We have breaking news that shifts the center of gravity in the Epstein files story.
The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that back in May, Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy met with President Donald Trump at the White House. During that meeting, Bondi informed Trump that his name appeared multiple times in the unreleased Epstein files. What followed is where the story becomes more than just a footnote in a scandal. According to the Journal, Bondi suggested, and Trump agreed, that the files would not be made public.
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Let’s pause here. Being named in a file like this does not — and should not — imply guilt. That’s an important distinction, especially with a document trove that reportedly contains hundreds of names. Many of those could be incidental: a party guest list, a business card, a travel log. But transparency matters. And the difference between someone appearing in a file and someone knowing they appear in a file — then choosing to bury it — is enormous.
This wasn’t a routine document review or a legal technicality. This was the sitting President of the United States and his Attorney General deciding not to disclose records that included his own name. That crosses from legal discretion into public trust. It raises a deeply uncomfortable question: was the decision to withhold the files made in the interest of justice, or in the interest of self-preservation?
The Journal doesn’t yet provide details on the context of Trump’s name in the documents. We don’t know if it was firsthand or secondhand, passing mention or detailed allegation. But we now know that he knew. And he decided you didn’t need to.
When elected officials exercise the power to suppress documents involving themselves, we enter dangerous territory. The Epstein case has always been about more than one man. It’s about the vast network of power and silence that allowed him to operate. Today, that network looks disturbingly intact.
I will follow this story wherever it leads. But today’s revelation makes one thing clear: the fight for transparency just got a lot harder — and a lot more urgent.