President Trump on Friday demanded that the Justice Department open criminal investigations into several high-profile Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Democratic megadonor and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, accusing them of maintaining close ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
In a lengthy social-media post, Trump blasted Democrats for āusing the Epstein Hoaxā as a political weapon during the shutdown fight and said federal law enforcement would examine what he suggested were long-standing connections to Epsteinās underage sex-trafficking network.
āThis is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,ā Trump wrote.
He added, āRecords show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his āIsland.ā Stay tuned!!!ā
Trump said he had directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department ātogether with our great patriots at the FBIā to investigate the āinvolvement and relationshipā between Epstein and top Democratic figures.
Hours later, Bondi confirmed she had already assigned a prosecutor to oversee the probe.
āThank you, Mr. President. SDNY U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton is one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country, and Iāve asked him to take the lead,ā she wrote on X.
āAs with all matters, the Department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people,ā Bondi added.
Trump also said investigators should examine āJ.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutionsā in connection with Epsteinās network.
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The presidentās announcement followed a new batch of unverified emails released earlier in the week by House Democrats, which they claimed showed that Trumpās knowledge of Epsteinās criminal activity was deeper than previously known.
On Wednesday, Democrats published messages in which Epstein claimed Trump had āspent hours at my houseā with one of his victims and āknew about the girls.ā
Epstein added in another message, āOf course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop,ā referring to Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted of conspiring in Epsteinās crimes.
Republicans responded by releasing their own collection of emails from Epsteinās estate, some of which also referenced Trump, intensifying the partisan clash and reviving demands for the full release of all government-held Epstein records.
The competing document dumps have renewed national debate over Epsteinās extensive social circle and longstanding ties to prominent public figures.
The White House has repeatedly said Trump played no role in Epsteinās trafficking operation and severed ties with him nearly two decades ago.
āThese emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong,ā White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.
She added, āAnd what President Trump has always said is that he was from Palm Beach and so was Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein was a member at Mar-a-Lago until President Trump kicked him out because Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile and he was a creep.ā
The House of Representatives is preparing for an expedited vote to release all Justice Department records related to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and Speaker Mike Johnson has offered new details on the timeline.Ā With the necessary support secured following the end of the 43-day government shutdown, Johnson said Wednesday that he plans to bring a bipartisan bill requiring the release of the files to the House floor in the coming days,Ā Newsweek reported.
āWeāre going to put that on the floor for a full vote when we get back next week,ā Johnson told reporters, adding that the House Oversight Committee had ābeen working around the clockā on its own probe of Epstein.
