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White House Handling of Epstein Files Leads to Fracture in Trump’s MAGA Base

HeadlineJul 14, 2025
Image Credit: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images

A major rift has emerged within President Trump’s MAGA movement over his administration’s handling of the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased convicted sex trafficker whom Trump once called a “terrific guy.” On Saturday, Trump backed his Attorney General Pam Bondi days after she released a memo claiming that Epstein did not keep a client list and that no further disclosures would be warranted, despite her previous claims that the client list was on her desk. This reportedly led to a heated confrontation between Bondi and Dan Bongino, FBI deputy director. Bongino did not go to work on Friday and reportedly considered resigning over the issue.

In a long social media post on Saturday, Trump urged his supporters to forget about the Epstein files, sparking new outrage within the MAGA movement. Meanwhile, in Congress, Democratic Representative Ro Khanna plans to introduce an amendment to force a vote demanding the full Epstein files be released to the public. Khanna wrote, “Why are the Epstein files still hidden? Who are the rich & powerful being protected?”

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