Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared more than once in documents concerning Jeffrey Epstein, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The conversation happened at the White House as part of a briefing. It took place weeks before the Department of Justice said on July 7 that it would not release the Epstein files to the public, despite earlier promises that they would be disclosed.
The DOJ later said Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche briefed the president about the files as part of a routine update. Officials did not say when the meeting happened.
The Journal also reported that Trump was told the documents listed many well-known figures, not just him. Officials described much of the material as unverified comments or secondhand claims.
The paper stressed that being mentioned in the files does not prove wrongdoing. Many names, including Trump’s, were recorded because of high-profile social ties with Epstein in earlier years.
The DOJ’s refusal to release the files drew harsh pushback from Trump’s MAGA supporters. That base has shown strong interest in conspiracy theories linked to Epstein’s crimes since his 2019 death.
Facing that backlash, Trump ordered Bondi to request the unsealing of grand jury transcripts from cases tied to Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at a DEA press conference in Arlington, Virginia, July 15, 2025. Photo by Umit Bektas | Reuters.
Bondi and Blanche defended their handling of the matter in a joint statement. They said the DOJ and FBI examined the material and concluded nothing required further charges or new investigations.
They confirmed filing a motion in court last week to unseal the transcripts. They also said Trump was promptly made aware of the findings during his White House briefing.
When asked by ABC News if Bondi told him his name was in the records, Trump denied she had. He said she gave only a short briefing about file contents.
Trump added that he believed the files were created by people like former FBI Director James Comey, former President Barack Obama, and President Joe Biden.
The White House communications director Steven Cheung dismissed the recent reports as politically motivated. He said Trump had banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago, and called the stories “fake news.”
Epstein and Trump moved in the same social circles for several years, but the two men reportedly ended their friendship long before Epstein’s 2019 arrest on federal child sex trafficking charges.
Epstein was linked to many powerful figures, including Britain’s Prince Andrew, before his death in jail. His sudden death sparked widespread suspicion and fueled baseless online theories.
Fresh attention was drawn when the Journal reported on a 2003 birthday letter supposedly written by Trump at Maxwell’s request. The paper described the letter as graphic and sexual in its design.
The Journal described the text as typed inside the outline of a naked woman’s body, with Trump’s signature placed in suggestive fashion. The paper suggested it was clearly his handwriting.
Trump strongly denied writing or signing any such letter. He said it was fake, not his style, and not his words. He accused the Journal of creating a false story.
On Friday, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, its chief executive Robert Thomson, the Journal’s publisher Dow Jones, and the reporters who wrote the birthday letter story.
The lawsuit seeks at least ten billion dollars in damages. A Dow Jones spokesperson said the company stood strongly by its reporting and planned to fight the claims in court.
The case surfaced soon after the DOJ reassigned prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of James Comey. She had handled past federal prosecutions of Epstein and Maxwell in New York.
Critics have said the removal of Comey was political. The DOJ has not explained the decision, but it added fuel to speculation about wider conflicts inside the department.
The future of the Epstein files remains unclear. The DOJ’s motion to open sealed transcripts faces review in court, and Trump’s growing legal battles continue to place pressure on his presidency.
At the center of the storm remain disputed documents, questions of political motives, and the shadow of Epstein, who left behind a legacy that continues to shake both Washington and Wall Street.
