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Trump orders a criminal investigation into Epstein’s alleged ties to Clinton and other Democrats
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Trump orders a criminal investigation into Epstein’s alleged ties to Clinton and other Democrats

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The US Justice Department said it will carry out President Donald Trump’s request to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged ties to former Democratic President Bill Clinton, as Trump sought to shift the focus from his own relationship with the convicted sex offender.
The move comes two days after a congressional committee released thousands of documents that raised new questions about Trump’s relationship with the late financier, and marks the latest in a series of demands from Trump for federal law enforcement to pursue his perceived political enemies.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday that Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, will take the lead in the investigation.
The Epstein scandal has been a political thorn in Trump’s side for months, in part because he extended conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters.

Many Trump voters believe Bondi and other Trump officials covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and covered up details surrounding his death by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019.

Along with Clinton, who dated Epstein in the early 2000s, Trump said he had asked the Justice Department to investigate former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn founder who is also a prominent Democratic donor.
“Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat’s problem, not the Republican’s problem!” Trump wrote on social media. “They all know about him, don’t waste your time with Trump. I have a country to govern!”

JPMorgan, which is also under investigation, said in a statement that it regrets its past association with Epstein, who was a client between 1998 and 2013, and did not help him commit “heinous acts.”

Jeffrey Epstein (left) and Donald Trump at Trump’s Florida estate in 1997. Source: Getty / Davidoff Studios Photography

JPMorgan paid $290 million to some of Epstein’s victims in 2023 to settle allegations that it turned a blind eye to his sex trafficking. The bank admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.

Clinton and Summers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hofman was not immediately available for comment.

Trump faces continued pressure on Epstein

Trump and Epstein were friends in the 1990s and 2000s, but Trump says he cut ties before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges of soliciting a minor into prostitution.

Trump has consistently denied knowledge of the late financier’s abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls.

Still, some of Trump’s most ardent supporters have accused his administration of a cover-up. Trump, who is in regular contact with reporters, has refused to answer questions in recent days as new revelations about Epstein have become public.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to vote next week on legislation that would force the Justice Department to release all material it holds on Epstein, who was facing federal charges of sex trafficking of minors at the time of his suicide.
The measure is expected to pass even after House Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly tried to block the vote. It would also require the Senate to pass similar legislation and Trump’s approval to force the Justice Department to act.

Only four in 10 Reuters said in an October Reuters poll that they approved of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, well below the nine in 10 who approve of his overall performance in the White House.

No credible evidence has emerged that Clinton, Summers or Hoffman were involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking. All have previously denied wrongdoing and expressed regret over their relationships with him.
Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet several times before the financier’s conviction in 2008, while Summers accepted philanthropic gifts from Epstein while he was president of Harvard University. Hoffman has acknowledged meeting Epstein several times in professional situations.
Before his conviction in 2008, Epstein worked and socialized with a long list of well-known figures, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his royal title in part because of his association with Epstein.

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