Vance admits Trump administration 'mishandled' Epstein files release, blames ex-AG Bondi for inflating expectations

The admission on Rogan's podcast

Vice President JD Vance appeared on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' for a nearly three-hour episode recorded Tuesday in Austin, Texas, and released Wednesday. He addressed the administration's handling of the Epstein files with blunt language. 'If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein release, guilty. We did mishandle it -- especially the communications of it,' Vance said. 'We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files like we just did.'

If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein release, guilty. We did mishandle it -- especially the communications of it.

Vance insisted the failures were not an attempt to conceal evidence. 'Do I think we mishandled it because we were trying to hide something? No,' he said. He argued that what the administration should have done was release everything immediately. 'I think we should have just dropped everything at the very beginning. Obviously it takes a little time to review the stuff... to redact things where you have victims and so forth, but we should have just done it as quickly as possible.'

Bondi and the binders that sparked mistrust

The vice president directed much of his criticism at former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was dismissed by President Donald Trump in early April 2025. Bondi had told Fox News ahead of the February 2025 initial release that Epstein files were 'sitting on my desk right now' and suggested more disclosures were forthcoming. The Justice Department also invited conservative influencers to the White House and distributed binders labeled 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1' before the documents were released. The rollout drew sharp criticism after the files contained few previously undisclosed details.

Those binders were essentially documents that had already been made public. She overstated what we had and what we didn't have.

Vance said Bondi's statements made 'people mistrust the entire effort' and that the exaggeration of what the government possessed created a credibility gap that proved impossible to close. The backlash intensified months later when the DOJ and FBI concluded there was no evidence Epstein maintained a so-called 'client list' and said they would release no additional records.

Six million documents and the long shadow of Epstein

The investigation collected 6 million documents, Vance told Rogan, with roughly 3 million described as 'relevant' to the Epstein estate. All of them were released, according to Vance, apart from a small number withheld for victim privacy. He traced what he called the 'original sin' of the Epstein case back to the 2007-2008 investigation led by then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, who 'essentially dropped the federal charges against him.'

Epstein, a wealthy financier from New York, operated a sex trafficking ring involving young women and minors over decades. He died by suicide in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges following his arrest in July 2019. Only one associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, faced charges from U.S. officials. The federal case against Epstein was formally dismissed in August 2019 after his death.

Intelligence community claims

Vance made an assertion during the podcast that Epstein 'clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence' and to 'the highest levels of Israeli intelligence,' mentioning Mossad and the CIA. He offered no evidence for the claim. U.S. authorities have never publicly concluded that Epstein had ties to the CIA, Mossad, or any other intelligence agency. The remark marked a significant escalation of rhetoric around the Epstein case.

He clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence.

Vance also defended President Trump against any personal involvement, stating he had 'never seen a single piece of credible evidence' suggesting Trump 'ever engaged in misconduct involving minors.' He noted that Trump could have blocked the file release but chose not to, arguing the president was 'sick of this case and sick of Democrats accusing him of wrongdoing.'

The political fallout and the Iran war sidebar

The Epstein files release became one of the most persistent political problems for the Trump administration in 2025, spurring a revolt from congressional Republicans and sustained social media criticism from the MAGA base. No other political issue created as much sustained political fallout for Trump and his administration last year, according to Axios.

The Rogan interview also touched on the Iran war, which began in late February 2026 and entered a new stage in July after a ceasefire deal crumbled. Rogan, a vocal critic of the conflict, asked Vance whether he would have made the same decision. Vance, who initially cautioned Trump against military intervention before publicly supporting it, side-stepped. 'The president said publicly that JD was less enthusiastic about it, I think was the exact phrase that he used,' Vance said, adding he would support any decision he considered 'legal and ethical.'