Pam Bondi took office as Florida's first female attorney general in 2011. Epstein had gotten out of the Palm Beach County Jail two years earlier.

Donald Trump has grown weary of defending Pam Bondi's handling of the Jeffery Epstein files and wants her to take responsibility for cleaning up the mess, according to four people familiar with White House deliberations.

Bondi's announcement came after an explosive Wall Street Journal report on a birthday letter sent to Epstein in 2003.

In letters to DOJ and FBI officials, Durbin referenced Bondi's review of the Epstein files in February and March ahead of their promised release to the public.

P resident Donald Trump has filed a libel lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch and others over the Thursday report about Trump's alleged birthday message sent to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Trump has denied to the Wall Street Journal that he wrote the letter. ABC News has not been able to confirm the existence of the letter.

The Justice Department's alleged lack of transparency in its Epstein memo has sparked frustration among many Trump supporters.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed to possess Jeffrey Epstein's "client list," sparking controversy and conspiracy theories. The DOJ and FBI refuted the existence of such a list after an exhaustive investigation. The White House deflected questions about Bondi's claims, referring inquiries back to her.

Trump, who this week called the alleged Epstein client list a boring "hoax," had campaigned in 2024 on the promise of releasing the list

The Trump administration is struggling to contain the fallout of a decision not to release any more records related to the wealthy financier’s sex trafficking investigation.