You are on target about Bondi.
The following is just me trying to make sense of this, with criticism welcome. Trump directed, or at least acquiesced to, what Bondi was doing. I think something happened, or entered Trump’s mind, that caused him to order his employees to kill the Epstein story. Not sure if this was to cover up for Epstein associates or himself, or to protect intel channels, or maybe Trump was jealous of Bondi/others getting too much attention over it, who knows. Several things (the awkward way it was handled, Bondi’s rookie performance at the cabinet-meeting press op, the Bongino angst, Trump’s subsequent expression of support for Bondi, et al.) suggest that Trump directed the 180 and the others were following orders loyally but unhappily.
I think at least part of what President Trump said was true.
There probably were some “ringers” the previous administration left in the files.
It was going to be tough to explain them—and he did not want to go there.
If so it was a tough call—and I disagree with it fwiw—and it made his staff look like clowns.