Hard-right political activist Laura Loomer says that the American public “can’t trust” Jeffrey Epstein documents released under President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ).
Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email and the DOJ via online press contact form on Thursday evening.
Why It Matters
On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi promised to release a trove of documents related to the Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which has been the focus of right-wing conspiracy theories for several years.
Loomer, a conspiracy theorist and Trump loyalist who was frequently spotted with the president in the lead-up to last year’s election, has been at odds with Elon Musk and some others in Trump’s orbit in recent months.
What To Know
Before the new Epstein documents were released to the public on Thursday, a small selection of prominent conservative social media influencers appeared outside the White House to receive binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Part I.”
While the binders were marked “declassified” and referred to Trump’s new administration as “the most transparent,” it is unclear whether the files inside were ever classified.
“I hate to say it, but the American people can’t trust the validity of the Epstein files released today,” Loomer wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “It was released in an unprofessional manner with paid, partisan social media influencers to curate their binders for us. I can’t trust anything in the binder. Neither should you.”
“It was a photo opp,” she added in a later post. “Influencers posed for pictures with cheap binders given to them by @PamBondi who still doesn’t want to explain why she never held Epstein accountable even though she was the Attorney General of Florida the entire time he was raping young girls in Florida.”
Less than one hour later, Loomer wrote that she had obtained a scanned copy of the binder contents from Chaya “Libs of TikTok” Raichik, one of the influencers at the White House event.
She then shared a link to a 224-page document that appeared to consist largely of flight logs, a partly redacted list of Epstein’s contacts and a fully redacted masseuse list. Some of the documents were previously released as part of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial.
A letter dated Thursday from Bondi to FBI Director Kash Patel, which demanded the release of additional files, was also included in the document shared by Loomer.
What People Are Saying
Rogan “DC Draino” O’Handley, among the influencers who received a binder at the White House, while sharing a photo of himself and others holding the binders in a post to X: “Today I met with President Trump, VP JD Vance, AG Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel in the Oval Office. They handed me a binder copy of the Epstein Files. This is the most transparent administration in American history. The best part? This is just the start. AG Bondi confirmed there are thousands more Epstein File documents being secretly held in the SDNY and they will be delivered to the DOJ in DC by February 28. People will be going to jail for what they’ve done.”
Loomer, in a post to X after sharing the binder contents on Thursday: “Enough is enough. Donald Trump needs some real vetting in his admin. The entire world is laughing at our country today. And if you say they aren’t, you’re full of s*** or you’re one of the influencers who received the binder. This is honestly shocking levels of incompetence.”
What Happens Next
While it is unclear when or if additional documents related to the Epstein investigation will be publicly released, the issue is likely to continue to be the focus of public debate.
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