President Donald Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi late Thursday to seek the release of grand jury transcripts related to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking investigation, responding to mounting pressure from within his own base. The order comes as scrutiny over Trump's ties to the late financier reignited this week following the emergence of a sexually suggestive letter allegedly penned by Trump in 2003 for Epstein's birthday.
"Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Shortly after, Bondi posted on X: "President Trump - we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts."
The Department of Justice's move follows public frustration after a DOJ report concluded there was no evidence to support longstanding conspiracy theories involving Epstein's clients and the circumstances of his 2019 death. Trump's refusal to appoint a special prosecutor to further investigate the case, along with recent internal shakeups, has widened divisions among his supporters.
The controversy reached new intensity after The Wall Street Journal reported the existence of a 2003 birthday letter addressed to Epstein and signed "Donald." The letter, described as "bawdy," features text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a nude woman and ends with the line: "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret." Trump has denied authorship, calling the letter "false, malicious and defamatory."
When asked about the case on Tuesday, Trump sought to minimize the issue, saying, "I don't understand what the interest or what the fascination is." But the backlash has persisted, prompting Trump to lash out at his own base, writing: "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats' work... I don't want their support anymore!"
Adding to the political turbulence, the Justice Department on Thursday fired Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor who worked on the Epstein case and is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. In a farewell message, Comey wrote, "Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought."
No official explanation was provided for Comey's dismissal. When asked if the White House would support a special prosecutor, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case."
Bondi, a longtime Trump ally, had previously pledged to expose "a lot of names" and "a lot of flight logs" linked to Epstein. Yet the administration's hesitancy to fully disclose documents and the Justice Department's recent denial of any Epstein "client list" have fueled skepticism.
