Joe Rogan is once again blasting the Trump administration over its handling of the Epstein files, criticizing the president’s repeated claims that the scandal is a “hoax” following the latest release of Department of Justice documents.
During Thursday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the podcaster and MMA commentator said the administration’s response is only making things worse.
“None of this is good for this administration. It looks f****** terrible,” Rogan said. “It looks terrible for Trump, when he was saying that none of this was real, this is all a hoax. This is not a hoax.”
Rogan’s comments came after the DOJ released another massive batch of Epstein-related material. The document dump reportedly included more than 3 million files, along with 180,000 pictures and 2,000 videos, and was released on January 30. However, despite the volume, many details involving possible associates or co-conspirators connected to Jeffrey Epstein remained heavily redacted.
The lack of transparency has drawn anger across the political spectrum. Under pressure from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, the DOJ later unredacted the names of at least six “wealthy, powerful men,” including Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
According to the newly revealed documents, Epstein and the Emirati billionaire allegedly exchanged messages over several years, discussing sex and sharing links to fetish-related websites. One of the most disturbing revelations was an email in which Epstein told bin Sulayem he “loved the torture video.”
Being mentioned in the files does not automatically indicate wrongdoing, and bin Sulayem has not been charged with any crime related to Epstein. Reports also indicate his name appears more than 5,000 times in the released material.
Rogan reacted strongly to the exchange. “What the f*** man?” Rogan said. “And why is his name redacted? Why would your name be redacted if you’re not a victim? Like, this is what’s crazy about all this.
“How come you redact some people and you don’t redact other people? Like, what is this? This is not good.” Rogan, who has around 14.5 million Spotify followers, has had a complicated political relationship with Trump. He has criticized the former president at times but also supported him on certain issues, even hosting Trump on the podcast during the 2024 campaign.
Recently, Rogan has become increasingly outspoken about policies he disagrees with, including aggressive immigration enforcement. Still, Rogan appeared to leave room for uncertainty about Trump’s personal knowledge of the files.
“Maybe he didn’t know, if you want to be charitable, but this is definitely not a hoax,” he said. “And if you’ve redacted people’s names and these people aren’t victims, you’re not protecting the victim. So what are you doing? And how come all this s*** is not released?”
The controversy has only intensified as both Democrats and Republicans demand more transparency. In response to growing outrage, the DOJ announced that members of Congress would be allowed to view the full unredacted files in person.
Lawmakers have reportedly been reviewing the complete documents through a secure terminal since Monday. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, along with Khanna and Massie, were among those who visited the DOJ to examine the files.
Raskin said one of Epstein’s victims was only nine years old. Massie also claimed that documents he reviewed suggested a senior foreign government official may have been connected to Epstein’s trafficking operation.