Attorney General Pam Bondi unexpectedly canceled her scheduled attendance at CPAC’s anti-trafficking summit in Washington, D.C., citing a health concern.
Bondi was set to speak at CPAC’s Summit Against Human Trafficking, but she was unable to attend.
“I do have a note from the attorney general, from Attorney General Pam Bondi, that I wanted to share,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti told attendees before reading Bondi’s statement to the crowd.
“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,” Bondi said in her statement.
After reading the statement, scattered applause was heard from the audience.
“We appreciate the applause for her and not boos for me,” Galeotti joked. “So I will do my best to fill those big shoes.”
The Justice Department did not provide more details on Bondi’s health. Other Trump administration officials who spoke at the event included Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and border czar Tom Homan.
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Bondi’s canceled appearance comes as she has received recent criticism for the Trump administration’s failure to provide papers related to the case of dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last week, Trump ordered Bondi to seek the release of more case materials related to Epstein.
The order follows days of withering criticism mostly from conservative and MAGA influencers online after the Justice Department released a memo stating that there was no “Epstein client list,” no conspiracy surrounding his apparent suicide while in custody in a New York City jail, and that no additional information would be forthcoming despite campaign pledges to release all info related to the financier.
Soon after, Bondi posted online that she was ready to petition the court to have the documents unsealed by Friday, but it’s not clear that a judge will agree.
Meanwhile, former DOGE boss Elon Musk has come to Trump’s defense following the publication of a “birthday letter” the president allegedly sent to Epstein around 2003.
The article alleges that materials from the Epstein investigation years ago included a 2003 birthday letter book, featuring one letter with the outline of a nude woman and a visible signature reading “Donald.”
The letter purportedly concludes with: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
The article alleges that materials from the Epstein investigation years ago included a birthday letter book, featuring one letter with the outline of a nude woman and a visible signature reading “Donald.”
The letter purportedly concludes with: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Musk wrote on X in response to the claim: “It really doesn’t sound like something Trump would say tbh [to be honest].”
On Truth Social, Trump denounced the report as “false, malicious, and defamatory,” saying he had warned The Wall Street Journal, its parent company NewsCorp, and Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch that they would face legal action if it was published.
“The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,” the post read.
The Journal did publish the letter, leading Trump to post a second legal threat.
Immediately following the publication of the alleged letter, White House officials decried it as completely false.
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that it was “complete and utter bullshit,” echoing the expletive Trump used this week to describe the current Epstein news cycle.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, whom Trump said had also told WSJ editor-in-chief Emma Tucker the story was “fake,” called it a “hatchet job article” and claimed the outlet “refused to show us the letter and conceded they don’t even have it in their possession when we asked them to verify the alleged document.”