US Vice President JD Vance on Monday defended President Donald Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, saying the president has “nothing to hide” and the president has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all credible information related to the case.

Speaking to reporters in Canton, Ohio, Vance said, “First of all, the president has been very clear. We’re not shielding anything.”

The comment comes as both Republicans and Democrats push the Trump administration to release files on Jeffrey Epstein, whose past ties to Trump have raised public concern and criticism.

Vance emphasised that the administration is working “transparently,” but added that gathering and redacting sensitive material is a time-consuming process.

“The president has directed the attorney general to release all credible information and, frankly, to go and find additional credible information related to the Jeffrey Epstein case,” he said. “He’s been incredibly transparent about that stuff, but some of that stuff takes time.”

DOJ DENIES EXISTENCE OF EPSTEIN LIST

Attorney General Pam Bondi, who previously suggested a list of Epstein’s powerful associates existed, is now under scrutiny after the Justice Department declared there was no such “client list.” This has sparked backlash amongst Trump’s MAGA base, which had hoped for revelations about elite networks.

Still, Vance insisted that Bondi is “hard at work” on the directive from Trump.

“You’ve got to assemble that stuff, you’ve got to compile that stuff, you’ve got to redact some victims’ names so that you protect the victims,” Vance said.

He also took a shot at previous administrations, claiming they failed to properly investigate Epstein.

“The Justice Departments under Barack Obama and George W. Bush went easy on Epstein. They didn’t get to the bottom of this.”

Trump, who once described Epstein as a “terrific guy” before distancing himself in later years, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

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With inputs form Reuters