6 Splashiest Revelations From Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s Blockbuster Book Excerpt on Trump and Epstein

(Photos via: Jon Elswick and Mark Schiefelbein)

The New York Times published a huge story on Wednesday titled, “Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,” a look at how President Donald Trump’s administration handled the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The reporting from star NYT political reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan spotlighted a startling amount of behind-the-scenes drama at the White House over the late sex criminal.

Haberman andSwan shared the juicy details on the backroom verbal brawls and maneuvering that went into the administration’s Jeffrey Epstein strategy; Wednesday’s article is based on reporting that is in their upcoming book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, which will take a look at Trump’s “four years in exile,” his political comeback, and his second administration.

Here is what stood out from the Epstein “Freakout” story:

1. Trump Berated Charlie Kirk

Haberman and Swan wrote that Trump was not happy with “some of his most influential supporters,” like Charlie Kirk, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly publicly pushing the administration to release more files on Epstein in July 2025.

After a Turning Point USA turned into an “Epstein grievance fest,” where several speakers ripped then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump “called Kirk and scolded him.”

“Kirk had held a Turning Point USA event the previous day that turned into an Epstein grievance fest, with one speaker after another bashing [then-Attorney General] Bondi over her handling of the situation. Trump had called Kirk and scolded him.

That happened on July 12, the same day Trump backed Bondi on social media and said his fans needed to stop wasting “Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein.”

2. Bongino Went Nuclear Over Handling of Epstein Files

Then-FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino berated Bondi after the Justice Department published a memo in July 2025 that said Epstein did not have an incriminating “client list” and that “no further disclosure” would be made.

Here’s how Haberman and Swan described Bongino’s reaction:

The day the memo was released, Bongino showed up to a daily Justice Department meeting with the FBI staff and the attorney general. He was in a volcanic mood. As soon as he entered the room, he erupted at Bondi, shouting at her.

“You f*cked this thing up from the start,” Bongino yelled. “The way you’ve been talking about this — that dumb f*cking charade with the Epstein files, the ‘They’re on my desk’ nonsense, all the promises to the folks out there.”

[Kash] Patel and Bongino both subsequently told a White House official that Bondi needed to resign.

3. JD Vance Tried to Broker a Sit-Down with Joe Rogan for Epstein Files Cleanup

Vice President JD Vance tried to coordinate an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, which would have been tied to the Justice Department launching its Epstein files website. The administration had pushed for then-Deputy AG Todd Blanche to go on Rogan to discuss the files, but Rogan told Vance he didn’t want him on the show during a phone call.

“Vance argued that if he were the one to appear on Rogan’s show, then only a part of the conversation would be about Epstein,” Haberman and Swan wrote. “The rest of the interview, he told the group, could be about the president’s recently passed legislation and what it would do for working families.”

That 2025 podcast never came together.

This came after Vance told others in the administration he “feared losing some of the so-called low-propensity voters,” like young men, due to the Epstein response.

4. Kash Patel Pushed for Bondi’s Immediate Resignation After Nothing-to-See-Here Epstein Files Memo

FBI Director Kash Patel and Bongino both told a “White House official” that Bondi needed to quit her job when the aforementioned memo was published.

Swan and Haberman wrote:

“Two days later… the two men were summoned to a meeting with [Susie] Wiles and Bondi in the Situation Room complex. They were the last to enter the small, wood-paneled room. Seated around the table were Bondi, Wiles, Blanche, and Taylor Budowich, one of Wiles’s deputies.

The moment Bongino sat down, Wiles told him that she had been informed he leaked a sensitive story about Epstein and Trump to ABC News.

“I’ll tell you what,” Bongino replied. “I’ll give you $100,000 cash right now. I’m not kidding. Walk out to West Exec, put that reporter on speaker and get him to admit I leaked it. A hundred thousand dollars.”

Wiles snapped back, “Well, we all got ourselves into this —— ”

Bongino cut her off.

“No, no, no, no, no. We didn’t get ourselves into anything. I warned you guys about this the whole time, and you ignored me. And exactly what I said was going to happen happened. And now you’re pretending I was in on this. I was never in on this.”

Wiles then told Bongino the Trump team needed to be “all in” and “agree to move forward.” Bongino said he was not “in” on the plan and stormed out. “Forget it. I’m out of here.”

5. Bongino Predicted Epstein Would be Trump’s “Iran-Contra”

Shortly after, Bongino vented to a “confidant” that Epstein “is going to be President Trump’s Iran-Contra” affair.

He also went off on Bondi again, saying “Blondie f*cked this whole thing up” — using a nickname for the AG coined by Laura Loomer.

“She was the one on TV saying over and over they had all this stuff. There was never anything. We were always clear about that. But now everyone thinks we did something wrong. And I gave up everything.” Bongino vented. “And now it’s all disappeared, because people think we screwed something up with Epstein.”

6. Vance Pitched a Tucker Carlson Interview With Ghislaine Maxwell on Behalf of Administration 

Vance, at one point, was “panicked” over how the Epstein saga was dividing Trump’s MAGA base.

His solution? Vance “floated to colleagues an extraordinary PR gambit — that the White House enlist Tucker Carlson to interview Epstein’s longtime girlfriend and co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, in prison.”

Vance believed “it might help the president if Maxwell was willing to state that Trump had not been part of any wrongdoing with Epstein,” Haberman and Swan wrote.

Read the full story by clicking here.

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