President Donald Trump’s administration is responding to Reacher star Alan Ritchson’s now viral rant slamming the president and his Department of Justice’s mishandled release of the notorious Epstein files.
“Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything related to Epstein, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly published on Friday, July 24. “And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein victims than anyone before him.”
The White House’s statement comes just days after the Reacher star, 43, forcefully and unapologetically took aim at Trump for his previous friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, arguably the most prolific pedophile and child sex predator in generations.
“The Epstein files, the f***ing Epstein files!” Ritchson said while appearing on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, calling the president a “b****” and a “f***ing rapist.”
“Goddamn it! Where are they? It’s a f***ing law, b****,” he continued. “Show it. You f***ing pedophiles!”
Trump, 80, and his administration have been criticized by many on both sides of the political aisle since former attorney general Pam Bondi, hand-picked by Trump, claimed she had the late sex offender’s so-called “client list” sitting on her desk —- a claim she quickly walked back. (Bondi, 60, was forced to resign from her position in April 2026 amid continued criticism for both the Epstein files release and her failure to prosecute the president’s political rivals.)
“It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,” Bondi claimed during a February 2025 Fox News interview, before later denying a client list even exists. “That’s been a directive by President Trump.”
The DOJ later declined multiple requests to fully unredact and release previously unseen files, citing victim privacy. After Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the DOJ released 3.5 million pages, videos and images from the federal investigation into the disgraced billionaire, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. Many of the files, released well past the established deadline, hid the identity of men named in the files while showing the names, faces and sometimes personal information of Epstein’s victims.
Trump, for his part, was named in the files more than 5,300 times. A birthday card allegedly written by Trump to Epstein and featured in the files only escalated the bipartisan criticism against Trump and his administration. (The card featured a vulgar drawing of a woman’s body and mentions of “secrets.”)
Trump has been accused of sexual assault, harassment or inappropriate sexual conduct by more than a dozen women and found liable of sexual assault in court and ordered to pay his victim, E. Jean Carroll, $5.6 million in damages. He has repeatedly denied all allegations against him and claims he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal activity during their personal relationship.
Acting attorney general and former personal criminal defense lawyer to the president, Todd Blanche, has since claimed the DOJ will not be releasing any additional files related to the government’s investigation into Epstein. After previously refusing to meet with Epstein’s victims, Blanche met with Danielle Bensky, who was trafficked by Epstein, again raising concerns about the administration’s real dedication to transparency, accountability and the pursuit of justice.
“Unfortunately, Todd Blanche treated the meeting as a mere ‘check-the-box’ exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation,” Bensky, whose identity was exposed as part of a flawed redaction process during the DOJ’s release of the Epstein files that Blanche oversaw as deputy attorney general, said in a statement after meeting with the lawyer. “He danced around his wording, repeatedly interrupted us and could not commit to anything that would demonstrate good faith to begin to restore trust.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
