'This now resides within the DOJ': Trump tells AG that Epstein is officially her problem

19 Jul 2025, 00:48 by https://www.facebook.com/17108852506 · AlterNet

U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio listen as Attorney General Pam Bondi answers a question during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Carl Gibson
July 18, 2025 | 08:48PM ETBank

President Donald Trump is now communicating that the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein controversy — which has been an albatross around the administration's neck for weeks — is now exclusively for Attorney General Pam Bondi to handle.

NBC News reported Friday that Trump "is no longer interested in taking heat" for Bondi when it comes to the Department of Justice's handling of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's case. Four unnamed White House sources told the network that Trump has offloaded his Epstein problem on the attorney general, and expects her to be the administration's point person on the matter.

"One thing that's been clear is his feelings about it," one of NBC's sources said. "This now resides within the DOJ."

According to NBC, Bondi's job is not yet in danger, and the attorney general remains popular with both Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. However, evidence of the president shackling the Epstein issue to his DOJ chief became clearer after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the abrupt firing of Maurene Comey — who prosecuted Epstein — was Bondi's doing, rather than Trump's.

“I do think that he likes and respects Pam, but she has without question caused some headaches for them,” one White House source said. “At the end of the day, at this point she is almost assuredly is just doing what she is told, so I believe she is very safe, but has had missteps.”

While Bondi remains in Trump's good graces for now, his MAGA base is less fond of the attorney general. Far-right social media personality Laura Loomer – who is seen as one of the president's confidants — has derisively referred to Bondi as "Pam Blondi," and referenced an embarrassing episode in which the attorney general invited MAGA-aligned influencers to the White House to give them binders purportedly full of new Epstein-related revelations that turned out to provide nothing new.

"Everyone now sees what Blondi is all about," Loomer tweeted earlier this month. "She clearly never intended on releasing the Epstein files or getting justice for the victims, and she is using all of the media hype around the story to raise her public profile so she can get a job working at Fox Snooze."

Click here to read NBC's full report.