By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared in Justice Department files about Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in prison, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing senior administration officials.
Reuters was not able to immediately verify the Journal’s report, which the White House condemned as “fake news.”
The Justice Department concluded in early July that there was not a basis to continue the Epstein probe, triggering a backlash among Trump’s political base who demanded more information about wealthy and powerful people who had interacted with Epstein.
“Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts. As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings,” Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement on Wednesday.
Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein.
That came shortly after a federal judge in South Florida denied a Justice Department request to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein, the first ruling in a series of attempts by Trump’s administration to release more information on the case.
The request stemmed from federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007, according to court documents. The Justice Department has pending requests to unseal transcripts in Manhattan federal court related to later indictments brought against Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg found that the Justice Department’s request in Florida did not fall into any of the exceptions to rules requiring grand jury material be kept secret.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Diane Craft)
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