MAGA starts to move on from Epstein drama as Trump digs in

Bondi added fuel to the years-long firestorm among conservatives about Epstein’s powerful network of friends in politics and business.

She told Fox News in February that a list of Epstein’s clients was “sitting on my desk right now to review,” raising the expectations of Trump diehards, and is now seen by critics as overpromising in public remarks (Bondi later said she was referring to documents in general).

There is no evidence that the alleged client list exists.

Bondi also angered conservative pundits after they were invited to the White House and given an “Epstein Files: Phase 1″ binder that turned out to be largely already-released details.

Throughout it all, disagreements between the FBI and DOJ grew over the handling of the Epstein documents — only for the two agencies to release an unsigned, two-page memo last week declaring that “no further disclosure” of documents would be necessary.

It’s turned into something between a letdown and a sideshow for Republicans who were bracing for more.

“I’m kind of surprised, because I was led to believe there was more there than what’s indicated,” Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Semafor. “I can’t draw any more conclusions, just that I’m surprised.”

“My strongest feeling is: I’m glad I have nothing to do with it,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Not everyone in the party is willing to move on. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked his followers on X on Monday afternoon about Epstein’s alleged fixer: “Would you like to see Ghislaine Maxwell testify before Congress — about everything she knows about Jeffrey Epstein?”

Then there’s right-wing agitator Laura Loomer, who is calling for a special counsel in the Epstein case. It seems there’s a portion of the base who isn’t willing to follow Trump on this particular issue — and that could be a lasting issue for the president, who clearly doesn’t want to hear the name Epstein again.

Over the weekend, the Student Action Summit held by Kirk’s group put members of the administration and frustrated MAGA influencers on the same stage at a high-tension moment. The three-day Tampa conference was thick with criticism of DOJ and disbelief that the president could have let so many people down.

“What is it about Jeffrey Epstein that’s so infuriating to people, so infuriating that it’s actually causing seismic political problems?” asked Tucker Carlson on Friday. “It’s the frustration of normal people, watching a certain class of people get away with everything every single time.”

Megyn Kelly also bemoaned Bondi’s actions to Kirk. Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon urged the president to appoint a special counsel to examine the Epstein information, even as some in the movement pivoted to other stories.

Congressional Democrats have written to the White House and Republicans for weeks, demanding more Epstein disclosure, often citing Elon Musk when they asked for it. Once they saw MAGA commentators arguing about the DOJ memo, they started trying to remind Trump’s voters that the president had also socialized with what DNC strategist Tim Hogan called “notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.”

On Thursday, the DNC created @TrumpEpsteinBot, an X account with daily updates on how “the Epstein files” hadn’t been released.

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the lead Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told Semafor that his party wants to “know exactly what Donald Trump is hiding.” He vowed to ask for Epstein documents to be declassified, and to pursue that outright in 2027 if Democrats retake the House.

“Clearly, when the Attorney General says that she has the files on her desk and then tries to run away from that statement, we need to find out why,” Garcia told Semafor.

That was a shift from how Democrats talked about the Epstein story after his death in prison — as a Republican fixation.

One key question: What does Bongino’s future look like after all this? On Sunday, Trump confirmed he’d spoken to the FBI’s No. 2, telling reporters he thinks Bongino is still in the role and that he’s a “very good guy.”

“He sounded terrific, actually,” Trump said. “No, I think he’s in good shape.”

But it’s still not clear whether Bongino wants to stay at the FBI, or whether the rift between him and Bondi can be repaired.

And while Trump publicly praised Bongino, he historically doesn’t appreciate being publicly pushed to make a decision (in this case, to fire Bondi, whom he’s openly defending). As a media personality, Bongino spent years cultivating an impressive following on the right, many of whom remain behind him in this current fight.

If he leaves the FBI, will he return to his successful conservative podcasting sphere? And, perhaps more importantly, will Trump let him go without a fight?