DONALD Trump has slammed questions about the controversy surrounding disgraced millionaire Jeffrey Epstein as “a desecration.”
During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the president abruptly cut off a reporter’s question directed at Attorney General Pam Bondi to inquire, “Are you still discussing Jeffrey Epstein?”
Bondi has faced questioning after the Department of Justice announced that Epstein didn’t have a “client list” and that he died by suicide.
“This guy’s been talked about for years,” raged Trump, who asked Bondi if he could interject when a reporter probed about the memo.
“You’re focusing on this—while we have the situation in Texas, among other important issues, and people are still occupied with this man? This creep?” Trump remarked, alluding to the devastating floods in Texas that have claimed over 100 lives.
“It’s incredible. I find it hard to believe a question about Epstein would come up during such a critical period, given our significant achievements and the terrible events unfolding in Texas.”
“It just seems like a desecration.”
The DOJ and FBI released a memo on Monday saying there was no evidence showing Epstein, a convicted sex offender who was accused of sex trafficking, had a “client list.”
The so-called client list has been the subject of conspiracy theories for years as people speculated that prominent figures helped the former financier carry out his sick crimes.
Anticipation for the public release of documents about the investigation into Epstein ramped up earlier this year after Bondi was confirmed.
In an interview on Fox News in February, Bondi said the client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review.”
Bondi addressed the remark on Tuesday, after telling Trump that she didn’t mind answering the question from the unidentified reporter.
The attorney general clarified that she had been referring to all of the paperwork about Epstein’s case when she made that statement.
“I did an interview on Fox, and it’s been getting a lot of attention because I said I was asked a question about the client list, and my response was, it’s sitting on my desk to be reviewed,” Bondi said.
“Meaning the file, along with the JFK, MLK files as well. That’s what I meant by that.”
The DOJ’s new memo also said there was no evidence supporting the conspiracy that Epstein, who died behind bars in 2019, was murdered.
An 11-hour video was released with the memo, showing the final footage taken of Epstein before his death in prison.
The CCTV footage shows a guard leading a grey-haired Epstein, handcuffed in an orange jumpsuit, to his cell at around 7:49 pm.
A guard was also shown walking toward Epstein’s cell at around 10:39 pm and then reappearing in view of the camera at 10:41 pm.
This was considered the last time anyone walked near Epstein’s cell before he was found dead the next morning.
The conclusion debunked another common conspiracy theory that Epstein died under mysterious circumstances.
However, some pointed out that the video had a minute missing, as revealed by the time stamps on the footage.
‘MISSING MINUTE’ EXPLAINED
Bondi explained that the lost minute in the footage was due to the prison’s outdated system.
“The video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was showing he committed suicide,” Bondi said during the Cabinet meeting.
The Bureau of Prisons told her they reset the video every night at that time, meaning each night has the same time missing, Bondi said.
“So we’re looking for that video to release that as well to show that a minute is missing every night,” Bondi added.
“And that’s it on Epstein.”
Epstein pleaded guilty to sex crimes charges in 2008.
In 2019, he was federally charged with leading a child sex trafficking ring from 2002 to 2005.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
