Tag Archives: Dan Bongino

Alternet: Trump DOJ sitting on ‘more than 100,000 pages’ of unreleased Epstein materials: NY Times

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A new report is shedding light on the truly massive trove of evidence the Department of Justice (DOJ) has amassed on Jeffrey Epstein — most of which has yet to see the light of day.

The New York Times reported Thursday on what went on behind the scenes during an extensive review of the Epstein files that the DOJ conducted for several months earlier this year. According to the Times, DOJ staff combed through “more than 100,000 pages of documents” pertaining to the 2019 federal investigation into the convicted pedophile.

DOJ attorneys reviewed the trove of evidence four times between February and April, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche instructed staff to flag any mention of President Donald Trump, along with any other prominent public figures, “including former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.” Then in May, Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed to Trump that his name was in the Epstein documents, as the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

The Times reported that senior Trump administration officials like Blanche, Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have maintained there is no evidence implicating anyone outside of Epstein in the evidence. However, Trump’s MAGA base has continued to harp on the issue, believing that a full release of the evidence may reveal the names of previously unknown co-conspirators and associates of Epstein.

ABC News reported earlier this month on the FBI’s indexing of the Epstein evidence, and what has yet to be made public. This reportedly includes “40 computers and electronic devices, 26 storage drives, more than 70 CDs and six recording devices,” which “hold more than 300 gigabytes of data.”

“The evidence also includes approximately 60 pieces of physical evidence, including photographs, travel logs, employee lists, more than $17,000 in cash, five massage tables, blueprints of Epstein’s island and Manhattan home, four busts of female body parts, a pair of women’s cowboy boots and one stuffed dog,” the ABC report continued.

The network further reported that the FBI is sitting on logbooks of visitors to Epstein’s “Little Saint James” island — which housed his private compound — along with a log of boat trips to and from the island. The famed “client list” may also be among those items, as ABC reported that the FBI had a “document with names” among its Epstein-related evidence.

Trump DOJ sitting on ‘more than 100,000 pages’ of unreleased Epstein materials: NY Times

https://www.alternet.org/trump-doj-epstein-materials

Newsweek: Pam Bondi’s DOJ to make Ghislaine Maxwell decision after Epstein backlash

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Pam Bondi’s leadership of the Department of Justice may come under further Jeffrey Epstein-related scrutiny over an appeal by Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

The British socialite, and former friend of Prince Andrew, was sentenced to 20 years in jail in June 2022 for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, but has appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Trump administration’s response to that case is due July 14 at a particularly pressured time for Bondi, who as attorney general leads the DOJ.

Why It Matters

Bondi has facing severe criticism from within President Donald Trump‘s MAGA base after a report by the DOJ and FBI last week stated there was no Epstein client list and no evidence the New York financier blackmailed prominent public figures.

This has sparked accusations of a cover-up as Bondi appeared to suggest in February the alleged document was sitting on her desk. The White House later sought to clarify that she was referring to Epstein files more generally.

Newsweek has contacted the DOJ for comment by email out of office hours.

What to Know

Epstein is thought to have abused hundreds of girls and was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he died in his jail cell in 2019.

The case has long featured allegations that he forced his victims to have sex with his powerful friends, but none have ever been charged. Bill Clinton and Donald Trump have been linked to Epstein but both men, and Prince Andrew, strenuously deny knowledge of his crimes.

Trump administration figures suggested new details and even new cases would emerge after a review ordered by the President into the Epstein files this year.

However, a memo by the DOJ and FBI last week indicated there would be no new cases and stated there was no evidence of a blackmail plot by Epstein.

“This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list.’ There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions,” said the memo.

“We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”

This sparked furious responses from MAGA commentators and tears from alt-right radio host Alex Jones, exerting extra pressure on the DOJ, run by Bondi as attorney general, over how to handle Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal following her criminal conviction for sex trafficking.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s Appeal

Maxwell’s lawyers argue she should never have been put on trial due to a plea deal between Jeffrey Epstein and Florida prosecutors in 2008.

A filing by her team, seen by Newsweek, reads: “Despite the existence of a non-prosecution agreement promising in plain language that the United States would not prosecute any co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, the United States in fact prosecuted Ghislaine Maxwell as a co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein.

“Only because the United States did so in the Second Circuit and not elsewhere, her motion to dismiss the indictment was denied, her trial proceeded, and she is now serving a 20-year sentence.

“In light of the disparity in how the circuit courts interpret the enforceability of a promise made by the ‘United States,’ Maxwell’s motion to dismiss would have been granted if she had been charged in at least four other circuits (plus the Eleventh, where Epstein’s agreement was entered into).

“This inconsistency in the law by which the same promise by the United States means different things in different places should be addressed by this Court.”

D. John Sauer, Donald Trump’s pick for Solicitor General, has already twice applied to extend the deadline for the administration’s response to Maxwell’s appeal, leading to the current July 14 deadline.

A letter from Sauer to the court, seen by Newsweek, read: “The government’s response is now due, after one extension, on June 13, 2025.

“We respectfully request, under Rule 30.4 of the Rules of this Court, a further extension of time to and including July 14, 2025, within which to file the government’s response.

“This extension is necessary because the attorneys with principal responsibility for

preparation of the government’s response have been heavily engaged with the press of previously assigned matters with proximate due dates.”

What People Are Saying

Conservative media personality Megyn Kelly was among those to heap pressure on Bondi over backlash during an appearance at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit over the weekend. “It’s starting to create a real hornet’s nest within the administration and I’ve got to be honest I blame Pam Bondi. I’ll tell you why: incompetence,” she said.

“She is the reason that things are unravelling around this story right now, that virtually all the Republican Party cares about. It’s also true that [FBI Deputy Director] Dan Bongino and [FBI Director] Kash Patel had questions about Epstein before they took office before they went to the FBI,” she continued.

“But once they joined the FBI they said nothing. They kept their mouths shut about Epstein. You have not seen them, except for one joint appearace with Dan and Kash on Fox, running all over the media looking for attention on this, yes, clickbaity story.

“Who have you seen?” Kelly asked. “Pam Bondi. She has never missed an opportunity to go on television and dangle sweet nothings that might be coming your way, try to lead you to believe that she’s got it, it’s on her desk, it’s coming, ‘tomorrow you’re going to see something on Epstein.'”

Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday: “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein. For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again.”

What Happens Next

The Government will now either file its reply, which should lay out how it intends to contest the case, or seek a third extension. Either way, there should be a filing to the Supreme Court case outlining which option has been chosen.

There must be many more besides Prince Andrew who took advantage of Epstein’s many underage victims. The must ALL be exposed.

Pam Bondi’s DOJ to make Ghislaine Maxwell decision after Epstein backlash
Ghislaine Maxwell filed a Supreme Court appeal arguing she should be covered by Jeffrey Epstein’s controversial plea deal.

https://www.newsweek.com/pam-bondi-doj-ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-files-2098469

Showbiz 411: Trump Epstein Fake Out: Says He Might Revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s Citizenship (Which He Knows He Can’t Do)

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There’s nothing to quote, it’s all in the title. Our pathetic King Donald is making a royal ass of himself in front of 340 million Americans and assorted billions elsewhere.

Trump Epstein Fake Out: Says He Might Revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s Citizenship (Which He Knows He Can’t Do) – Showbiz411
Trump is falling apart over Jeffrey Epstein. The presidency is falling apart as the FBI’s quacky leaders Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are threatening to quit over Pam Bondi’s announcement that no Epstein files exist. They existed a short time ago, of course, when binders were waved around reading “Epstein Files.” MAGA is furious because […]
Trump Epstein Fake Out: Says He Might Revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s Citizenship (Which He Knows He Can’t Do)

Alternet: A cult leader shows how Trump is taking America to a very dark place

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Former FBI agent Michael Fienberg has gone public, pointing out that the agency, under the leadership of Dan Bongino and Kash Patel, is purging itself of people who are not members of the Trump cult (my phrase, not his).

Similar cult-like behavior is on vivid display with the White House press secretary, the head of DHS, and the head of the Department of Justice — among numerous other administration officials and elected Republicans — regularly spouting lies and half-truths that target women, immigrants, and Democrats.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is implying that the children who died in the Texas floods were the victims of a nefarious plot — presumably by Democrats or Jews who operate space lasers — to modify the weather, completely ignoring the fact that Republican-aligned fossil fuel billionaires have been engaged in a half-century-long scheme to sabotage our atmosphere with their carbon dioxide emissions in exchange for trillions of dollars in profits. Some of which, no doubt, have been shared with Greene or her campaign.

Multiple administration officials, elected Republicans, and rightwing media cult leaders on platforms like Fox “News” have been amplifying the racist, antisemitic “Great Replacement Theory,” that wealthy Jews are paying to “replace” white people in America with Blacks, Mexicans, and other people of color. This has led to ICE becoming the largest police force in America, with a budget larger than that of the entire Russian military, soon to be sweeping a neighborhood near you in their never-ending hunt for brown-skinned people.

Donald Trump didn’t need to lure his followers into a remote jungle, like Jim Jones did in Guyana. He didn’t need to physically isolate them from the rest of the world. Instead, Trump built his Jonestown right here at home, within the boundaries of our republic, brick by brick. He did it using over 30,000 documented lies, fear, rage, and the intoxicating promise of belonging.

Today, tens of millions of Americans are trapped inside Trump’s reality-warping cult. And just as Jones’ followers drank poisoned Kool-Aid believing it was salvation, Trump’s followers have swallowed his Big Lies and are now willing to sacrifice our Constitution, our democracy, and our future on the altar of one man’s insatiable ego.

This is an old story in new packaging….

Click the links below to read the rest of the article:

Alternet: A cult leader shows how Trump is taking America to a very dark place

https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/the-cult-of-trump-2673148656

NBC News: FBI Director Kash Patel feeds 2020 election conspiracy theories with documents about unverified tip

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FBI Director Kash Patel said this week the bureau had shared “alarming” — but unsubstantiated — allegations about manipulation of the 2020 election with a Republican member of Congress.

“The FBI has located documents which detail alarming allegations related to the 2020 U.S. election, including allegations of interference by the CCP,” Patel wrote, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. “I have immediately declassified the material and turned the documents over to the Chairman Grassley for further review.”

The unsubstantiated claim promoted by Patel, which an unidentified confidential human source gave to the FBI in 2020, during President Donald Trump’s first term, asserts that the Chinese mass-produced driver’s licenses to be used in a mail-in ballot scheme.

…

No evidence of widespread or systemic voter fraud affecting the 2020 election has been found, despite allegations promoted by Trump and his allies since he lost that year’s presidential race.

Five years later these fools are still dredging up false claims about the 2020 election.

And this bozo is the director of what was once America’s premier law enforcement agency?

FBI Director Kash Patel feeds 2020 election conspiracy theories with documents about unverified tip
Patel has faced increased pressure from the online right to bring more drastic change to the bureau.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-director-kash-patel-feeds-2020-election-conspiracy-theories-docume-rcna213521

Express: Donald Trump warns ‘we are going to have troops everywhere’ after ICE protests

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“We are going to have troops everywhere,” Trump said after touching down on Air Force One in New Jersey on Sunday. “We are not going to let this happen to our country.”

Sieg, heil! Herr Donald is der neue Sieg!

President Donald Trump warned there will be “troops everywhere” when asked if he will take more action if the LA protests continuie to rage – amid fears that martial law may be declared.

In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

“We are going to have troops everywhere,” Trump said after touching down on Air Force One in New Jersey on Sunday.

Trump warns ‘we are going to have troops everywhere’ after ICE protests
“We are going to have troops everywhere,” Trump said after touching down on Air Force One in New Jersey on Sunday. “We are not going to let this happen to our country.”

https://www.the-express.com/news/politics/174229/donald-trump-national-guard-insurrection-fears

CNN: Immigration Raids “Made for TV”

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Dr. Phil was embedded with ICE during controversial Los Angeles immigration raids

As federal agents prepared to fan out in Los Angeles for a controversial immigration crackdown, the officers were greeted by a familiar face: Dr. Phil McGraw.

The television personality and his camera crew were on hand before and after the raids that took place on Friday and triggered several days of street protests.

McGraw was there “to get a first-hand look at the targeted operations,” according to his conservative TV channel, MeritTV.

McGraw also had “exclusive” access to Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, a spokesperson for the channel said. The two men sat down for taped conversations about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts both “the day before and day after the LA operation.”

The TV personality and Homan were also together at the Homeland Security Investigations field office in L.A. on the morning the raids began.

McGraw’s presence on the ground in L.A. reinforces the made-for-TV nature of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The former daytime talk show host was embedded with ICE officials in Chicago back in January, when some federal agents were told to be camera-ready for a show of force at the very start of President Trump’s second term.

Dr. Phil was embedded with ICE during controversial Los Angeles immigration raids | CNN Business
The footage is being incorporated into a special report on “Dr. Phil Primetime,” a program on McGraw’s conservative TV channel Merit TV, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/09/media/dr-phil-mcgraw-ice-immigration-raids-los-angeles

Express: Donald Trump warns ‘we are going to have troops everywhere’ after ICE protests

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“We are going to have troops everywhere,” Trump said after touching down on Air Force One in New Jersey on Sunday. “We are not going to let this happen to our country.”

President Donald Trump warned there will be “troops everywhere” when asked if he will take more action if protests, like those in LA, continue to rage.

In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

“We are going to have troops everywhere,” Trump said after touching down on Air Force One in New Jersey on Sunday. “We are not going to let this happen to our country.”

Earlier on Saturday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest.”

Note that when the daffy King Donald made that post on Truth Social, the National Guard soldiers had not yet deployed.

Trump warns ‘we are going to have troops everywhere’ after ICE protests
“We are going to have troops everywhere,” Trump said after touching down on Air Force One in New Jersey on Sunday. “We are not going to let this happen to our country.”

https://www.the-express.com/news/politics/174229/donald-trump-national-guard-insurrection-fears

ABC 7 KABC: Trump deploys 2,000 National Guard members after Los Angeles immigration protests

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ICE vowed to continue making arrests and enforce immigration laws.

The Trump administration is deploying the California National Guard in response to protests in Los Angeles over immigration enforcement operations that have resulted in some clashes between demonstrators and authorities, the White House said in a statement.

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum “deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness” in California as demonstrations opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations continue in the state, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Saturday.

“In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens,” Leavitt said. “That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” Leavitt said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X that the Defense Department is “mobilizing the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles. And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized – they are on high alert.”

Earlier, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the federal government was moving to “take over the California National Guard,” calling the move “purposefully inflammatory” and saying it will “only escalate tensions.”

Newsom said local California authorities don’t need the help.

“LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” he said. “We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need.”

Trump deploys 2,000 National Guard members after Los Angeles immigration protests

https://abc7.com/post/protests-erupt-immigration-customs-enforcement-raids-los-angeles-california/16690197

Raw Story: ‘Feel sorry’: Ex-FBI director reveals Kash Patel clip that made him ‘cringe’

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James Comey claimed he cringed watching president Donald Trump’s FBI director Kash Patel struggle to answer a basic question during a recent Senate hearing.

The former FBI director, who has earned Trump’s enduring ire over the Russia probe during his first presidency, appeared Wednesday on CNN’s “The Situation Room” to discuss his successor’s handling of the job as the nation’s top federal investigator, and he was unimpressed by his response to Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) asking about the bureau’s tardy budget request.

“I cringe at that clip,” Comey said. “I actually feel kind of sorry for the guy. It’s like showing up for a final exam with no pencils and no paper and you didn’t even know there’s a final exam.”

Too much nightclubbing!!!

Raw Story: ‘Feel sorry’: Ex-FBI director reveals Kash Patel clip that made him ‘cringe’

https://www.rawstory.com/kash-patel-fbi-director-2672223176