Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) stated last week that he believes a client list tied to Jeffrey Epstein once existed but was “destroyed” by the Biden administration.
“I think the files existed at one time,” Burchett said in an interview on NewsNation’s “On Balance” with host Leland Vittert. “I think they were destroyed in the previous administration.”
A Justice Department memo released earlier that week determined that Epstein never maintained the purported client list used to blackmail prominent individuals, directly contradicting long-standing conspiracy theories. The memo also affirmed that Epstein died by suicide in his New York City jail cell in 2019, rejecting claims that his death was suspicious.
Burchett rejected suggestions from former Trump adviser Elon Musk and other media figures that President Trump’s name appeared on any such list.
“I think if they’d ever had anything on Trump, it would have been out Day 1 under the Biden administration,” the Tennessee Republican said.
“I think there’s some very prominent people. There’s Hollywood people,” he added. “I mean, I think there’s world leaders too. And would it have caused economic disruption around the globe? Maybe. But I don’t really care. I want to bury those dirtbags.”
Asked why Attorney General Pam Bondi wouldn’t come out and just say that the evidence has been destroyed, Burchett responded, “She doesn’t have any proof of it.”
“I’m just telling you what I think. I’ve been around this town enough,” the lawmaker continued. “I think she got over her skis pretty much saying all this stuff, the files are on my desk, I’m going to release it, and then she releases stuff that I knew.”
“I think they all got out there, got a little excited, and I don’t think they exist,” he added, referring to the files.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have faced intense scrutiny from leading MAGA figures who suspect the government is suppressing explosive details about Epstein. Notably, both Patel and Bongino promoted similar theories before joining the administration.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week as well that the DOJ’s conclusion is the result of an “exhaustive review of all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and his death.”
She noted that the Trump administration withheld certain material because of its graphic content.
In 2019, during Trump’s first term, Epstein was federally charged with running a sex-trafficking ring that exploited underage girls from 2002 to 2005. He died in prison a month later before his case went to trial, after having previously pleaded guilty to separate sexual misconduct offenses.
The official cause of death was suicide.
The former attorney for deceased human trafficker “unequivocally” said that Trump is nowhere to be seen on the infamous list of clients that his former client had.
David Schoen, who represented Epstein in the final weeks before he died in 2019, revealed in June that he had questioned his imprisoned client about any potential dirt on Trump.
The comments resurfaced last week as a new twist in the already chaotic saga of the Trump administration’s handling of Epstein’s files.
“I was hired to lead Jeffrey Epstein’s defense as his criminal lawyer 9 days before he died. He sought my advice for months before that. I can say authoritatively, unequivocally, and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him!” Schoen said in a post on X.
The DOJ concluded that Epstein died by suicide and maintains that no list exists naming the powerful individuals allegedly involved in his network of sexual abuse, Fox News reported.
In a joint memo obtained by Fox News last week, the DOJ and FBI stated they had no additional information to release regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s case or death.