President Donald Trump on Friday suggested there is no “smoking gun” in the Jeffrey Epstein files as he seeks to downplay a case that’s long animated his MAGA supporters.
“If there was a ‘smoking gun’ on Epstein, why didn’t the Dems, who controlled the ‘files’ for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform.
The post comes after Trump announced Thursday night that he was ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of additional Epstein material.
MORE: Bondi says she’ll try to unseal Epstein grand jury records
Trump said he asked Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.”
Bondi, in response, said action could come in court as soon as Friday. But the release of any grand jury materials could take longer, subject to a legal process to consider impact on victims and ultimately approval of a federal judge.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Trump allegedly sent Epstein a letter in 2003 for his 50th birthday. The president is now threatening to sue the paper, and in an interview with the Journal, denied writing the letter. ABC News has not been able to confirm the existence of the letter.
“I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ. That will be an interesting experience!!!” the president wrote on his social media platform Friday.
The move from Trump to order the attorney general to seek the release of additional grand jury material comes after a week of intense pressure from his MAGA supporters to do more on Epstein following a brief memo from the Justice Department and FBI stating no further disclosure “would be appropriate or warranted.”
The memo stated a review from the DOJ and FBI found no evidence that Epstein kept a so-called “client list” of associates or that he blackmailed any prominent individuals, and also confirmed the disgraced financier died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Bondi days ago had said the “memo speaks for itself.”
MORE: The times Trump’s name appeared in the Epstein files the DOJ has already released
Between then and now, Trump has tried to tamp down intrigue into Epstein that’s been fueled by right-wing figures for years, including conspiracy theories of a “deep state” protecting the country’s elites.
He has called the Epstein files a “Democratic hoax” against him and those Republican supporters who are questioning his administration’s handling of them as “stupid” and “foolish.”
But his administration has shut down the idea of appointing a special prosecutor in the Epstein case.
“The idea was floated from someone in the media to the president. The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That’s how he feels,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at Thursday’s briefing.
