WASHINGTON – Attorney General Pam Bondi's recent comments about evidence the Justice Department is reviewing from its Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation has fueled anticipation about the expected release of more files related to the wealthy financier.
But weeks after Bondi's claim about “tens of thousands” of Epstein videos in the government's possession, it remains unclear what she was referring to.
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Here's a look at some of the takeaways from an Associated Press report about the Epstein case and Bondi's recent remarks:
Who are Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell?
A New York financier with ties to politicians and other famous and powerful people, Epstein was arrested in 2019 as he arrived in the U.S. from Paris aboard his private jet and charged with sexually abusing dozens of teenage girls during the early 2000s.
The case was brought more than a decade after a secret plea deal with federal prosecutors in Florida disposed of nearly identical allegations.
Weeks after his arrest, Epstein took his own life inside a high-security unit at a New York jail. Since then, Epstein’s crimes, high-profile connections and death have made him a subject of public fascination, intense media scrutiny and conspiracy theories.
Maxwell, Epstein’s British socialite girlfriend, was separately charged and later convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Many of the scores of women who accused Epstein of abusing them have characterized Maxwell as the madam who recruited them.
Maxwell, who laid blame for the abuse on Epstein, was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison.
A hidden camera and reporters at the White House
Bondi first mentioned the videos in April when she was approached in a restaurant by a woman with a hidden camera who asked about the status of the release of the Epstein files. Bondi replied there were tens of thousands of videos “and it’s all with little kids so they have to go through every one,” referring to the FBI.
Then in May, after conservative activist James O’Keefe — who obtained and later publicized the hidden camera video — alerted the Justice Department press office to the encounter, Bondi appeared at the White House, where she said: “There are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn.”
The comments tapped into long-held suspicions and theories that, despite the release over the years of thousands of records documenting his activities, embarrassing and incriminating details about him or other powerful figures remain suppressed by the government. Her statements appeared meant to explain the delay in releasing more files, even though the government would presumably never release footage depicting children.
What the AP found through its reporting
The Associated Press spoke with lawyers and law enforcement officials in criminal and civil cases concerning Epstein and Maxwell who said they had not seen and did not know of a trove of recordings like what Bondi described.
Indictments and detention memos in the cases do not reference sexually suggestive videos, and neither was charged with possession of child sexual abuse material even though that offense would have been easier for prosecutors to prove than the sex trafficking counts they faced.
An AP review of hundreds of court documents in the case found non-specific mentions of the existence of video evidence but no references to tens of thousands of recordings showing Epstein with children or child sex abuse material.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who has refuted conspiracy theories that Epstein was murdered, did not advance the suggestion of thousands of recordings with Epstein during a recent interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Though not asked explicitly about Bondi’s comments, he dismissed the possibility of incriminating videos involving powerful Epstein friends, saying “If there was a video of some guy or gal committing felonies on an island and I’m in charge, don’t you think you’d see it?” Asked whether the narrative “might not be accurate that there’s video of these guys doing this,” Patel replied, “Exactly.”
One potential clue, however, may lie in a little-noticed 2023 court filing — among the documents the AP reviewed — in which Epstein’s estate was revealed to have located an unspecified number of videos and photos that it said might contain child sex abuse material. Even that remains shrouded in secrecy with lawyers involved in that civil case saying they are bound by a protective order and cannot discuss it.
The judge ordered representatives of Epstein’s estate to review the content before handing anything over to the lawyers and alert the FBI if the estate found anything that could be considered child sexual abuse imagery.
The department declined repeated requests from the AP to speak with officials overseeing the Epstein review.
What are the stakes for Bondi?
Bondi's statements matter because she's already facing intense pressure from conservatives to prove the government has in its possession previously unseen compelling evidence after an earlier document dump she hyped failed to satisfy online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and members of President Donald Trump’s base.
During a Fox News Channel interview in February, Bondi said an alleged Epstein “client list” was sitting on her desk for review. The next day, the Justice Department distributed binders marked “declassified” to far-right influencers at the White House, but it later became clear much of the information had been in the public domain for years. No “client list” was disclosed, and there’s no evidence such a document exists.
The flop left conservatives fuming and did little to tamp down conspiracy theories that for years have spiraled around the financier’s case thanks to his ties to politicians and other famous and powerful people. Right wing-personality Laura Loomer called on Bondi to resign, branding her a “total liar,” while conservative legal group Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department to try to obtain more Epstein records.
Afterward, Bondi said a “source” in the FBI’s New York field office informed her that thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents exist and ordered the bureau to provide the “full and complete Epstein files,” including all “records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials” concerning Epstein and his clients. Employees have logged hours reviewing records to prepare them for release. It’s unclear when that might happen.