Gavin Newsom says Alcatraz will reopen the 'same day Trump releases the Epstein files'

Source: The Independent

Friday 18 July 2025 09:33 EDT


Gavin Newsom has called the Trump administration’s bluff, joking that the notorious Alcatraz prison in northern California will reopen the same day that the so-called “Epstein files” are released.

A spokesperson dismissed the idea previously touted by the president, following a visit to the island by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and embattled U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday.

“Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So, never,” Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s director of communications, told SFGATE. The visit by the two cabinet officials comes two months after Trump mulled over the idea of reopening the historic prison, announcing on Truth Social in May that he had directed the FBI and Homeland Security to look into the idea.

Democrats have blasted the idea, including California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who called it Trump’s "stupidest initiative yet."

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/newsom-trump-epstein-files-alcatraz-reopen-b2791649.html