Bondi says Epstein client list "sitting on my desk right now"

On Feb. 21, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared on Fox News for an interview about the Epstein files. When asked about the existence of a client list, Bondi stated: "The client list is sitting on my desk right now to review." This was a very specific claim suggesting she possessed a document listing people who had used Epstein's services. The phrasing was not vague or conditional. Bondi said the list was physically on her desk at that moment.

The statement created immediate and massive public expectation. Conservative media outlets ran headlines about the imminent disclosure of Epstein's clients. MAGA supporters on social media celebrated, anticipating that powerful Democratic figures and Hollywood elites would soon be exposed. Bondi's claim was interpreted as confirmation that such a list existed and would be released to the public soon.

For over four months, no client list materialized. Rep. DGDan Goldman's May 12 letter to Bondi noted that 74 days had passed since her Feb. 27 deadlines for complete Epstein files and an FBI report, with no explanation for the missing disclosures. During this period, Bondi made other dramatic claims about Epstein evidence, including that the FBI had tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child pornography.

On July 7, 2025, the DOJ released a comprehensive memo about its Epstein investigation. The memo stated: "After a comprehensive review of its investigation, FBI investigators concluded that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in 🗽New York City on Aug. 10, 2019. We found no incriminating client list and no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions." This directly contradicted Bondi's Feb. 21 claim that the client list was sitting on her desk.

The contradiction drew immediate criticism from across the political spectrum. Conservative influencer Laura Loomer, who had initially supported Bondi, called for her firing, writing: "If she does not get fired over this Epstein memo, people are going to be so black pilled." EMElon Musk shared clown makeup memes mocking the attorney general. Democratic lawmakers pointed to the discrepancy as evidence Bondi had made false claims to generate political support from the MAGA base.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt attempted damage control during a July press briefing. Leavitt claimed Bondi had meant all the paperwork related to the Epstein case when she said the client list, not a specific document listing clients. This explanation satisfied almost no one. Critics noted that the client list is a specific term that does not naturally mean all case files. The phrase sitting on my desk right now also suggested a specific document, not general case materials.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman DDDick Durbin sent Bondi a letter on July 18 demanding she explain the contradiction between her February statement and the July memo. The letter asked whether she had made a false statement to the public or whether the July memo was incomplete. Similar letters came from Reps. Goldman and Raskin. Bondi never publicly responded to any of these congressional inquiries asking her to explain what she had actually meant in February.

The pattern established in February repeated throughout 2025. Bondi would make dramatic claims about Epstein evidence: the client list on her desk, tens of thousands of videos showing children, comprehensive disclosures coming soon. Then either the claims would be contradicted by subsequent DOJ statements, or they would quietly fade without delivery. Each time, congressional Democrats would demand accountability, and Bondi would decline to respond. The July memo's statement that no client list existed became a defining credibility problem for the attorney general.