‘We will have it in our possession,’ AG Pam Bondi said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi provided more details on the controversy around a release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying she was misled into thinking there were more files and vowed to release “everything” when it comes.
“I kept saying, ‘There has to be more. There has to be more,’” Bondi said Saturday in an interview with Fox News’ Mark Levin. “I was assured that’s it.”
Epstein, who was found dead in 2019 in a New York City jail cell, was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He had connections with a number of celebrities, wealthy businessmen, politicians, members of royal families, and other luminaries, and his death sparked a number of questions.
Bondi said that the U.S. Southern District of New York is currently “sitting on thousands of pages of documents” that were not given to her office, adding that she wants more information from the FBI.
“We will get everything,” she told Levin in the interview. “We will have it in our possession. We will redact it, of course, to protect grand jury information and confidential witnesses, but American people have a right to know.”
Last week, a small batch of Epstein-related documents such as copies of flight logs from Epstein’s private plane, which have long been available in multiple court cases, were released to the public by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Meanwhile, a heavily redacted photocopy of an address book purportedly compiled by Epstein and his longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, which has been cited in media accounts for many years, was also released.
The DOJ also released a blacked-out list of masseuses and an evidence list showing entries for more than 150 items, including nude images, massage tables, and other items. There was no indication as to whether the list was from Epstein’s case, Maxwell’s case, or some other investigation.
Some Republicans and conservatives were critical of the decision to release a small number of files.
“Get us the information we asked for!” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wrote in all capital letters in a post on Feb. 27, adding that neither she nor a House “task force were given or reviewed the Epstein documents being released today.”
Later that day, Bondi sent a letter to new FBI Director Kash Patel, noting that her office hasn’t received all the relevant files.
“The FBI is entering a new era—one that will be defined by integrity, accountability, and the unwavering pursuit of justice. There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned—and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued,” Patel said in response in a post on X.
The FBI was requested to turn over the remaining documents by 8 a.m. on Feb. 28. It’s unclear if the files were transferred by the FBI to the DOJ, and if so, it’s not clear when they will be released.
In the interview with Levin, Bondi did not indicate when she believes the files will be transferred to her office for release.
During his 2024 campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to release all the files related to Epstein, who had previously entered a guilty plea to soliciting a person under the age of 18 in 2008 for prostitution.