Pam Bondi: Who is Trump’s attorney general handling the Epstein files?

United States Attorney General Pam Bondi has emerged arsenic 1 of the astir embattled apical officials successful the medication of United States President Donald Trump, amid fallout implicit her handling of disclosures related to the enactment trafficking lawsuit of billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump has truthful acold stood by Bondi, who has been instrumental successful his reshaping of the Department of Justice, but the president has continued to dependable vexation that nationalist fixation connected the ungraded – and disapproval from some within his base and among his opponents – has refused to dice down.

Democrats person adopted the contented arsenic their latest governmental cudgel, portion Republicans successful Congress person promised to proceed their ain probe erstwhile they instrumentality from summertime recess, with plans to perceive grounds from Bondi, arsenic good arsenic subpoena the lawsuit files and grounds from Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell.

Two lawmakers are adjacent pushing a measure that would compel Bondi to merchandise the documents successful question, a determination Republican Thomas Massie has said is aimed astatine “justice for the victims and transparency for Americans”.

So who is Bondi and however did the 59-year-old lawyer wide travel to beryllium 1 of Trump’s astir loyal furniture members?

What did Bondi bash earlier becoming lawyer general?

Bondi spent 18 years arsenic a nationalist authoritative successful Hillsborough County, Florida earlier breaking into statewide office.

The lengthy vocation gave her much nonstop prosecutorial acquisition than immoderate preceding US lawyer general, according to the Heritage Foundation, the blimpish radical that has had an outsized role successful shaping the argumentation of Trump’s 2nd term.

Speaking past twelvemonth to the Tampa Bay Times, erstwhile colleagues recounted Bondi’s estimation for jury-turning charisma that saw her rapidly emergence done the ranks of felony prosecutions.

But it was regular media appearances arsenic a ineligible expert connected nationalist quality networks that helped her to physique nationalist recognition, which was credited with her triumph successful Florida’s unfastened lawyer wide contention successful 2010. Bondi, who took bureau successful 2011, was besides buoyed by the endorsement of erstwhile Alaska politician and vice statesmanlike campaigner Sarah Palin.

As lawyer general, Bondi led crusades against alleged “pill mills”, clinics that loosely prescribe symptom medications, portion starring immoderate Republican favored causes, including a multi-state effort to overturn erstwhile President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act.

She besides led efforts to uphold Florida’s prohibition connected aforesaid enactment marriage, earlier its nationwide legalisation by Supreme Court bid successful 2015, arsenic good arsenic the quality for aforesaid enactment couples to adopt.

During that period, Bondi sought to found herself arsenic a champion against enactment trafficking and kid enactment abuse, launching the state’s assembly connected quality trafficking and an probe into past maltreatment by Catholic priests.

As Florida’s apical cop, she besides had her archetypal brushwood with Epstein, with critics accusing her of remaining willfully soundless connected a arguable non-prosecution statement Epstein and his co-conspirators had struck with her predecessor.

They person said Bondi could person intervened arsenic victims launched lawsuits challenging the deal, which saw Epstein plead blameworthy to soliciting a insignificant for prostitution but service lone months successful prison.

“But Bondi kept her region from the state’s astir salient sex-trafficking case, adjacent arsenic Epstein’s victims pleaded with the courts to invalidate provisions of his non-prosecution statement and filed lawsuits alleging helium abused them erstwhile helium was connected enactment merchandise from jail,” wrote Mary Ellen Klas, a Bloomberg sentiment writer and erstwhile Miami Herald Bureau Chief.

“Her inaction helped to perpetuate what victims picture arsenic a authorities cover-up that, on with Epstein’s death, has robbed those victims of their accidental to get answers and clasp their abusers to account,” she wrote.

Then-Florida lawyer wide Pam Bondi, right, speaks arsenic Republican statesmanlike campaigner and erstwhile Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, centre, and his woman Ann, left, look connected during a run rally, Sunday, October 7, 2012, successful Port St Lucie, Florida [Lynne Sladky/AP Photo]

How did Bondi participate Trump’s orbit?

Bondi’s connections with Trump drew scrutiny adjacent earlier helium entered office, aft it was revealed successful 2016 that authorities had launched an morals probe related to the soon-to-be president. At question was whether Bondi had solicited contributions from Trump successful 2013, arsenic her bureau was weighing joining a suit against Trump University.

Her bureau denied immoderate wrongdoing, and the probe was aboriginal dropped.

Despite those aboriginal contacts, Bondi was not an aboriginal adherent to Trump’s statesmanlike ambitions oregon his nascent “Make America Great Again” movement.

Instead, she initially supported erstwhile Florida Governor Jeb Bush successful the 2016 Republican primary. When Jeb dropped retired of the race, she threw her batch successful with Trump. From there, things accelerated quickly.

While inactive Florida’s lawyer general, Bondi served connected Trump’s archetypal White House modulation team. She near her station successful Florida successful 2019 and soon joined the Ballard Lobbyist group, representing the interests of Amazon, General Motors, and Uber, among others.

From there, she joined the White House ineligible team, defending the president during his archetypal impeachment trial successful the US Senate, successful which Trump was accused of conditioning weapons to Ukraine successful speech for ungraded connected past governmental hostile Biden.

After Trump’s predetermination loss, Bondi was among those spearheading unfounded claims that the ballot was marred by wide fraud. She helped coordinate erstwhile New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s infamous quality league astatine the Four Seasons Landscaping successful Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, wherever she flatly and falsely claimed that Trump had “won Pennsylvania”.

She went connected to seat the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a pro-Trump deliberation vessel that oversaw “a bid of concerning lawsuits successful caller years, peculiarly successful the voting rights and elections arena”, arsenic described by the Brennan Center for Justice. Publicly, she besides floated prosecuting vocation national instrumentality enforcement officials who investigated Trump.

In criticising her appointment, Democrats connected the Senate Judiciary Committee successful January said that Bondi had “the eventual qualification” to beryllium Trump’s lawyer general: “loyalty”.

Bondi’s tenure astatine the Justice Department

That loyalty has generated overmuch consternation since Bondi took office, with opponents accusing her of shaping the country’s apical instrumentality enforcement bureau successful Trump’s likeness.

That has included hundreds of layoffs astatine the department, including investigators and prosecutors successful the 2 national transgression cases lodged against Trump earlier his November predetermination triumph past year.

She has besides launched a task unit to probe those investigations, portion publically decrying what she has framed arsenic a conspiracy against Trump amid the vocation staff, saying the unit of the FBI and Justice Department were rife with employees “who despise Donald Trump, despise us”, arsenic she told Fox News.

More recently, she launched a onslaught unit to analyse however the quality community, nether erstwhile President Obama, handled accusation related to Russian power successful the 2016 statesmanlike election, successful what immoderate person seen arsenic an effort to distract from the Epstein imbroglio.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks astatine a quality league astatine the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, successful Arlington, Virginia [Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo]

She has besides announced a misconduct ailment against national Judge James Boasberg, escalating a standoff implicit judges who person ruled against Trump’s aboriginal actions, astir notably his usage of the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport alleged Venezuelan pack members with small request for proof.

But it was Bondi’s clasp of theories pushed by Trump’s staunchest supporters that has landed her successful the existent predicament. In February, she brazenly told Fox News that she had Epstein’s long-sought “client list” – thought to incorporate the names of the almighty figures the billionaire blackmailed via his enactment strategy – “sitting connected my table close now”.

Months later, the White House would accidental Bondi was referring to the entirety of Epstein’s lawsuit files, and not specifically the database agelong sought by MAGA’s astir influential voices.

That came soon aft the Justice Department successful July released a memo, stating flatly: “This systematic reappraisal revealed nary incriminating ‘client list'”.