Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is prepared to ask a court as soon as Friday to unseal grand jury transcripts related to the investigation into late disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Context
Bondi made her announcement after President Donald Trump said he had asked her to produce “any and all” relevant grand jury records related to Epstein to put an end to what he characterized as the “ridiculous” publicity Epstein has gotten over the last several days.
Trump’s request, meanwhile, came after the Wall Street Journal published an explosive story saying that Trump sent a “bawdy” letter to Epstein in 2003 for Epstein’s 50th birthday. According to the report, which the president called “fake,” Trump’s letter featured featured several lines of typewritten text surrounded by the outline of a naked woman, sketched in marker, and included Trump’s signature.
“Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the letter said, according to the report.
What To Know
After the Journal‘s story was published, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had asked Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,” connected to the Epstein investigation. “This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!” the president added.
Bondi responded on X shortly after, writing: “President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.”
The public and media’s renewed focus on Epstein came after the DOJ, which Bondi oversees, put out a memo concluding that the convicted sex offender died by suicide in 2019 in his Manhattan jail cell and that the government was not in possession of an “incriminating” list of Epstein’s “clients.”
The memo threw a wrench into years of conspiracy theories—amplified for months by Bondi and other Trump administration officials—suggesting that Epstein was murdered as part of a government cover-up.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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