Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) on Tuesday defended the findings in the Trump administration’s probe of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, which concluded that he did not keep a “client list.”
He also praised Attorney General Pam Bondi for her handling of the case.
“I think Pam Bondi has done a great, great job,” Zinke said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” adding that “everyone’s trying to find a nugget that doesn’t exist.”
“So, I think she’s done a great job,” he added, while acknowledging that the administration could provide more details on the investigation.
“I support the president on this,” he told host Blake Burman. “It’d be helpful too if they sat down and explained it, maybe with cameras.”
A wide array of narratives has cropped up since February, when Bondi said during an interview that she had a list of client names “sitting” on her desk awaiting review. The White House later sought to clarify the comment, alleging the attorney general was referring to the complete file of documents related to Epstein’s case.
“They’ve already said there’s no secret list in there,” the Montana Republican continued Tuesday. “There’s not a huge issue there.”
“But you know, again, there’s a lot of people that believe that somehow, there’s all this information that’s going to lead to somewhere, I don’t think it exists,” he added.
President Trump has aired frustration in recent days with revolving questions over the controversy and pegged Epstein as the “guy who never dies” in a post on his Truth Social platform over the weekend.
On Tuesday, as uproar over the files has stoked discontent among members of his base, Trump pressed his supporters to drop the issue.
“I don’t understand it, why they would be so interested. He’s been dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life,” he told reporters. “I don’t understand what the interest and what the fascination is. I really don’t. And the credible information has been given.”
He added, “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.”
While the president rebuked criticism, former White House aide Steve Bannon warned that the public’s dismay could jeopardize the GOP majority in the House.
“You’re going to lose 10 percent of the MAGA movement. If we lose 10 percent of the MAGA movement right now, we ain’t gonna … we’re gonna lose 40 seats in ’26,” he told a live audience in a recent episode of his “War Room” podcast. “We’re gonna lose the president.”
House Republicans on Tuesday also blocked an attempt to force a vote that would require the Justice Department to release all of the files related to Epstein.
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