Trump Issues Statement On Patel, Bongino After Epstein Fallout

FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino are facing backlash from prominent MAGA supporters following Monday’s release of a DOJ, FBI memo stating the federal government has no Jeffrey Epstein client list and no evidence implicating additional perpetrators.

Despite the uproar from the right, however, President Donald Trump is standing by his top FBI officials.

In a Truth Social post, Trump didn’t directly address the Epstein controversy but offered a broad show of support for both Patel and Bongino.

“The FBI, under the direction of Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, is back to the basics: Locking up criminals, and cleaning up America’s streets,” Trump said. “We have the Greatest Law Enforcement professionals in the World, but ‘Politics’ and Corrupt Leadership often prevented them from doing their job. That is no longer the case, and now, they have been unleashed to do their jobs, and they are doing just that. Keep it up — MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!”

Before taking the reins at the FBI, both Kash Patel and Dan Bongino were vocal promoters of the very Epstein conspiracy theories they’re now working to put to rest.

Bongino often urged his podcast audience to “stay focused” on the Epstein story, warning listeners not to let it fade from public attention. Patel, meanwhile, pledged to release Epstein’s so-called client list on “Day 1” — a list he now says the FBI never had.

Major MAGA influencers have spent Monday lambasting Patel, Bongino, and Attorney General Pam Bondi for what they see as a dismissive, “nothing-to-see-here” stance on the Epstein case.

“As trusted voices like @FBIDDBongino, @FBIDirectorKash, and @AGPamBondi align with the official story, many are asking: Who’s still willing to demand real answers?” Mike Lindell’s LindellTV account posted on X. “Why are so many high-profile names never mentioned? Why seal everything if there’s nothing to hide?”

Radio host Alex Jones added of Patel and Bongino, “I think you see them losing their souls on live TV.”

Elon Musk, meanwhile, led an online crusade Monday after the Department of Justice issued its statement that there was no proof Epstein retained a “client list” or was killed.

“What’s the time? Oh look, it’s no-one-has-been-arrested-o’clock again,” Musk posted on X, along with a mock-up image of an “official Jeffrey Epstein pedophile arrest counter” stuck at zero.

Musk also tweeted an image of a man putting on clown makeup in stages, expressing irritation that Bondi had previously promised to reveal the Epstein list, telling Fox News in February that it was “sitting on my desk right now to review.” The meme’s final image has the clown completely costumed, with the words “There is no Epstein list.”

A DOJ memo, first reported by Axios, said investigators found “no incriminating ‘client list’” and “no credible evidence … that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.”

It also said the DOJ and the FBI’s review of records found that much of it was “subject to court-ordered sealing” and that only a fraction “would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial,” as the seal served only to protect victims and did not expose any additional third parties to allegations of illegal wrongdoing.

“Through this review, we found no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials and will not permit the release of child pornography,” the memo continued.

Explaining the decision not to release further records, the memo stated that one of the government’s “highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims.”

It added, “Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.”

Laura Loomer accused Bondi of “lying” about releasing materials related to the late pedophile, writing, “Who releases a statement about the Epstein files on the Sunday night of 4th of July weekend? Someone who doesn’t want you paying attention.”

MAGA influencer Chad Prather wrote on X, “Where is the Epstein info the American people were promised? You handed us a notebook and promised more was on the way. You told us it existed and now you say it doesn’t? America deserves answers.”