President Trump dismissed the flap over the Department of Justice’s refusal to release additional materials related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, calling the case “boring” as two people who offered key endorsements of the president ramped up criticism over how his administration has handled the case.
Speaking with reporters late Tuesday, Mr. Trump said he doesn’t understand why people are still interested in the case of Epstein, who died while in custody on federal sex trafficking charges in an apparent suicide.
“He’s [been] dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is, I really don’t,” the president said. “And the credible information’s been given.”
“I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody. It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring and I don’t understand why it keeps going,” he said later. “I think only really pretty bad people, including fake news, wants to keep something like that going. But credible information — let them give it. Anything that’s credible, I would say let them have it.”
Mr. Trump also reiterated his gripe that the Epstein files are unreliable because they were overseen by some Democrats, including some in the Biden-era Justice Department.
“Don’t forget, we went through years of the [Robert] Mueller witch hunt and all of the different things, the [Christopher] Steele dossier, which was all fake, all that information is fake,” he said, referring to the special counsel investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election.
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Mr. Trump’s brushing off of the Epstein case comes as his administration comes under intense criticism for how it’s handled the matter.
Attorney General Pam Bondi last week released a memo detailing her department’s review of the Epstein files. The two-page document said the Justice Department found no evidence of an Epstein client list and no additional files from the investigation would be made public.
Podcaster Joe Rogan, who offered a critical endorsement of Mr. Trump in last year’s election, blasted the Trump administration’s insistence that there is no client list or video footage of Epstein’s clients.
“They’ve got videotape and all [of] a sudden, they don’t … You have the director of the FBI on this show saying, ‘If there was [a videotape], nothing you’re looking for is one those tapes,” Mr. Rogan said late Tuesday, referring to FBI Director Kash Patel’s interview on his show last month.
“Like what? Why’d they say there was thousands of hours of tape of people doing horrible s—-?” the podcaster said. “Why’d they say that? Didn’t Pam Bondi say that?”
Ms. Bondi had told reporters the FBI was reviewing “tens of thousands of videos” of Epstein “with children or child porn” on July 1, just days before her department announced there was no client list or incriminating footage of the disgraced financier’s associates.
SEE ALSO: What we know about Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
In February, Ms. Bondi was asked about the Epstein client list in a Fox News interview, and she said it was on her desk awaiting her review. She later clarified that she was referring to the Epstein files in general, not specifically a client list.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who challenged Mr. Trump for the GOP nomination last year but later endorsed him, lambasted the administration’s handling of the Epstein case.
In a series of tweets, Ms. Haley urged the Trump administration to release more information: “Release the Epstein files and let the chips fall where they may. This is why people don’t trust the government. You can never gp wrong with being transparent. Redact victims’ names but release the rest.”
Ms. Haley later hailed Rep. Ralph Norman, South Carolina Republican, for his efforts to force a House vote to release the full Epstein files.
“Thankful for @RalphNorman for understanding the importance of transparency,” she posted.
