{"id":2458177,"date":"2025-07-10T18:57:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T22:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-congressman-epstein-files-existed-but-were-destroyed\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T18:57:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T22:57:57","slug":"republican-congressman-epstein-files-existed-but-were-destroyed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-congressman-epstein-files-existed-but-were-destroyed\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican Congressman: Epstein Files &#8216;Existed&#8217; But Were &#8216;Destroyed&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublican-congressman-epstein-files-existed-but-were-destroyed%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2458177&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Republican representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee claimed during a NewsNation interview that the Jeffrey Epstein files once existed but were destroyed, allegedly by the Biden administration. Burchett expressed skepticism toward the Department of Justice&#8217;s recent findings, which concluded there was no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elizabeth-warren-abandons-mckinsey-disclosure-demands\/\" title=\"Elizabeth Warren Abandons McKinsey Disclosure Demands\">client list<\/a> implicating prominent individuals and that Epstein&#8217;s death was a suicide. He suggested that powerful people involved with epstein might have <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >caused economic disruption<\/a> if exposed and criticized former Attorney General Pam Bondi for prematurely promising the release of the files. Tho Burchett admitted he lacked definitive proof for his claims, he maintained that the Biden administration intentionally suppressed or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-donald-trump-issue-this-statement-about-flushing-january-6-notes-down-the-toilet\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Did Donald Trump Issue This Statement About Flushing January 6 Notes Down The Toilet?\">destroyed evidence related<\/a> to Epstein&#8217;s network.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>GOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said Wednesday he believes the Jeffrey Epstein files were real at one point, but have since been destroyed.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/quarter-mil-rep-burchetts-bombshell-autopen-claim-says-find-autopen-staffers-sold-pardons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Burchett<\/a> made the explosive claim during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/crime\/epstein-files-destroyed-biden-administration-burchett\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an appearance<\/a> on NewsNation&rsquo;s &ldquo;On Balance&rdquo; with host Leland Vittert.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think the files existed at one time,&rdquo; Burchett said. &ldquo;I think they were destroyed in the previous administration.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He accused <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/political-rolodex-biden-administration-dhs-finds-massive-corruption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Biden administration<\/a> of ensuring the records never saw the light of day.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If they&rsquo;d ever had anything on Trump, it would have been out day one under the Biden administration,&rdquo; Burchett told Vittert.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rep. Tim Burchett suggests Epstein files were 'destroyed' by Biden administration | On Balance\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3-EOvTrsXPc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The interview came just days after the Department of Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/put-foot-mouths-epsteins-brother-laughing-trumps-fbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced the findings<\/a> of a long-awaited probe into Epstein&rsquo;s alleged network of sex trafficking and blackmail.<\/p>\n<p>Burchett dismissed the DOJ&rsquo;s conclusion that there was no &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tucker-carlson-says-there-are-only-2-explanations-that-i-can-think-of-for-epstein-list-debacle\/\" title=\"Tucker Carlson Says &#039;There Are Only 2 Explanations That I Can Think Of&#039; for Epstein List Debacle\">client list&#038;rdquo<\/a>; and that Epstein died by suicide.<\/p>\n<p>He speculated that &ldquo;very prominent people&rdquo; may have been involved with Epstein.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Would it have caused economic disruption around the globe? Maybe,&rdquo; Burchett said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t really care. I want to bury those dirtbags.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Tennessee Republican said Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-fumes-reporter-bondi-tries-explain-away-critical-missing-minute-epstein-video\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pam Bondi<\/a> got ahead of herself by previously claiming the Epstein files would be released.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think she got out over her skis, saying all this stuff &mdash; &lsquo;The files are on my desk,&rsquo;&rdquo; Burchett said. &ldquo;I think they all got out there, got a little excited, and I don&rsquo;t think they exist.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He added that the same thing has happened with release of information on other high-profile cases, including the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the 1968 assassination of JFK&rsquo;s brother, Robert F. Kennedy, who was running for president at the time he was killed. &ldquo;Every time they&rsquo;re supposed to release something, they never do,&rdquo; Burchett said.<\/p>\n<p>Bondi has come under fire from conservatives for failing to deliver on promises to release Epstein-related records.<\/p>\n<p>Burchett placed the blame squarely on the Biden administration. The congressman said he believed Biden&rsquo;s DOJ &ldquo;destroyed everything&rdquo; on Epstein.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ&rsquo;s memo, released this week, claimed there was no evidence Epstein used blackmail or maintained a client list.<\/p>\n<p>The report also concluded that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/told-leave-epstein-alone-belonged-intelligence-ex-cabinet-secretary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Epstein&rsquo;s<\/a> death was a suicide, not part of any broader conspiracy.<\/p>\n<p>Burchett is among a large faction of conservatives who have expressed skepticism over the DOJ&rsquo;s findings.<\/p>\n<p>He previously called Epstein&rsquo;s death convenient for powerful people with something to hide.<\/p>\n<p>Vittert pressed Burchett on whether any evidence supported his claims.<\/p>\n<p>The congressman admitted he could not offer definitive proof, but stood by his claim.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP Representative Tim Burchett from Tennessee stated on Wednesday that he believes the Jeffrey Epstein files once existed but have since been destroyed. He made this striking assertion during an interview on NewsNation&#8217;s &#8220;On Balance&#8221; with host Leland Vittert, saying, &#8220;I think the files existed at one time. I think they were destroyed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2458178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tim-Burchett.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5408,9006,5665,3911],"class_list":["post-2458177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-congressman","tag-epstein","tag-files","tag-republican"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tim-Burchett.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458177"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2458181,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458177\/revisions\/2458181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2458178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}