Justice Department Memo Says There Is No Epstein 'Client List,' Reversing Bondi's Promises

On July 7, 2025, the Justice Department and FBI released an unsigned two-page memo concluding that Jeffrey Epstein kept no "client list," that there was no credible evidence he blackmailed prominent figures, and that he died by suicide in federal custody in August 2019. The department released surveillance video from the Manhattan jail to support the suicide finding but said no further disclosure of the underlying files was warranted, citing court seals protecting victims and the fact that much of the material would never have been aired publicly even at trial. The memo reversed months of expectation set by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who had said in a February Fox News interview that a client list was "sitting on my desk right now to review" and had referred to a "truckload" of withheld FBI evidence.

The reversal is a documented instance of a cabinet officer's public representations about evidence in the department's possession being contradicted by the department's own later finding, on a matter the administration had made a signature transparency promise.

The memo triggered immediate backlash from administration allies and set off the sequence of Epstein-related fights that dominated the rest of July, including litigation, congressional subpoenas and personnel changes at the Justice Department.