Report: Trump Informed by Bondi of Epstein Files Mentioning His Name

Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche informed President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the government's files on Jeffrey Epstein, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. They told Trump that the material contained child pornography and personal information of victims, and decided not to release additional documents. Trump deferred to the Justice Department's decision regarding the files on Epstein, who died in jail in 2019.

Names of other high-profile individuals were also found in the documents, but it was not evidence of wrongdoing. The Trump administration faced backlash for not releasing the files as promised earlier. The DOJ and FBI stated that their review did not uncover evidence for further criminal charges.

When asked about the review, Trump denied being told that his name appeared in the files and made baseless claims about the origin of the files. The White House dismissed the reports as fake news. Bondi and Blanche clarified that the findings did not warrant further investigation or prosecution, and efforts were made to unseal grand jury transcripts.

FBI Director Kash Patel supported the DOJ and FBI's review, criticizing the leaks and fake news targeting President Trump. The memo released on July 6th reflected the thorough review conducted by the agencies.