Hands are raised as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 17, 2025. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)
DEMOCRATS CAPITALIZE ON GOP JEFFREY EPSTEIN FALLOUT WITH NEW DEMANDS FOR JIM JORDAN
Additionally, Leavitt told reporters that Trump is not recommending a special prosecutor in the Epstein case, saying that "the idea was floated from someone in the media to the president."
A recent joint Justice Department-FBI memo obtained by Axios showed the department and the bureau concluded they had no evidence of Epstein blackmailing powerful people, keeping a client list or being killed.
Republicans have grown frustrated with what they see as a lack of transparency from the Trump administration. The president has lashed out amid the criticism, claiming that it is a "hoax" and that those on the right concerned about the release of the files were being "duped" by Democrats.
Jeffrey Epstein mugshot from 2019 after federal authorities filed trafficking charges against him. (Kypros/Getty Images)
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The infighting isn’t limited to Republican lawmakers. A source recently told Fox News Digital that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was considering resigning over the handling of the files. However, he has not made any announcements about leaving.
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace and Amanda Macias, and Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-pushes-back-forcefully-epstein-file-criticism-asinine-suggestion