Bondi briefed Trump that his name was in Epstein files

CNN When Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed President Donald Trump in May on the Justice Department s review of the documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein matter she stated him that his name appeared in the files sources familiar with the discussion reported CNN The conversation which also included Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was characterized by two White House authorities as a routine briefing that covered the scope of the Justice Department s findings Trump s name appearing in the files they revealed was not the sole focus of the discussions Bondi also raised in the meeting that several names of high-profile figures were also mentioned and that investigators did not find evidence of a so-called client list or evidence refuting that Epstein died by suicide the representatives disclosed The sources familiar with the department s review mentioned the files appeared to include several unsubstantiated contends that the Justice Department exposed not to be credible including those relating to Trump It wasn t clear in what context Trump s name appeared in the files Like various high-powered people in s New York Trump was an associate of Epstein s who worked to cultivate celebrities to burnish his business The revelation that his name appears in the documents does little to advance previous knowledge about his ties to the late sex offender The White House is not surprised by this Trump s name was present in the binders that Bondi produced and handed out one of the White House executives disclosed adding that countless of the materials already disclosed by the Justice Department had included mention of the president s name The White House does not view this as groundbreaking or new or surprising at all the official noted adding that there is no evidence that Trump was involved in any wrongdoing The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep White House communications director Steven Cheung commented in a report to CNN referring to Epstein This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media just like the Obama Russiagate shame which President Trump was right about The Wall Street Journal first published that Bondi informed Trump in May about his name appearing in the documents The revelations about the meeting contradict Trump s more latest denials that he was reported he was in the files Pressed last week on whether Bondi had narrated him he was named in the documents he declared No no She s given us just a very quick briefing Trump has struggled to tamp down weeks of backlash over the administration s decision not to release more documents related to the Epstein analysis a move that infuriated a vocal segment of the MAGA base and put the president at odds with a few of his the greater part ardent supporters Inside the White House agents were outraged that Bondi did not redact Trump s name from publicly available materials contained in Epstein binders distributed to influencers in February sources noted Her failure to protect the president during the episode has been a longstanding point of contention between the DOJ and the White House The DOJ and FBI reviewed the Epstein Files and reached the conclusion set out in the July memo Bondi and Blanche commented in a comment Nothing in the files warranted further analysis or prosecution and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts As part of our routine briefing we made the President aware of the findings The White House has dismissed the ongoing focus on the Epstein files arguing that it s distracting from the administration s accomplishments and aiding Democrats efforts to damage the president But a growing and bipartisan chorus of lawmakers have since called for a full release of the documents forcing Republican leaders on Capitol Hill to cut short their legislative session to avoid taking a series of votes on the matter A Wall Street Journal document last week about a letter bearing Trump s name and the outline of a naked woman that was included in an album given to Epstein for his th birthday in has also ratcheted up the pressure on Trump Trump denied writing the letter and has since sued the Wall Street Journal over its publication of that article