President Donald Trump fires attorney general Pam Bundy On Thursday, his former personal attorney, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, was named acting Justice Department secretary. Reports previously suggested that Trump was frustrated with Bondi’s handling of the Epstein dossier and her failure to successfully prosecute several of Trump’s political enemies.
“Pam Bondi was a great American patriot and a loyal friend who faithfully served as my attorney general for the past year,” Trump said on “The Truth Society.” “Pam did an outstanding job overseeing a massive, nationwide crackdown on crime.”
Read more: Pam Bondi’s first reaction to Trump’s firing decision: ‘Trying to change his mind’
The president said Bundy “will transition into a much-needed and important new job in the private sector that will be announced in the near future.”
Why Trump fired Todd Branch
Bondi has been criticized by some Trump supporters for his handling of the Justice Department’s release of documents on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
The Epstein affair has been a major political liability for Trump, a longtime friend of the disgraced financier.
Bondi also reportedly drew Trump’s ire for failing to prosecute Trump opponents such as former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
According to the New York Times, Trump may appoint Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman and director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as the next attorney general.
Todd Branch and Lee Zeldin on the Epstein Dossier
Branch’s comments, along with a separate controversy involving Lee Zeldin, surfaced as scrutiny of the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein dossier intensified.
Branch defended the department’s approach in a recent podcast interview, pushing back against claims that authorities ignored victims or failed to take action. “I’m not trying to defend Epstein. I’m not,” Branch said. “I do defend the job this department is doing today, which is to pursue every perpetrator anywhere. If there is a narrative that we are ignoring Epstein’s victims, that is false.”
Asked why more prosecutions had not been brought, he pointed to a lack of actionable evidence. “Well, because you need provable evidence. So as deputy director, all I can do is invite anyone who has evidence to come to the FBI and tell us, and this is what we’ve been screaming from the rooftops for a year.”
Branch also refuted some of the widely circulated conspiracy theories related to Epstein. In response to a series of questions, he clarified: “I think there’s all kinds of sexual, underage female stuff in the documents, and that’s why Epstein was such a disgusting man. But that’s another question. Do I believe that the Pizzagate conspiracy had any validity? I don’t.”
Lee Zeldin Controversy
Separately, confusion surrounding Epstein’s name, which is indirectly linked to former Congressman Lee Zeldin, has recently drawn attention on Capitol Hill. During the House session, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett cited “Jeffrey Epstein’s” campaign donations to Zeldin, referring to donations from 2020 in Federal Election Commission records.
However, it was later clarified that the donor was not the convicted financier but a Long Island neurosurgeon of the same name.
The doctor looked confused and responded with humor. “I thought I should donate to Jasmine Crockett and let everyone know that she also took money from Jeffrey Epstein.”
He also expressed frustration at the sudden attention his name was attracting. “It was never an issue until she said something,” Dr. Jeffrey Epstein told the New York Post.
Describing past reactions to his name, he added: “I say my name and sometimes people give me a look, or whatever,” and, “I always look at them and say, ‘I don’t get it,’ and I act like I’m stupid. Look, that’s my name.”
Reflecting on the broader awkwardness, he said, “Look, any time a doppelgänger is associated with a less than ideal person, it’s not a good situation,” before adding, “But it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care. The only thing that bothers me about the name Jeffrey Epstein is people like you calling me and asking me these questions.”
