A memo from the FBI and Justice Department first obtained by Axios states that they found “no evidence” that sexual predator and well-connected financier Jeffrey Epstein–who died in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 in an apparent suicide–had blackmailed any powerful figures, kept a “client list,” or had been murdered. The memo, as well as statements from Trump administration officials on Monday, would put to bed long-held suspicions over Epstein’s actions and death while incarcerated. The memo concludes that no “further disclosure” on the matter “would be appropriate or warranted.” Despite the finality in the memo’s statements, many observers remain deeply skeptical.
Fox News reporter Peter Doocy grilled White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday, pointing out that as recently as February, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an interview on his network that the infamous client list was “on [her] desk right now to review.” Leavitt said that Bondi was referring to “the entirety of the paperwork” related to Epstein’s crimes, and added that the Trump administration had never committed to releasing names of his associates, but only to conduct an “exhaustive investigation.”
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden took to social media after the news broke of the memo, telling his followers on X: “Given the evidence my investigators have seen, this reeks of a coverup.” Last month, the senator from Oregon demanded that the Trump administration “produce key Epstein documents in the possession of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Treasury,” after a report in the New York Times revealed that Epstein had invested $40 million into Valar Ventures, a firm backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, a political patron of President Trump. Thiel’s private intelligence firm, Palantir, is currently building a master database on every American for the US government.
Sharp-eyed observers are already noticing potentially damning details in the material recently released alongside the FBI and DOJ’s memo, including security footage outside of Epstein’s cell on the night of his death. While Axios reported that the administration said the video “showed no one entering the area,” X users have already discerned that a full minute of the footage is apparently still missing, as the time stamp skips from 11:58 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., and the angle of the camera appears to shift slightly after the cut.
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were known to be in similar social circles for decades, and had been photographed and recorded on video together at events numerous times, including with Epstein’s partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell. “He’s a lot of fun to be with,” Trump said of Epstein in an interview in 2002. “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
