SNL brutally mocks glaring Trump omissions in Epstein files release

When U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) files on the late billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein were released on Friday night, December 19, many critics of President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi argued that the files had way too many redactions and didn't offer nearly enough details on Epstein's crimes. And "Saturday Night Live" cast member James Austin Johnson, who plays Trump on the 50-year-old sketch comedy show, had some laughs at Trump's expense during the December 20-21 broadcast.

Lampooning Trump, Johnson said, "What's the best way to distract from the Epstein files? I know, invite a bunch of teenagers to my house. That'll help."

The "SNL" cast member drew more laughs when he continued, "But with regard to files, we're being very transparent. Because Jeffrey Epstein was a terrible man, and I didn't know him. And I liked him a lot. So we released all the files and I come out looking frankly very good. We had to redact a few sensitive, things but you'll get the gist."

Johnson also said, "Epstein. Redacted. We had so many Trumps in there we had to put them somewhere."

After Congress almost unanimously passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act of 2025 in November, Trump signed it into law. But the Transparency Act only called for the release of "unclassified" files, allowing Bondi and others in DOJ to make the heavy redactions that Johnson mocked on "SNL."

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