'Total clowns': Critics roast White House's bungled Epstein files release

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 25, 2025. REUTERS Nathan Howard

While critics deny Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s claim that the 3.5 million files the Trump administration released on Friday were all the department had, others are too busy lambasting the malicious clumsiness of the release.

Bulwark podcaster Tim Miller and Bulwark editor Sam Stein say the administration’s stuttered, idiotic drip of information was curated specifically to hurt certain people and protect others.

“They f—— up the redactions. Shocker. They did. Like, they left many victims' names on files and they scrambled to fix that. So, you know, this is not — these guys are just total clowns. They leaked stuff to try to hurt foes like Bill Gates immediately,” said Miller.

Above most things, Miller and Stein agreed the files prove that millionaires maintained correspondence with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein even after he was convicted of fraternizing with minors. There are also at least seven tips in the files involving accusations against Donald Trump, including a tip that an underage girl bit Trump while being "forced" to perform oral sex on him and got “hit in the face.”

“It's disgusting. A lot of this s—— is gross. The big takeaway is that indeed there were a lot of rich, well-connected people who were hobnobbing with this dude who you know played footsie with him. Some clearly wanted to go to his island. Some did go to the island. And then they all f—— lied about it,” said Miller. “I mean, the people who were most adamant that this was a grotesque cabal of people hanging out with Jeffrey Epstein, they probably were hanging out with Jeffrey Epstein.”

“Some of these characters … spent the last couple of years being like, “Ugh! Ugh! This guy is the worst, and I knew it! He's grotesque, and anyone who cavorted with him should be in jail!’ And then it turns out they were emailing the guy and doing fundraisers with the guy and hanging out with the guy,” agreed Stein, who then rolled footage of former U.S. Secretary Howard Lutnick telling the New York Post that “I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.”

“I was never in the room with [Epstein] socially, for business, or even philanthropy,” said Lutnich, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in his first term. “If that guy was there, I wasn't going because he's gross.”

“Now, let's put up his email … ,” said Stein, referring to Lutnick’s correspondence with Epstein after his 2008 conviction for abusing underage women.

“We're landing in St. Thomas early Saturday afternoon and planning to head over to St. Bart on Monday at some point,” Lutnick announced in a post-conviction email to Epstein. “Where are you located? What's the exact locator for my captain? Does Sunday evening for dinner sound good?”

Lutnick went on tell Epstein that “I have another couple with me on my boat, and each of us have four children: Two 16s, two 14s, a 13, 12, 11, and a 7-year-old.”

The Trump administration’s Friday release of files reveal Epstein responding to Lutnick, saying: “Come Saturday or Sunday lunch. Little St. James on the map behind Christmas Cove.”

“So, no. Apparently no problems talking with Howard and organizing lunches with Jeffrey Epstein,” Stein quipped.

“Why would you want to bring a child to Epstein Island?” Miller added, aghast.

The two then lauded emails from other wealthy elites, including Elon Musk and Bill Gates, apparently seeking party time with Epstein, despite his conviction.

“He's already been to jail for sex trafficking of minors, right? It's like, what do you think you're signing up for when you ask for the wildest party on p—— island? It's pretty gross,” said Miller.

See the Bulwark podcast at this link.

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