Sen. Durbin Alleges FBI Was Directed to Flag Epstein Records Mentioning Trump
Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has raised new concerns over how federal authorities handled records related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation specifically documents referencing President Trump.
In a series of letters sent Friday to Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, Durbin claims his office received information suggesting the Department of Justice ordered an intense internal effort to identify Epstein-related records that mentioned Trump.
According to Durbin, Bondi allegedly pressured the FBI to assign roughly 1,000 staffers to review tens of thousands of documents tied to the Epstein case. These agents, reportedly working around the clock, were told to flag any document that included the president’s name.
The senator described the effort as a “rush review” with an “arbitrarily short deadline” aimed at releasing documents to the public, but questioned the motive behind prioritizing mentions of Trump.
Durbin’s letter references Trump’s own past comments about Epstein, including a 2002 quote in which Trump acknowledged knowing Epstein for 15 years and described him as a “terrific guy” who was “a lot of fun to be with.”
The senator also cited recent reporting from The Wall Street Journal, which described a letter Trump allegedly sent to Epstein’s longtime associate in 2003. The letter was reportedly meant for a birthday scrapbook and included typewritten text bordered by a hand-drawn sketch of a nude woman, with Trump’s signature placed below the image.
Durbin’s inquiry raises further questions about whether political influence played a role in how the administration handled the sensitive case files, many of which remain unreleased. His letters request clarification on why so many federal resources were reportedly dedicated to reviewing mentions of Trump specifically and whether similar efforts were made to review references to others tied to the case.
While the Justice Department has declared the Epstein investigation officially closed, pressure continues to mount from both lawmakers and the public for greater transparency and accountability surrounding the review and release of the case’s remaining documents.