Vance speaks emphatically outside a government building, gesturing with both hands.Vance Admits Epstein Files 'Screwed Up,' Floats Mossad-CIA Theory
Intra-Party Split Detected
Some conservative commentators (Ben Shapiro, Scott Pinsker at PJ Media) criticized Vance's remarks as sounding like Democratic talking points or as politically damaging conspiracy-mongering, while other right-leaning outlets and figures (Blaze Media, Rogan) treated his candor favorably.
Left says
- •Vance's admission is one of the clearest acknowledgments yet that the Epstein files rollout was a politically damaging fiasco, coming only after sustained public and even MAGA-base pressure forced the issue.
- •As sitting vice president with access to classified intelligence, Vance's casual floating of Mossad-CIA theories about Epstein is seen as reckless and irresponsible rather than harmless podcast banter.
- •Critics note Vance deflects blame onto Pam Bondi personally rather than addressing broader questions about why only a fraction of the files were released or what the administration may still be withholding.
- •The files reportedly include an interview with a woman alleging Trump sexually assaulted her as a minor in the 1980s, a detail left unaddressed amid Vance's defense of Trump.
Right says
- •Vance's candor is refreshing and shows a politician willing to admit fault rather than spin, distinguishing him from typical Washington messaging.
- •Vance insists the communications failure was a self-inflicted mistake, not evidence of a cover-up, and blames Bondi's overstated 'binders on my desk' claim for fueling public mistrust.
- •Vance's willingness to entertain Mossad/CIA theories reflects his self-described history as an 'OG Epstein conspiracy theorist' genuinely trying to get to the truth rather than obscure it.
- •Some conservative voices worry the freewheeling, three-hour format made Vance sound off-message on Iran, Israel, and Epstein, potentially creating political risk despite his authenticity.
Common Take
High Consensus- Vance directly admitted the administration 'screwed up the comms' of the Epstein files release.
- Both sides note Vance blamed Pam Bondi's 'client list on my desk' claim for damaging public trust in the process.
- Only a small fraction of the roughly 6 million Epstein-related documents have been released, despite promises of full transparency.
- Vance stated he has seen no credible evidence Trump engaged in wrongdoing with minors.
The Arguments
Left argues
Vance's admission that the administration 'screwed up the comms' is a significant concession that validates months of criticism from journalists, victims' advocates, and even the MAGA base about a botched, non-transparent rollout of the Epstein files.
Right counters
Admitting fault openly, rather than stonewalling or spinning, is precisely the kind of candor critics claim politicians never show — Vance's willingness to say 'guilty' should be credited, not treated as an admission of some deeper scandal.
Right argues
Vance's theory that Epstein had ties to Mossad or CIA reflects genuine, long-held suspicions he's held since before taking office, and floating them on a podcast is not the same as official government findings or policy.
Right counters
A sitting vice president with access to classified intelligence casually speculating about foreign intelligence agencies on the world's biggest podcast is not harmless musing — it carries diplomatic weight and can be read as tacit confirmation by audiences, regardless of his intent.
Left argues
By pinning the blame squarely on Pam Bondi's 'binders on my desk' comment, Vance sidesteps the harder questions of why only a small fraction of the files were released, why redactions were so extensive, and what specific evidence — like an alleged interview involving Trump — remains unaddressed.
Right counters
Vance did acknowledge the release itself took too long and should have happened faster, and identifying Bondi's specific overstatement as the trust-breaking moment is a legitimate, falsifiable explanation rather than a deflection.
Right argues
Vance's three-hour, unscripted format allowed him to show authenticity and conviction — conceding points, laughing, swearing — that stands in stark contrast to the tightly controlled messaging voters have grown to distrust in Washington.
Left counters
That same unscripted freedom is exactly why he wandered into reckless territory on Epstein, Iran, and Israel — authenticity is not a virtue when it produces conspiratorial claims from someone in a position of genuine governmental authority.
Left argues
The interview left unaddressed a serious allegation reportedly contained in the files — a woman's claim that Trump sexually assaulted her as a minor — even as Vance spent considerable time defending Trump's character and pursuing tangential theories about Epstein's intelligence ties.
Right counters
Vance stated he has seen no credible evidence of wrongdoing by Trump, and it's reasonable for a close ally to defend the president against an uncorroborated allegation rather than litigate every claim in a casual podcast setting.
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If critics believe releasing the full files quickly is paramount to transparency, why have many of the same critics been comparatively quiet about the original 2007-2008 Acosta plea deal and the decades of institutional failures that preceded this administration's rollout?”
Left asks Right
“If Vance says entertaining Mossad/CIA theories is just honest truth-seeking rather than reckless speculation, how does that square with the administration's insistence that public trust requires precision and caution rather than casual conjecture from top officials?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Figures like Jim Acosta or MSNBC commentators framing this as proof of an active cover-up implicating Trump directly in criminal wrongdoing represent a more extreme reading; likely under 20% of the left holds this maximalist cover-up view versus the more moderate 'this was a fiasco/mishandling' consensus.
Right Fringe
Commentators like Ben Shapiro criticizing Vance for sounding 'like a Democrat' or embracing conspiracy theories represent a fringe within the right (roughly 15-20%) who worry about political damage; most conservative reaction (via Blaze Media, PJ Media) frames Vance's performance positively as authentic.
Noise Assessment
High — much of the social media outrage and conservative punditry (Shapiro's 'Bernie Sanders economics' line, HuffPost's 'torched' framing) is performative amplification; the median voter likely just registers 'Epstein files were bungled again' without deep engagement in the Mossad/CIA specifics.
Sources (7)
<p>Vice President <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/06/vance-summer-trump-heir" target="_blank">JD Vance</a> said the Trump administration "mishandled" last year's release of the Epstein files during an appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience." </p><p><strong>Why it matters: </strong>Vance's comments are among the clearest public acknowledgments yet from the Trump administration that the <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/epstein-files" target="_blank">Epstein</a> files release became a major <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/13/trump-epstein-files-fiasco" target="_blank">political liability</a>.</p><hr /><ul><li>Many noted at the time that the Epstein files release came with clumsy messaging and <a href="https://x.com/mtracey/status/2003511463965786184" target="_blank">puzzling</a> redactions — fueling sustained political pressure on President Trump and his administration.</li></ul><p><strong>Driving the news: </strong>"If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein release, guilty. We did mishandle it — especially the communications of it," Vance told <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/20/trump-woos-rogan-after-split" target="_blank">Rogan</a> on the episode that premiered Wednesday.</p><ul><li>"We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files. Like we just did," he <a href="https://youtu.be/vtxyvD58eDg?si=NG-IwYhASOEpqVB7" target="_blank">said</a>.</li><li>Vance said then-Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim about having <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/02/pam-bondi-epstein-files-trump" target="_blank">binders of documents on her desk</a> made "people mistrust the entire effort." He added that "she overstated what we had and what we didn't have."</li></ul><p><strong>Zoom in:</strong> Vance told Rogan that the U.S. should have released the documents as quickly as possible, acknowledging that redactions to victims would require time.</p><ul><li>The vice president said the investigators "collected 6 million documents" — with about 3 million having "something to do with the Epstein estate." </li><li>Vance accused Epstein of having deep connections to Israeli and American politics.</li><li>"He clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence."</li></ul><p><strong>Context: </strong>Vance's comments come after the Trump administration faced criticism from many Americans, including his <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/10/trump-epstein-files-bondi-maga" target="_blank">MAGA base</a>, over the handling of the documents last year.</p><ul><li>No other political issue created as much sustained political fallout for Trump and his administration last year like the files release, which inspired a revolt from <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/15/trump-epstein-republicans-congress-bondi-bongino" target="_blank">congressional Republicans</a> and social media commentary.</li></ul><p><strong>Go deeper: </strong><a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/15/epstein-investigation-new-mexico-justice-department-us-doj" target="_blank">New Mexico AG, federal DOJ clash over Epstein records</a></p>
<img src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/jd-vance-reveals-opinion-on-epstein-files-explains-demon-alien-theory-slams-full-of-s-t-gavin-newsom-with-joe-rogan.jpg?id=67498479&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C11%2C0%2C96" /><br /><br /><p>United States Vice President <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/tag/jd-vance" target="_self">JD Vance</a> sat down for a wide-ranging interview with podcaster <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/tag/joe-rogan" target="_self">Joe Rogan</a>. The eyebrow-raising interview included skewering Democratic California Gov. <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/tag/gavin-newsom" target="_blank">Gavin Newsom</a>, discussing the Epstein files, and explaining <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/tag/aliens" target="_blank">aliens</a> possibly being demons. </p><p>In the nearly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtxyvD58eDg&t=2407s" target="_blank">three-hour podcast interview</a> released Wednesday, Vance said many Republicans are "skeptical" because many Democrats want it to be illegal for voters to show identification when voting in elections.</p><p class="pull-quote">'I admire the f**king sheer tenacity that he has in being full of s**t.'</p><p>Vance <a href="https://x.com/theblaze/status/2077783617351086532" target="_blank">asked</a>, "Why not just have voter ID?"</p><p>Rogan said opposition to voter identification requirements makes it seem "like you want people to cheat." </p><p>Vance declared, "If you don't want to cheat in the election, then just make everybody actually show an ID."</p><p>When Rogan asked about the United States' military action against Iran, Vance said he would support President Donald Trump's overseas intervention as long as the decisions are "legal and ethical."</p><p>Vance stated, “The goal is certainly good, which is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”</p><p>The prolific podcaster asked about the release of the files related to the investigation into convicted pedophile <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/tag/jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank">Jeffrey Epstein</a>. </p><p>The vice president conceded that the administration had “mishandled” the <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/tag/epstein-files" target="_blank">Epstein files</a>.</p><p>"If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein release, guilty. We did mishandle it — especially the communications of it," Vance said. </p><p>"We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files. We just did," Vance admitted. </p><p>However, Vance stressed there was no truth to theories that the White House was attempting to hide anything about the Epstein files. </p><p>Vance declared himself to be one of the original "Epstein conspiracy theorists" and said that he has "probably gone down every single rabbit hole we could go down."</p><p>Vance added, "But do I think the reason we screwed up the comms is because we were trying to hide something? No."</p><p>Vance said former Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim about having binders of documents on her desk made "people mistrust the entire effort" and "overstated what we had and what we didn't have."</p><p>Vance said that he does "like" Bondi and that the binder incident was likely her "trying to respond to the political moment."</p><p>Vance noted, "We did release all these files. Did it take longer than it should have taken? Yes."</p><p>Vance said the Epstein files should have been "dropped at the very beginning" once all the reviews and redactions had been done.</p><p>"We should have just done it as quickly as possible," Vance stated. </p><p>Vance said he believes that Epstein "clearly" had connections to the highest level of American and Israeli intelligence. </p><p>"Yeah, Mossad or CIA or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel or another country — or both," Vance said. "Look, he clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence."</p><p><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/shows/relatable/jd-vance-reveals-the-heartbreaking-conversation-that-convinced-him-to-have-a-fourth-child" target="_self">JD Vance reveals the heartbreaking conversation that convinced him to have a fourth child</a></strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"> <span class="rm-shortcode" style="display: block; padding-top: 56.25%;"></span> </p><p>Rogan — who showed support for Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), a democratic socialist, in 2020 — said that he is "really concerned" about Americans rallying around socialism.</p><p>"I'm really concerned that people think that's a good idea and that they think that socialism just hasn't been done correctly," Rogan told Vance. "That drives me nuts."</p><p>Rogan said socialism "always leads to one thing: It leads to a very powerful military government that controls the population — period, end of discussion."</p><p>Vance agreed with Rogan's assessment.</p><p>"The whole argument of communism is that you seize the means of production," Vance said. "But because the most powerful means of production is the human mind, you ultimately have to get into totalitarianism." </p><p>Vance expressed concern that artificial intelligence could unintentionally usher in communism. </p><p>"The fundamental challenge of AI is, it's going to unleash a lot of wealth creation, but if that wealth creation all goes to some segment of people, you're going to have communism," Vance warned. </p><p>"But if you don't ensure that there's some broader prosperity from that wealth creation, we have run this experiment before, and it leads to communism," he added.</p><p>Vance and Rogan both agreed that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is "full of s**t." The pair rehashed the time when Newsom told a group that he "cannot read a speech."</p><p>As <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/im-like-you-newsom-insults-audience-in-a-failed-attempt-to-relate-to-voters-in-majority-black-city" target="_self">Blaze News reported in February</a>, Newsom apparently attempted to appeal to a reportedly majority-black audience at a book tour stop in Atlanta. </p><p>"I'm not trying to impress you," Newsom told the group. "I'm just trying to impress upon you, I'm like you. I'm no better than you. You know, I'm a 960 SAT guy. I'm not trying to offend anyone, you know, trying to act all there if you got a 940."</p><p>"You never see me read a speech because I cannot read a speech," Newsom added.</p><p>Vance said of Newsom, "He's full of s**t."</p><p>Rogan replied, "He's so full of s**t. Admirably full of s**t. I admire the f**king sheer tenacity that he has in being full of s**t."</p><p>Rogan asked Vance about <a href="https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2037612477282685380" target="_blank">remarks</a> he made earlier this year, where he revealed that he believes aliens could be demons. </p><p>"I'm not one of these people who's, like, a hyper-rationalist," Vance responded. "I think that there are things happening in the world that we're not always seeing. I believe in God."</p><p>"If you look historically at things that are similar to the alien phenomenon, where some strange being, it kind of looks like a human being, but ... that's not human, and it shows a particular interest in human beings, and then it takes the human beings and does weird experiments on them."</p><p>Vance said either it is "bulls**t," you're "talking to a crazy person," or aliens could be demons.</p><p>"Just because I believe in the supernatural doesn't mean I believe in everything supernatural,” Vance continued. “But if we're talking about an extraterrestrial being that is human-like but not human that contains effectively infinite powers and is torturing human beings, you can call it an alien if you want, but I think there's a lot of historical precedent to call that a demon.”</p><p>Rogan described an alleged alien encounter where the extraterrestrial healed a man. Vance replied, “Extra-powerful beings, in this case communicating telepathically, helping people, sounds like an angel."</p><p>The entire "Joe Rogan Experience" interview with JD Vance can be seen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtxyvD58eDg&t=2407s" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><p><em><em>Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. </em></em><em><em><a href="https://archive.ph/o/nIfUb/https://www.theblaze.com/newsletters/theblaze-articlelink" target="_self">Sign up here</a></em></em><em><em>!</em></em></p>
<img src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=67500663&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0" /><br /><br /><p>For years, the Epstein files have fueled endless speculation, conspiracy theories, and demands for transparency — which have resulted in widespread disappointment among Americans demanding to know the truth.</p><p>Now, on the biggest podcast in the world, Vice President JD Vance is offering one of the administration’s most direct explanations yet for why the highly anticipated document release left so many Americans frustrated.</p><p>“The Epstein files were supposed to be released,” Joe Rogan said to Vance on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “And there was a tremendous amount of resistance to those files being released. That concerned a lot of people because if you’re talking about very wealthy, powerful people that were engaged in crimes.”</p><p>“So you’re basically saying the fear is that whatever’s in the Epstein files was used to blackmail the administration into doing the Iran thing,” Vance replied.</p><h3></h3><br /><span class="rm-shortcode" style="display: block; padding-top: 56.25%;"></span><p>“Or, at the very least, the people that were involved in the Epstein files that didn’t want them coming out had undue influence,” Rogan said.</p><p>“I say this with all candor, we absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files. Like we just did. But do I think the reason we screwed up the comms is because we were trying to hide something? No,” Vance explained.</p><p>Instead, Vance believes the reason the administration “screwed up the comms” was that former Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed the client list was on her desk.</p><p>“So, what was the purpose of that performative display of the Epstein files, and she was saying there’s tens of thousands of hours of film?” Rogan asked.</p><p>“I don’t know what the purpose of it was, but I know that the effect of it was to make people mistrust the entire effort,” Vance answered, noting that he believes Bondi was “trying to respond to the political moment.”</p><p>Vance called himself one of the “OG Epstein conspiracy theorists” and admitted to going “down every single rabbit hole.”</p><p>“The original sin of the Epstein investigation, and obviously I’m biased here, but it was not what Donald Trump and the administration did in 2025. It was, you have to go back to 2007, 2008, the original Alex Acosta investigation of Jeffrey Epstein where he basically dropped the federal charges,” he explained.</p><p>“You go to the original warrant back in 2008, what was he looking for? What was he allowed to look for? What were they collecting? It was not looking at a broader conspiracy,” he added.</p><p>“That’s fascinating,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments.</p><p>“I don’t know if we’ll ever find out the truth,” he adds, “but that was fascinating.”</p><h2>Want more from Pat Gray?</h2><p>To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, <a href="https://get.blazetv.com/pat/?utm_source=theblaze&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=article_shortcode_patgray" target="_blank">subscribe to BlazeTV</a> — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.</p>
“It’s kind of insane for the Vice President of the United States to just be wondering blithely about any of this,” one commenter wrote.
The vice president shifted the blame to someone who is no longer in the administration.
Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro said Thursday that Vice President Vance sounded similar to a Democrat on a recent episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast. “I tuned into Joe Rogan yesterday and heard Bernie Sanders’ economics, Barack Obama’s foreign policy, and Ro Khanna’s conspiracy theories. And then I realized JD Vance was talking. I want a candidate…