Vice President JD Vance admitted that the Trump administration “absolutely screwed up” how it handled the communication about the files related to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.He said the way the information was shared caused confusion and led to more questions and rumors.An Epstein survivor later said Vance’s comments sound “hollow” if there’s no action to fix the problems.
On Wednesday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Vance said the administration didn’t handle the message well but denied that officials were trying to hide anything.
“We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files.We just did,” Vance said, explaining that he doesn’t think the mistakes were to keep something secret from the public.
He mentioned that former Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed the list of Epstein’s clients was on her desk.
Vance believed Bondi was trying to fit in with the political moment but exaggerated what the administration had and didn’t have.
“I think we should have just dropped everything at the very beginning,” Vance said, adding that it takes time to review, find, and redact sensitive information, but it should have been done as quickly as possible.
Robert Y.
Shapiro, a political science professor at Columbia, told Newsweek that Vance’s comments make sense given what’s been seen so far but can’t hide the lies and attempts to block information that Trump and others have been involved in.Vance can’t cover that up.
An Epstein survivor, Annie Farmer, told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that it was important for officials to admit there were issues.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard an official actually say that,” she said.But she added that the comments seem “hollow” if there’s no real effort to improve.”They’re still messing up because we know there are still files that haven’t been released,” she said.
She also said, “They can make these general statements that we messed up, but if they aren’t actually owning up and trying to do better, then it doesn’t bring us much comfort.”
Vance also mentioned that Epstein had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence as well as Israeli intelligence.
While Epstein’s ties to powerful people have been known for a long time, claims about his intelligence connections have sparked debate and speculation.
Rogan said most people think Epstein was connected to Mossad.
Vance replied, “Yeah, Mossad, or CIA, or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel or another country…or both.”
These comments are likely to lead to more attention on the Epstein case and how the administration dealt with the records related to him.
Critics are still asking for more transparency regarding the release of government files.
Vance’s remarks might make the ongoing public and political debate about what information is still kept secret even more intense.
During the interview, Vance also said, “I’ve never seen a single piece of credible evidence that the president of the United States engaged in wrongdoing with minors.
Ever.”
About the Author
