U.S. President Donald Trump is facing growing controversy over the closure of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, following reports that he was personally briefed earlier this year that his name appeared in files related to the case.
According to a report published Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal, Trump was informed by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in May that his name had come up several times in Department of Justice (DOJ) records related to Epstein. Sources familiar with the matter described the references as “unverified hearsay” and not linked to any allegations.
Trump, the report said, deferred to the DOJ’s judgment, telling Bondi and her team to handle the investigation as they saw fit. The decision culminated in the DOJ’s July 6 memo that officially closed the Epstein case, concluding that Epstein had no co-conspirators—despite the prior conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell for trafficking minors to him.
The memo’s release sparked immediate and intense backlash among Trump’s political base, many of whom had supported Trump based on his repeated promises to release the Epstein files. Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., Vice President J.D. Vance, current FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Director Dan Bongino, and others had all publicly committed to declassifying information tied to Epstein before the 2024 election.
In fact, Bongino and Patel had gone further, claiming insider knowledge that Epstein had links to “Middle Eastern intelligence” and had used his connections for geopolitical leverage. The decision to quietly end the case, combined with the DOJ’s refusal to release documents, led to outrage across conservative media and online platforms, with some longtime supporters publicly withdrawing their support.
In an apparent attempt to quell the fallout, Trump ordered that sealed grand jury testimony related to Epstein be made public, pending a judge’s approval. However, on Wednesday, a federal judge denied the request, effectively maintaining the secrecy surrounding key details of the case.
The fallout was exacerbated on Tuesday when Speaker of the House Mike Johnson ordered Congress to go on recess until September, cancelling a vote that was scheduled for Thursday regarding the release of the Epstein files.
The episode has triggered most serious internal rift of Trump’s political career. For the first time since entering national politics, Trump is confronting a rebellion among his core supporters—many of whom previously stood by him through two impeachments and the Russia investigation.
Commentators within the conservative movement have warned that the Epstein case could have lasting consequences, not only for Trump’s standing within the MAGA movement but also for Republican prospects in next year’s midterm elections. The affair has raised questions about whether Trump still defines the meaning and direction of “America First” in the eyes of his base.