President Donald Trump criticized a reporter who asked about the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, questioning why there was any buzz around the disgraced financier just one day after the Justice Department revealed there was no “client list.”
When confronted with a question about Epstein during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the president expressed disbelief that “people are still talking about this creep.”
“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years,” Trump began. “Are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable.”
Trump has long promised to release the highly anticipated Epstein Files, among a trove of other documents in high-profile government investigations, to increase transparency.
“I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, when we’re having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration,” Trump added.
Although the president appeared stunned by the question, public interest in the Epstein investigation has soared this week after a DOJ memo shot down conspiracy theorists’ long-held belief that the government was concealing evidence to protect notable individuals.
The DOJ claimed there was no “incriminating ‘client list,’” nor evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his decades-long alleged sex trafficking scheme. The memo also confirmed that Epstein died by suicide while being held in a New York City jail.
During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to “take a look” at Epstein’s file and said he would have “no problem” releasing the alleged client list.
Monday’s statement disappointed many on the right, from conservative influencers such as Laura Loomer to politicians like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
It was made all the more disappointing because Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared to insinuate she had a copy of the “client list” on her desk to be reviewed during an interview with Fox News in February.
Bondi clarified on Tuesday that she was not specifically talking about the “client list” but just the “file” in general. She also said that the “tens of thousands” alleged videos found in Epstein’s possession contained downloaded child pornography.
Bondi also tried to damp down conspiracies about a video released by the DoJ Monday, which shows Epstein’s prison cell door, in an attempt to dispel claims he did not die by suicide. However, many on the right have voiced their distrust after the time stamp in the video appear to skip from 11:58 p.m. to midnight.
“The video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was showing he committed suicide,” Bondi explained during a Cabinet meeting.
“And what was on that — there was a minute that was off the counter, and what we learned from the Bureau of Prisons is every night they redo that video… So, every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing,” she added.
“So we’re looking for that video to release that as well to show that a minute is missing every night. And that’s it on Epstein.”
