WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump&#8217;s White House game-planned how to message the Jeffrey Epstein files during the summer of 2025, Dan Bongino was growing increasingly frustrated and angry.
He understood the vast interest in Jeffrey Epstein online, and he had repeatedly sounded the alarm to Trump&#8217;s team that the outcry over the DOJ&#8217;s bungling of the Epstein files was gaining momentum, as Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman reported for their book “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump.”
Back in July 2025, the president wasn&#8217;t yet interested in releasing the files. The DOJ had briefed him on the contents of what they had, noting that much of it included child sexual abuse material and that a lot of the raw records contained unverified and unsubstantiated information, including about the president and some of his friends. The White House viewed the conversation as toxic and unnecessary (the president would later call out Democrats&#8217; new fixation on the files as a &#8220;hoax&#8221;).
Trump&#8217;s advisors argued at the time that the president had weathered every possible media storm — and he could weather this Epstein one as well. Ultimately, the House and Senate would vote to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025, and Trump would sign it into law the same month. The files would be released in massive dumps in December and January.
But during the summer of 2025, Bongino repeatedly told the White House that Team Trump wasn&#8217;t grasping how big of a deal the Epstein drama was, telling White House advisors, according to The New York Times: “It’s not an online story. You don’t understand.”
Things came to a head when the DOJ and FBI put out a memo saying that they had concluded that there was no evidence Epstein had a client list. It also said that Epstein&#8217;s death was a suicide, that the Trump administration wouldn&#8217;t be releasing any more information about the Epstein case, and that no further investigation was warranted.
At the same time, they also released 11 hours of video footage from the Manhattan jail where Epstein was found dead. That surveillance video actually made matters worse, since it was missing a pivotal minute, from 11:58:58 to midnight on the night that Epstein died. That missing minute was later released, but it had only fueled angry speculation about a coverup.
Bongino was enraged by the memo and by the handling of the entire situation. He had argued to Patel that it would not at all align with their transparency promises, the NYT reports, and he pushed hard for the FBI seal to be left off the letter. While Patel reportedly agreed with Bongino on many points, he ultimately went along with what the DOJ and White House wanted.
In what Haberman and Swan described as a &#8220;volcanic mood,&#8221; Bongino shouted at Bondi in a Justice Department meeting with FBI staff.
“You f*cked this thing up from the start,” Bongino allegedly yelled at the former attorney general. “The way you’ve been talking about this — that dumb f*cking charade with the Epstein files, the ‘They’re on my desk’ nonsense, all the promises to the folks out there.”
<div id="attachment_1113617" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-dan-bongino-stormed-out-of-the-situation-room-over-the-epstein-files/pipe-bomb-suspect-charged-over-devices-found-before-jan-6-riot" rel="attachment wp-att-1113617"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1113617" class="wp-image-1113617 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2249306758-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2249306758-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2249306758-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2249306758-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2249306758.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Photographer: Alex Kent/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
Bongino and Patel were reportedly called into a Situation Room meeting with Susie Wiles, Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche, and Taylor Budowich two days later. Wiles immediately asked Bongino if he had leaked a story about Epstein and Trump to ABC News, the New York Times reports.
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“I’ll tell you what,” Bongino reportedly replied. “I’ll give you $100,000 cash right now. I’m not kidding. Walk out to West Exec, put that reporter on speaker and get him to admit I leaked it. A hundred thousand dollars.”
When Wiles started to tell Bongino that &#8220;we all got ourselves into this,&#8221; he allegedly cut her off, saying, “No, no, no, no, no. We didn’t get ourselves into anything. I warned you guys about this the whole time, and you ignored me. And exactly what I said was going to happen happened. And now you’re pretending I was in on this. I was never in on this.”
His response startled the rest of the group, particularly given that Wiles was the White House chief of staff. Wiles reportedly pressed forward, telling Bongino, “Going forward, we’re all in. We’re all going to agree to move forward. Are you in or not?”
He reportedly responded: “No, I’m not. This is not my plan. I’m not part of this going forward. Forget it. I’m out of here.”
And, in an even more shocking move, Bongino &#8220;stormed out of the Situation Room and onto West Executive Avenue, where he climbed into the back of Patel’s armored SUV and directed the driver to take him to FBI headquarters.&#8221;
MAGA world lit up with rumors that Bongino would resign. Sources close to Bongino at the time <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-or-bongino-bongino-wont-remain-at-fbi-if-bondi-keeps-job-source-says">told Daily Wire</a> that he was threatening to leave the bureau if Bondi remained on the job, effectively issuing an ultimatum.
Patel also wanted Bondi gone, sources close to the FBI chief told The Daily Wire, saying that Patel would consider leaving the FBI if Bongino left.
“Blondie f*cked this whole thing up,” Bongino told a confidant, The New York Times reported. He was using a nickname for the attorney general coined by outspoken Bondi critic Laura Loomer. “She was the one on TV saying over and over they had all this stuff. There was never anything.&#8221;
&#8220;We were always clear about that,&#8221; Bongino emphasized, according to the Times. &#8220;But now everyone thinks we did something wrong. And I gave up everything.”
He stayed on until January 2026, when he resigned from the bureau and returned to hosting his &#8220;Dan Bongino Show.&#8221;
&#8220;Dan did a great job,&#8221; Trump told reporters, as news of Bongino&#8217;s departure broke. &#8220;I think he wants to go back to his show.&#8221;
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Former Attorney General Pam Bondi had made things difficult for Patel and Bongino when she promised in a February 2025 Fox News interview that the Epstein list was &#8220;sitting&#8221; on her &#8220;desk right now to review.&#8221;
Her possibly greater misstep occurred during a White House briefing with influencers on the president&#8217;s agenda, according to the NYT. During that briefing, Bondi and her team walked into the Roosevelt Room carrying boxes and handed out binders to the influencers that she described as &#8220;The Epstein files.&#8221;
Swan and Haberman write that &#8220;the blood pressure of other officials in the room skyrocketed&#8221; — they did not know what was in the binders, and the binders hadn&#8217;t been vetted by the White House.
The president was about to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer before the press, and the news might possibly blindside him.
&#8220;One official, opening the binder, began flipping through pages to see if Trump’s name was mentioned anywhere,&#8221; they wrote. &#8220;A few pages in, right in the middle of the page, there it was.&#8221;
The binders didn&#8217;t actually contain anything meaningfully new, but after the influencers took photos in front of the White House holding them, word spread like wildfire on social media. Not only did the influencers feel duped by the lack of substance in the binders, but many of Trump&#8217;s supporters were seething on social media over what they saw as Bondi playing showman with the files without releasing anything meaningful.
The Epstein files, which will have all been released as of July 2026, include many mentions of Trump&#8217;s name but have not been found to include substantiated allegations against the president.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: Photo obtained by <a href="https://x.com/realDailyWire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDailyWire</a> shows Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein together. To my knowledge, this photo hasn’t been reported.
Massive trove of Epstein files are expected to be released tomorrow. <a href="https://t.co/OvFFbUQlXq">pic.twitter.com/OvFFbUQlXq</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://x.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/2001876204299960657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
The DOJ noted that the batch released in January contained numerous “sensationalist” claims submitted right before the 2020 election, in an apparent attempt to stop Trump from winning the presidential election. Many of those claims don&#8217;t even include callback numbers, such as one graphic claim that the president raped a 13-year-old girl.
“Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein,&#8221; White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Daily Wire on Wednesday.
&#8220;And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him,&#8221; she added.

New York Marks 24th Anniversary Of September 11 Terror Attacks

Why Dan Bongino Stormed Out Of The Situation Room Over The Epstein Files

Dan Bongino

Epstein Files

Jeffrey Epstein

kash patel

Pam Bondi

White House

“Masters of the Universe” is on target to be a gigantic flop despite a massive production budget and huge marketing effort, and now the film’s producer Steve Tisch is under scrutiny again for his reported ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Tisch, who is also co-owner of the New York Giants, denied that he was ever close with Epstein despite frequent email exchanges, including conversations about a 20-year-old Ukrainian woman Epstein was allegedly trying to convince to date the NFL owner. Tisch <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/inside-nfl-owner-steve-tischs-brief-association-with-epstein-0f3f407a">said</a> that he only had a “brief association” with the convicted sexual predator.
“As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with,” he said.
Interestingly, the filmmakers didn’t hide the association with Tisch as producers. They did appear to downplay Leto’s involvement despite him being one of the film’s stars. This comes at a time when the NFL is being <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7012707/2026/02/01/steve-tisch-giants-epstein-files-nfl-owners/">criticized</a> for remaining quiet on Tisch’s ties to Epstein while Hollywood isn’t coming under the same kind of scrutiny. 
Blame is already being placed on one of the movie’s stars, Jared Leto, due to sexual assault allegations. <a href="https://gizmodo.com/masters-of-the-universe-knows-its-got-a-skeletor-problem-2000762641">Rumor has it</a> he was banned from promoting the movie at all, which has movie fans questioning why he was selected to play the main villain, Skeletor, in the first place.
“Scary Movie” took top spot at the box office over the weekend while “Masters of the Universe” slid into second with a lackluster $29.3 million opening weekend in North America and just $25 million overseas. It’s nowhere near close to recouping the amount spent to make and promote the film.
“This is a soft opening for an action adventure with franchise and series potential,” industry expert David A. Gross <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/box-office-scary-movie-franchise-best-opening-masters-of-the-universe-flops-1236765638/">told</a> Variety of the box office results. “[R]ight now, the only fantasy heroes doing strong business are the biggest and most established superheroes, like Spider-Man, Deadpool, Wolverine, and Superman.”
Horror movies continued to dominate, including “Scary Movie” and runaway hits “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” which were both produced on small budgets. Both films have been showcased as examples of how moviegoers are hungry for original stories and not franchise films.
“Masters of the Universe” is an adaptation of the popular He-Man franchise featuring the hero Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine), alter ego He-Man, attempting to defeat the evil Skeletor (Leto) on the planet Eternia.

Steve Tisch

Box Office Bust Puts Spotlight On Film Producer’s Epstein Connections

He-Man's $29M Bust Puts Spotlight On Steve Tisch's Epstein Connections

Box Office

Entertainment

Hollywood

Movies

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent laid into Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) on Wednesday over the senator&#8217;s son&#8217;s ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The viral moment came while Bessent testified before the Senate Finance Committee about the 2027 budget. While questioning Bessent, Wyden accused the Trump administration of illegally shielding President Donald Trump and his family from IRS audits. Bessent cited ongoing litigation and then unloaded on Wyden over his family&#8217;s Epstein ties.
&#8220;I did want to keep this focused on the economy, [but] Senator Wyden has mendaciously slandered the Treasury building in an attempt to cover up his son having an investment meeting with Jeffrey Epstein to ask for funding,&#8221; Bessent said.
&#8220;Let&#8217;s be clear here. Nobody is interested in the ramblings of a capo in the most corrupt regime in American history,&#8221; Wyden responded. &#8220;We want to get some facts about this deal. That&#8217;s what we&#8217;re here for.&#8221;
&#8220;We would like to hear what Adam Wyden and Jeffrey Epstein talked about,&#8221; Bessent pushed back. &#8220;Your son&#8217;s largest investment position was Rick&#8217;s Cabaret [a series of strip clubs]. So did your son and Jeffrey Epstein talk about pole dancing, as he begged him for money using your limited credibility?&#8221;
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Adam Wyden met with Jeffrey Epstein in 2016 and sought financial backing for his hedge fund, ACM Capital Management. Emails released from the Department of Justice show Adam Wyden thanking Epstein for a meeting and expressing interest in having him invest in the fund.
“Jeffrey, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and hope my passion and dedication for my business came through in the meeting,” Adam wrote in an email dated April 28, 2016. “I intensely appreciate like minded individuals and would very much look forward to having you join us at the fund.”
The moment between Bessent and Wyden went viral online, racking up millions of views.
Another moment during the hearing that&#8217;s garnered attention was when Bessent confirmed the reported clash between himself and Bill Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director who Trump just tapped to become the acting Director of National Intelligence.
&#8220;I actually said I was going to kick his a**,&#8221; Bessent said about the incident. The secretary added that he and Pulte are now on good terms.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fight-over-climate-chapter-exposes-tensions-between-judicial-neutrality-and-activist-lawfare">Fight Over Climate Chapter Exposes Tensions Between Judicial Neutrality And Activist Lawfare</a>

Scott Bessent, Ron Wyden

The Pole-Dancing Question That Blew Up A Senate Hearing

Democrats

Scott Bessent

The loudest Democratic critics of the “Epstein class” continue to carve out exceptions for Senate candidate Graham Platner, despite new revelations that he exchanged sexually explicit text messages with many women and maintained an active profile on a platform notorious for enabling sexual predators.
Over the weekend, The Daily Wire exclusively <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app">reported</a> that Platner created an account on the Kik platform, which the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has described as a “predator’s paradise.” The revelation followed another weekend disclosure that his wife, Amy Gertner, previously flagged messages that her oyster farmer husband exchanged sexually explicit texts with as many as a dozen women.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hostage-video-platners-wife-attempts-damage-control-over-creepy-sex-scandal?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=%E2%80%98Hostage+Video%E2%80%99%3A+Platner%E2%80%99s+Wife+Attempts+Damage+Control+Over+Creepy+Sex+Scandal">The one-two punch</a> sent national Democrats — who view Maine as their best shot to flip the U.S. Senate — into defense mode.
“I’ve not followed this story as others have, but Graham Platner is somebody who served our country, he’s served his community; he’s also made mistakes and he’s admitted that,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said when asked about Platner’s character. 
“Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country. And this race is going to be a contrast between somebody who has put his life on the line for this country, against somebody who is literally empowering the moral hollowing-out of our nation from the White House,” he added.  
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
When asked whether Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner passes the “character test,” after CBS confirmed reporting that Platner&#8217;s wife told his campaign about sexually explicit texts he sent to other women, Sen Chris Murphy (D-CT) says Platner has lived a life of… <a href="https://t.co/coKBizY1aD">pic.twitter.com/coKBizY1aD</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://x.com/FaceTheNation/status/2061122039591673970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
Murphy’s deflection of Platner’s misconduct follows months of the Connecticut Democrat railing against the &#8220;Epstein class&#8221; as a pretext to oppose the Trump administration.   
“The Epstein class&#8217;s kids won&#8217;t die in this war. Poor families&#8217; kids will. Billionaires won&#8217;t suffer. Middle class families will pay more for everything,&#8221; he said in March. 
In November 2025, a more definitive Murphy accused President Donald Trump of being in “daily panic mode” over the release of the Epstein files, calling it the “biggest scandal in presidential history.” 
“Clearly, Donald Trump was at the center of a child sex ring. That is heartbreaking that the president of the United States was involved in that kind of gross, craven immorality,” <a href="https://x.com/BulwarkOnline/status/1989380599124046297?s=20">he said to The Bulwark’s Sam Stein.</a> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://x.com/samstein?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@samstein</a>: “What is your take on how this is playing out and why he’s acting in an incredibly guilty fashion?”<a href="https://x.com/ChrisMurphyCT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisMurphyCT</a>: “He wouldn’t be acting this way if he wasn’t so deeply worried about what sits in those files…Clearly, Donald Trump was at the center of a child sex… <a href="https://t.co/EuRUKMEh36">pic.twitter.com/EuRUKMEh36</a>
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) <a href="https://x.com/BulwarkOnline/status/1989380599124046297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who teamed up with defeated Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to push for Epstein-related disclosures, doubled down on his support for Platner.
“I am proud of<a href="https://x.com/grahamformaine"> @grahamformaine</a> for having the character to stand up against the war in Iran, against genocide, and against an unfair &amp; lopsided economy,” he posted on social media. “I am proud of him for having a vision for a new deal for our time. Excited to campaign with him June 5!”
Platner’s scandal-ridden campaign, which has already faced intense scrutiny over his Nazi tattoo, his mocking of a wounded American soldier, and derogatory social media posts about women, doesn’t appear to be worrying other progressives down the ballot. 
A smiling Matt Dunlap, the Democrat running in Maine’s red-leaning 2nd congressional district, said Monday that he still backs Platner. 
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GROSS: Maine Democrat Matt Dunlap says he still supports Graham Platner, exposed for his Nazi tattoo, cheating on his wife &amp; using a notorious &#8220;predator&#8217;s paradise&#8221; app.<a href="https://x.com/dunlap4congress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dunlap4congress</a> says he thinks this makes for “a good senator.” <a href="https://t.co/KQ2yM445r7">pic.twitter.com/KQ2yM445r7</a>
— NRCC (@NRCC) <a href="https://x.com/NRCC/status/2061474963110981773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/public-safety/2026/04/02/dunlap-picks-up-khanna-s-endorsement-in-maine-2nd-cd-race">Khanna endorsed Dunlap</a> in April, calling him a “progressive champion” who supports “holding the Epstein class accountable.”
On CNN, Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) dismissed concerns that Platner is suitable to serve in the upper chamber. 
“Well, he certainly has many good attributes. He has a great background. He comes to this issue with strength, both of personality and determination, as well as history. But, like most everybody, there are stumbles along the way, and there&#8217;s some things that he regrets having done, and I&#8217;m sure the public will hear about them,” <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/2061446597720912089?s=20">Garamendi said.</a> 
A strategic divide appears to be deepening between elected Democratic officials eager to take back power and a left-leaning commentary class focused on the party’s broader brand.
“And I will say, as a Democrat, I find it really problematic when we stand by people who do not pass muster when it comes to some basic judgment and moral values. We stand by them because they&#8217;re on our side. How is that different than Republicans doing the same thing? I find it really problematic,” Democratic activist Lauren Leader-Chivee said. 
Leader-Chivee appeared to predict defeat before the November matchup between Graham Platner and Susan Collins began.
“It was a long shot to begin with, to think that Democrats are going to take out Susan Collins. She&#8217;s been there since 1996. The polls are wrong every single cycle. She [has] extraordinary resilience,” she said. “And now you have this very problematic guy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Democratic activist Lauren Leader-Chivee (<a href="https://x.com/laurenleaderAIT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@laurenleaderAIT</a>) on Graham Platner: &#8220;How are we different than Republicans&#8221; if we stand by him &#8220;just because he’s on our side?&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/EGIcb4OExq">pic.twitter.com/EGIcb4OExq</a>
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://x.com/tomselliott/status/2061449971862274317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>

Sen. Chris Murphy

Epstein-Obsessed Democrats Carve Out Exceptions For Graham Platner

Chris Murphy

graham platner

News

Senate

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told reporters on Wednesday that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was not &#8220;100% truthful&#8221; about his past relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Lutnick arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning for a closed-door deposition before the Oversight Committee to answer questions on his relationship with Epstein. Before the deposition began, Comer took questions from reporters and said the Commerce secretary has not been fully honest in some of his past statements on Epstein.
Lutnick claimed last year that he vowed never to go near Epstein after a strange encounter with the financier in 2005. Photos released by the Justice Department in its trove of Epstein documents, however, show Lutnick with the disgraced financier on his infamous private island in 2012 — four years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
&#8220;We&#8217;ll let the American people judge whether the credibility was damaged,&#8221; Comer <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/2052041254582497381">said</a> before the Oversight Committee hearing began. &#8220;But at the end of the day, I haven&#8217;t seen wrongdoing in the email correspondence. But he wasn&#8217;t 100% truthful with whether or not he had been on the island.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1053025" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1053025" class="wp-image-1053025 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Credit: Justice Department</div>
Comer added that the Oversight Committee would ask Lutnick more questions about his visit to Little Saint James.
&#8220;We haven&#8217;t talked to too many people that have admitted they&#8217;ve been on the island,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/2052041606396563913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2052041606396563913%7Ctwgr%5Eaf21514ed8f52cc35fd510d98c61f2c482bcb7a4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaite.com%2Fmedia%2Fnews%2Fjames-comer-hits-lutnick-ahead-of-epstein-testimony-he-wasnt-100-truthful-about-island-visit%2F">said</a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s my understanding he wasn&#8217;t on the island very long. He was there with his wife and kids, but we&#8217;ll see what he says.&#8221;
The Oversight Committee chairman promised to release the full transcript of Lutnick&#8217;s deposition in the coming days.
During a Senate hearing in February, Lutnick <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-cabinet-secretary-confirms-he-visited-epsteins-island-with-wife-and-children-in-2012">confirmed</a> he visited Epstein&#8217;s Little Saint James Island and said he was accompanied by his wife and four children, as well as another couple and their children. Lutnick told senators that he had lunch with Epstein on his island for around an hour while he was on vacation with his family. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein&#8217;s sex crimes.
The Commerce secretary has been ripped by Democrats and some Republicans who expressed concern about his previous storyline.
“It’s now clear that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been lying about his relationship with Epstein. He said he had no interactions with Epstein after 2005, yet we now know they were in business together. Lutnick must resign or be fired. And he must answer our questions,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democratic member on the House Oversight Committee, said in February.
Lutnick is the first Trump administration official to be questioned under oath before the Oversight Committee on the Epstein investigation. The Commerce secretary went in for a closed-door deposition voluntarily.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been on the Oversight Committee 10 years, and there&#8217;s never been a chairman [who has brought] in Cabinet secretaries of their own party,&#8221; Comer added.
Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is also slated to appear before the committee for questioning on the Epstein case in the coming weeks. Bondi was fired as attorney general in early April as President Donald Trump was frustrated with the lack of criminal prosecutions of Democrats who committed lawfare against him. Bondi also faced scrutiny over how she handled the Epstein investigation.

Howard Lutnick

House Oversight Chair Says Lutnick ‘Wasn’t 100% Truthful’ About Epstein Ahead Of Hearing

Department of Justice

House Oversight Committee

James Comer

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said on Wednesday that some lawmakers on the committee are in favor of a pardon for Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s associate Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for Maxwell answering questions on her and Epstein&#8217;s sex trafficking scheme.
Maxwell appeared for a virtual deposition before the committee in February, but she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ghislaine-maxwell-will-only-testify-on-epstein-if-trump-gives-her-what-she-wants-lawyer-says?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ghislaine+Maxwell+Will+Only+Testify+On+Epstein+If+Trump+Gives+Her+What+She+Wants%2C+Lawyer+Says">pled</a> the Fifth Amendment and said she would only testify on Epstein&#8217;s crimes if she was granted clemency. Maxwell&#8217;s demand has caused some debate in the Oversight Committee over a potential pardon, which would have to be granted by President Donald Trump.
“My committee’s split on that,” Comer told <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/04/22/congress/to-pardon-maxwell-or-not-00887823?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=5c65d8fa-b7c7-44e5-98d0-43e6086e71cd">POLITICO</a>. “I don’t speak for my committee.”
He did not name any of his colleagues who have voiced support for pardoning Maxwell, but he clarified that he is not on the side of lawmakers who want Trump to offer her the deal.
&#8220;I think it looks bad. Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell,&#8221; he said.
The lawmakers who support a pardon for the convicted sex trafficker appear to be on the Republican side of the aisle. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said that Democrats are united in their opposition to a pardon for Maxwell.
“That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors. She is a known abuser. She is a known liar,&#8221; Garcia said. “If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is … not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public, it&#8217;s a part of a massive cover up.”
Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein acquire underage girls for sex, has been pushing for a pardon from Trump for nearly a year. The president was <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5541645-maxwell-pardon-trump-review/">asked</a> last October if he was considering a pardon for Maxwell and said he wasn&#8217;t aware that she had requested clemency. Trump added that he would &#8220;take a look at it&#8221; and &#8220;speak to the DOJ.&#8221;
After Maxwell refused to answer questions before the Oversight Committee in February, Trump was asked again if he would consider a pardon for her.
&#8220;It&#8217;s something I haven&#8217;t thought about,&#8221; he said again. &#8220;I&#8217;m allowed to do it, but it&#8217;s something I have not thought about.&#8221;
Last week, Maxwell&#8217;s lawyer, David Markus, told POLITICO that he remains optimistic that Maxwell will receive a pardon.
“I don’t know what the percentages are,” he said. “There’s a good chance and for good reason that she would get a pardon.”
Markus added that he has not yet spoken directly with the administration about Maxwell&#8217;s request.
&#8220;I don’t think now is the best time to do it, with everything going on,” he said, referring to the ongoing backlash to the Trump administration&#8217;s handling of the Epstein investigation. “We’re not on a full court press right now.”
The Oversight Committee, which has been conducting its own probe of the Epstein case, has interviewed multiple high-profile people connected to the convicted pedophile. Last month, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were grilled by the committee over their relationship with Epstein.
The Oversight Committee plans to interview Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in the coming weeks.

House Republicans/Ghislaine Maxwell

Behind Closed Doors, Some Top Republicans Want A Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon

Congress

Ghislaine Maxwell

Politics

U.S.

A federal judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, dealing a significant setback in his legal fight over reporting tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
In a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles found that Trump failed to plausibly allege that the Journal acted with “actual malice,” the high legal standard required in defamation cases involving public figures. The judge dismissed the complaint without prejudice, allowing Trump to amend and refile the lawsuit.
Trump’s lawsuit was filed in July, just days after the Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-letter-we-have-certain-things-in-common-f918d796?mod=hp_lead_pos7">published</a> a report describing a sexually suggestive letter it said bore Trump’s signature and was included in a 2003 birthday album compiled for Epstein by Ghislaine Maxwell. According to the report, the letter featured a drawing of a naked woman and included the message, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump has forcefully denied authoring the letter, insisting no such authentic document exists and calling the report “false, malicious, and defamatory.” In his original complaint, Trump argued the paper failed to provide proof of authenticity, did not include the full document at the time of publication, and could not verify how it was obtained.
Judge Gayles, however, wrote that Trump’s legal team did not meet the burden required to proceed with a defamation claim. Specifically, the complaint did not adequately show that the Journal knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The judge also pointed to the paper’s reporting process, noting that it sought comment from Trump prior to publication and included his denial in the story — a key factor in undercutting claims of actual malice.
Importantly, the court did not resolve whether the letter itself is authentic. Gayles made clear that questions about whether Trump authored the note or the nature of his relationship with Epstein are factual disputes that cannot be determined at this stage of litigation.
Separate forensic linguistic analysis previously reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wsj-epstein-letter-polar-opposite-of-trumps-writing-style-3-forensic-analyses-reach-same-verdict">The Daily Wire</a> has raised significant questions about the letter’s authenticity. Three independent AI systems, analyzing decades of Trump’s speeches, books, and written communications, concluded there was an “extremely low probability” that Trump authored the note. One report described a “fundamental and pervasive mismatch” between the letter and Trump’s known writing style, pointing to its abstract phrasing, theatrical dialogue format, and structured narrative elements.
The analyses found that the letter’s tone, including phrases like “may every day be another wonderful secret,” diverges sharply from Trump’s typically direct, blunt communication style. The presence of a scripted, almost stage-like format featuring imagined dialogue between “Donald” and “Jeffrey” was also flagged as highly inconsistent with Trump’s known patterns of speech and writing.
Even when prompted to argue in favor of Trump’s authorship, the AI systems were unable to produce strong linguistic evidence supporting that conclusion. Instead, they pointed primarily to circumstantial factors, such as Trump’s past association with Epstein, while maintaining that the writing itself did not match his established idiolect.
Despite those findings, the Journal has stood by its reporting, and its legal team argued in court that the article was accurate and therefore not defamatory. Attorneys also contended that the claims described in the report were not inconsistent with Trump’s public persona, further weakening the defamation argument.
The letter itself later became public after congressional investigators obtained Epstein’s so-called “birthday book” from his estate, adding another layer of scrutiny to the controversy. The White House has pushed back aggressively, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://x.com/PressSec/status/1965146390348398627">stating</a> that it is “very clear” Trump neither drew nor signed the image described in the report.
Looking ahead, Trump has made clear he intends to continue the legal fight. In a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116398354806956903">post</a> on Truth Social, he emphasized that the ruling was procedural rather than final, writing: “Our powerful case against The Wall Street Journal, and other defendants, was asked to be re-filed by the Judge. It is not a termination, it is a suggested re-filing, and we will be, as per the Order, re-filing an updated lawsuit on or before April 27th.” His legal team has similarly indicated plans to submit an amended complaint, setting up the next phase of what could become a prolonged legal battle.
The dismissal marks a notable moment in Trump’s broader effort to challenge media coverage through the courts, particularly as Epstein-related disclosures continue to reverberate through political and legal circles. While Trump’s legal team has vowed to refile what it called a “powerhouse lawsuit,” the ruling underscores the steep legal hurdles public figures face when attempting to prove defamation against major news organizations.

Trump Epstein 2

Federal Judge Throws Out Trump’s Lawsuit Against WSJ. Why And What’s Next?

Donald Trump

Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—The First Lady of the United States denied any connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in an unexpected statement on Thursday afternoon, warning the public: &#8220;The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.&#8221;
&#8220;The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect,&#8221; First Lady Melania Trump said in an address to the country. &#8220;I do not object to their ignorance, but rather, I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.&#8221;
&#8220;I have never been friends with Epstein,&#8221; she went on. &#8220;Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time, since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach.&#8221;
Her statement marks the first time that Melania Trump, as First Lady, has publicly addressed Epstein.
It is unclear what prompted the First Lady to speak out on the topic at this point in time — Epstein&#8217;s name had mostly departed the national news cycle, and both the White House and President Donald Trump have shown a strong distaste for discussing the topic. That distaste was exacerbated by the fervor of Democratic lawmakers, who have attempted to use the Epstein news cycle in their favor against the president.
The First Lady also said on Thursday that she never had a relationship with Epstein&#8217;s cohort, Ghislaine Maxwell, and she referenced an email she had apparently sent to Maxwell, saying that it &#8220;cannot be categorized as anything more than a casual correspondence.&#8221;
&#8220;My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband, by chance, at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book, &#8216;MELANIA.'&#8221;
&#8220;The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000, at an event Donald and I attended together,&#8221; the First Lady explained. &#8220;At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings. Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe.  These images and stories are completely false.&#8221;
Melania Trump emphasized that she is &#8220;not a witness or a named witness&#8221; connected to any of Epstein&#8217;s crimes.
<div id="attachment_1075167" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-lies-need-to-end-today-melania-trump-denies-any-connections-to-jeffrey-epstein/us-politics-first-lady-trump-3" rel="attachment wp-att-1075167"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1075167" class="wp-image-1075167 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2269958372-1-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2269958372-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2269958372-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2269958372-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2269958372-1.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>(Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)</div>
&#8220;My name has never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements, or FBI interviews surrounding the Epstein matter,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims.  I was never involved in any capacity — I was not a participant, was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island. I have never been legally accused or convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein’s sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other repulsive behavior.&#8221;
Those who attempt to link her to Epstein are trying to damage her name for political and financial reasons, she said, calling the claims &#8220;false smears&#8221; from &#8220;mean-spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities.&#8221;
The First Lady says that she and her attorneys have successfully fought back against Epstein-related claims against her, noting that they will continue to fight to protect her reputation.
&#8220;To date, several individuals and companies have been legally obligated to publicly apologize and retract their lies about me, such as The Daily Beast, James Carville, and HarperCollins UK,&#8221; she said.
She also called for Congress to hold a hearing for the Epstein victims, one &#8220;specifically centered around the survivors.&#8221; She called for the victims to testify under oath in front of Congress and have their testimonies &#8220;permanently entered into the Congressional Record.&#8221;
&#8220;Now is the time for Congress to act,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Epstein was not alone. Several prominent male executives resigned from their powerful positions after this matter became widely politicized. Of course, this doesn’t amount to guilt, but we still must work openly and transparently to uncover the truth.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-FIRST LADY-TRUMP

‘The Lies…Need To End Today’: Melania Trump Stuns With Appearance To Deny Jeffrey Epstein Claims

Melania Trump

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is slated to testify before the House Oversight Committee on his relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, becoming yet another high-profile person to be grilled by lawmakers investigating Epstein&#8217;s child sex crimes.
Gates is scheduled to appear before the committee for a transcribed interview on June 10, according to multiple reports. The GOP-led committee sent a letter to Gates on March 3, asking him to meet with lawmakers for an interview.
&#8220;While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein&#8217;s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee&#8217;s questions to support their important work,&#8221; a Gates spokesman <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-gates-jeffrey-epstein-house-oversight-committee/">said</a> on Tuesday.
Gates developed a relationship with Epstein beginning in 2011, three years after Epstein pled guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) wrote in a letter to Gates that the committee believes the tech billionaire has &#8220;information that will assist in its investigation.&#8221;
Gates <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-gates-admits-to-affairs-with-russian-women-but-washes-hands-of-epsteins-crimes?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Bill+Gates+Admits+To+Affairs+With+Russian+Women+%E2%80%94+But+Washes+Hands+Of+Epstein%E2%80%99s+Crimes">apologized</a> to the staff of his foundation earlier this year for his connection with Epstein and admitted to affairs with a Russian bridge player and a Russian nuclear physicist. Epstein knew about Gates&#8217; sexual encounters, and Gates was mentioned multiple times by Epstein in emails released by the Justice Department late last year.
One of the emails appears to be a draft of a resignation letter from Gates’ former science adviser, Boris Nikolic, that Epstein sent to himself. In the email, the writer admits to “facilitating … illegal trysts, with married women” and helping Gates “get drugs, in order to deal with the consequences of sex with russian [sic] girls.” Another email states that Gates contracted a sexually transmitted disease from the affairs with Russian women and alleged that he intended to &#8220;surreptitiously&#8221; slip antibiotics to his then-wife, Melinda Gates.
Gates has vehemently denied those allegations and said that Epstein sought to &#8220;entrap and defame&#8221; him because he was frustrated that Gates broke off their relationship. Bill and Melinda Gates divorced in 2021, a process that began shortly after reports of Bill’s close relationship with Epstein began circulating in 2019.
“To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing,” Gates said of his ex-wife during his apologetic remarks to staff in February.
Gates told his foundation employees that the two Russian women with whom he had affairs were not victims of Epstein’s sex-trafficking scheme. The Russian bridge player with whom Gates had sexual relations was in her 20s when she met the Microsoft co-founder. She also met Epstein in 2013, and Epstein reportedly paid for the woman to attend school for a software coding course. In 2017, Epstein asked Gates to reimburse him for the college course.
“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates told his staff, adding, “To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around [Epstein].”
Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein&#8217;s sex crimes.
The House Oversight Committee has already questioned former President Bill Clinton, who flew on Epstein&#8217;s infamous jet numerous times, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over their connection to Epstein. The committee is also set to grill U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on May 6. Lutnick was once Epstein&#8217;s neighbor in New York City, and he visited Epstein on his private Caribbean island with his family in late 2012.

Bill Gates/Jeffrey Epstein

Date Set For Deposition Of Former Epstein Pal Bill Gates

Bill Gates

NEW YORK (Reuters) &#8211; Bank of America agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by women who accused the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, court records showed on Friday.
Lawyers for the bank and the women had told Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff this month they had reached a &#8220;settlement in principle,&#8221; but terms of the deal were not disclosed at the time.
&#8220;While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs,&#8221; a spokesperson for Bank of America said in a statement.
In a joint court filing, David Boies and Bradley Edwards, attorneys for the plaintiffs, said the settlement represented the best option for their clients &#8220;given that many Class Members suffered harm many years ago and are in need of financial relief now.&#8221;
The plaintiffs&#8217; lawyers may seek up to 30% of the settlement, or about $21.8 million, for legal fees, according to court records.
The settlement requires Rakoff&#8217;s approval. The judge scheduled a court hearing for Thursday to consider approving the deal.
The proposed class action, filed in October by a woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe, accused the second-largest U.S. bank of ignoring suspicious financial transactions related to Epstein despite a &#8220;plethora&#8221; of information about his crimes because it valued profit over protecting victims.
Bank of America has said Doe alleged merely that it provided routine services to people who at the time had no known links to Epstein, and that any suggestion that it was more deeply involved was &#8220;threadbare and meritless.&#8221;
Rakoff ruled in January that Bank of America must face Doe&#8217;s claims that it knowingly benefited from Epstein&#8217;s sex trafficking and obstructed enforcement of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Among the transactions Doe flagged were payments to Epstein by Apollo Global Management&#8217;s billionaire co-founder, Leon Black.
Black stepped down as Apollo&#8217;s chief executive in 2021 after a review by an outside law firm found he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning.
Black has denied wrongdoing and said he was unaware of Epstein&#8217;s criminal conduct.
Doe&#8217;s lawyers have also sued other alleged enablers of Epstein&#8217;s sex trafficking, and in 2023 reached settlements of $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank on behalf of his accusers.
The lawyers are also appealing Rakoff&#8217;s dismissal in January of a similar lawsuit they brought against Bank of New York Mellon.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by New York City&#8217;s medical examiner.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Rod Nickel)

Bank of America/Epstein

Another Major Bank Agrees To Dish Out Over $70M To Settle Epstein Lawsuit

Bank of America

Banks

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said on Tuesday night that the committee plans to question the former corrections officer who searched for information about pedophile Jeffrey Epstein less than an hour before he was found dead in his New York City jail cell on August 10, 2019.
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/07/us-news/prison-guard-googled-jeffrey-epstein-minutes-before-his-body-was-found-and-deposited-thousands-days-before-pedophiles-suicide-doj/">reported</a> last Saturday that former Metropolitan Correctional Center guard Tova Noel googled &#8220;latest on Epstein in jail&#8221; at 5:42 a.m. and again at 5:52 a.m. before Epstein was found dead at 6:30 a.m., according to FBI records. Chase Bank also flagged numerous &#8220;suspicious&#8221; deposits into Noel&#8217;s bank account between April of 2018 and November of 2019, with the largest deposit of $5,000 coming on July 30, 2019, according to the Post, which reviewed DOJ documents.
Noel will now be asked to appear before the committee for an interview, Comer <a href="https://x.com/JesseBWatters/status/2031535459940155536">told</a> Fox News host Jesse Watters.
&#8220;The recent media reports &#8230; [are] very concerning, especially the suspicious activity report on a $5,000 mysterious deposit that she had,&#8221; Comer told Watters. &#8220;And the reason that stands out to me, Jesse, is because very seldom are suspicious activity reports even reported for sums less than $10,000.&#8221;
Noel, who was also accused of falsifying guard shift records the night before Epstein was found dead, is believed to be the last corrections officer to see Epstein alive.
&#8220;So because of this, because of the media reports and because of the fact that, honestly, most people on the committee aren&#8217;t confident 100% that Epstein&#8217;s death was by suicide, we&#8217;re going to ask Ms. Noel to come in for a transcribed interview,&#8221; Comer said. &#8220;Again, no one is accusing her of any wrongdoing, but we have a lot of questions about Epstein.&#8221;
Noel is also believed to be the mysterious blur that was <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-jail-video-investigation/">caught on camera</a> moving near Epstein&#8217;s cell with orange linen the night before he died, according to the Justice Department. Epstein apparently killed himself using extra linen that was in his cell. Noel reportedly told investigators that she &#8220;never gave out linen&#8221; to inmates, since that was always done during the previous shift. She also denied googling Epstein shortly before he was found dead.
DOJ investigators interviewed Noel following Epstein&#8217;s apparent suicide, and her lawyers said she did not have any part in Epstein&#8217;s death. The Justice Department did not ask Noel about the numerous cash deposits that were flagged by Chase as &#8220;suspicious activity,&#8221; the Post reported.
Noel and her fellow guard, Michael Thomas, were accused of falling asleep on the job and admitted to falsifying their reports to cover up for missing checks on Epstein, which they were supposed to conduct every 30 minutes.
Noel and Thomas were arrested and charged in November of 2019, but a federal judge later <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/03/us/jeffrey-epstein-officers-dismissed-charges-judge">dismissed</a> the charges after prosecutors struck a deal in exchange for &#8220;truthful information related to their employment by the Bureau of Prisons.&#8221;

Tova Noel/Jeffrey Epstein

Guard Who Googled Epstein Right Before His Death Now In The Spotlight

House Oversight Committee To Question Guard Who Googled Epstein Just Before He Was Found Dead

Whoopi Goldberg and her cohosts on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;The View&#8221; suggested during Tuesday&#8217;s broadcast that President Donald Trump may have started a war with Iran to keep the American people distracted from the Epstein files and the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case.
Goldberg raised the possibility first, saying it was &#8220;nutty as hell&#8221; that a major military conflict — involving a known bad actor and American interests and allies in the Middle East — was sucking up all the oxygen in the media space and arguing that it was an intentional play to redirect public focus.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Whoopi claims the conflict with Iran is a distraction from the search for Nancy Guthrie and the Epstein files:
GOLDBERG: Well, I mean, it&#8217;s just nutty as hell. It&#8217;s nutty as hell and you&#8217;re right, every day is something new. And it&#8217;s &#8212; you know, I was thinking about it… <a href="https://t.co/Boyu2mYouH">pic.twitter.com/Boyu2mYouH</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/2031400257192374744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I mean, it&#8217;s just nutty as hell. It&#8217;s nutty as hell and you&#8217;re right, every day is something new,&#8221; Goldberg began. &#8220;And it&#8217;s — you know, I was thinking about it yesterday, because I thought, well, okay, why haven&#8217;t we been talking about Savannah Guthrie and what&#8217;s going on there?&#8221;
&#8220;And her mother,&#8221; Sunny Hostin interjected.
&#8220;Why haven&#8217;t we not been — why have we not been talking about the Epstein files? Because that&#8217;s still there,&#8221; Goldberg continued. &#8220;This is meant to get us so worked up that we are unable to see anything else.&#8221;
The audience and the others around the table applauded and voiced their agreement.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a very wag-the-dog feeling. Very wag-the-dog feeling,&#8221; Hostin said, employing the slang term for use of a military action that is intended to divert public attention from a politically damaging issue.
The panel then pivoted to claim that the Trump administration viewed members of the military as &#8220;cannon fodder.&#8221;
Cohost Sara Haines said that anyone who waged war should keep the human cost in mind, and Goldberg immediately claimed that the Trump administration did not do that.
&#8220;They don&#8217;t have that feeling, because to them, we&#8217;re cannon fodder,&#8221; she claimed. &#8220;They don&#8217;t care, you know? It&#8217;s how — It&#8217;s why they — it&#8217;s how they also treat our vets. It tells you a lot. You&#8217;ve heard him talk about vets.&#8221;
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and War Secretary Pete Hegseth were all on hand for the Dignified Transfer to receive the remains of the first six American service members killed during Operation Epic Fury. Vice President Vance, a Marine Corps veteran himself, attended the Dignified Transfer for the seventh. Trump referred to the ceremony as &#8220;the toughest thing I have to do as President.&#8221;

Whoopi Goldberg

‘The View’ Hosts Suggest Trump Started A War To Distract From Epstein: ‘Very Wag-The-Dog Feeling’

'The View' Hosts Suggest Trump Started A War To Distract From Epstein: 'Very Wag-The-Dog Feeling'

Iran

Media

Nancy Guthrie

The View

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