“Underpromise and overdeliver.”
That’s a Sales 101 rule when it comes to managing expectations. And as it pertains to the case of Jeffrey Epstein and the specific charge of sex trafficking of unsuspecting underage girls for the rich and powerful to have sex with on “Epstein Island,” Attorney General Pam Bondi did the exact opposite in February.
“It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,” Bondi said when asked about a possible Epstein client list being released by Fox News anchor John Roberts in February. “That’s been a directive by President Trump.”
Bondi also made a show of the Epstein files in late February by providing binders to conservative social media influencers, who proudly held them up for reporters to see. It was quickly revealed, however, that the files contained nothing new. These influencers were used as PR props and have every right to be angry.
A Justice Department spokesman later clarified she didn’t specifically mean to reference a list, which sounds like a salacious smoking gun, but instead was talking about the Epstein files in general. The DOJ has since announced no such “client list” exists and that the case is essentially closed. Other conclusions: There was no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed anyone, and he wasn’t murdered in jail but committed suicide.
But that hasn’t satisfied some in the MAGA core base, who are demanding Bondi resign or be fired while voicing their anger at President Donald Trump and vowing to make their voices heard against Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.
“Pam Bondi needs to be fired,” the Blaze’s Glenn Beck demanded recently. “Who is rolling this out? The Little Rascals?! This is such absolute incompetence! Incompetence!”
“We want those people to be dragged in front of us, weeping and begging for mercy,” the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh posted on X in a video message. “Millions of Americans are not satisfied with what we’ve been told, and we shouldn’t be. … I want to make this very clear to those on the Right, including the president himself, who are telling us to just drop the subject and move on. We can’t drop it. We can’t move on.”
Trump, however, as he did with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when Hegseth was under fire after Signalgate, is standing by Bondi. “The attorney general has handled that very well. She’s really done a very good job, and I think that when you look at that, you’ll understand it,” Trump told the press Tuesday afternoon. “Credibility is very important.”
So here’s the question: Is there an Epstein list with some of the biggest public figures, including Trump, on it?
Basic logic says “no.” Here’s why:
If an “Epstein list” exists and some big people could be taken down and even prosecuted and have their reputations destroyed, does anyone sane and sober actually think such a list wouldn’t have been weaponized by now?
Those on the Left, of course, are banging the drum on social media, accusing Trump of suppressing Epstein information to protect himself.
This is an utterly ridiculous argument considering that Democrats had no interest whatsoever in releasing the Epstein files when former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden were in office. And if anyone thinks Obama and Biden wouldn’t have leaked such a list before the 2016 election to ensure his defeat, you’re crazy.
And by the way, why exactly would Trump talk about releasing more information on Epstein before he had access to any files if he was implicated in them?
The choice here is simple: (A) Different Justice Departments and FBIs under multiple presidents, Democratic and Republican, with access to information no one else does regarding Epstein have all decided to cover up any damning details and have been lying to the public and have for years; or (B) There is no there there regarding Epstein keeping a list of people who may have engaged in nefarious acts on this property.
You would also have to believe that FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who demanded for years that the Epstein list be released and full transparency be exercised, have suddenly turned 180 degrees and decided to join the very conspiracy they decried.
Again, does that make any sense?
No matter. The legacy media are pouring kerosene on the fire because they sense the handling of the Epstein files could be problematic after a successful six-month start to Trump’s second term that has included reducing border crossings, surging consumer confidence, jobs reports exceeding expectations, the S&P enjoying one of its best runs in modern times, gas prices falling, the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, bringing peace to the Middle East, and setting Iran’s nuclear capabilities back years after successful strikes on its facilities. We keep hearing about MAGA supporters turning on Trump, but polls say otherwise:
A YouGov poll released Tuesday shows the president’s approval at 92% among Republicans, with just 6% disapproving, which is near an all-time high. Another poll from CNN shows Trump’s approval among GOP voters is higher regarding his second-term performance than any GOP president in polling history.
No matter: Here are a few headlines from the usual suspects:
Associated Press: “MAGA faithful are angry about the Epstein case. Here’s what to know.”
ABC News: “Trump’s effort to quell MAGA revolt over Epstein files seems to add fuel to the fire”
NBC News: “Trump faces a revolt from his MAGA base over the Epstein files”
As for Trump, he’s irked that the media have been more focused on Epstein than other, more important issues and tragedies, such as the horrific flood that killed more than 100 people in Texas, including young girls at Camp Mystic.
“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. I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, when we’re having some of the greatest success, and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration.”
As for the argument that Trump “ran on” exposing the so-called Epstein list, here’s exactly what he told Rachel Campos-Duffy days before the inauguration in January, in which he seemed to be hedging on doing so to avoid innocent people being implicated (emphasis mine):
Campos-Duffy: Would you declassify the Epstein files?
Trump: I guess I would. I think that less so because, you don’t know, you don’t want to affect people’s lives if it’s phony stuff in there, because it’s a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would, or at least —
Campos-Duffy: Do you think that would restore trust — help restore trust?
Trump: Yeah. I don’t know about Epstein [as] so much as I do the others (the John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King files). Certainly about the way he died. It’d be interesting to find out what happened there because that was a weird situation, and the cameras didn’t happen to be working, etc., etc. But yeah, I’d go a long way toward that one.
So, to unpack this, Trump wasn’t in office yet. His team looked into it and concluded there was no incriminating list and that Epstein took his own life.
No evidence has come forward to suggest otherwise.
Bondi certainly provided hype to this and deserves the criticism she is getting. But Trump’s loyalty to his Cabinet (and vice versa) in Trump 2.0 is unmatched. She’s not going anywhere.
TRUMP ACCUSES COMEY, OBAMA, AND BIDEN OF MAKING UP EPSTEIN FILES
This story isn’t going away anytime soon, at least on social media. Jeffrey Epstein was a monster. His suicide got him off easy.
But Americans have bigger fish to fry. And unlocking a conspiracy theory that doesn’t exist isn’t one of them.