the trust in the DOJ that victims had a right to expect, and her termination may be the only type of justice that survivors will receive from the DOJ,\u201d Allred said by email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 2026: The hearing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At a congressional hearing, a combative Bondi tried to quell the Epstein files controversy<\/a>. She defended how the Justice Department dealt with it, lobbed personal insults at Democrats and lauded Trump over, among other things, the performance of the stock market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bondi said she was deeply sorry for what Epstein victims suffered. But she declined a request from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., to face and apologize to them for the Justice Department\u2019s actions, and Bondi dismissed Massie\u2019s critiques of the release of victims\u2019 personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 2026: The subpoena <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subpoenaed Bondi<\/a> to answer questions on April 14 about the Justice Department\u2019s handling of the Epstein investigation and file release. With five Republicans joining Democrats<\/a> to support the subpoena, it reflected widespread discontent, including in the GOP base, over Bondi\u2019s management of the matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For now, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche<\/a> will be the acting attorney general. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michaels, who traveled to the Capitol last year<\/a> to press for the files\u2019 release, wanted Bondi gone. But will Blanche do better? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can only hope. But given that they worked together, I don\u2019t have great expectations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Michaels has done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Glassman, an attorney for a woman who testified as \u201cJane\u201d<\/a> in the 2021 criminal trial of Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, noted that agency leaders come and go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor victims of sexual abuse, what matters is whether the institutions meant to protect them actually do their job,\u201d he said<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back to News BY  JENNIFER PELTZUpdated 9:02 PM PDT, April 2, 2026 Leer en espa\u00f1ol NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 After Pam Bondi became U.S. attorney general last year, conservative influencers, online sleuths and others who wanted the government to disclose all it knew about Jeffrey Epstein thought they might have a champion in the Department of Justice. So […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17957"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17957"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17958,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17957\/revisions\/17958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}