Furor over Epstein files sparks clash between Bondi and Bongino at the Justice Department
WASHINGTON (AP) The Justice Department and FBI are struggling to contain the fallout and appease the demands of far-right conservative personalities and influential members of President Donald Trumps base after the administrations decision this week to withhold records from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.
The move, which included the acknowledgment that one particular sought-after document never existed in the first place, sparked a contentious conversation between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at the White House earlier this week that threatened to permanently shatter relations between the two officials and centered in part on a news story that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice Department.
The cascade of disappointment and disbelief arising from the refusal to disclose additional, much-hyped records from the Epstein investigation underscores the struggles of FBI and Justice Department leaders to resolve the conspiracy theories and amped-up expectations that they themselves had stoked with claims of a cover-up and hidden evidence. Infuriated by the failure of officials to unlock, as promised, the secrets of the so-called deep state, Trump supporters on the far right have grown restless and even demanded change at the top.
https://apnews.com/article/epstein-files-dan-bongino-bondi-trump-fbi-0f02f67b6c97fc50e4d93bc4dbf4c4d0