NEED TO KNOW
- FBI Director Kash Patel said there’s no information suggesting Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women to anyone other than himself
- The Trump administration has faced criticism after claiming Epstein did not keep a “client list” — even though Attorney General Pam Bondi had claimed the list was on her desk
- Patel was in Washington, D.C., to answer questions from senators on Epstein and the Charlie Kirk investigation
FBI Director Kash Patel says authorities have “no credible information” suggesting Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women to anybody except himself.
Answering questions from Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, on Tuesday, Patel said he had seen “a good amount” of the Epstein files in the bureau’s possession — but that not evidence existed suggesting Epstein trafficked young women and girls for sex to anyone but himself.
“There is no credible information, none — if there were I would bring the case yesterday — that he trafficked to other individuals,” Patel said.
The Trump administration has faced intense scrutiny in recent months over its about-face in releasing its full files on Epstein, the late financier and child sex offender who befriended the rich and powerful, including U.S presidents and British royalty.
Hopes among President Donald Trump’s followers that questions would finally be answered as to the scope of Epstein’s crimes, and potential complicity among elites, were dealt a blow when the administration announced earlier this year that Epstein’s rumored “client list” did not exist — even though Attorney General Pam Bondi had earlier said the list was sitting on her desk.
The saga has intensified scrutiny of Trump’s past ties to Epstein, with whom he was publicly friendly for years before a reported falling-out — especially after the revelation of a lewd letter Trump allegedly sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday, in which he allegedly said the two have “certain things in common.”
Trump has denied writing the letter to Epstein, and sued the Wall Street Journal for $10 billion after the publication first reported on its existence this summer.
Patel said the FBI hopes to release “everything we are legally permitted to” on Epstein as it seeks to comply with a subpoena from the House of Representatives.
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He said accessing material related to Epstein has been difficult because of what he called the “original sin” in the Epstein saga — namely the 2008 non-prosecution agreement signed by Alexander Acosta, the top federal prosecutor in Miami at the time and later Trump’s first Labor Secretary.
The agreement, Patel told senators, had put much of the original investigative material under lock and key, making it difficult to access later. The non-prosecution agreement has since been widely criticized and led to Acosta’s resignation from the first Trump administration.
The later 2019 prosecution against Epstein focused instead on alleged trafficking of women to himself, not other people, Patel said. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell before he could go to trial, in what was ruled a suicide by hanging.
Patel was also asked if Epstein was an asset for U.S. or foreign intelligence. But Patel said he had not been a source for the FBI.
The director also faced questioning from senators on the ongoing investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk, as well as a lawsuit the bureau is facing from former agents who claim they were fired for political reasons.
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