US3 min(s) read
Published 09:18 16 Jul 2026 GMT
US Vice President JD Vance has made a rare admission and held his hands up on behalf of the Trump Administration.
One of the promises made by President Donald Trump during his campaign was that he would make the Epstein Files public for the very first time.
Despite him getting cold feet and delaying the ordeal, the elusive files would be released in batches to the public, revealing a number of shocking photos, letters, emails, and big-name mentions.
Jeffrey Epstein, a late financier and businessman, was behind bars when it was reported that he took his own life in August 2019.
But a cloud of mystery shrouded the situation, with the convicted child sex offender, serial rapist and human trafficker now gone; all officials were left with were the Epstein files.
The Department of Justice released the first batch of files back in December 2025, followed by a second release a month later.
But upon reflection, Vance said that they had handled the situation poorly.
The 41-year-old was not shy in accepting criticism against the Trump administration's handling of the files, telling Rogan that "we absolutely screwed up the comms."
DOJ kept delaying the release of files, which led to mass disapproval from the public, with the files remaining one of the biggest political liabilities to Trump during his second term in office.
As part of an interview released on Wednesday (July 15), Vance told the UFC commentator that they should have released the documents in full from the start.
He mentioned comments from former attorney general Pam Bondi that Epstein's "client list" was simply "sitting on my desk right now."
Vance told the podcaster: “I know Pam. I like Pam. I don’t think there was anything malicious going on,
“I think Pam was trying to respond to the political moment. I think she overstated what we had and what we didn’t have.”
She had also given conservative commentators and influencers binders called “The Epstein files: Phase 1” and “Declassified”, featuring documents that were already made public.
Due to her comments, she was heavily criticized, according to Vance, which reflected badly on the Trump administration.
He added: “We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files. Like, we just did,
“But do I think the reason we screwed up the comms is because we were trying to hide something? No.”
Following months of back and forth, lawmakers passed a measure which meant that the government would need to release a large trove of documents in connection with the federal investigations of Epstein.
These redacted files, call logs, grand jury testimony, photos and interview transcripts were made public, but people still weren't satisfied.
The redactions and the DoJ’s failure to meet the deadline agreed to release the full files resulted in backlash from both lawmakers and the public.
Some of the shocking images included snaps of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with the disgraced financier, and Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over a woman.
