(Not) New: These Are Not the Epstein Files You’re Looking For

One of the most important rules in politics is: Don’t set expectations you can’t meet. But even before that, there’s this: make sure you have the goods you claim before, y’know, making a big deal about releasing them.

Such as … the Epstein Files:

AG Pam Bondi says FBI withheld information on Epstein files — currently held at FBI NYC Field Office.

Bondi wants it delivered to DOJ tomorrow – but it must go through many different levels for the protection of victims before released – per @davidspunt pic.twitter.com/X0QOgzoGUp

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) February 27, 2025

Ooopsie!

Bondi has no one to blame but herself for this. She went on Fox News last night and announced the imminent release of the full FBI trove on their investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Sure enough, the FBI opened what had been purported to be a comprehensive ‘vault’ of evidence, only to find nothing more than heavily redacted material that had been available for years. 

At the White House, a group of influencers were handed binders of material that they promised would be released later today. But that doesn’t square with what Bondi’s letter to Kash Patel alleges:

I repeatedly questioned whether this was the full set of documents responsive to my request and was repeatedly assured by the FBI that we had received the full set of documents. Late yesterday. I learned from a source that the FBI Field Office in New York was in possession of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein. Despite my repeated requests, the FBI never disclosed the existence of these files. When you and I spoke yesterday, you were just as surprised as I was to learn this new information.

To be clear, Bondi’s memorandum here is to document that understanding, not to accuse Patel of error. She also set out an order that will require full compliance on penalty of insubordination, presumably:

By 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, February 28, the FBI will deliver the full and complete Epstein files to my office, including all records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and his clients, regardless of how such information was obtained. There will be no withholdings or limitations to my or your access. The Department of Justice will ensure that any public disclosure of these files will be done in a manner to protect the privacy of victims and in accordance with law, as I have done my entire career as a prosecutor.

If Bondi and Patel knew this last night, why go through the release today? Why hand out the binders? This looks like an unforced error, and even Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee is wondering what’s happening:

🚨 #BREAKING: EPSTEIN FILES RELEASED: https://t.co/aHw5fDDuur

— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) February 27, 2025

You knew that was coming, right?

Perhaps we can reflect on getting basics in place first this time? And setting expectations accordingly? Frankly, I’m not expecting big reveals from the eventual release of the applicable files; the real value will be, as Alan Dershowitz argues, excluding people from the Epstein sex-trafficking operation. We probably know as much as we’re going to know from the previously released flight logs, unless the video surveillance evidence really exposes some surprising figures. 

Right now, the only people being embarrassed are Bondi and Patel. That’s what happens when you overpromise and underdeliver. It’s hardly fatal in a political sense, but the egg won’t wipe easily off faces over the next few days. 

Update: Duane will have something later on the deep-state implications, which I agree are evident here. But that’s why Bondi and Patel should have pulled back on the release and exposed this last night rather than wait until after the supposed release today.