Trump Supporters Fume at AG Pam Bondi Over Epstein Files Debacle: “She Should Resign”
Conservative commentators and MAGA diehards are up in arms over the calamitous release of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case by the White House that saw a number of right-wing social media influencers on Thursday given special access to supposedly declassified files, who then trumpeted information that had largely been in the public domain for years.
On Thursday, the Justice Department, under orders from Attorney General Pamela Bondi, released a set of documents it dubbed “The Epstein Files: Part I.” The rollout of the documents was done rather unusually via a group of right-wing social media stars, including Mike Cernovich, Liz Wheeler, Jack Posobiec, Rogan O’Handley, known as DC Draino, as well as Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik, who were seen leaving the White House with binders that purported to be the first-phase release of the Epstein files.
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According to various media reports, the limited set of documents contained copies of flight logs from Epstein’s private plane, which have previously been accessible in various court cases. They also included a heavily redacted photocopy of an address book allegedly created by Epstein and his close associate Ghislaine Maxwell, which has been referenced in media reports for many years.
Additionally, the Justice Department also published a redacted list of masseuses, along with an evidence list detailing over 150 items, such as nude images, massage tables, sex toys and additional items. It was unclear whether this list was related to Epstein’s case, Maxwell’s case or another investigation.
The reaction from some prominent Trump supporters on social media to the document release, particularly the lack of new information, was swift and damning, with lots of criticism for the right-wing influencers involved — but much of the opprobrium reserved for Bondi.
“Influencers shouldn’t be getting the Epstein Files. This is absurd. They should be released to the public all at once not used to make money for ‘insiders,'” posted Jeremy Hambly, the real name of popular right-wing YouTube commentator The Quartering.
In another post on X (formerly Twitter), The Quartering wrote, “When Pam Bondi went on Fox news last night and said that her office was releasing ‘new’ Epstein flight logs, names and information,” saying, “It’s pretty sick what that man did. She already KNEW what was in the binders. She lied to the American People. She should Resign.”
Laura Loomer, a political activist and prominent right-wing personality, didn’t mince her words over the farcical nature of the rollout and also called on Bondi to resign. “I hate to say it, but the American people can’t trust the validity of the Epstein files released today,” Loomer wrote on X. “It was released in an unprofessional manner with paid, partisan social media influencers to curate their binders for us. I can’t trust anything in the binder.”
Loomer also took shots at the influencers who received the documents, writing in another post, “Most of the influencers took selfies of themselves holding the binder and said ‘exclusive’ and then proceeded to not post online for hours. That’s called gate keeping.”
In something of a screed of posts on X on Thursday, Loomer also wrote, “Enough is enough. Donald Trump needs some real vetting in his admin. The entire world is laughing at our country today. And if you say they aren’t, you’re full of shit or you’re one of the influencers who received the binder. This is honestly shocking levels of incompetence.”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who supported Trump during the last election, also posted his frustrations about the Epstein files and the administration in general. “If I’m gonna be fair these questions need to be asked today. Why is the release of the Epstein list always a shit show?” Portnoy wrote, adding, “What’s the point of booting out illegals and criminals while somehow becoming a safe haven for the Tate brothers? Why is Crypto in the toilet if Trump is crypto king? How far does [Tesla] stock have to crash before Elon goes back to work?”
Actor Kevin Sorbo was disappointed with the release of the documents, posting, “So…nothing new was released today. So much for government transparency.” In a much angrier follow-up, Sorbo wrote, “Our government used children who were trafficked as a publicity stunt. Disgusting. Release the files, now.”
Among elected officials, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) was particularly vocal, writing on X that the rollout was a “complete disappointment.” She added, “GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!”
Also on Thursday, Raheem Kassam, a former editor at Breitbart, published a behind-the-scenes account in The National Pulse of what transpired with the Epstein documents rollout, which one of Kassem’s sources described as a “clusterfuck.” Kassam wrote, “One of the more intriguing details of today is that President Donald J. Trump himself was in a room with these binders containing Epstein’s flight and phone call logs. One of the pages even contained President Trump’s name, having been listed in Epstein’s phone book.
“Again, that information is not new. But it is embarrassing for the White House, the vast majority of which is unlikely to have had any eyes on the documents handed to social media influencers who believed they were attending a simple series of policy briefings today.”
He added, “Attorney General Pam Bondi and her team are being blamed very clearly in at least six conversations I’ve had this afternoon. Again, they gave no heads-up to either the influencers attending or White House staff about their intentions to distribute binders of information that contained little new information, frustrating both the administration and the general public.”
Later on Thursday, Bondi, perhaps reacting to the backlash to the documents release, posted a letter she had sent to newly installed FBI Director Kash Patel on X that intimated that more records were recently discovered. Bondi ordered the FBI to hand over “the full and complete Epstein files” to her by Friday morning, and directed the newly installed bureau chief to “conduct an immediate investigation” into why her order to the FBI to turn over all documents was not followed.
In a post on X, Patel committed the FBI to ensuring that all documents related to the Epstein case are provided to the Department of Justice.
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