Trump's Iran strikes coincided with Epstein files coverage

U.S. strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, 2026 coincided with a drop in public attention to missing Justice Department pages from FBI interviews of a woman who said she was abused as a minor; former AG Pam Bondi is scheduled to testify before Congress on April 14 about the handling of those files.

In late February 2026, U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran drew sustained media attention. Around the same time, documents in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation showed gaps where several pages covering FBI interviews of a woman who said she had been abused as a minor were missing from the public database. The woman’s name has not been released; she told investigators she first contacted the FBI in 2019 and was interviewed multiple times that year. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who oversaw the document release and was later fired, is expected to testify before Congress on April 14 about the Justice Department’s handling of the files. Known details: - The strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, 2026, and received broad international coverage. - A South Carolina woman reported to the FBI in 2019 and was interviewed several times; her identity has not been made public. - The Justice Department’s public release omitted multiple pages covering those interviews, which watchdogs and journalists identified. - The Post and Courier verified several peripheral details the woman gave investigators but said it could not independently confirm the central allegation. - Pam Bondi was fired on April 2 and is scheduled to testify before Congress on April 14 about the file releases. - The accuser ended cooperation after receiving threatening calls and received a settlement from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, according to reporting. Summary: The overlap between the Iran strikes and newly noted gaps in the Epstein-related files corresponded with a measurable decline in public attention to those documents. Congressional oversight and journalistic inquiries into the missing pages are ongoing, and Pam Bondi’s April 14 testimony is a planned next step in those reviews.