Dems Rip Bondi's Epstein Pledge as a Sham After WSJ Bombshell That Trump Tried to Bury

Democratic lawmakers said Thursday that Attorney General Pam Bondi's pledge to seek the public disclosure of grand jury testimony from the prosecution of sex-trafficking billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was far from sufficient, given that the testimony would amount to a small fraction of the yet-to-be-released evidence in the case.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who has been leading efforts to force lawmakers to vote on the full release of Epstein-related files, said in remarks on the House floor late Thursday that "the grand jury testimony is largely about Epstein" and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell—and "not about all the rich and powerful men... who have abused our children."

Other Democrats echoed that criticism of Bondi's pledge, which came in response to a directive from President Donald Trump.

"Nice try," Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) wrote in response to Bondi. "What about videos, photographs, and other recordings? What about FBI 302s (witness interviews)? What about texts and emails? That's where the evidence about Trump and others will be. Grand jury testimony will only relate to Epstein and Maxwell."

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) added that "everyone should understand why they are now calling for unsealing the jury testimony: because it will only relate to Epstein and Maxwell."

"The public wants all the information related to Epstein and they want full justice for the victims," Omar wrote on social media. "Trump wanted this publicly, but privately knew it would be harmful to him and hoped the public would forget. There is more interest for this info now than ever."

Trump's directive to the Justice Department followed a bombshell Wall Street Journal story revealing that Maxwell "collected letters from Trump and dozens of Epstein's other associates for a 2003 birthday album."

"The letter bearing Trump's name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy—like others in the album," the newspaper reported. "It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman's breasts, and the future president's signature is a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist, mimicking pubic hair. The letter concludes: 'Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.'"

Trump called the story "fake" and said he tried to prevent the newspaper from publishing its reporting, appealing all the way up to Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Journal through his media conglomerate News Corp. The president wrote on his social media platform that he "looks forward to suing" the Journal.

"Trump couldn't stop the ⁦WSJ⁩ from publishing this 'birthday card' to his buddy Epstein," Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) wrote Thursday. "If this is any indication of how Trump comported himself, it's no wonder Trump and Bondi are desperate to keep the Epstein FBI files secret. Disgusting."

Growing demands for the full release of the Epstein files have sparked panic in the Republican caucus.

Politico reported Thursday that the hope among GOP lawmakers "has been that Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise decide to cancel next week's scheduled House session and instead send members home for an extended summer recess once voting concludes Thursday or Friday."

According to the outlet, Republicans believe that move would prevent members from having to contend with questions about whether they've backed an effort by Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to force a floor vote on the full release of the Epstein files.

House Republican leaders have also floated a nonbinding resolution aimed at diffusing the Epstein furor. Nearly 70% of the American public believes the Trump administration is concealing details about Epstein's clients, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released earlier this week.

"A nonbinding resolution—or any action that doesn't require the release of the Epstein files—is nothing more than a political smokescreen designed to shield Republicans who refuse to demand full transparency and accountability from the Trump administration on Epstein," Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Thursday. "The American people deserve the truth."