White House pushes back forcefully on Epstein file criticism: ‘Asinine suggestion’

The White House is pushing back against criticism of the administration’s handling of files pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein as figures on both sides of the aisle demand their release.

‘The fact that Democrats have now seized on this as if they ever wanted transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, which is an asinine suggestion for any Democrat to make. The Democrats had control of this building, the White House, for four years, and they didn’t do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes,’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday. 

Leavitt then attempted to shift focus, saying that President Donald Trump cared more about other issues, such as the GENIUS Act and the border. This echoed a sentiment expressed by Trump, who said that the Justice Department has ‘bigger problems’ than the Epstein case.

Additionally, Leavitt told reporters that Trump is not recommending a special prosecutor in the Epstein case, saying that ‘the idea was floated from someone in the media to the president.’
A recent joint Justice Department-FBI memo obtained by Axios showed the department and the bureau concluded they had no evidence of Epstein blackmailing powerful people, keeping a client list or being killed.

Republicans have grown frustrated with what they see as a lack of transparency from the Trump administration. The president has lashed out amid the criticism, claiming that it is a ‘hoax’ and that those on the right concerned about the release of the files were being ‘duped’ by Democrats. 

On Wednesday, Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi would release ‘whatever’s credible’ related to the Epstein case.

‘He’s dead. He’s gone,’ Trump said of Epstein. ‘And, all it is, is the Republicans, certain Republicans got duped by the Democrats, and they’re following a Democrat playbook and no different than Russia, Russia, Russia and all the other hoaxes.’

The infighting isn’t limited to Republican lawmakers. A source recently told Fox News Digital that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was considering resigning over the handling of the files. However, he has not made any announcements about leaving.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Amanda Macias, and Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.