US Justice Department heeds Trump’s demand to probe Epstein ties with Democrats

WASHINGTON – The US Justice Department said on Nov 14 it will fulfil President Donald Trump’s request to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s ties with former Democratic president Bill Clinton and JPMorgan, as Mr Trump sought to shift the focus from his relationship with the convicted sex offender. 

The move comes two days after a congressional committee released thousands of documents that raised new questions about Mr Trump’s relationship with the late financier,
and marks the latest in a series of demands by Mr Trump for federal law enforcement to pursue his perceived political enemies.

Attorney-General Pam Bondi said Mr Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, will lead the investigation. 

The Epstein scandal has been a political thorn in Mr Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe Ms Bondi and other Trump officials have covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019.

Mr Trump has harnessed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to target other perceived political enemies, notably former FBI director James Comey and New York State Attorney-General Letitia James, both of whom were charged after Mr Trump replaced the prosecutor leading the cases.

‘Not how it’s supposed to work’

Legal experts say Mr Trump’s demands could undermine the criminal cases that emerge from those probes, as judges can dismiss cases found to be motivated by “vindictive prosecution” – which both Mr Comey and Ms James have raised, though judges have not yet ruled on their requests to dismiss the cases.

Mr Patrick J. Cotter, a former federal prosecutor, said it was “outrageously inappropriate” for Mr Trump to order the department to investigate individual citizens, adding:  “That’s not how it’s supposed to work.” 

Along with Mr Clinton, who socialised with Epstein in the early 2000s, Mr Trump said he had asked the DOJ to investigate former Treasury secretary Larry Summers, and Mr Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn founder who is also a prominent Democratic donor. All three men were mentioned in the 20,000 Epstein-related documents released by the House Oversight Committee on Nov 12.

“Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat’s problem, not the Republican’s problem!” Mr Trump wrote on social media. “They all know about him, don’t waste your time with Trump. I have a Country to run!”

JPMorgan said in a statement the US bank regrets its past association with Epstein, who was a client between 1998 and 2013, and did not help him commit “heinous acts” .

Mr Clinton’s deputy chief of staff Angel Urena said on X: “These e-mails prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing. “The rest is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and who knows what else.”

In a post on X, Mr Hoffman called on Mr Trump to release all of the Epstein files, saying his only engagement with Epstein was to raise funds for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“I want this complete release because it will show that the calls for baseless investigations of me are nothing more than political persecution and slander,” he said.

Mr Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The DOJ’s decision to acquiesce to Mr Trump’s demand came despite a July memo in which the department and the FBI said there was no “evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties” in the Epstein case.

“This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list’,” the memo said. “There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.”

Trump faces continued pressure over Epstein

Mr Trump and Epstein were friends during the 1990s and the 2000s, but Mr Trump says he broke off ties before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Mr Trump has consistently denied knowing about the late financier’s abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls. Still, some of Mr Trump’s most ardent supporters have accused his administration of a cover-up. Mr Trump, who frequently engages with reporters, has declined to take questions over the last several days as new revelations about Epstein became public.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to vote next week on legislation that would force the DOJ to release all of the material it holds on Epstein, who was facing federal charges of sex trafficking minors at the time of his suicide.

The measure is expected to pass, even after House Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly manoeuvred to try to block the vote. It would also require the Senate to pass similar legislation and Mr Trump’s approval to compel the DOJ to act.

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

Trump ‘trying to distract’

“Trump is clearly desperately trying to distract from his own presence in the Epstein e-mails,” said Professor Alan Rozenshtein, a University of Minnesota law professor and former Justice Department lawyer.

JPMorgan paid US$290 million (S$376 million) in 2023 to some of Epstein’s victims to settle accusations that it had turned a blind eye to his sex trafficking. The deal followed embarrassing disclosures that JPMorgan ignored internal warnings and overlooked red flags about a valued client. The bank did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement.

No credible evidence has surfaced that Mr Clinton, Mr Summers or Mr Hoffman had been involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking. All have previously denied wrongdoing and have expressed regret about their relationships with him.

Mr Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet several times before the financier’s 2008 conviction, while Mr Summers accepted philanthropic gifts from Epstein while serving as president of Harvard University. Mr Hoffman has acknowledged meeting Epstein multiple times in professional situations. 

Before his 2008 conviction, Epstein worked and socialised with a long list of well-known figures, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his royal title due in part to his association with Epstein.

Mr Clayton, the prosecutor who will head the probe into Mr Clinton, JPMorgan and the other figures, is a political independent who chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission during Mr Trump’s first White House term. REUTERS