WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is under pressure from Democratic lawmakers to testify before Congress following a report revealing her communication with former President Donald Trump regarding his name's appearance in the files of the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. The Wall Street Journal disclosed that Bondi informed Trump that his name was listed among various high-profile individuals in records the Justice Department has recently stated it will not be releasing.
Reports indicate that Trump’s connections to Epstein are well-documented. His name is already known to be included in records associated with Epstein, a financier who died by suicide in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The Justice Department's recent refusal to release these records has ignited a wave of interest among online investigators, conspiracy theorists, and Trump supporters.
In response to the Wall Street Journal’s findings, Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, called for Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Schiff stated, “We need to bring Bondi and Patel into the Judiciary Committee to testify about this now,” through a video posted on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
The Justice Department has chosen not to provide comments on this report but has issued a joint statement from Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The statement asserts that investigators have reviewed the files and concluded that “nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution.” It further explained that as part of standard procedures, they briefed the President on their findings.
Importantly, the mere appearance of an individual’s name in Epstein’s records does not imply any wrongdoing. Epstein was known for his affiliations with numerous prominent figures, including Trump. Furthermore, a 2016 deposition from one of Epstein's accusers revealed that she spent hours with Epstein at Trump’s Atlantic City casino but did not accuse Trump of any misconduct nor confirmed whether she met him during that time.
Trump has stated that he once considered Epstein to be a “terrific guy,” although he noted that they eventually had a falling-out. In light of these events, White House spokesman Steven Cheung dismissed the reports as “nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.”
As the situation unfolds, the implications of Bondi’s disclosures and the demand for her testimony before Congress highlight the ongoing scrutiny surrounding Trump and his associations with Epstein. The legal and political ramifications of these revelations may further intensify the debate about accountability and transparency in the justice system.
