Tipsheet

Why the Jeffrey Epstein Document Dump Was a Dud

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  March 01, 2025 7:00 AM

The slew of right-leaning influencers who touted the Jeffrey Epstein file, whether they knew it or not, became the face of a document dump dud that rightly angered many this week. The Trump Justice Department promised new files on Jeffrey Epstein, the infamous New York financier, child sex offender, and pal of the world’s rich and famous, who ‘committed suicide’ in August of 2019 while in federal custody. There’s allegedly a lot of dirt on the political elite and Hollywood icons who reportedly partook in this man’s escapades. 

Instead, it was a trove of already public documents. Later that evening, Attorney General Pam Bondi also released a tranche of documents, though most were already known through the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s top lieutenant. FBI Director Kash Patel essentially promised to look under every rock to ensure total transparency in this effort. Yet, in retrospect, Bondi and Patel likely still don’t have operational control over the institution, which Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) reminded us yesterday:

Also, even when Bondi and Patel have a better grip within the DOJ, we likely have a ways to go before an actual document dump occurs: Maxwell is appealing her case to the Supreme Court.

And you already know about the alleged shenanigans at the Southern District of New York: