DOJ Responds To Reports Of Bondi-Bongino ‘Feud’ Over Epstein Files
The Trump administration has responded to reports of a growing feud between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino stemming from an announcement from the Justice Department earlier in the week that there are no “files” pertaining to deceased convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday denied reports of disagreements between Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Bongino regarding the Epstein case, despite claims that Bongino took the day off in frustration over Bondi’s handling of the matter.
“Source tells me Dan Bongino is taking the day off today from his job as Deputy Director of the FBI, and there’s now speculation on whether or not he will return to his job at the [FBI] over his disgust with Blondi’s lack of transparency and handling of the Epstein files,” conservative firebrand Laura Loomer posted on X.
Some media outlets, including Axios, subsequently backed up her reporting.
But Blanche pushed back on the reports in a Friday statement posted to social media.
“I worked closely with [Patel] and [Bongino] on the joint FBI and DOJ memo regarding the Epstein Files,” he posted on X. “All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo. The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo’s composition and release is patently false.”
That didn’t seem to satisfy Loomer, however, who asked “why no party signed their names to the leaked memo that asserted law enforcement had found no evidence of a blackmail operation,” Just the News reported.
“My sources tell me that the FBI wanted to release more information about Jeffrey Epstein, and Pam Blondi [Bondi] and her DOJ said NO. This has caused tension between Blondi, Kash, and Bongino. Asking for transparency isn’t difficult,” she replied to Blanche.
Some Trump aides have attacked Bondi, but President Trump “loves Pam and thinks she’s great,” according to a senior White House official who spoke to Axios.
Meanwhile, Republicans and conservatives online are crying foul over what appears to be a major flip-flop on the issue from Bondi, who repeatedly said earlier this year that she was in possession of a trove of Epstein documents and videos, including a “list” of alleged clients.
But that said, on Thursday a Democratic senator quietly introduced an amendment in the Senate Appropriations Committee to “retain, preserve, and compile” any records tied to Epstein and his case. It passed unanimously, Scripps News reported.
The amendment came from Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who saw the chance to get something on the books before more evidence disappears.
“The goal is transparency,” Van Hollen told Scripps News on Thursday. “I think all of us, and I think the public, have an interest in knowing exactly how this case has been handled over the years. So that amendment does two things. It requires that all the documents be preserved. And second, it requires that they present a detailed report.”
Asked whether he believed there was a cover-up, Van Hollen said, “I just want to get the facts. My view is that we should just have all the facts laid out so the public can have confidence.”
Even though the committee passed it with no opposition, it is still unclear whether this amendment will survive in the final version of the funding bill or if Trump will sign it into law when it reaches his desk.
Epstein’s final known message, sent just hours before he was found hanging in his Manhattan jail cell, stated that he was “still hanging around.”
“I believe that I got the last message from him before he died,” journalist Michael Wolff revealed on an episode of “The Daily Beast Podcast” airing Thursday.
“And this came through one of his lawyers on a Friday evening. He died on Saturday morning,” Wolff added.
