FBI Agents Reportedly Told To ‘Flag’ Docs Mentioning Trump

Topline

FBI agents who went through the government’s documents on financier Jeffrey Epstein were directed to “flag” any materials that mentioned President Donald Trump, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., alleged in letters Friday, as Democrats press FBI and DOJ leadership for information about their refusal to publicly release the Epstein files.

Jeffrey Epstein (left) and now-President Donald Trump in 1997 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm … More Beach, Florida.

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Key Facts

Durbin, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent letters Friday to Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, which direct them to answer a series of questions about the Epstein documents and the DOJ memo last week announcing the agency would not make them public.

Anonymous sources told Durbin’s office that FBI investigators tasked with reviewing the Epstein documents “were instructed to ‘flag’ any records in which President Trump was mentioned,” as part of a broader “haphazard” FBI review of the Epstein files that took place in March.

Durbin asked Bondi, Patel and Bongino to answer why officials were told to flag Trump-related documents, what the agency did with any documents related to Trump, and for any log they’ve created of the materials that mentioned him.

The Democrat also more broadly questioned the DOJ’s memo, which said the government would not release any more Epstein files and shot down several theories about the financier’s case, including the existence of a so-called Epstein “client list” and that Epstein did not die by suicide.

The memo “directly contradicts” Bondi’s previous public statements about the case, Durbin argued, in which the attorney general claimed an Epstein “client list” was “sitting on my desk right now” and that the public would see “the full Epstein files.”

The DOJ confirmed receipt of Durbin’s letter to Forbes but declined to comment further, and the FBI has not yet responded to a request for comment.

What To Watch For

Durbin asked Bondi, Patel and Bongino to respond to a series of questions about the Epstein case by Aug. 1. In addition to the questions about documents mentioning Trump, Durbin also asked for information on whether they’ve personally reviewed all of the Epstein files, why Bondi claimed there was a “client list” if the agency later said there wasn’t, what happened in the months between the FBI’s review of the Epstein files and the memo not to release them and why that memo was not signed by any specific DOJ or FBI officials. The senator also questioned the surveillance footage the government released showing the area outside Epstein’s cell on the night he died amid controversy over whether that video was modified. He also referenced Thursday’s report in The Wall Street Journal alleging Trump sent a letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday—which allegedly included a drawing of a naked woman and Trump referencing Epstein’s “secrets”—with Durbin asking whether the FBI reviewed that letter or other correspondence between Trump and Epstein. (Trump has denied the veracity of the letter and has threatened to sue News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch for publishing the report.)

What Do We Know About Trump’s Relationship With Epstein?

Trump has never been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and the financier’s alleged sex trafficking operation, but the president used to be friends with Epstein and has appeared in photos with the late financier. “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” Trump told New York Magazine in 2002. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” The president’s name was on the flight logs for Epstein’s private jets and was recorded in the financier’s “little black book,” but Trump has said he never visited Epstein’s private island or took part in any sexual misconduct. Trump later said he had a “falling out” with Epstein, which is believed to be tied to a 2004 real estate dispute, and said he was “not a fan” of his former friend. The president has more recently criticized the demand to release more Epstein files, decrying the conspiracy theories over the Epstein case as a “hoax” and disavowing his own supporters who have pushed for the documents.

Will Any Epstein Files Be Released?

There is still so far no indication that the public uproar over the DOJ’s refusal to disclose its Epstein files will result in any more documents becoming available. Trump and Bondi said Thursday they will ask the court to unseal grand jury documents in the case, but legal experts note those documents are typically secret and are only made public in very limited instances. Even if the grand jury materials were released, Democrats and legal experts have suggested it would likely consist of limited information that doesn’t include the potentially explosive information about Epstein’s associates the public is hoping for, and would be heavily redacted.

Key Background

Epstein is alleged to have abused more than 100 women before he was indicted in 2019 on sex trafficking charges, and he died in prison later that year. His case has remained a source of fascination due to the high-profile people he associated with, however—including Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew—which has sparked conspiracy theories about a “client list,” Epstein’s death and the government’s lack of transparency by not releasing the Epstein files. (Clinton, like Trump, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and Prince Andrew has denied allegations against him.) Those theories were spread by many Trump allies on the right such as Patel and Bongino, and both FBI officials and Bondi repeatedly claimed they would release the Epstein files. Only one tranche of documents had been made public by the time the DOJ issued its memo last week, however—and those materials were largely already publicly available—and the announcement that no further files would be released sparked an outcry on the right and calls for Bondi to resign. Democrats have also pushed for more transparency around the Epstein files and the Trump administration’s failure to release them, and have introduced legislation and other measures aimed at forcing the documents’ release.