DOJ official defends handling of Epstein memo: No ‘daylight’ with FBI

A top Justice Department (DOJ) official pushed back Friday on speculation that there was a gap between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI leadership over the handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a topic that has caused uproar among some in President Trump's MAGA movement.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on social platform X that he worked "closely" with FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino on the joint memo issued earlier this week that stated Epstein did not have a client list and confirmed he died by suicide in his New York City jail cell in 2019.

"All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo," Blanche posted. "The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo’s composition and release is patently false."

His post came shortly after Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and staunch supporter of Trump, alleged Patel and Bongino were "furious" with Bondi over her handling of the Epstein case.

The Trump administration has come under scrutiny from prominent voices in the MAGA movement who have questioned whether the government is covering up salacious information around Epstein.

Bondi in particular has faced intense backlash given her comments earlier this year pledging transparency around the Epstein files. The attorney general on Tuesday defended an interview she did in February, in which she said an Epstein client list was on her desk to be reviewed.

She asserted she was referring to a variety of files related to the Epstein case.

Trump has largely brushed off the criticism, saying during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that there are bigger things to worry about.

“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years. You’re asking — we have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things," he told reporters. "And are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable."

The financier pleaded guilty in 2008 to separate sexual misconduct charges and was federally charged in 2019 over allegedly leading a sex trafficking operation involving underage girls from 2002 to 2005.