Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday explained the delay in releasing files on billionaire and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
President Donald Trump on the campaign trail repeatedly promised to release the Epstein Files, including the rumored list of clients with whom the billionaire trafficked children. So far, there has been no substantive release of information about the child abuser’s crimes.
While speaking with reporters, Bondi was asked whether the files would ever get released. “It’s just the volume,” Bondi answered. “That’s what they’re going through right now.”
Bondi further stated that the FBI is combing through “tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn” and that “there are hundreds of victims.”
BREAKING: FBI REVIEWING THOUSANDS OF VIDEOS OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN WITH CHILDREN & CHILD PORN!
— LIZ CROKIN (@LizCrokin) May 7, 2025
Attorney General Pam Bondi said today the FBI is diligently going through thousands of Jeffrey Epstein tapes that contain him with children and child porn and that there’s hundreds of… pic.twitter.com/W1RrZ1sZJz
The attorney general did release the “first phase” of declassified files related to Epstein in February. Her office gave first access to a group of online influencers in binders. Several of these individuals were photographed holding up the binders. But there wasn’t much in the way of new information contained in the first batch of documents.
Bondi later sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel instructing him to investigate whether FBI agents are hiding the documents. She claimed that some information was missing from the first phase.
In the letter, Bondi notes that she “repeatedly questioned whether this was the full set of documents responsive to my request and was repeatedly assured by the FBI that we had received the full set of documents.”
The attorney general indicated that she found out that “the FBI Field Office in New York was in possession of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein.”
However, the Bureau “never disclosed the existence of these files” even though she had repeatedly requested them.
There have not been many updates since February, which has frustrated many who believe the public deserves to know the full scope of Epstein’s crimes.
The matter re-emerged last month when Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims and a key witness, allegedly committed suicide after posting a series of disturbing Instagram posts. She had recently been in a car accident.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family stated. “She lost her life to suicide after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors. In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Giuffre was among the first and most outspoken voices demanding justice for Epstein’s crimes, calling for charges not just against him but also those who enabled his abuse. Many other survivors later said her bravery empowered them to come forward. She also played a key role in assisting law enforcement, offering vital evidence that helped prosecute Epstein’s close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, and supported broader investigations by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
However, her father told journalist Piers Morgan that he believes “sombody got to her.” It is unknown how long it will take for the public to see the file, as the administration has indicated it does not have a timeline for the release.