President Donald Trump promised to declassify and release thousands of pages of documents related to the hottest topics in the MAGA online world: Jeffrey Epstein files, JFK assassination secrets, Russiagate smoking guns, and more.
Months later, most of the records remain snarled in layers of bureaucracy, and the few that have been released have notably underwhelmed.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has repeatedly pledged to release the full trove of Epstein-related materials, has come under scrutiny after months of delays and mixed signals. On Feb. 21, Bondi declared on Fox News that the Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review,” sparking hopes for an imminent release.
More speculation began around the time Bondi was caught on a hidden camera on April 28 by James O’Keefe’s media group casually discussing “tens of thousands” of Epstein videos at a restaurant. The viral clip, released publicly after Bondi made a similar comment to the press on May 7, further fueled MAGA-aligned skepticism, especially after Bondi’s February document drop turned out to contain largely public or redacted information.
AG Pam Bondi Was Covertly Recorded on April 28, Revealing Previously Undisclosed Information About Epstein Regarding 'Tens of Thousands of Videos of Little Kids' to a Complete Stranger in a D.C. Restaurant
Yesterday, the AG Made an Almost Identical Statement Publicly After… pic.twitter.com/l1U89U9eji
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) May 8, 2025
At the same time, congressional Republicans on multiple committees are still waiting on correspondence with the Department of Justice tied to politically charged investigations during the Biden administration — including records related to Trump-focused prosecutions, communications involving the FBI’s handling of school board protests, and internal DOJ discussions about controversial memos from the previous administration targeting religious conservatives. The delays have added to the perception that the DOJ is moving too slowly to fulfill the administration’s sweeping transparency pledge.
While rumors and allegations about Epstein’s troves of illicit recordings have circulated online for years, no court records or investigations have ever confirmed the existence of Bondi’s vaguely specified “tens of thousands” of abuse videos. Law enforcement has acknowledged seizing extensive troves of CDs, hard drives, and nude photographs from Epstein’s properties, but no legal filings or case evidence to date have detailed the scale or contents of these materials beyond general references.
Around the time of the undercover video release last week, House Republicans, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), began publicly pressing Bondi for answers.
In a May 8 letter co-signed by Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Eric Burlison (R-MO), and Eli Crane (R-AZ), Luna demanded the DOJ release the complete Epstein files by May 16, with only minimal redactions to protect survivors. The letter also questioned whether internal or external actors are deliberately blocking the release, and it accuses Bondi’s office of stonewalling congressional oversight.
“The survivors of Jeffrey Epstein as well as the American people deserve to know who among the elite protected, enabled, or participated in Jeffrey Epstein’s disgusting racket,” Luna said in a statement. “Our task force is demanding the full release of these files or a briefing on the status of the investigation. We work alongside the DOJ — not for it.”
Burchett optimistic about FBI, says faith in Bondi is ‘waning’
Burchett told the Washington Examiner on Monday that he is so far “not very confident” the DOJ will meet the May 16 deadline set under Luna’s letter.
“I think it goes much deeper than anybody really realizes,” he said. “I hope I’m pleasantly surprised, but I just think this thing is — there’s a lot more to this than we know.”
Burchett also addressed Bondi’s comments about the broad scope of child abuse material the government is sifting through. “These bastards, they generally do have tens of thousands [of files],” he said, citing his prior legislative work going after child predators in Tennessee and suggesting that he was not surprised by the high volume of videos Bondi claimed were in the government’s possession.
The Tennessee lawmaker said he has more confidence in FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino’s leadership but raised concerns about a lack of cohesion with DOJ leadership.
“I have full confidence in Dan Bongino. I really do. I just, my confidence in Ms. Bondi is waning,” he said. While Burchett said “Bongino and [FBI Director] Kash [Patel] are together,” he noted the connection between the FBI and the attorney general has not been as “seamless” as he had hoped.
Bongino vows to ‘do better’ on transparency after complaints
Bongino, in a lengthy post on May 10, defended the bureau’s work and addressed criticism about the DOJ’s transparency. His statement came one day after Luna’s letter and the Washington Examiner‘s inquiry to the DOJ.
I’d like to update you on some things that I think are going well, and some things that we can, and will, do better.
The workforce has been working overtime on task force operations to remove dangerous illegal aliens from the country. The work continues. The message is clear.…
— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) May 10, 2025
“We’re clearing information to Congress, and the public, as quickly as possible,” Bongino wrote. “In just the couple of months since we’ve sworn in we’ve responded to requests for information on the attack on Rep. [Steve] Scalise [(R-LA)] and members of Congress, the Nashville attack, Crossfire Hurricane, the COVID cover-up and more. We are working with the DOJ on the Epstein case and, as the AG stated, there are voluminous amounts of downloaded child sexual abuse material that we are dealing with.”
“There are also victim’s statements that are entitled to specific protections,” Bongino added. “We need to do this correctly, but I do understand the public’s desire to get the information out there.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who has been closely monitoring the FBI’s compliance with document requests, told the Washington Examiner on Monday he has maintained regular contact with the bureau to ensure full productions are made “without unnecessary redactions.”
Grassley expressed appreciation for Patel’s efforts to “enhance the Bureau’s transparency” and emphasized that the FBI “has a constitutional obligation to respond to congressional oversight,” calling transparency a key driver of accountability.
Meanwhile, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) recently took to a popular right-wing podcast to air out his theories about the handling of the promised Epstein document release.
Speaking on Benny Johnson’s show last week, Comer bluntly suggested the DOJ might not even have the files. “The attorney general does not have them or she would’ve turned them over,” Comer said, floating the possibility that “deep state actors” may have destroyed critical records before Trump returned to office.
Beyond Epstein, Republicans on multiple committees are still waiting on key Biden-era documents. These include records related to the Justice Department’s handling of Trump-focused prosecutions, FBI memos targeting religious conservatives, and communications tied to school board investigations that predate Trump’s second term.
Burchett said those other investigations also deserve prompt responses. “All of the above,” he said when asked where he believes the DOJ is dragging its feet.
“It just takes so much time. And that’s part of the problem the Trump administration’s having — you’ve got two years to do all this stuff before the midterms,” Burchett said. “If Congress is slow to act, then it will never, will never. We stand a chance of never seeing it pass.”
National Archives shows willingness to hand over records
A separate Republican-backed congressional inquiry is seeking documents from the DOJ, FBI, and the National Archives and Records Administration related to the Biden administration’s alleged political animus in bringing a pair of criminal cases against Trump ahead of the 2024 race.
A spokesperson for NARA, which is operated by acting Archivist and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, confirmed to the Washington Examiner last week it is working “as quickly as possible” to comply with a request in a letter from Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) concerning what the senators describe as the Arctic Frost investigation over alleged collusion between the Biden White House and the Biden DOJ over Trump’s indictments. The letter included a May 14 deadline for a response.
“We are committed to full transparency as the Senate pursues this inquiry, and will make every effort to meet the Senators’ requests,” the NARA spokesperson added.
With other congressional inquiries, such as the House Judiciary Committee’s requests for documents related to the DOJ’s communications with Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, the FBI’s anti-Catholic memo, and school board monitoring policies, began months ago and still have not yielded any productions from the DOJ.
Pleasing some, frustrating others
While some Republicans such as Comer have raised concerns that Biden-era holdovers might still be influencing document release delays, the DOJ has notably fired nearly a dozen prosecutors who worked under former special counsel Jack Smith. Those prosecutors were dismissed within weeks of Trump taking office, and key communications staff tied to Smith were replaced in recent weeks. The DOJ has also moved quickly to install political appointees across senior roles, consistent with standard departmental transitions.
GOLDMAN ACCUSES BONDI OF PREVENTING RELEASE OF EPSTEIN FILES
Amid the slow progress of its transparency plans, the DOJ has sought to demonstrate aggressive action on other priorities aligned with the administration’s law-and-order agenda. Last week, the DOJ announced one of the largest fentanyl trafficking busts in recent history, a nationwide sweep of child predator arrests under Operation Restoring Justice, and a new civil rights investigation into an anti-Catholic state law in Washington.
But with key deadlines looming and Republican pressure mounting, the Trump DOJ faces a pivotal test of whether it can make good on its document release promises or whether internal inertia will erode one of the administration’s signature political pledges.
