WASHINGTON(National Times)- Jeffrey Epstein did not maintain a \u201cclient list,\u201d the Justice Department acknowledged Monday as it said no more files related to the wealthy financier\u2019s sex trafficking investigation would be made public despite promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists. The acknowledgment that the well-connected Epstein did not have a list of clients to whom underage girls were trafficked represents a public walk-back of a theory that the Trump administration had helped promote, with Bondi suggesting in a Fox News interview earlier this year that such a document was \u201csitting on my desk\u201d for review. Even as it released video from inside a New York jail meant to definitively prove that Epstein killed himself, the department also said in a memo that it was refusing to disclose other evidence investigators had collected. Bondi for weeks had suggested more material was going to be revealed \u2014 \u201cIt\u2019s a new administration and everything is going to come out to the public,\u201d she said at one point \u2014 after a first document dump she had hyped angered President Donald Trump\u2019s base by failing to deliver revelations. That episode, in which far-right influencers were invited to the White House in February and provided with binders marked \u201cThe Epstein Files: Phase 1\u201d and \u201cDeclassified\u201d that contained documents that had largely already been in the public domain, has spurred conservative internet personalities to sharply criticize Bondi. After the first release fell flat, Bondi said officials were poring over a \u201ctruckload\u201d of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI. In a March TV interview, she claimed the Biden administration \u201csat on these documents, no one did anything with them,\u201d adding: \u201cSadly these people don\u2019t believe in transparency, but I think more unfortunately, I think a lot of them don\u2019t believe in honesty.\u201d But after a months-long review of evidence in the government\u2019s possession, the Justice Department determined that no \u201cfurther disclosure would be appropriate or warranted,\u201d the memo says. The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims and \u201conly a fraction\u201d of it \u201cwould have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.\u201d \u201cOne of our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims,\u201d the memo says. \u201cPerpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.\u201d The two-page memo bore the logos of the Justice Department and the FBI but was not signed by any individual official. Conservatives who have sought proof of a government cover-up of Epstein\u2019s activities and death expressed outrage Monday over the department\u2019s position. Far-right influencer Jack Posobiec posted: \u201cWe were all told more was coming. That answers were out there and would be provided. Incredible how utterly mismanaged this Epstein mess has been. And it didn\u2019t have to be.\u201d Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wrote that \u201cnext the DOJ will say \u2018Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,\u2019\u201d calling it \u201cover the top sickening.\u201d Elon Musk shared a series of photos of a clown applying makeup appearing to mock Bondi for saying the client list doesn\u2019t exist after suggesting months ago that it was on her desk. The client list hubbub began when Bondi was asked in a Fox News interview whether the department would release such a document. She replied: \u201cIt\u2019s sitting on my desk right now to review.\u201d White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said Monday that Bondi was referring to the overall Epstein case files. Among the evidence that the Justice Department said Monday it has in its possession, and will not be releasing, are images of Epstein, \u201cimages and videos of victims who are either minors or appear to be minors,\u201d and more than 10,000 \u201cdownloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography.\u201d The memo does not explain when or where the videos were located, who and what they depict and whether they were newly found as investigators scoured their collection of evidence or were known for some time to have been in the government\u2019s possession.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National Times)- Jeffrey Epstein did not maintain a \u201cclient list,\u201d the Justice Department acknowledged Monday as it said no more files related to the wealthy financier\u2019s sex trafficking investigation would be made public despite promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists. The acknowledgment that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n