‘Bomb went off’: Report reveals moment Epstein files rocked the White House and why Trump is desperate to keep them secret

A new report reveals that the quiet release of a memo by the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI over the Fourth of July weekend in an attempt to close the Jeffrey Epstein case was a bombshell in the White House.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein case was a chaotic summer, marked by chaos, high-stakes strategy meetings in the Situation Room, recriminations, and a series of mistakes.

Tensions within the Trump administration had escalated since February, when the attorney general claimed the files were “on her desk” and haphazardly orchestrated a failed public relations campaign with far-right influencers.

It was the beginning of a series of missteps by multiple Trump spokespeople and advisers, who downplayed the significance of the case, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, continue to haunt the administration to this day.

Trump associated with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s before cutting ties with him after the pedophile’s first arrest in 2006.

Now, the president is desperate to get rid of the case, according to the newspaper.

According to some sources, White House officials believed the case would be dismissed and that the president “didn’t understand the obsession” with the late sex offender.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that the president was “concerned that some of his friends were mentioned in the dossier” and that they “may have been manipulated to harm him,” according to sources familiar with Trump’s comments.

Lawyer Ty Cobb, who led the White House’s initial response to the 2017 special counsel’s investigation into the campaign’s ties to Russia, told the Wall Street Journal: “This could be the worst PR stunt in history.” »

When The Independent contacted White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson for comment, she described the story as “dead.”

Regarding the information, Ms. Jackson said: “This is a lazy retelling of a dead story. It’s not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, as Donald Trump kicked him out of his club for being a jerk.”

Jackson added: “Democrats and the media knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them, even though President Trump called for transparency, and now he’s delivering it with thousands of pages of documents.”

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Bondi said she is working “tirelessly” alongside FBI Director Kash Patel to make America safer.

“Our top priority is to continue working with the FBI to make America safer by ensuring that murderers and violent criminals are prosecuted with the utmost justice,” Bondi said.

Here’s how events unfolded this year, according to sources.

White House officials were briefed on the minutes of a meeting dedicated to the Epstein case.

Bondi had only been in office for three weeks when she was asked during a Fox News interview whether the Justice Department would release Epstein’s alleged client list.

She replied, “It’s on my desk for review. It’s a directive from President Trump. I’m reviewing it.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, this statement confused Trump officials. They wondered, “What document was Bondi referring to?”

FBI agents worked tirelessly to gather the now-infamous “Epstein Files: Phase 1” for a publicity event on February 27. The documents were handed over to far-right influencers, including Jack Posobiec and Scott Pressler, as well as to the people behind the LibsofTikTok and DC_Draino accounts.

Exuberant photos of the group holding the files were posted, but their enthusiasm quickly cooled when they realized that almost all of the content was now public. Some, outraged, blamed Bondi.

Trump’s communications advisers were given only “a few minutes’ notice” of the event and “were unaware that Bondi planned to discuss Epstein,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

The situation spiraled out of control for the White House. Bondi was reportedly sidelined and told to tone down his remarks and “not draw attention to the matter.”

Trump tells Bondi to ‘buck up’ amid criticism as FBI and DOJ drop bombshell memo

Following the embarrassing Epstein dossier incident, outrage over the dossier continued to escalate in the months that followed.

The matter culminated when Elon Musk dropped a bombshell against Epstein on June 5, shortly after leaving the White House, sparking a public feud between the billionaire and Trump.

“Time to get down to business: Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. Here’s the real reason they’re not being released.”

Shortly after, he wrote: “Save this for later. The truth will come out.”

Later, perhaps after a lull, Musk deleted the post, but the damage was done.

Amid a backlash from the Make America Great Again movement, the Wall Street Journal reported that FBI Director Kash Patel and other FBI officials were planning to release a statement explaining their reasons for dropping the Epstein case.

Meanwhile, Bondi complained to the White House and the president about the surveillance she was facing. People familiar with the conversations told the newspaper, “Trump encouraged her to get better, while others advised her to stop using social media and attack those who posted it.”

The newspaper quoted sources familiar with the conversations as saying, “She told White House officials that FBI leaders, including Patel, were lurking around her.”

The Justice Department and the FBI released a 600-word memo on July 6, closing the case against the pedophile. The memo stated that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted,” that much of the information had been redacted by the court to protect Epstein’s victims, and that “only a small portion” would have been made public had Epstein gone to trial.

Furthermore, the memo stated that no new charges were anticipated, as investigators “found no evidence to warrant an investigation against unindicted third parties.”

Hours of video were also released, confirming, according to authorities, that Epstein committed suicide while being held in his Manhattan cell in 2019, refuting a conspiracy theory previously promoted by Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, that he was murdered.

“That statement was a bombshell,” a senior White House official told the Wall Street Journal.

Loomer calls on Pam “Blondie” to resign

Laura Loomer, an influential figure in the Make America Great Again movement, was one of the most vocal advocates for Bundy’s resignation.

After the memo was announced, Loomer referred to the prosecutor as “Blondie” on social media. In July, she wrote, “Blondie lied. She always has.”

She asked her followers: “Who issues a statement about the Epstein files on a Sunday night, the Fourth of July weekend? Someone who doesn’t want you to pay attention to them.”

Later, when Trump and his allies reportedly began calling Make America Great Again allies to defuse the situation, a White House official contacted Loomer, telling her that “Bundy needs to be extra vigilant, but Trump has no intention of firing her,” the far-right influencer told the Wall Street Journal.

Susie Wiles convenes Epstein strategy meetings in the Situation Room

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles reportedly said the FBI and Justice Department memo was “a mistake” as the administration faced anger from Trump’s base.

The situation became so tense that Wiles decided to hold a series of strategic meetings on Epstein in the Situation Room, the so-called “war room” used to discuss the management of highly sensitive global crises.

Vice President J.D. Vance led the effort to uncover the truth, according to officials familiar with the discussions. Wiles and others insisted they would never be able to appease the most outspoken Epstein conspiracy theorists, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Trump called Rupert Murdoch from Air Force One in bid to kill WSJ report

Despite his aides’ best efforts, the Epstein story has not gone away.

Trump called Rupert Murdoch from Air Force One in an attempt to invalidate the Wall Street Journal article, published on July 17, about the president’s 2003 50th birthday wish.

The letter allegedly signed by Trump—which included a sexually explicit drawing and a birthday wish reading, “May every day be another wonderful secret”—was first published in the newspaper and then shared with members of Congress by the Epstein family.

Trump has repeatedly denied writing the letter and that the signature on the document is his. In his $10 billion defamation lawsuit, the president claims that “no original letter or drawing exists.” On his Truth Social account, he called the Wall Street Journal article “a false, malicious, defamatory, fake news article, a useless, empty rag.”

The newspaper’s lawyers responded earlier this week, saying the president’s complaint “contains no credible allegation” that any of the defendants—including far-right media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the newspaper’s parent companies—knowingly published false statements about him.

“The article is true,” the lawyers wrote Monday, “and the evidence is open for all to see.”

Maxwell given Chick-fil-A breakfast before being questioned by Bondi’s deputy

Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and the only person ever charged in connection with the financier’s crimes, reportedly seized the opportunity in late July, as the case raged on.

House Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly suspended the session to block a bill introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, aimed at compelling Trump to disclose the Epstein files within 30 days.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Maxwell’s current attorney, David Oscar Marcus, contacted Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch with an offer.

The Journal asked, “Does the Justice Department want to interview Maxwell and hear her response?” Marcus reportedly made an offer to Blanch, who did not request any clemency or special treatment for his client.

They accepted Marcus’s offer and questioned Maxwell for two days. Records of Maxwell’s interrogation, later released by the Justice Department, revealed that she said she never saw the president do anything inappropriate or illegal.

On the second day of the interrogation, she was served a Chick-fil-A breakfast, according to the newspaper.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse young girls. About a week after the interview, the 63-year-old British woman was transferred to a maximum-security detention center in Bryan, Texas.

According to the Wall Street Journal, this decision was motivated by “concerns for his safety.”

Meanwhile, the White House was considering releasing the transcripts and recordings of Maxwell’s interviews, believing this could finally bring closure to the drama.

The transcripts were released on August 22, and senior officials were reportedly “confident that the scandal will soon be over.”

On September 2, as the House returned from summer recess, Massie filed a petition for his release to force the House of Representatives to vote on the release of the files. Khanna and Massie held a press conference the next day with Epstein survivors, who called for the full release of the files.

Trump is now reportedly rushing to convince the three Republican congresswomen who signed the petition, after a majority of the House signed a measure aimed at forcing a full vote.