FBI Director Kash Patel addressed questions about Jeffrey Epstein’s death and the files surrounding the convicted sex trafficker in a new interview.
Observers have questioned whether Epstein killed himself and have argued for wide-ranging specifics surrounding the late financier to be released, but they may have to wait a bit longer.
“I’m not going to withhold information from the American public, ever. But I’m also not going to rush to get it out there in a format in which they can’t rely on it,” Patel said in an interview with Fox News.
“We are diligently working on that, and it takes time to go through years of investigations, years of political maneuvering, and years of cover-up,” he added.
Patel also continued to insist that Epstein killed himself. “I’m telling you he killed himself,” he said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released a “first phase” of Epstein files in February, but it contained little new information. She then pressed Patel and the FBI to deliver “the full and complete Epstein files” the day after, but the agency is still working on it.
Democrats and Republicans have pressed Bondi and Patel to release files, which could shed more light on Epstein’s misconduct and his associates. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) wrote Bondi earlier this month, asking whether she was delaying the files’ release because of President Donald Trump‘s past association with Epstein.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) told Bondi to “stop stonewalling” and release the files in her own inquiry.
Patel says the file release is taking so long because of the many redactions related to the victims.
The FBI director told Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on May 8 that the bureau was “working through” releasing files with the Department of Justice in a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing about the bureau’s budget request.
TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY PICKS: LOYALTY, AMERICA FIRST, AND PRO-ISRAEL
Patel suggested the files would be released “in the near future” after being pressed by Kennedy to release information on Epstein. Kennedy jokingly asked, “Like, before I die?”
Patel responded, “We’ve been working on that and we’re doing it in a way that protects victims and also doesn’t put out into the ether information that is irrelevant.”