FBI Director Kash Patel stunned lawmakers Tuesday morning with a claim that left even some of his Republican allies scratching their heads — and critics calling it a cover-up in plain sight. Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patel declared that the FBI has “no credible information, none” that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked young women to anyone besides himself.
“Himself,” Patel said flatly when asked by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), “Who, if anyone, did Epstein traffic these young women to besides himself?”
Kennedy looked visibly surprised. “So the answer is no one?” he followed up.
“For the information that we have,” Patel replied. “In the case files.”
It was a stunning about-face for Patel, who spent years pushing the idea that Epstein had a hidden “client list” of powerful individuals — an idea he once accused the Biden administration of actively concealing. In July, he and Attorney General Pam Bondi sparked backlash when they announced there would be no further disclosures about the Epstein case.
On Tuesday, Patel doubled down. “There is no credible information,” he insisted. “If there were, I would bring a case yesterday.”
But many aren’t buying it.
“Then why is Ghislaine Maxwell in prison?” asked Derrick Evans, a former West Virginia lawmaker convicted for storming the Capitol on January 6.
It’s not a rhetorical question. Maxwell was convicted on multiple federal counts related to trafficking minors for Epstein and — crucially — with others. If Epstein had no clients, what exactly was Maxwell facilitating?
“Patel is still evading Epstein files questions by focusing on grand jury testimony without acknowledging that there is much, much more in the FBI’s sole possession that it could release without a judicial order,” said former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa.
Heidi Reinberg, a documentary filmmaker, put it even more bluntly: “Is Patel saying that while she was trafficking, Epstein wasn’t?”
The hearing quickly lit up social media with outrage and disbelief.
“Kash Patel just said there’s no evidence of Jeff Epstein trafficking young girls on behalf of other people — which we know isn’t true,” wrote Democratic strategist Mike Nellis. “Why is he lying? Is it because he’s covering for Donald Trump and knows he’ll get a pardon if he’s charged with perjury?”
This isn’t conspiracy theory territory anymore. The public has seen the conviction, heard the testimony, and read the court documents. There was a network. There were flights. There were names. But somehow, according to Patel, the FBI has nothing solid to act on.
Kennedy himself wasn’t convinced. “The issue’s not going to go away,” he warned. “I think you’re gonna have to do more to satisfy the American people’s understandable curiosity in that regard.”
That “curiosity” has turned into anger — and Patel’s testimony has only added fuel to the fire.
The FBI and DOJ previously claimed in a July memo that there’s “no credible evidence” Epstein blackmailed powerful figures or trafficked minors to them. The case, they say, is closed. The client list, they say, doesn’t exist. But the outrage says otherwise.
Watch the clip below:
