David Muir halts ABC news program for announcement about Trump and Epstein files(Image: ABC)

David Muir took fans by surprise on Thursday, July 24 when he started off ABC World News Tonight with “breaking news involving [Donald] Trump and the Jeffrey Epstein files.”

The 51-year-old host said, “The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche told President Trump back in May that his name appears in the Epstein files multiple times.”

Muir pointed out the previous comments Trump had said to ABC News anchor Katherine Faulders just the week prior when the president “denied that the attorney general told him his name was in the files.” It comes after a Trump family member revealed the latest chilling symptom of his cognitive decline and revealed he is “far gone”.

The host added, “The attorney general reportedly recommended to the president at the time to not release any more files and the president reportedly deferred to the justice department.”

David Muir halts ABC World News Tonight for breaking news about President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein(Image: ABC via Getty Images)

Before handing the matter over to Mary Bruce, he said, “Tonight, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Jeffrey Epstein’s former companion Ghislaine Maxwell, who of course is serving a 20-year prison sentence.”

Bruce then went more into the topic with more depth, saying the alleged reason the attorney general told Trump they were planning on not releasing the files was because “they contained child pornography and personal information about the victims.”

The president’s previous statement to Bruce was then rerun, allowing viewers to see him say, “no, no” when asked if he knows of his name appearing in the files.

Bruce brought up more of the Wall Street Journal’s findings, saying “there were other high-profile names in the documents.”

The reporter revealed Bondi had finally given a reason to why the files haven’t been disclosed.

“Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution,” she explained. “As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings.”

Bruce said “under pressure” Trump allegedly told Bondi to ask the courts in Florida to release the court testimonies in the Epstein case.

The anchor revealed, “Today, a Florida judge denied that request saying the DOJ didn’t provide enough of a justification for releasing that sensitive testimony, adding the ‘Court’s hands are tied.’”

Bruce then went on to shed light on Trump and Epstein’s “friendly” past. She played a clip from one of Epstein’s 2010 depositions, when he talks about his relationship to Trump.

At the time, Epstein was asked, “Have you ever had a personal relationship with Donald Trump?”

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein was “friendly,” according to ABC’s Mary Bruce(Image: Internet Unknown)

After a few moments of a pause, the felon responded, “What do you mean by a personal relationship, sir?”

The unidentified lawyer clarified, “Have you socialized with him?”

After Epstein confirmed, the attorney further questioned, “Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?”

Epstein then said, “Though I’d like to answer that question at least today, I’m going to have to assert my Fifth Amendment, sir.”

President Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing relating to the Epstein case. He has not been accused of any crimes by law enforcement nor has he been identified as the subject of any investigation.