A Bloomberg article published on August 1 reported that the FBI redacted President Donald Trump’s name, along with other high-profile figures, from the Epstein Files before the Department of Justice (DOJ) concluded that no further disclosures would be made. The article was compiled using information from three anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
According to the Bloomberg article, a special team of FBI agents reviewed the Epstein Files before the DOJ and the bureau stated last month that further disclosures “would not be appropriate or warranted.”
The President’s name was reportedly redacted in this review out of privacy considerations, as he was a private citizen when federal officials first began investigating Jeffrey Epstein for alleged s*x trafficking charges in 2006.
Conservative commentator Candace Owens reacted to the report, stating that the President mishandled the situation. On August 1, 2025, she wrote on X:
“WILD. Trump could have gotten ahead of this by telling the truth […] He instead chose to gaslight us and then lash out by declaring he didn’t want our support anymore if we still cared about Epstein.”
Candace Owens’ past comments on Trump and the Epstein Files
Despite previously being a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump during his first presidential campaign, Candace Owens has recently criticized his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
In a July 15 episode of her show, Owens stated that the US President thinks his base is “stupid.” She accused him and his team of gaslighting the public after a Department of Justice memo issued recently indicated there is no Epstein client list.
“I feel like Trump thinks his base is stupid, or, again, because I don’t think he’s pressing send on these messages, the people around him think that Trump is stupid. And that shouldn’t surprise you given the fact that all of these people were ‘Never Trump.’ They were ‘Never Trump,’” she said.
She further added that she was dissatisfied when the administration decided to dismiss the Epstein suicide case by labeling it a “hoax,” and claimed that there are troubling aspects of the case.
“The Epstein scandal is definitely terminal cancer to Trump’s MAGA movement, there’s no question about it… He’s been a chronic disappointment. And I feel embarrassed that I told people to go vote for him because this wasn’t going to happen, and it is happening,” she said in the video.
Her comments position her with a growing contingent of supporters and MAGA influencers, including Laura Loomer, Tucker Carlson, and General Michael Flynn, who have publicly questioned the administration’s transparency about the Epstein Files.
According to CNN’s August 2 report, the DOJ is meanwhile seeking to unseal limited grand jury transcripts related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
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Edited by Ameen Fatima
