Bondi faces GOP pressure to speedily release Epstein files

Attorney General Pam Bondi is under pressure from Republican lawmakers to refrain from slow-walking the release of the Epstein files after President Donald Trump signed legislation requiring their public disclosure.

Bondi originally attempted to release largely public information to influencers earlier this year in a now-notorious PR stunt involving binders. The administration reluctantly endorsed the release of the files after Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., managed to force a House vote on the issue. The legislation gives Bondi 30 days to release the materials. Bondi has hinted, however, that active investigations could lead to a hold on the release.

“You can adjust for whatever investigations are going on, but if you do a blanket hold, I think that they’re going to have a lot of people angry," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said this week, according to The Hill.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, for her part warned “people who feel very strongly about this will feel like they’ve been duped" if Bondi implements a hold on the release.

The House voted 427-1 in favor of the files' release. The Senate approved the measure by unanimous consent. Trump himself campaigned on releasing the so-called "client list" of powerful people to whom Epstein allegedly trafficked young women.

Bondi, in February, said that the client list was "on her desk" though the administration has insisted she was referring to the body of documents related to the case. An unsigned memo, earlier this year, stated that no client list existed, leading to outrage over the administration's handling of the matter.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.