U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi seemed to briefly unite the online political spectrum under one banner Thursday after failing to deliver any new information on the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The backlash toward Bondi exploded after she repeatedly promised to release never-before-seen files relating to Epstein, hyping up the document dump for days as bombshell developments that had the potential to reshape the U.S. political and cultural conversation.
When the moment finally came, however, promises appeared to be broken.
During an appearance on Fox News Wednesday, Bondi told host Jesse Watters that “some Epstein information” including flight logs and names would be released by her office the next day which she guaranteed would “make you sick.” The move was a key pillar in the Trump administration’s broader goal of thinning the glass between the public and the government in pursuit of transparency.
But the information released by the Justice Department Thursday seemed to be entirely comprised of information that had already been made public over the past decade as a result of multiple cases against Epstein and those in his inner circle.
The rug-pull angered many on both sides of the political aisle.
“I nor the task force were given or reviewed the Epstein documents being released today… A NY Post story just revealed that the documents will simply be Epstein’s phonebook,” Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who was recently picked to lead a task force on ending government secrecy, wrote on X Thursday. “THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment. GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!”
Making matters worse was the way the administration rolled out the documents’ release: By inviting more than a dozen far-right influencers to the White House, handing them a glossy binder full of sordid allegations and allowing them to take glamour shots with the documents outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Onetime Trump confidante and far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who was not invited to the soiree, also criticized Bondi Thursday, taking repeated jabs at the White House’s “stunt.”
She even declared in one X post: “There is one person who takes the blame for what happened today. It’s @PamBondi. I think she should resign.
“She went on Fox News and said the files were on her desk. Then she went on Fox News last night and said we would have files today. She is a total liar. Just face it,” Loomer concluded.
Democrats, including Reps. Eric Swalwell and Jared Moskowitz, decried the lackluster reveal, with Swalwell posting a image to X showing a page of redacted lines, adding, “You were promised the full Epstein files. You got this.”
Moskowitz, reacting to the document dump on CNN Thursday night, said “I have never seen the Left and the Right come together in a moment [like this].”
For her part, Bondi was quick to point fingers at the FBI, blaming the agency’s Field Office in New York of holding “thousands of pages of documents” related to Epstein.
She wrote in a letter to newly minted director Kash Patel that the bureau “never disclosed the existence of” the additional documents to her.
“When you and I spoke yesterday, you were just as surprised as I was to learn this new information,” Bondi continued, seemingly absolving Patel of blame.
“By 8:00 am tomorrow, February 28, the FBI will deliver the full and complete Epstein files to my office,” Bondi continued, requesting client lists, video footage, audio recordings and more. “There will be no withholding or limitations to my or your access. The Department of Justice will ensure that any public disclosure of these files will be done in a manner to protect the privacy of victims and in accordance with law, as I have done my entire career as a prosecutor.”
She also asked Patel to conduct an immediate investigation into why her order was “not followed,” and asked for a report to be sent back within 14 days.
Bondi’s rapid turnaround did not go unnoticed by even the staunchest supporters of her boss. Fox News host Jesse Watters focused his Thursday show on the saga, and seemingly took Bondi at her word that she had been bamboozled by the FBI.
He boiled the past 24 hours down to: “When we began to feel duped, Pam Bondi released a letter basically saying I was duped too.”
