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President Donald Trump has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the public release of grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein’s prosecution, a move aimed at quelling backlash from his base over the administration’s handling of the case. Bondi said she will petition the court Friday, though legal experts caution that grand jury materials are rarely unsealed.
What to Know:
- Trump’s directive follows a Justice Department memo denying the existence of a “client list” and reaffirming Epstein’s death as a suicide.
- Bondi’s swift response on social media signaled a reversal from earlier DOJ claims that the case was closed.
- Legal hurdles remain: grand jury transcripts are protected under federal law and require court approval to be released.
- The move came hours after The Wall Street Journal reported Trump sent Epstein a suggestive birthday greeting in 2003, which Trump denied and threatened to sue over.
- Critics, including Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), dismissed the gesture as symbolic, demanding broader transparency, including videos and other evidence.
- House Republicans are weighing a nonbinding resolution to pressure the DOJ for more disclosures, reflecting growing tension between Congress and the White House.
Stay with Newsweek for the latest updates.
Donald Trump’s drawings under scrutiny over Epstein birthday letter
President Donald Trump speaking to reporters during a meeting with Crown Prince of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House on July 16, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Anna Moneymaker/GETTY
A number of drawings produced by President Donald Trump have resurfaced after it was reported that he sent a “bawdy” letter and sketch to Jeffrey Epstein to mark his 50th birthday.
In response to a Wall Street Journal report that he sent a letter and sketch of a naked woman to Epstein in 2003, five years before the financier was convicted of child sexual abuse, Trump said, “I never wrote a picture in my life.”
Newsweek contacted the White House and The Wall Street Journal for comment outside regular working hours.
In recent weeks, Trump has faced a backlash from a section of his base after his Justice Department published a memo saying Epstein died by suicide while in federal custody in 2019. The agency also concluded that there was no evidence Epstein possessed an “incriminating ‘client list.'”
The president has since blamed Democrats for what he calls the “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,” which he has branded a “SCAM.” Conspiracy theorists have long suggested that Epstein kept a list of clients involved in child abuse whom he blackmailed and that he could have been murdered to protect powerful individuals—claims the FBI and Department of Justice deny.
