As tension continues to build regarding the way President Donald Trump’ administration is handling the release of documents regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case, Attorney General Pam Bondi canceled an appearance Wednesday due to a torn cornea, the protective layer of the eye.
She sent Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti in her place to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington D.C. He read a statement from Bondi while speaking with reporter Nancy Ross at the conference’s Combatting Human Trafficking Summit.
“I’m sorry to miss all of my CPAC friends today,” said Bondi in the message, adding that “unfortunately, I’m recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you. I truly wish I was able to join you and support all the work being done on this critical issue. Human trafficking is one of the greatest challenges we face as a law enforcement community. It is also a top priority for the Department of Justice. It’s a practice that allows evil enterprises to profit off vulnerable people and puts people in danger every day.”
This statement did not specify whether Bondi sustained a corneal laceration or a corneal abrasion. Fox News also said the Justice Department did not provide further information.
“A corneal laceration is a cut on the cornea,” according to an article from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “It is usually caused by something sharp flying into the eye. It can also be caused by something striking the eye with significant force, like a metallic hand tool. A corneal laceration is deeper than a corneal abrasion, cutting partially or fully through the cornea. If the corneal laceration is deep enough it can cause a full thickness laceration. This is when the laceration cuts completely through the cornea and causes a ruptured globe, a tear into the eyeball itself.”
It said symptoms can include pain, bleeding and sensitivity to light. Corneal lacerations are very serious and require immediate medical attention to avoid severe vision loss.
“We are praying for Attorney General Bondi,” said Ross. “She has all the confidence of our president.”
Bondi was selected by Trump as attorney general after former Congressman Matt Gaetz took his name out of the running last November. Gaetz pulled his name amid a House Ethics Committee investigation related to allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families,” said Trump on Truth Social last year. “Then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country.”
Ross also mentioned prosecution against Epstein, a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died in his jail cell six years ago, during Trump’s last term. However, the Epstein saga continues, and it has been a challenging issue for the Trump administration this year.
Some of the tension can be traced back to February, when Bondi referenced what some assumed what a rumored “client list” of Epstein, who was known to have many wealthy and influential contacts – including, at least at one point, Trump himself. Then, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a joint memo. It said that no further information about the Epstein case would be released Furthermore, it appeared to confirm that Epstein died by suicide, a conclusion that many have questioned.
“In February I did an interview on Fox and it’s been getting a lot of attention because I was asked a question about the client list. And my response was, ‘It’s sitting on my desk to be reviewed,’ meaning the file, along with the JFK, MLK files as well,” Bondi said when asked about the issue during a recent cabinet meeting. “That’s what I meant by that. Also, to the tens of thousands of videos, they turned out to be child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein. Child porn is what they were. Never going to be released. Never going to see the light of day.”
The memo, and Bondi’s response, riled up people on both sides of the political aisle. Media personality Tucker Carlson, typically a vocal supporter of Trump, was one of them and he went at Bondi particularly hard.
“The current DOJ under Pam Bondi is covering up crimes. Very serious crimes, by their own description,” in a recent interview with Saagar Enjeti, host of “Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar” and former Daily Caller White House correspondent.
Trump has tried to downplay the Epstein issue and even lashed out against his own supporters over it.
“My PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker. They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years,” said Trump in a Truth Social post last week. “I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country’s history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.”
Multibillionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, a former Trump ally who recently had a very public falling-out with the president, claimed on his own social media platform, X, that the reason the Epstein files had not been made public was because Trump was in them. Last week, Trump sued the Wall Street Journal after it printed a claim that he was one of the friends who sent Epstein bawdy letters for his 50th birthday party in 2003. This week that outlet reported that the DOJ under Bondi told Trump in May that his name “was among many” in the files.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed in a Tuesday X post that he plans to speak with jailed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell about the case. Trump also called for the “release of all credible evidence,” according to Blanche.
Fox News noted that “the administration eventually asked for a judge to unseal transcripts from Florida grand jury proceedings into Epstein amid calls for transparency about the case, but the request was denied.