Trump urges US Justice to probe Epstein-Democrats ties
US President Donald Trump said he has asked the Justice Department to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged ties to JPMorgan and prominent Democratic figures, including former president Bill Clinton.
The request came after a congressional committee released thousands of documents that raised new questions about Trump’s relationship with the convicted sex offender.
In addition to Clinton, who socialized with the late financier in the early 2000s, Trump said he wanted the Justice Department to investigate former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who is also a prominent Democratic donor.
“Epstein was a Democrat, and he is a Democrat problem, not a Republican problem!” he wrote on social media.
“They all know it, don’t waste your time with Trump. I have a Country to rule!”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
JPMorgan said in an emailed statement: “We regret our association with this man, but we did not help him commit his heinous acts. We ended our relationship with him years before his arrest on sex trafficking charges.”
Trump and Epstein were friends in the 1990s and 2000s, but Trump says he cut ties before Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
Still, the regular release of documents highlighting the relationship proved to be a headache during his second term in office.
JPMorgan paid US$290 million ($444 million) to some Epstein victims in 2023 to settle accusations that he turned a blind eye to sex trafficking.
Others named by Trump could not immediately be reached for comment.
No credible evidence has emerged that Trump or any of the people named by the US President on Friday were involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking, and all have previously denied wrongdoing.
Summers accepted philanthropic gifts from Epstein as president of Harvard University, while Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet several times before the financier’s 2008 conviction.
Hoffman acknowledged meeting with Epstein multiple times in professional situations.
All three men expressed regret over their relationships with her.
Before his conviction in 2008, Epstein worked and socialized with a long list of public figures, including the United Kingdom’s former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his royal title in part because of his relationship with Epstein.
While nine in 10 Republicans say they approve of Trump’s overall performance in the White House, just four in 10 Republicans say they approve of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, according to an October Reuters/Ipsos poll.
