United States Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Friday (15) that she asked a federal prosecutor to investigate businessman Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to political opponents of United States President Donald Trump, such as former American President Bill Clinton.
Bondi posted on social media site X that she was assigning Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead the investigation, capping a busy week in which congressional Republicans released nearly 23,000 pages of documents on Epstein and House Democrats.
The American president, who was friends with Epstein for years, did not explain what alleged crimes he wanted the Justice Department to investigate. None of the men he mentioned in a Truth Social post demanding the investigation have been charged with
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Trump demands investigation
Hours before Bondi’s announcement, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he would ask the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate the case, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman.
Trump pointed out that “the Epstein hoax involves Democrats and not Republicans” and that the investigation should also include JP Morgan, which provided banking services to Epstein, and “many other people and institutions.”
In a July memo about the Epstein investigation, the FBI said: “We have not uncovered evidence that could support an investigation against uncharged third parties.”
The president’s demand for an investigation — and Bondi’s quick compliance — is the latest example of the erosion of the traditional independence of the White House Justice Department since Trump took office.
Focus shift
The investigation is also an attempt to divert focus. For decades, Trump himself has been scrutinized for his closeness to Epstein — although, like the people he now wants to investigate, he has not been accused of sexual misconduct by Epstein’s victims.
A spokeswoman for JPMorgan Chase, Patricia Wexler, said the company regretted its association with Epstein “but did not help him commit his heinous acts.”
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“The government had damning information about his crimes and failed to share it with us or other banks,” she said. The company previously agreed to pay millions of dollars to Epstein’s victims, who sued arguing the bank ignored warning signs of criminal activity.
Former American President Bill Clinton acknowledged that he traveled on Epstein’s private jet, but said through a spokesman that he had no knowledge of the late financier’s crimes. He was also never accused of misconduct by Epstein’s known victims.
Epstein dreams of Trump
Deputies from the Democratic Party released on Wednesday, 12, a series of emails in which businessman Jeffrey Epstein stated that the American president knew about the crimes committed by the tycoon and “spent hours” with one of Epstein’s victims.
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After the emails were released, the White House accused Democrats of trying to defame the president. “The fact is that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club. These stories are nothing more than bad faith attempts to divert attention from President Trump’s historic achievements,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
On the other hand, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said the emails raised new questions about the relationship between Epstein and Trump. The documents came into the hands of the opposition after the committee subpoenaed the businessman’s estate in court to hand them over.
In one of the emails Epstein alludes to Trump having been one of the only members of his personal circle to not speak out about the accusations against him and adds: “She (a victim) spent hours at my house with him (Trump), and he was never mentioned (in the proceedings) once.”
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In another email, this one addressed to journalist Michael Wolff, Trump’s biographer, when the Republican was in the White House, Epstein says that Trump “knew about the girls” he was abusing, “so much so that he (Trump) asked Ghislaine (his partner, convicted of child trafficking) to stop.”/com AP
