‘Absolutely screwed up on Epstein files’: Vance tells Joe Rogan, claims Israel wants Iran war to continue ‘indefinitely’

US Vice Preisdent JD Vance has admitted that the Donald Trump administration mishandled the release of the Epstein files. Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, Vance said the Trump administration got the release of the FBI documents related to the probe into the influential sex offender wrong.

“We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files,” Vance told Rogan during the nearly 3-hour-long podcast. “We just did. But do I think the reason we screwed up the comms is because we were trying to hide something? No.”

Pam Bondi ‘overstated’

The US Vice President, who said he was one of the “OG Epstein conspiracy theorists,” however, added that the idea that Trump had been blackmailed was “crazy to me.”

The second Trump administration assumed office with a promise to make all the Epstein files public. The then-Attorney General Pam Bondi even claimed that an alleged “client list” of Epstein’s was “sitting on my desk right now,” something that she, the Justice Department, and the Trump administration had to walk back on.

Vance admitted that the Bondi was “roasted” publicly and led people to “mistrust” the administration’s transparency efforts on the Epstein files. According to him, the former Attorney General overstated the documents the Justice Department had on Jeffrey Epstein.

“I know Pam. I like Pam. I don’t think there was anything malicious going on,” Vance said. “I think Pam was trying to respond to the political moment. I think she overstated what we had and what we didn’t have.”

JD Vance on US-Iran war

41-year-old Vance, seen as one of the most likely contenders to succeed Trump as the Republican candidate in the 2028 presidential election, also spoke about the ongoing US war with Iran, something he initially disagreed with the President over.

When asked, “If it was your call, would you have done exactly the same thing?” Vance told Rogan, “The president said publicly that JD was ‘less enthusiastic’ about it- I think was the exact phrase that he used.”

Vance, however, said that he would support any decision the president made, as long as he thought the decision was “legal and ethical.” According to the US Vice President, the goal of the war was to ensure Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons.

“The goal is certainly good, which is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon,” Vance said.

The US and Israel launched the attacks on Iran on February 28. Despite the initial strikes decapitating the Iranian administration, the attempted regime change has not happened yet, and those inside Tehran’s power circles, including top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, have further strengthened their hold over the country.

Is US fighting Israel's war?

As the war drags on, many critics have argued that the US was pulled into the conflict by Israel, despite Trump’s no new wars promise during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Vance rejected the claims and said that Trump was “completely separate from any influence from Israel.”

When asked if the US would have continued with the war if it wasn’t for the influence of Israel, Vance said: “Yes, I do.”

Interestingly, Vance, who was the lead negotiator for the US during the Pakistan-hosted talks with Iran, acknowledged that some elements in Israel want the war to continue ‘indefinitely ’.

“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to, like, actually shift us away from [negotiations] because they want to continue the military campaign,” Vance said.

“There are some people within their system, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely,” he added. “Again, not towards any objective, but just indefinitely.”