As Florida Attorney General, Bondi declared the state would have 'zero tolerance for human trafficking' and launched anti-trafficking partnerships targeting massage parlors, hotels, and agriculture. In Tampa alone, 81 massage therapists lost licenses in a sting operation. She pursued numerous child ...
While Bondi's office was 'currently reviewing the allegations' against Trump University — having received 22+ consumer fraud complaints — she personally solicited a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation. Six days after her spokeswoman confirmed the review to a reporter, the donation a...
Bondi departed as Florida Attorney General after eight years in office (2011-2019). During her tenure, Epstein's flight records became public, over 200 victims filed civil suits, and significant new evidence surfaced — yet her office never opened a formal investigation. Legal experts confirmed she h...
"Pam Bondi was Florida's attorney general 2011-2019 — a period of time when Jeffrey Epstein's plane records became public, victims' lawsuits were filed and a lot of new evidence against Epstein surfaced. So questions should be asked about why she didn't take up the case."
— Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald investigative reporter whose reporting led to Epstein's 2019 arrest
The Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as U.S. Attorney General in a 54-45 vote. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi pledged to release the Epstein files and pursue accountability. She had previously told Fox News host Sean Hannity in 2024: 'It should have come out a long time ago.' As Florida AG (2011-...
On Fox News' America Reports, AG Bondi told host John Roberts that the Epstein client list was 'sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump.' The statement strongly implied a specific Epstein client list existed and was in her possession. This claim was later c...
"It is sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump."
— Pam Bondi, Fox News interview with John Roberts, February 21, 2025
"There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn't on her desk."
— Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff, quoted in Vanity Fair, December 2025
The night before the binder event, Bondi appeared on Jesse Watters Primetime to build anticipation: 'Breaking news right now, you're going to see some Epstein information being released by my office.' She promised: 'This will make you sick.' She said the documents would include information on '200 t...
"Breaking news right now, you're going to see some Epstein information being released by my office. This will make you sick."
— Pam Bondi, Jesse Watters Primetime, Fox News, February 26, 2025
Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel distributed white binders labeled 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1' to approximately 15 conservative influencers at the White House, including DC Draino, Libs of TikTok, Jack Posobiec, and Liz Wheeler. Trump and VP Vance were present. The binders contained roughly 200 pa...
Between March and May, Bondi made increasingly dramatic claims on Fox News: on March 1, she told Mark Levin 'Certainly, nothing can be withheld on that.' On March 3, she told Hannity 'A truckload of evidence arrived' and said she was 'misled' by the FBI. On March 23: 'We are releasing all of these d...
"Tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn."
— Pam Bondi, Public statement, May 7-8, 2025 — later walked back by FBI Director Kash Patel
Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche briefed Trump at the White House that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files, alongside many other high-profile figures. Two officials characterized it as a 'routine briefing.' Bondi told Trump investigators found no evidence of a 'client list' and tha...
"As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings."
— Bondi and Blanche, Joint statement after Wall Street Journal revealed the briefing, July 23, 2025
The DOJ released a two-page unsigned memo concluding no incriminating 'client list' existed, no credible evidence of blackmail was found, Epstein died by suicide, and 'no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.' The memo directly contradicted Bondi's February 21 statement. The conserva...
Deputy AG Todd Blanche — Trump's former personal criminal defense attorney — personally interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell for approximately nine hours over July 24-25. An extraordinary departure from protocol, as such interviews are normally handled by line-level prosecutors. Blanche told Maxwell she ha...
Bondi testified for nearly five hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee. When Sen. Dick Durbin asked why she claimed the client list was 'sitting on my desk' but never released it, Bondi attacked him for refusing 'repeated Republican requests to release the Epstein flight logs in 2023 and 2024.'...
"What has taken place since January 20, 2025, would make even President Nixon recoil."
— Sen. Dick Durbin, Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, October 7, 2025
Trump publicly directed Bondi to investigate 'Jeffrey Epstein's involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase.' No Republicans were named despite extensive documentation in the files. Bondi responded within hours on X: 'Thank you, Mr. President,' and...
After Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) filed a discharge petition that reached 218 signatures — with Republicans Mace, Boebert, Greene, and Burchett joining Democrats — the House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act 427-1 (sole 'no': Rep. Clay Higgins). The Senate passed it by unanimous consent the sa...
After Vanity Fair published Chief of Staff Susie Wiles's internal critique — 'First she gave them binders full of nothingness. And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn't on her desk' — Bondi responded on X. She ca...
"Any attempt to divide this administration will fail. We are family. We are united."
— Pam Bondi, Response on X to Susie Wiles's Vanity Fair criticism, December 16, 2025
The DOJ released approximately 3,965 files — a fraction of the 6+ million responsive pages. Over 500 pages were entirely blacked out, including a 119-page grand jury transcript with zero visible content. Within 24 hours, at least 16 files disappeared from the DOJ website without explanation, includi...
The DOJ released over 3 million additional pages, 180,000 images, and 2,000+ videos. Deputy AG Blanche — not Bondi — held the press conference; CNN noted Bondi's conspicuous absence. Moments after the announcement, Bondi posted a video about the arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon. The DOJ declare...
In a five-hour hearing with Epstein survivors seated behind her, Bondi told victims 'I am deeply sorry for what any victim has been through' but then devolved into confrontation. She called Rep. Jamie Raskin — a former constitutional law professor — a 'washed-up loser lawyer, not even a lawyer.' She...
"You washed-up loser lawyer — not even a lawyer."
— Pam Bondi, Directed at Rep. Jamie Raskin during House Judiciary Committee hearing, February 11, 2026
"There are over 1,000 sex trafficking victims. And you have not held a single man accountable. Shame on you. If you had any decency, you would resign."
— Rep. Ted Lieu, House Judiciary Committee hearing, February 11, 2026
"Literally the worst thing you could do to survivors, you did."
— Rep. Thomas Massie, House Judiciary Committee hearing, February 11, 2026
"Instead of talking about Ghislaine Maxwell, who will hopefully die in prison, hopefully will die in prison, you should be talking about Iryna Zarutska."
— Pam Bondi, Deflecting Rep. Deborah Ross's question about Maxwell's prison transfer, February 11, 2026
The House Oversight Committee voted 24-19 to subpoena Bondi for closed-door testimony, with five Republicans — Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud, and Scott Perry — joining Democrats. Mace declared: 'The Epstein case is one of the greatest cover-ups in American history. Videos a...
"The Epstein case is one of the greatest cover-ups in American history. Videos are missing. Audio is missing. Logs are missing."
— Rep. Nancy Mace, After House Oversight Committee subpoena vote, March 4, 2026