Top Trump officials clash in White House amid Epstein fallout

5 hours ago 3

By Eric Tucker

July 12, 2025 — 12.10pm

Washington: FBI deputy director Dan Bongino is reportedly threatening to resign after clashing with Attorney General Pam Bondi in the White House this week over the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, as the Trump administration comes under pressure from influential Trump supporters who are furious about its decision to not release any more Epstein files.

The US Justice Department and the FBI jointly stated on Monday that they had found no evidence to suggest Epstein, a financier charged with sex trafficking, had a “client list” of powerful people or was murdered in jail, despite conspiracy theories suggesting otherwise. Epstein was found dead in his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Daniel Bongino has reportedly threatened to resign as FBI deputy director.

Infuriated by the failure of officials to unlock, as promised, the secrets of the so-called “deep state,” Trump supporters on the far right have grown restless and even demanded change at the top.

The cascade of disappointment and disbelief among them arising from the administration’s refusal to disclose any additional, much-hyped records lays bare the struggles of FBI and Justice Department leaders to resolve the conspiracy theories and amped-up expectations that they themselves had previously stoked with claims of a cover-up and hidden evidence.

Amid this tension, Bondi and Bongino reportedly argued at the White House on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter, who said the clash centred in part on a story in NewsNation that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice Department. The New York Times reported that Bondi accused Bongino of leaking information to the media.

Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is close to Trump, posted on X on Friday that she was told that Bongino was “seriously thinking about resigning” and had taken the day off to contemplate his future. Bongino is normally an active presence on social media but has been silent since Wednesday.

Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sought to stem the fallout on Friday with a social media post in which he said he had worked closely with FBI director Kash Patel and Bongino on the Epstein matter and on the joint memo, which they had all agreed upon.

“All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo. The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo’s composition and release is patently false,” he wrote on X.

The FBI did not respond to a request seeking comment and the White House sought in a statement to minimise any tensions.

“President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims,” said spokesman Harrison Fields.

Jeffrey Epstein was to stand trial on sex trafficking charges.

“This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.”

Patel and Bongino spruiked Epstein conspiracy theories before they were appointed to their positions earlier this year. But both of have since downplayed the theories and said Epstein killed himself.

The Justice Department did disclose a video on Monday meant to prove that Epstein killed himself in jail, but even that raised the eyebrows of conspiracy theorists because of a missing minute in the recording.

It was hardly the first time that Trump administration officials have failed to fulfil their pledge to deliver the evidence they expected.

In February, conservative influencers were invited to the White House and provided with binders marked “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” and “Declassified” that they later realised contained documents that had largely already been in the public domain.

After that release fell flat, Bondi said officials were poring over a “truckload” of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI.

But after a months-long review of evidence in the government’s possession, the Justice Department determined in the memo on Monday that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted,” the memo says. The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims, and “only a fraction” of it “would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.”

The Trump administration had hoped that that statement would be the final word on the saga, with Trump chiding a reporter who asked Bondi about the Epstein case at a Cabinet meeting earlier in the week.

“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years,” he said. “I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, where we’re having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas – it just seems like a desecration.”