Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that the Trump administration mishandled public messaging around the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, saying officials made communication errors but were not concealing evidence. In a podcast interview released Wednesday, Vance said the administration should have released all materials immediately rather than drawing out the process. He pointed to former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s statements as contributing to distrust, though he said she was not acting maliciously. Vance also claimed that President Donald Trump could have stopped the release but chose not to, and he suggested that Epstein likely had ties to high-level intelligence agencies. The remarks come as the administration faces criticism from Trump’s own supporters over its handling of the matter.