President Donald Trump on Friday said he will ask the Justice Department to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's alleged ties with U.S. bank JPMorgan (JPM.N), and prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, as the Republican's relationship with the disgraced financier is back in the spotlight.
The request comes two days after a congressional committee released thousands of documents that raised new questions about Trump's relationship with the late convicted sex offender, and marks the latest in a series of demands by Trump for federal law enforcement to pursue his perceived political enemies.
The Epstein scandal has been a political thorn in Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe the government has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019.
Along with Clinton, who socialized with 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. All three men were mentioned in the 20,000 Epstein-related documents released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.
"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 run!"
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A JPMorgan spokesperson said in an emailed statement: "We regret any association we had with the man, but did not help him commit his heinous acts."
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to vote next week on legislation that would force the Justice Department 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 maneuvered to try to block the vote. It would also require the Senate to pass similar legislation and Trump's approval to compel the Justice Department to act.
JPMorgan paid $290 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 Epstein, who was a client of the bank between 1998 and 2013. The bank did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement.
No credible evidence has surfaced that Clinton, Summers or Hoffman were involved in Epstein's sex trafficking. All have previously denied wrongdoing and have expressed regret about their relationships with him.
Clinton flew on Epstein's private jet several times before the financier's 2008 conviction, while Summers accepted philanthropic gifts from Epstein while serving as president of Harvard University. Hoffman has acknowledged meeting with Epstein multiple times in professional situations.
Before his 2008 conviction, Epstein worked and socialized with a long list of well-known figures, including the UK's former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his royal title due in part to his association with Epstein.
Trump has harnessed the Justice Department to target other political opponents, some of whom now face criminal charges that outside experts have described as politically motivated.
