Donald Trump discovered one terrible secret that has his own officials fuming

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The Trump administration is dealing with a major internal crisis.

Top officials are speaking out about a massive blunder.

And Donald Trump discovered one terrible secret that has his own officials fuming.

Trump administration officials blast DOJ over Epstein investigation disaster

President Donald Trump’s own top officials aren’t happy with how the Department of Justice handled the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

Multiple senior administration sources admitted to the Daily Caller that they’re "pissed" about the way the entire situation was bungled from start to finish.

The controversy erupted over the July 4th holiday weekend when the DOJ and FBI dropped a bombshell announcement that they found no evidence Jeffrey Epstein maintained a "client list" or was murdered.

That shocking revelation blindsided Trump’s base, especially since Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously claimed on Fox News that she was reviewing a "client list" on her desk.

"You can arrest all the drug leaders and cartel leaders, but people want closure on this case, and the Attorney General must find a better way to reconcile that," one official told the Caller about the public response to Sunday’s announcement.¹

The timing couldn’t have been worse for the Trump administration.

Pam Bondi’s Fox News comments created a firestorm

The whole disaster traces back to February when Fox News host John Roberts pressed Bondi about releasing Epstein’s so-called "client list."

"One of things that you alluded to, and this is something Donald Trump has talked about, the DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients? Will that really happen?" Roberts asked during a February 21 interview.

"It is sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump, I’m reviewing that. I’m reviewing JFK files, MLK files. That’s all in the process of being reviewed because that was done at the directive of President Trump for all of these agencies," Bondi responded.²

Here’s what really happened – top administration officials now admit they knew all along there was never a "client list" or smoking gun when Bondi went on Fox News.

One senior administration official told the Daily Caller they were "unsure why Bondi made the comments and added that generally the DOJ was prone to overpromising."³

Sources close to Bondi say she wasn’t adequately prepared and is taking the blame for poor guidance from lower-level officials.

The "Phase 1" binder stunt backfired spectacularly

The situation got even more embarrassing in late February when the DOJ decided to turn the Epstein files into a publicity stunt.

Conservative influencers including Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok, Jack Posobiec, DC Draino, Mike Cernovich, Chad Prather and Liz Wheeler got white binders labeled "Epstein Files: Phase 1."

They walked out of the White House holding the documents up like trophies for photographers.

The photo op created massive expectations for what might come next in "Phase 2" or "Phase 3" releases.

But behind the scenes, administration officials knew it was a complete disaster.

One senior administration official told the Daily Caller they knew from the start there would never be the kind of dramatic conclusion the binders suggested was coming.

Two officials said all of the DOJ’s actions surrounding the Epstein files after the influencers’ photo op were designed to cover up the mistake of releasing the binders.⁴

Trump stands by his Attorney General despite the chaos

The fallout has been brutal for the Trump administration.

Major MAGA social media personalities have lashed out at the administration and some who once raised the "Phase 1" binder outside the White House are now calling for Bondi to resign.

Senior administration officials were confused about whether the Epstein case was really "closed" after the memo went out.

Around the FBI, one senior administration official said no one was "satisfied" with the end result and felt like the DOJ dropped the ball on the investigation.⁵

But Trump appears to be standing by his Attorney General.

A source familiar with the president’s thinking told the Daily Caller that in private, Trump hasn’t indicated at all that he’s disappointed or frustrated with Bondi.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Trump still has confidence in Bondi and that there’s no discord within the administration.

"President Trump is proud of Attorney General Bondi’s efforts to execute his Make America Safe Again agenda, restore the integrity of the Department of Justice, and bring justice to victims of crime," Leavitt said in a statement.⁶

Trump defended Bondi during his Wednesday cabinet meeting and signaled he was ready to move on from the Epstein story.

"Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?" Trump asked a reporter who questioned Bondi about the controversy.

"This guy’s been talked about for years. We have Texas, we have this, we all of the things … And are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable … I mean, I can’t believe you’re asking a question about Epstein at a time like this where we’re having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration," Trump added.⁷

What this means for the Trump administration

This internal revolt over the Epstein investigation shows the challenges Trump faces even within his own administration.

The DOJ’s handling of the case has created a credibility problem that’s going to be hard to fix.

When your own officials are calling you out to reporters about being "pissed" at how you handled a major investigation, that’s a sign of serious problems.

The administration now has to deal with angry supporters who feel like they were misled about what the Epstein files would reveal.

Some MAGA influencers are wondering if there’s a "cover-up" happening, which is the last thing Trump needs as he tries to rebuild trust in federal law enforcement.

The president’s decision to stand by Bondi despite the internal criticism shows he’s not going to throw his Attorney General under the bus.

But this controversy isn’t going away anytime soon.

Trump’s base wants answers about Epstein, and they’re not satisfied with the DOJ’s conclusion that there was no client list and no murder.

The administration is going to have to find a way to rebuild trust with supporters who feel like they were promised something that was never going to be delivered.

This is exactly the kind of deep state problem Trump ran on fixing, and now his own officials are admitting they dropped the ball.


¹ Reagan Reese, "EXCLUSIVE: Top Trump Officials Admit They’re Pissed At How The Epstein Story Was Handled," Daily Caller, July 10, 2025.

² Ibid.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ Ibid.

 

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