Breaking: WSJ Reports Bondi Briefed Trump in May That His Name Appears "Multiple Times" in Epstein Files

Breaking: WSJ Claims Bondi Informed Trump His Name Appears “Multiple Times” in Epstein Files — Trump Denies

Wall Street Journal just reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche told President Trump in May that his name appears multiple times in Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Within minutes Trump and the White House denied the account.

“Mr. Trump was informed in May that his name appeared ‘multiple times’ in Justice Department files connected to Jeffrey Epstein, according to people familiar with the matter.”
“The mentions in the files were not considered allegations of criminal conduct, the people said, but were part of raw case material containing hearsay and investigative leads”

The Journal emphasized: “That the president's name appears in files does not imply wrongdoing.” Trump was reportedly briefed along with dozens of other high-profile individuals whose names surfaced during the probe.

White House Fires Back Within an Hour

Less than sixty minutes after the Journal’s 3:09 PM EST report, the White House responded swiftly. Communications Director Steven Cheung dismissed the story as “fake news,” insisting:

“The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.”

Trump reiterated the denial during a later interview, calling the report false and accusing political opponents of inventing the claims.

The Epstein Fallout: MAGA Realignments and Congressional Repercussions

MAGA Rallies Around Trump

The first Wall Street Journal report, released on Friday, describing a “bawdy” birthday card sent by Trump to Epstein on his 50th birthday, was also widely described as a ‘bombshell” report and resulted Trump filing a $10B lawsuit the next day. But it also resulted in many leading MAGA influencers who had been critical of Trump in recent weeks—Elon Musk, Laura Loomer, Charlie Kirk—defending Trump and denouncing the WSJ as biased or politically motivated. Politico noted these efforts have helped “unite a previously frayed MAGA” base 

Despite the optics boost for Trump that came from WSJ stepping forward as a familiar “media villain” and recasting Trump as victim, some MAGA hard-liners, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, publicly questioned why Bondi didn’t release the full Epstein files and demanded greater transparency—a sign of lingering unease within the movement.

The controversy reached Capitol Hill when Republicans delayed the final day of the session in protest over DOJ’s decision not to release the remaining Epstein files.

Bottom line: although there have been signs that the MAGA fracture over Epstein files was beginning to heal, the continued drip, drip, drip of new revelations continues to feed a scandal that Trump has not yet been able to make go away. More to follow on this.