Last year, MAGA influencer Rogan O’Handley participated in an infamous White House photo op, where he was photographed alongside likeminded activists holding a binder labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1.”
Unfortunately, the much anticipated release by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi turned out to contain nothing new about the crimes of the politically-connected pedophile Jeffrey Epstein – leaving MAGA figures who had spent years demanding new information feeling cheated.
Now, he says he regrets the experience and plans to play no role in the administration’s next promised disclosure: the UFO files.
“Happy to report that I will *not* be helping release the UFO Files,” O’Handley, known as DC Draino, wrote on X to his 2.3 million followers on Wednesday.
In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to release records related to unidentified aerial phenomena and extraterrestrial life. None have been made public so far, but FBI Director Kash Patel said this week that documents would be disclosed “very soon.”
“If someone tries to hand me a binder, I will let it fall to the ground,” O’Handley wrote. After a commenter observed that he had learned his lesson, he responded: “To say the least lol.”
O’Handley was one of 15 right-wing influencers to travel to the White House on February 27, 2025, where Bondi handed them binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1.” They were spotted smiling and proudly displaying the materials to the press outside the West Wing.
But, their enthusiasm over the government’s willingness to release records related to convicted sex offender Epstein – who died in a New York jail while facing charges of child trafficking in 2019 – quickly faded.
After flipping through the documents contained in the binders, several influencers complained that they appeared to contain nothing more than information that was already publicly available.
Bondi later put out a statement saying, “The first phase of declassified files largely contains documents that have been previously leaked but never released in a formal capacity by the U.S. Government.”
In July, the DOJ released a memo stating it would make no further disclosures in the case, sparking a wave of backlash from high‑profile MAGA figures over broken promises.
It was only after Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November — following mounting pressure from Democrats and several Republicans — that the DOJ began releasing its files on Epstein in compliance with the new federal law.
Millions of documents — many naming prominent politicians such as Trump and former President Bill Clinton — were eventually released, though large portions were heavily redacted. Neither man has been accused of any criminal offense in relation to their previous friendship with the disgraced financier, and both have denied any wrongdoing.
In January, then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the DOJ had finished publishing its files related to Epstein.
“Today’s release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act,” Blanche, who is now acting attorney general, said at a news conference.
Yet a number of lawmakers have complained that numerous records are still being withheld.
“I write to express serious concerns regarding the Department of Justice’s failure to provide transparency about the full universe of records associated with the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, including the approximately six million files the Department has repeatedly referenced but not fully released,” Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, wrote to Blanche in April.
On Wednesday, Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, testified behind closed doors to the House Oversight Committee about his own relations with Epstein. Lutnick has not been accused of any offense.
Bondi – who was fired as Attorney General in April – is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month about her role in handling the release of the Epstein files.
Several polls show that many Americans are dissatisfied with the way the administration has handled the Epstein files. According to a YouGov survey released in February, 53 percent of Americans believe Trump is “trying to cover up Epstein’s crimes.”
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