Vance says Trump administration ‘screwed up’ communications around Epstein files
Jul 15, 2026, 2:26 PM
Vice President JD Vance speaks about efforts to combat fraud during an event at the Wisconsin Air National Guard facility at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/Pool AP via AP
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance says the Trump administration “absolutely” mishandled the communications surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files.
During a lengthy podcast interview with Joe Rogan released Wednesday, Vance pointed largely to former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who infamously stated that an alleged “client list” of Epstein’s was “sitting on my desk right now.”
In addition to those comments, the Justice Department under Bondi had also offered conservative commentators and influencers binders that were called “The Epstein files: Phase 1″ and “Declassified.”
“I know Pam. I like Pam. I don’t think there was anything malicious going on,” Vance told Rogan. “I think Pam was trying to respond to the political moment. I think she overstated what we had and what we didn’t have.”
As a result, Vance said, Bondi was “roasted” publicly for it and led people to “mistrust” the administration’s transparency efforts on the Epstein files.
“We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files. Like, we just did,” Vance said. “But do I think the reason we screwed up the comms is because we were trying to hide something? No.”
