President Donald Trump has weighed in on the growing divide within his MAGA base over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, offering an emphatic defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi while calling for unity amid what he called a “civil war” in the movement.
“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday.
“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.”
Trump then pivoted to blaming Democrats for pushing endless investigations before doubling down on his support for Bondi:
“LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE’S GREAT! One year ago our country was DEAD, now it’s the HOTTEST country anywhere in the world. Let’s keep it that way and not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody nobody cares about.”
DOJ Rift Deepens Over Epstein Memo
The president’s remarks come amid escalating tension inside the Justice Department. FBI Director Kash Patel publicly denied rumors that he was preparing to resign over the agency’s handling of the Epstein case.
“The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been,” Patel wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s an honor to serve President @realDonaldTrump — and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me.”
But behind the scenes, reports suggest that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has threatened to quit if Bondi doesn’t step down. According to Axios and The Daily Mail, Bongino took the day off Friday and sources close to him claim he “ain’t coming back.”
The Memo at the Center of the Firestorm
Fueling the turmoil is an unsigned DOJ-FBI memo, released Sunday, concluding that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide and that no ‘client list’ exists among the available evidence. The memo, backed by Bondi, cited court orders and the need to protect victims’ identities as reasons for limited disclosure.
But critics, including Bongino and many MAGA influencers, were outraged. They accuse the DOJ of walking back earlier promises of transparency — especially after Bondi reportedly told Fox News earlier this year that she had Epstein’s client list “on her desk.”
Bondi has since clarified she was referring to the Epstein case files broadly, not a specific client list.
Growing Political Fallout
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) announced he will ask House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan to subpoena Bondi, Patel, and Bongino to testify before Congress about the Epstein investigation.
“This thing is really spinning out of control,” Raskin said. “There’s one way to put it to rest — come clean, as President Trump promised during the campaign.”
Meanwhile, conspiracy theories have intensified due to a missing one-minute gap in the 11 hours of surveillance footage released from Epstein’s cell block. Officials insist the gap is part of an automated midnight reset, but skeptics remain unconvinced, pointing to a railing obscuring Epstein’s face in the only footage of him returning to his cell.
White House Tries to Quell Resignation Rumors
A White House spokesperson called the reports of Bongino and Patel preparing to resign “baseless.”
“President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law-and-order team,” said spokesperson Harrison Fields. “Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made.”
Still, discontent is growing within the MAGA movement.
Online influencers have slammed Bondi as a “liar,” claiming she misled the public about the Epstein files. Some now demand her resignation, saying the Justice Department is also stalling other investigations — including those into COVID-19 origins and foreign election interference.
A DOJ insider told The Daily Mail:
“This botched release was an attempted forced compliance. The DOJ has all the power and they used it to dodge accountability.”
Despite Trump’s call for unity, the MAGA base remains fractured. And with Bongino on the verge of walking out and congressional scrutiny looming, the administration may be forced to revisit the very files it’s eager to move past.