The US Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case has left many fuming, especially President Trump’s faithful MAGA base. And it’s more than likely that heads will roll.
Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader of the US House of Representatives on Monday declared that Americans deserve to know “the whole truth” about the “Jeffrey Epstein matter”. He added that if Trump was indeed hiding something, like many MAGA supporters believe, then it is up to the US Congress “to try to uncover the truth for the American people”.
At the heart of the fallout is a broken promise.
For years, conservatives, led by key figures in the MAGA movement, have fuelled unsubstantiated claims about Epstein - the wealthy financier turned registered sex offender.
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Claims that Epstein did not die by suicide while incarcerated in 2019, but was murdered. That Epstein kept a “list of clients” to whom he trafficked underage girls and made videos of the crimes being committed and that several royals, celebrities, billionaires, and even Presidents, are involved. Claims that were perpetuated by Trump and his administration, including the likes of Deputy FBI director Dan Bongino and US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
As a rightwing podcaster and media personality, former Secret Service agent Bongino claimed Epstein was murdered as part of a major coverup.
Bondi, too, fueled the widespread MAGA belief in the existence of a high-profile client list. She told Fox News that it was sitting on her desk during the interview. Bondi added that officials were poring over a “truckload” of previously withheld evidence. Even declaring at one point that under Trump 2.0 “everything is going to come out to the public”.
But now, they've both been accused of having exaggerated the story.
As the drama unfolds, calls for their resignation or even their sacking are growing louder with each passing day.
Why? Because the DoJ published a memo on July 7. It concluded that Epstein had indeed died by suicide, and categorically declared that the storied client list did not exist. The DoJ even released an 11-hour video of the scene outside Epstein’s cell during the hours before and after his death. The video showed no one entered or left the room. Worse? The DoJ determined that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted”. Because a court placed much of the material under seal to protect victims. According to the Justice Department, “only a fraction” of evidence “would have been aired publicly" even if Epstein had gone to trial.
But, there's a problem. A minute of footage is missing from outside Epstein's cell. Though Bondi clarified that the missing minute is due to the Bureau of Prisons resetting the video, MAGA conspiracy theorists weren’t buying it.
Even Donald Trump is catching some of the heat. Trump and Vice President JD Vance had pledged during the 2024 election campaign that they would release files relating to Epstein’s crimes and contacts.
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In Feb 2025, the DoJ did give a group of conservative commentators binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1”. But the files didn’t really have any new info, leaving the MAGA faithful supremely disappointed.
Figures like commentator Tucker Carlson, right-wing activist Laura Loomer, and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon claim the government’s handling of the case shows a lack of transparency.
After the video's "missing minute" was discovered, Bongino is being blamed for the oversight.
All of this led to Bongino and Bondi clashing at the White House last Wednesday, in front of FBI Director Kash Patel, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Taylor Budowich. Bondi even accused Bongino of leaking information to news outlets after NewsNation reported that the FBI had wanted to release more information on Epstein “months ago”. The report alleged that Bondi prevented Patel and Bongino from doing so.
Reports suggest Vance had to spend this past weekend mediating the increasingly bitter feud involving Bondi, Bongino, Patel, and many others. Even if Bongino doesn’t resign, it is said his position has become untenable.
Earlier in June, NATO Chief Mark Rutte referred to Trump as "Daddy". This, after Trump compared Iran and Israel to unruly children in a schoolyard fight who needed to be disciplined. Trump declared that it’s easier to stop quarreling children after letting them fight it out for a few minutes.
So how will “Daddy” Trump handle the Bongino-Bondi fight?
