US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, July 15, dismissed questions about whether he’s named in investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein, calling the documents “made up” and insisting any credible claims should be released by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“No, no,” Trump said on the White House lawn when asked if Bondi had told him his name appeared in the files. “She’s given us just a very quick briefing on the credibility of what they’ve seen.”
Trump went on to blame political opponents for the controversy, claiming, “I would say these files were made up by Comey and Obama, made up by the Biden administration. We went through years of that with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.”
He added: “But she’s handled it very well. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release.”
The remarks come amid growing backlash from Trump’s supporters, who have accused Bondi of backing away from promises of transparency. Last week, Bondi sparked bipartisan criticism after releasing a two-page memo stating “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
In the memo, Bondi acknowledged Epstein’s sex-trafficking harmed more than a thousand victims, but said the Justice Department did not uncover evidence to justify charging any uncharged third parties. Bondi also confirmed Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial, supported by prison surveillance footage — though one minute of each day’s video is missing due to outdated technology.
Despite past social ties with Epstein, Trump has repeatedly tried to distance himself from the disgraced financier. Only Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell ever faced charges. Maxwell is now serving a 20-year sentence.
The president also brushed aside claims from Elon Musk last month that Trump’s name appears in the Epstein files and that this was why the documents hadn’t been made public.
At a Cabinet meeting last week, Trump tried to shut down lingering questions. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years. That is unbelievable,” he said.
Over the weekend, Trump defended Bondi in a social media post, blasting what he called politically motivated investigations: “Why are we giving publicity to files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the losers and criminals of the Biden administration? They created the Epstein files just like they created the fake Steele dossier.”
As criticism swells among even some of his own supporters, Trump appears eager to put the Epstein saga behind him — framing it as another political smear tied to his long list of adversaries.
