Leavitt in the hot seat on Epstein list as reporters press her over Bondi comments

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt faced tough questions on Monday at the press briefing over a leaked Department of Justice memo asserting that they had found no evidence of large-scale blackmail by Jeffrey Epstein and asserted that no "client list" existed.

During an exchange with Fox News's Peter Doocy, Leavitt struggled to account for past comments from Attorney General Pam Bondi stating that the "Epstein list" was "on [her] desk" just one day prior to a botched release of binders to conservative influencers that contained no new significant information on the case.

Leavitt contested the exact wording, prompting Doocy to reference the quote itself, which in fact saw Bondi assert that the "list of Epstein's clients" was on her desk during an appearance on Fox News.

"She was saying the entirety of all of the paperwork, all of the paper in relation to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes," Leavitt insisted. "That's what the Attorney General was referring to. And I'll let her speak for that."

She then changed the subject to other work the DOJ and FBI had done in arresting criminals.

"But again, when it comes to the FBI and the Department of Justice, they are more than committed to ensuring that bad people are put behind bars," she went on. "They have an operation going on right now called summer heat, which has our murder rate trending lowest direction in United States history. Their emphasis on violent crime and locking up violent criminals has led to the arrest of 14,000 violent criminals."

Bondi has faced large-scale online criticism from Trump supporters, many of whom have furiously condemned her apparent about face on releasing the documents.