WASHINGTON –President Donald Trumpthrew his full support behind Attorney GeneralPam Bondiin a furious social media post that lit into his "so-called 'friends'" in MAGA and told them to move on fromfevered demandsthat she release files related to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein," Trump wrote on July 12 in a lengthypost on Truth Social. Trump loyalists have been steadily berating Bondisince the Justice Departmentand FBI said that a "systematic review" of documents related to Epstein "revealed no incriminating 'client list.'" The statement led to allegations from far-right personalities, includingTucker Carlson, that the Trump administration was engaged in a cover-up. Bondi said earlier this year in an interview on Fox News after she was asked about Epstein's client list that it was"sitting on my desk right now to review."She promised at another point that"everything's going to come out to the public." Defending her stance at a July 8 Cabinet meeting at the White House, Bondi told reporters: "I was asked a question about the client list and my response was, 'It's sitting on my desk to be reviewed,' meaning the file, not the client list." Trump took another tack. In his statement on social media this weekend, he alleged that the government documents could have been written by political opponents and critics such as former President Barack Obama and former FBI Director James Comey, whom he fired during his first term. Epstein timeline:Trump's team promised transparency on Epstein. Here's what they delivered. "They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called 'friends' are playing right into their hands," Trump wrote. The dossier, assembled by former British spy Christopher Steele, contained salacious allegations about Trump, including alleged connections between the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Trump saidhe'd considerdeclassifying the Epstein files during the 2024 presidential campaign. Vice President JD Vance called for the release of Epstein's purported client list last fall. FBI DirectorKash Patelrepeatedly pushed for the alleged client list to be released when Joe Biden was in the White House. "To me, that's a thing I thinkPresident Trumpshould run on. On Day 1, roll out the 'black book,'" Pateltold Glenn Beckon Dec. 13, 2023. In his social media post on July 12, the president offered the now-FBI director some cover. He said Patel and the FBI "must be focused on investigating" allegations of voter fraud and other red meat issues for the base, "instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein." He told his supporters not to "waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about." "LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB – SHE'S GREAT!" he said. Contributing: Aysha Bagchi This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump defends AG Pam Bondi, asks MAGA to move on from Epstein case
