Vance says Trump administration ‘screwed up’ Epstein files roll-out
Vice President JD Vance criticized the Trump administration for mishandling the release of Jeffrey Epstein files, admitting that their dialogue strategies were flawed. During a Joe Rogan podcast, Vance discussed internal disagreements with White House officials, notably susie Wiles, over how to release data about Epstein, with Vance advocating for full clarity and Wiles favoring a more cautious approach. Vance also addressed speculation that Epstein was linked to intelligence agencies and denied that the administration tried to hide sensitive details.This controversy emerged after reports revealed conflicts within the White House regarding how to manage the Epstein file disclosures,which included releasing largely publicly available documents and redacting many names to protect victims.Epstein’s case,marked by his connections to powerful individuals and theories surrounding his death,remains a subject of intense scrutiny. Trump dismissed concerns that political motives influenced the handling of the files, emphasizing that the mistakes were due to communication challenges rather than deliberate concealment. Ultimately, Epstein’s complex history and the handling of related documents continue to generate widespread debate.
Vice President JD Vance said that the Trump administration botched how it released the Epstein files, conceding what was widely viewed as a public relations disaster for the White House.
Vance waded into the Jeffrey Epstein case during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast released Wednesday, referencing then-Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the release of millions of files from the Justice Department during her tenure.
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“If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein release, guilty. We did mishandle it — especially the communications of it,” Vance said. “We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files like we just did.”
Vance’s public criticism of the rollout comes after reports indicated he and top officials such as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles had critical differences over how to handle the Epstein case. Vance pushed for “full transparency” in what he appeared to hope would get ahead of the media cycle, including pushing for the release of files pertaining to an uncorroborated and secondhand claim made nearly a decade earlier, about President Donald Trump aggressively flicking and sucking a young woman’s nipples until they “looked incredibly painful,” according to the New York Times.
Wiles favored a less vulnerable approach, shutting down such efforts during private Situation Room meetings, and describing Vance as a “major conspiracy theorist,” according to the outlet.
In his interview with Rogan, Vance dismissed the idea that the administration is trying to cover up sensitive information about Epstein, even though he continued to imply that the deceased New York financier was connected to U.S. and Israeli intelligence.
“Do I think the reason we screwed up the comms was that we were trying to hide something? No,” Vance said.
“Pam was trying to respond to the political moment,” he added, musing that political pressure led Bondi to make some ill-advised decisions.
During her time at the Justice Department, Bondi oversaw the release of files related to Epstein. Epstein’s life has long been scrutinized due to his connections to powerful people across the world, speculation that he used sex to blackmail them, and theories that his death was not by suicide, as officials concluded.
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Much of the controversy of Bondi’s handling of the files stemmed from her first highly publicized drop of files in February 2025, which she touted as proof of the Trump administration’s push for transparency. Most of the information in those files was already publicly available, leading to criticisms of her leadership. Other criticisms surrounded concerns that many names in the released files were redacted, which Bondi and others said was needed to protect underage females Epstein had abused. Trump ultimately fired Bondi in April 2026.
In the episode released on Wednesday, Rogan questioned why some of the names that were redacted in the files appeared not to be victims of Epstein. Vance claimed “some of the people who were alleged victims were also alleged co-conspirators,” saying it is sometimes “hard to draw a distinction.”
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