Over the weekend, this column reported on the shocking revelation that Attorney General Pam Bondi in March assigned 1,000 FBI agents to scour 100,000 files within the FBI’s Jeffery Epstein case and flag all mentions of now President Donald Trump. The actual dynamic was originally described in a letter from Sen. Dick Durbin to Bondi asking about the investigation and how it could be that all mentions were documented on a spreadsheet, creating a list which was said not to exist. Furthermore, agents without proper security clearances had access to the list, one that should have been as compartmentalized as anything within the FBI, because now at least 1,000 witnesses exist as to the investigation and its findings. Were that not enough, the investigation now implies that there are, in fact, mentions of Trump in the files, or such a herculean effort (Agents were said to work 24 to 48-hour shifts) would not be needed. It is one giant mess, and it needs to be investigated by Congress.
The irony is that the files were pored over in an effort to keep Donald Trump’s name out of the investigation, but created a scenario where A) reports of the exercise are at least as big a story as the files themselves, B) we now know there is a spreadsheet containing mention of Trump in the files, and C) more effort was put into protecting Trump from disclosure than the children raped. As noted below:
Reup: Congratulations to Pam Bondi for creating an additional 1,000 people who know what is in the Epstein files. Really superb work! www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/18/p…
— emptywheel (@emptywheel.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T00:41:00.060Z
According to Senator Durbin, 1,000 FBI agents were told to comb the Epstein files for any reference to Trump. A massive cover-up is underway. www.cnbc.com/2025/07/18/t…
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T00:36:21.455Z
Up with this, the net would not put, and the reactions to the report came fast and with particular fury.
Pro tip on how to spot a coverup: You don't need 1,000 FBI agents to work around the clock to redact every Epstein document if you aren't a child molesting pervert
— Drew Warned You (@druidscircle.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T19:08:22.541Z
Not a math whiz, but if it takes 1,000 FBI Agents to flag all mentions of your name in the Epstein File, that's a lot of mentions.
— Bob Crespo (@uncle-brooklyn.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T02:19:01.717Z
Yes, it is. And, as noted above, it means there are a lot of witnesses to the exercise. Additionally, given the fact that the spreadsheet sat on a network that was not protected and open to all, it also means that it is almost impossible that a particularly scared FBI agent didn’t keep a copy of the list themselves, a copy that might be floating around out there, desperately sought by the likes of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post. Additionally, insiders on the net will also be working the phones to get to the bottom of the list that now surely and ever so conveniently exists to be turned over.
In March, Bondi used 1,000+ FBI agents to hurriedly go through the Epstein files in shifts to look for any mentions of Trump. Maybe DOGE could’ve looked into that government waste a little. How much did that horseshit cost us?
— Al Cappuccino…☕️🇮🇹 (@alcappuccinoit.bsky.social) 2025-07-20T11:12:03.918Z
This could turn into some of the best money ever spent out of FBI accounts. We will eventually see – hopefully not having to wait until after the mid-terms when Congress investigates.
So now a 1,000 FBI Agents know for sure that he is on the list, that is a very risky thing to do. ''Loose lips'' as the old saying goes.
— Cathy Harris Noman (@33andme.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T09:32:29.812Z
I agree, this Epstein episode is fundamentally different, in just about every way. This is certainly not over. Perhaps for a couple of weeks it may simmer, but even today, with Durbin's blurb on "1,000's of FBI agents tasked with isolating Trump-related Epstein material", there's still a steady drip
— collectivided❌👑 (@collectivided.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T08:59:42.181Z
We don't know if this is real, so let's BROADCAST IT ALL ACRROSS SOCIAL MEDIA & the world and see if we can get some input. We need to collect data. It might be in the EPSTEIN FILES. The EPSTEIN FILES. The EPSTEIN FILES that don't exist. The EPSTEIN FILES that are being reviewed by 1,000 FBI agents.
— MantaHunk 🌎🏳️🌈☮️🟧 (@mantahunk.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T15:51:43.024Z
If Durbin's info is accurate, then this is the beginning of the end of Trump's hold on the GOP.ZERO chance that 1,000 FBI agents will execute that mission without a single leak. ZERO.And some Repubs in Congress will have to break.
— Billy Ray (@billyray5229.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T03:00:12.168Z
And my favorite:
It’s nearly impossible to imagine that of “1,000 FBI Agents looking through the evidence” not a single one of them photographed or squirreled away a souvenir for future insurance??
So yes, it has been a busy weekend. This news is almost as explosive as the report itself and will almost surely lead to a report on Trump’s activities within the investigation. Congress can now subpoena that spreadsheet, forcing Republicans to either get on board or actively stymie the investigation itself.
It really could be the beginning of the end for Trump and his fans. As one person noted, Trump certainly can still shoot someone on Fifth Ave. and get away with it, hiding his many mentions about raping children, as seen in the Epstein files, is a totally different story. We know the net will be watching.
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Doctor Wheeler puts it so well,
“Reup: Congratulations to Pam Bondi for creating an additional 1,000 people who know what is in the Epstein files.
Really superb work! ”
It’s not the cover-up that is so damaging.
It’s the cover-up of the cover-up.
Now with 1000 new witnesses, who’ve signed an oath to The Constitution, not Mr Trump.
if the trump mentions provide evidence of crimes would that make bondi an accessory after the fact to sexual assault? would it also make civily liable in lawsuits?
Great piece — thank you!
One thing it should read “pored over” not “poured over.”
Done
The fact that the woman in the doodle had pubic hair indicates she was too old for Epstein.