A New York Times Magazine investigation published June 10, 2026, drawn from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's forthcoming book “Regime Change,” details how the Trump White House scrambled to contain the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files. Ten days after the DOJ and FBI released a memo declaring there was no Epstein “client list,” Vice President JD Vance convened a meeting in the Situation Room with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, communications director Steven Cheung, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy AG Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel.
According to the reporting, the group, knowing Trump himself was largely indifferent, devised “empty gesture” transparency measures to appease his base, including having Tucker Carlson interview Ghislaine Maxwell in prison and petitioning courts to unseal grand-jury testimony while anticipating denial so they could shift the blame to judges. The book describes “shouting matches, arguments, efforts to get different officials fired, and clashing strategies,” with Dan Bongino erupting at Bondi: “You f---ed this thing up from the start... that dumb f---ing charade,” a reference to her earlier claim that files were “on her desk.”
Trump fumed at the report. He attacked MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on Truth Social as “one of the most inaccurate detailers of truthful facts on television” with “Trump Derangement Syndrome” — a reaction Scarborough said only confirmed that Epstein is a nerve for the White House. Congress ultimately passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act over the administration's resistance (see Bondi Tells House Investigators She Handed the Epstein Files to Todd Blanche, Then Insists She Didn't Blame Him).
In mid-June 2026, Axios reported that Trump aides feared the Situation Room meetings on the Epstein files had been recorded and that the recordings may have reached the authors of “Regime Change.” Recording devices are not allowed in the Situation Room, so a taped account would be a security breach. An administration official told Axios, “We're afraid some of our most sensitive conversations were being recorded... And we have no idea which ones.” The claim is a fear attributed to anonymous officials, not a confirmed leak.