U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi suffered a medical emergency just hours after reports surfaced that she had warned President Donald Trump his name appeared multiple times in government files tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Bondi was scheduled to appear at CPAC’s Summit Against Human Trafficking on Thursday to discuss the Justice Department’s work on the issue but abruptly canceled. Instead, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti took the stage to address a crowd of several hundred attendees.
“I do have a note from the attorney general, from Attorney General Pam Bondi, that I wanted to share,” Galeotti said, before reading her statement:
“I’m sorry to miss all of my CPAC friends today. Unfortunately, I am recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you. I truly wish I was able to join you and support all of the work being done on this critical issue.”
Galeotti, aware of the disappointment in the room, added with a nervous laugh, “We appreciate the applause for her and not boos for me. So I will do my best to fill those big shoes.”
Despite his effort, a trickle of attendees exited the conference after it became clear Bondi would not be appearing in person.
The Justice Department has not provided further details on Bondi’s condition.
Her absence comes as the Wall Street Journal reported that both Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel informed Trump that his name appeared in several undisclosed files tied to the Epstein probe. According to the report, Bondi described the references as “unverified hearsay,” while Trump reportedly expressed little concern and deferred to DOJ officials on whether the documents should be released.
White House officials downplayed the significance of the revelations, noting that Trump’s past interactions with Epstein have been public for years. “The fact is that the President kicked [Epstein] out of his club for being a creep,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Daily Mail. “This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about.”
