Is there really a picture of trump with Pam Bondi at palm Beach in 1997?
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Executive summary
A widely circulated photograph claimed to show Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein and then-Florida prosecutor Pam Bondi in Palm Beach in 1997 is misidentified: the image in question shows Trump and Epstein with Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve at a Victoria’s Secret event, not Pam Bondi [1] [2]. While there are verified historical photos of Trump and Epstein together at social events in the 1990s and early 2000s, there is no reliable evidence in the provided reporting that a genuine 1997 photo exists showing Trump, Epstein and Pam Bondi together at Mar-a-Lago or Palm Beach [3] [1].
1. The specific photo being shared is real but miscaptioned
Fact-checkers traced the viral image to Getty Images and confirmed it depicts Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve at a Victoria’s Secret “Angels” party on April 28, 1997 — the woman is not Pam Bondi — a conclusion reported by Snopes and corroborated by a Meaww fact-check [1] [2].
2. Why the misidentification spread fast
The miscaption circulated amid renewed scrutiny of Epstein-related materials and the Justice Department’s handling of files, which primed audiences to connect any Trump–Epstein image to current controversies involving Attorney General Pam Bondi; social posts capitalized on that context even though the underlying photograph predated Bondi’s national profile [2] [3].
3. Documentary record: Trump and Epstein were photographed together, but not with Bondi in 1997
Multiple outlets have documented that Trump and Epstein attended the same parties and were photographed together in the 1990s and early 2000s — including Victoria’s Secret events and Mar-a-Lago gatherings — but the published archival photos identified by Getty and press reports list other attendees, not Bondi, for the 1997 images [3] [1] [4].
4. Recent political frictions have produced conflicting claims about deleted images
Lawmakers and media have accused the Department of Justice under Attorney General Bondi of removing photos from a public Epstein files release; House Oversight Democrats questioned whether a Trump–Epstein photo was deleted from DOJ materials, a claim reported by TMZ and amplified by commentators, but those accounts concern DOJ disclosure practices rather than proving the existence of a 1997 Trump–Epstein–Bondi Palm Beach photo [5] [6].
5. Alternative viewpoints and limits of the available reporting
Supporters of the claim that Bondi appears in such photos argue that other released Epstein files and personal archives could include different images, and some reporting alleges photos were removed from DOJ-hosted repositories [6] [5]. The sources provided do not produce a verified image of Trump, Epstein and Pam Bondi together in Palm Beach in 1997; absence of evidence in these reports is not a definitive proof that no such photo exists in any private or unreleased collection, a limitation of the available reporting [6] [5].
6. Bottom line with sources and credibility
The best-evidenced public photo tied to the 1997 claim shows Trump and Epstein with model Ingrid Seynhaeve at a New York Victoria’s Secret event, and reputable fact-checkers and image archives identify Seynhaeve rather than Pam Bondi [1] [2]. Claims that a Palm Beach 1997 photo exists showing Bondi alongside Trump and Epstein are unsupported by the cited photo archive and by mainstream fact-checking in the provided sources [1] [3].
7. Why this matters beyond a single image
Misidentified images can shape political narratives quickly — the conflation of Bondi into an Epstein–Trump frame intersects with current disputes over DOJ transparency and political loyalties, which is why fact-checkers, Getty’s archival captions, and congressional inquiries are all in the mix; readers should treat viral captions with skepticism and check original photo credits and archive metadata when possible [1] [5] [3].