Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday refused to commit to releasing all of the Epstein files, giving a cagey answer that suggests it may be a long time before we ever see the documents related to the accused child sex trafficker.
Bondi's comment came at a news conference, in which a reporter asked whether the investigation President Donald Trump ordered into the deceased Epstein's ties to Democrats would preclude her from releasing documents in accordance with the bill Congress passed on Tuesday.
Bondi did not give a yes or no answer, and instead chose to defend her office's handling of the files.
"We have released 33,000, over 33,000 Epstein documents to the Hill, and we will continue to follow the law and to have maximum transparency," Bondi said—refusing to answer the question asked of her.
Of course, Bondi has not been transparent about the files.
She and her minions—including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, who flanked her at the Wednesday news conference—have done everything in their power to keep the documents under wraps.
Blanche, who is Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, interviewed jailed Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell earlier this year in what amounted to a rigged conversation in which Maxwell said Trump was not involved in Epstein’s crimes. Of course, Maxwell had every reason to lie, as she is seeking clemency from Trump in order to be released from her decades-long prison sentence for federal sex trafficking charges. She was already rewarded handsomely after that interview with a transfer to a minimum security prison, where she is reportedly receiving more favorable treatment than other inmates.
Related | Ghislaine Maxwell gets big upgrade after cooperating with Trump team
And Patel—who as a podcaster was adamant that the Epstein files would implicate powerful people but has since changed his tune—has refused to answer questions about his handling of the documents.
Meanwhile Bondi waged an idiotic stunt at the White House in February in which she gave far-right lunatic influencers binders that purported to be the Epstein files but were just previously released documents. It was an attempt to make it look like she was releasing the files, when she indeed was not.
It's why Democrats and GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky wrote a bill that would compel Trump to release all of the unclassified files, and forced a vote on it over the objections of House Republican leaders.
That bill is now on Trump's desk awaiting a signature.
However, Politico reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson may be pressuring Trump to veto the legislation.
If Trump follows Johnson's advice, it's a move that could be a political disaster for the embattled president and the GOP—as Americans overwhelmingly say the files should be released and that they believe Trump is hiding something by keeping them concealed.
Ultimately, if Trump signs the bill into law, the DOJ would be required to release the documents within 30 days. Any delay or questionable redactions would just fuel the speculation that Trump has something to hide in the files.
Related | Kash Patel refuses to answer basic questions about the Epstein files
All that's to say, the Epstein files drama is not going away anytime soon for Trump and his party—and we’ve got our popcorn ready.
