Trump says he asked attorney general to release Epstein testimony after bombshell report

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to release Grand Jury testimony related to the government investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The announcement came within hours of The Wall Street Journal newspaper releasing a bombshell report that has deepened the intrigue surrounding Trump and his connections to Epstein after the Justice Department announced last week that it determined Epstein died by suicide in 2019 and claimed he had no "client list."

The announcement has sparked discontent within Trump's MAGA movement, with prominent voices demanding the release of all government documents related to Epstein. Trump's announcement seems to stop short of those demands.

"Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!" Trump wrote on social media.

Bondi, for her part, said on X that the Justice Department is "ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts."

Bondi in February said during a Fox News interview that the list of Epstein's clients was "sitting on my desk right now to review," a statement at stark odds with the Justice Department's announcement this month that no such document exists.

Speculation has mounted that it includes the names of prominent members of the rich and powerful. Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and former Trump ally, has suggested that the president's name is likely included in the "Epstein files."

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Thursday that a racy letter from Trump is one of dozens of notes included in an album that was created to celebrate Epstein's 50th birthday.

The leather-bound memento was compiled by Epstein's long-time aide and convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003, according to the Journal. It also included letters from former Victoria's Secret CEO Leslie Wexner and pro-Israel attorney Alan Dershowitz.

The lurid nature of Trump's purported letter is akin to several others in the collection that was reviewed by the Journal. It consists of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman that appears hand-drawn with the name "Donald" written below her waist, "mimicking pubic hair," the newspaper reported.

The text includes a conversation in the form of an apparent movie or TV script between Epstein and Trump.