MAGA voices target Bondi instead of Bongino, Patel after Epstein client list flop
The article discusses the backlash from MAGA and right-wing figures directed at Attorney General Pam Bondi following the Justice Department’s release of information regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s client list. The Department admitted there was no damning evidence in the files and reaffirmed that Epstein’s death was a suicide,though his brother has expressed doubts. Bondi faced criticism for initially presenting Epstein’s client list to pro-Trump influencers in a widely mocked publicity stunt that resulted in humiliation due to the lack of new information. Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly sharply criticized Bondi’s handling of the situation, questioning her competence and honesty, while expressing trust in FBI figures Dan Bongino and Kash Patel. Others in the MAGA movement, however, have criticized bongino and Patel as well, accusing them of covering up information. Calls for Bondi’s resignation have been made by various right-wing personalities. Simultaneously occurring, former President Donald Trump downplayed ongoing questions about Epstein, which Kelly also criticized for being dismissive. Trump praised Bongino and Patel on social media but notably did not mention bondi. the article highlights ongoing frustration within conservative circles over the handling and transparency of the Epstein case.
MAGA voices target Bondi instead of Bongino and Patel after Epstein client list flop
With the recent fallout from the Justice Department‘s handling of the Epstein client list, right-wing figures are expressing their outrage toward Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The Justice Department admitted in a Monday memo that there is a lack of damning evidence about the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein‘s “client list” used to keep track of his associates. The Justice Department also concluded his death was caused by suicide, not homicide, in prison, which Epstein’s own brother, Mark, has his doubts about. The memo was initially leaked over the holiday weekend.
Bondi has faced backlash for the underwhelming revelation, especially after the attorney general revealed she had Epstein’s client list on her desk ready to review months before backtracking.
Conservative commentator and loyal Trump supporter Megyn Kelly aimed her ire toward Bondi’s botched handling of the Epstein files.
“I’m going to predict her days are numbered as a member of the Trump administration,” Kelly said Tuesday on her podcast, adding Bondi is either “lazy” or “incompetent” or she “willingly humiliated” right-wing influencers for handing them binders of Epstein files in February.
The publicity stunt, in which 15 influencers posed with the binders for photos, was widely panned by conservatives.
Kelly believes the pro-Trump influencers “did not deserve the humiliation that [Bondi] heaped upon them.”
“They f***ed up because they trusted her,” Kelly said on Emily Jashinsky’s podcast After Party. “They were humiliated because she gave them all these binders that read ‘Epstein Files,’ you know, ‘Volume 1,’ and there was nothing new in there. Nothing. There was no scoop. Why would she do that?”
Meanwhile, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel have also come under fire for their investigation into the Epstein case. Yet Kelly is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The journalist noted that while she doesn’t personally know Patel, she knows Bongino and believes he is telling the truth about the Epstein files.
“I trust [Dan Bongino] not to actively mislead me or you,” Kelly told Jashinsky. “However, Pam Bondi has definitely made multiple inconsistent statements, and I’m sorry, but she does not deserve the benefit of my good opinion, and I’m not prepared to give it to her.”
Former CIA officer John Kiriakou similarly said he doesn’t blame Bongino or Patel, adding the “deep state” most likely destroyed the Epstein documents long before they started working at the FBI.
“I think that that layer beneath them, that’s part of what we like to call the deep state, has taken this bull by the horns, and they’ve probably destroyed information,” Kiriakou told Fox News.
Others in the MAGA movement have been less forgiving of Bongino and Patel.
“I may regret posting this,” conservative comedian Brandon Collins wrote on X, before repeatedly saying “f***” to the FBI, Patel, and Bongino. “We were supposed to count on you both to be truthful. But you’ve failed us and covered up the Epstein Files. F*** you both.”
Calls for Bondi’s resignation have also been raised on social media by right-wing personalities, such as Glenn Beck and Laura Loomer. Liz Wheeler, who was given a binder on the Epstein files in February, also demanded the attorney general’s resignation.
President Donald Trump waded into the conversation over Epstein on Tuesday, wondering why reporters are still asking questions about the infamous sex trafficker nearly six years after his death.
“Are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting with Bondi present.
Kelly criticized Trump over his dismissive answer.
MUSK SUGGESTS EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE WILL BE HIGH PRIORITY FOR AMERICA PARTY
“Good grief! That was no bueno, guys! That was no bueno, OK?” she said on her show. “President Trump had the same problem there that Karoline Leavitt had yesterday. The dodge should not be obvious. It should be subtle. It should be deftly worked into a more substantive answer.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump lauded Bongino and Patel for “locking up criminals” and “cleaning up America’s streets,” as they received ire from Trump supporters. Notably, the president did not praise Bondi.
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