I’ve long advised non-political PR practitioners that they should pay close attention to the political scene because there are many lessons that are used by political operatives that can be used on non-political accounts.
In this essay, I’ll identify the many mistakes made by the Trump administration, especially Pam Bundy, the U.S. Attorney General, that has resulted in the Epstein files becoming a major, long-running PR crisis for the president.
The grand-daddy of mistakes that led to the current PR crisis was when Ms. Bondi distributed documents in a binder, according to Politico, that supposedly contained new information about the Epstein affair, but did not follow through with her promise to release all the files after she learned they contained numerous references to President Trump.
Lesson to be learned: Never promise the media or a client that you are going to do something unless you intend to do so. Not doing so can result in a loss of confidence in you by the client and distrust of you by the media. Ms. Bondi said in February 2025 that she had an Epstein “client list,” reported NPR. But in July 2025 the Justice Department said that a “review found no such list and no evidence of Epstein blackmailing prominent individuals.”
Lesson to be learned: By Ms. Bondi saying one thing and her department denying such a list existed, it caused immediate suspicion of a cover-up, leading to the negative media coverage that continues today and will continue until next year’s congressional elections, (maybe longer). Account teams should always be consistent in comments to the media.
By not releasing the files, Democrats accused the Republicans of trying to protect some of their supporters from criminal charges:
Lesson to be learned: Attempting to conceal information from the media, after saying you would release it invariably leads to expansive negative media coverage. There’s only one way to assure that information you want to keep confidential is never reported on – never talk about it.
After a surprise coalition of Democrats and Republicans forced the release of the files, the administration opted to do so piecemeal.
Lesson to be learned: That was a mistake. Dribbling out the files leads to continuous negative media coverage and accusations of a cover-up. Better to release them all at once to refute charges that you are engaging in a cover-up.
After reviewing the first batch of files provided by the Justice Department, Democrats said only three percent of the information was new. The remaining 97 percent had previously been released some time ago by various state and federal agencies.
Lesson to be learned: Never try to hoodwink reporters. It results in additional negative news stories as well as a distrust of the individuals who released the information and gives credence to charges of a cover-up.
Adding fuel to the fire was the ill conceived movement of Ghislaine Maxwell, “Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Conspiring With Jeffrey Epstein To Sexually Abuse Minors.” After being interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, (who was a criminal defense lawyer representing President Trump in a trail), Ms. Maxwell was transferred from prison to what is called a “country club” after she said that she “never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way.” The transfer to a more lenient prison added a new element to the negative media coverage. Reporter’s than wrote articles that the transfer was due to Ms. Maxwell lying to protect the President.
Lesson to be learned: In this case having a member of the administration question Ms. Maxwell and then release the transcript did not stop the negative news coverage. It provided fuel to the fire. If you want to engage a third person to bolster your argument that your client did no wrong, always make certain that the individual is a well respected authority, not a criminally convicted person like Ms. Maxwell, who in addition to being a partner in crime with Mr. Epstein was also charged with perjury. In addition to the prison sentence, Ms. Maxwell was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $750,000 fine.
The Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein affair demonstrates the worst way that a person or entity can respond to a PR crisis.
Among the most important lessons, PR practitioners should remember is that years before PR crises specialists advised clients to tell the truth (but not necessarily the whole truth and nothing but most of the truth) political PR operatives knew that trying to hide the truth often leads to making a situation worse. Google how President Nixon attempted to conceal the truth during the Watergate scandal. Or how President Clinton was impeached for lying under oath about his affair with Monica Lewinski. And President Trump was impeached for soliciting foreign interference to help his 2020 re-election and then instructing his colleagues to ignore subpoenas for documents and testimony, obstructing the inquiry. Obviously, not coming clean made these individuals’ problems worse. Telling the truth might have resulted in a mere slap on the hand.
PR practitioners should remember that everything a person says during a crisis will be fact checked for truthfulness and that misleading reporters always leads to continuing negative coverage.
It’s difficult to disagree with President Trump’s approach to public relations considering his success. But until you become President of the United States, following his approach is not suggested. It is a road to PR disaster.
During a PR crisis, there are six rules that always should be remembered:
- Initial responses should always be empathetic.
- Do not try to avoid accepting responsibility.
- Do not rush out a statement.
- Do not be pressured by the media.
- Never lie or mislead the media.
- And most important: Protecting the client is always at the top of the “to do” list, so always clear everything with the corporate attorney.
Also, remember the maxim I originated many decades ago, which still makes sense today and has been co-opted by others without giving credit to the originator: “Unlike clothing, there is no one size fits all PR crisis plan; every crisis situation deserves original thinking.”
And remember to pay attention to happenings on the political scene. You can learn lessons that were never covered in communication school’s textbooks.
