I think few would disagree that Attorney General Pam Bondi mishandled the Epstein files from start to finish.
It started when she claimed to have misspoken about having an Epstein client list on her desk, and it ended when she and FBI Director Kash Patel said they were not planning any large-scale release of files.
Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who rarely says anything publicly, has now reportedly outed Bondi for dropping the ball, bringing into question just how much longer the AG will be serving in her current role.
After Bondi stated that she had a client list on her desk, the internet exploded in anticipation of the names being publicly released to expose all the power brokers who were involved with Epstein.
Once Bondi and Patel issued a joint statement claiming that there was no client list and no proof that Epstein had ever blackmailed anyone, MAGA went nuclear on the attorney general. When she was asked about the negative reaction, she responded, "We're going to fight to keep America safe again and we're fighting together as a team. That's what's so important right now.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was asked about the files, and he responded, "It's a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it. The White House and the White House team are privy to facts that I don't know. I mean, this isn't my lane and I haven't been involved with that, but I agree with the sentiment that we need to put it out there."
That was a very delicate way of saying that he thinks all the files need to be published, or else it would appear that they were hiding something. Of course, that is exactly how it all played out, as Democrats, who had ignored these files for years, were suddenly screaming about the need to have them all publicized.
As we all had predicted would happen, Democrats pounced and tried to make Trump the focus of the files. Then, when Elon Musk, who was on the outs with Trump at the time, hinted that the president was being protected by the files being kept dark, all hell broke loose.
For instance, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who had served as Democrat counsel during the Trump impeachments, wrote a letter to the DOJ on the lack of transparency.
In part, he stated, “I write to express my grave concern about what appears to be a concerted effort by you to delay and even prevent the release of the Jeffrey Epstein Files in their entirety – potentially at the direction of the sitting President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.”
He continued, “The convergence of your unexplained delay in releasing the Epstein Files, the reporting nearly two months ago that numerous FBI agents were working overtime to redact the materials, President Trump’s well-documented affiliation with Epstein, and his view that the Department of Justice is his personal law firm raises serious questions about whether President Trump has intervened to prevent the public release of the Epstein Files in order to hide his own embarrassing and potentially criminal conduct.”
Wiles, who generally stays out of the limelight, was very critical of Bondi in a recent interview published in Vanity Fair by journalist Chris Whipple.
Regarding the handling of the Epstein files, Wiles reportedly stated, “I think she completely whiffed on appreciating that that was the very targeted group that cared about this.” She continued, “First she gave them binders full of nothingness. And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn’t on her desk.”
Now, Wiles has always been a bit secretive, and when I read that response, my first thought was that it sounded nothing like I have ever heard her say in the past. It is also worth noting that Wiles is notoriously opposed to anyone speaking out of turn to the media. As I had suspected, she responded to the report by saying that it was “a disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history. Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story. I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team.”
While I believe Wiles' assertion that the quote was purposely and strategically framed, notice that she did not actually deny her criticism of Bondi. This only further cements my belief that Bondi’s time as AG will be short-lived after the new year. Honestly, were it not for a host of media reports about Trump's frustration with her performance, I think she would have already been fired. Those reports only make Trump dig in deeper, but even then, there is only so much disappointment the president will accept, and I believe the failed James Comey and Letitia James prosecutions sealed Bondi’s fate.
