FBI's Patel and Bongino say Epstein killed himself, enraging MAGA base

FBI Director KPKash Patel and Deputy Director DBDan Bongino reversed previous conspiracy claims about Jeffrey Epstein's death during public statements in May and June 2025

The Department of Justice and FBI issued a memo on July 7, 2025, after reviewing over 300 gigabytes of data, confirming Epstein died by suicide and no 'client list' exists

Patel appeared on The JRJoe Rogan Experience podcast (Episode #2334) in June 2025, stating he found no evidence of foul play in Epstein's Metropolitan Correctional Center death

Bongino announced on Fox News in May 2025 that 'Jeffrey Epstein killed himself' after reviewing the full case file, contradicting his previous conspiracy theory promotion

JRJoe Rogan criticized Patel and Bongino in July 2025 for failing to deliver promised Epstein revelations, with his podcast reaching 15 million weekly listeners

Attorney General Pam Bondi faced Congressional contempt threats for incomplete Epstein file releases, missing the December 19, 2025 deadline under the Epstein Files Transparency Act

The DOJ released approximately 11 hours of Metropolitan Correctional Center surveillance footage in July 2025, though forensic analysis revealed the footage was created in May 2025 and appeared to be stitched together

The reversal split the MAGA movement, with influencers like TCTucker Carlson and Alex Jones maintaining conspiracy theories while Charlie Kirk initially retreated before resuming criticism under grassroots pressure

DBDr. Barbara Sampson's August 2019 suicide ruling was affirmed by the 2025 DOJ review, despite challenges from Dr. Michael Baden who claimed the injuries were more consistent with homicide