US House Speaker calls for transparency on Epstein, in departure from Trump

US President Donald Trump has said Attorney General Pam Bondi should release "whatever she thinks is credible" on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as he faces a rare backlash from supporters after seeking to draw a line under the issue.

Bondi has been lambasted by some of Trumps political base after her department recently said there was no evidence that Epstein kept a "client list".

This appeared to contradict her previous statements, and those of other Trump allies who have previously called for the release of more information on Epstein.

Trump also said on Tuesday he did not understand "what the interest or what the fascination is" with the matter. He earlier offered a defence of Bondi.

"Shes handled it very well, and its going to be up to her," he told reporters. "Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release."

When asked by a journalist if the attorney general had told Trump whether his name appeared in any of the records, he said: "No, no."

During his later comments, the president questioned the enduring fascination with the Epstein issue, calling it "sordid but boring".

"Only really bad people, including the fake news, want to keep something like this going," Trump said.

While campaigning last year, Trump promised to release files relating to the disgraced financier. The issue re-emerged earlier this year amid his public spat with his former adviser Elon Musk.

Certain key Trump allies, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, continue to call for transparency.

Trumps comments in defence of Bondi were in response to a reporter who had pointed out that the presidents own daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, too, had publicly asked for transparency.

Epstein died in a New York prison cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was more than a decade after his conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender.

According to a two-page Department of Justice (DoJ) and FBI memo released earlier this month, investigators found no "incriminating list" of clients and "no credible evidence" that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.

Investigators also released footage they say supports the medical examiners conclusion that Epstein died by suicide while being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.

Some conspiracy theorists have long suggested that Epstein was murdered to stop him from implicating government officials, celebrities and other business tycoons who were involved in his crimes.

FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino had previously questioned the official narrative regarding Epsteins death - although both have acknowledged that Epstein took his own life since joining the Trump administration.

The memo adds that investigators "did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties".

But many in Trumps Make America Great Again (Maga) movement continue to speculate that details of the well-connected convicted paedophiles crimes have been withheld in order to protect influential figures, or intelligence agencies.

In recent days, Trump has vented frustration over the fixation with Epstein, and urged everyone to move on. But some Republican allies are not letting go.

Some of the pressure on Bondi stems from comments she made in February, when she was asked by a Fox News interviewer about the purported Epstein client list. "Its sitting on my desk right now to review," she said.

Bondis spokesman said last week she had actually been referring to overall files in the matter.

In an interview on Tuesday with US conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Speaker Johnson stressed that he trusted Trump and his team, and that the White House was privy to facts that he did not know.

But, he said, Bondi "needs to come forward and explain it to everybody".

"We should put everything out there and let the people decide," Johnson said.

Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told Benny Johnson in a separate interview: "I fully support transparency on this issue."

She praised Bondis work as attorney general, but said that leaders and elected officials should keep their promises to voters.

Another conservative Republican, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, said if more Epstein files were not released, a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the financiers crimes.

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said the voters expect more accountability.

"I think its perfectly understandable that the American people would like to know who he [Epstein] trafficked those women to and why they werent prosecuted," Kennedy told NBC News.

But other influential Republicans – including Senator John Thune and congressman Jim Jordan – deferred to the president on the matter.

At an unrelated news conference on the drug fentanyl on Tuesday, Bondi brushed aside questions about the controversy.

"Nothing about Epstein," she told reporters. "Im not going to talk about Epstein."

She said last weeks memo by the Department of Justice, jointly released with the FBI, declining to release any further files on Epstein and confirming his death by suicide, "speaks for itself".

The governments findings were made, according to the memo, after reviewing more than 300 gigabytes of data.

On Tuesday, House Democratic lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to force a vote on releasing Epstein files.

Republicans pointed out the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, also had access to the files, but did not release them.

Follow the twists and turns of Trumps second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurchers weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.