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The US Justice Department said it will carry out President Donald Trump’s request to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged ties with former Democratic president Bill Clinton, as Trump sought to shift the focus from his own relationship with the convicted sex offender.
The move comes two days after a congressional committee released thousands of documents that raised new questions about Trump’s relationship with the late financier, and marks the latest in a series of demands by Trump for federal law enforcement to pursue his perceived political enemies.
Attorney general Pam Bondi on Friday said Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, will take the lead on the investigation.
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.

Numerous supporters of Trump suspect that Bondi, along with other officials from the Trump administration, have concealed Epstein’s connections with influential individuals and hidden the circumstances surrounding his 2019 suicide in a Manhattan detention center.

Along with Clinton, who socialised 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.
“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!”

JPMorgan, currently facing scrutiny, expressed regret over its previous dealings with Epstein, who was a client from 1998 until 2013. The financial institution emphasized that it played no part in facilitating Epstein’s “heinous acts.”

Epstein Trump.jpg

In an image from 1997, Jeffrey Epstein is seen alongside Donald Trump at Trump’s Florida residence. Source: Getty / Davidoff Studios Photography

In 2023, JPMorgan agreed to pay $290 million to several of Epstein’s victims in a settlement addressing claims that the bank ignored signs of his sex trafficking activities. While the bank compensated the victims, it did not acknowledge any liability in the matter.

Efforts to obtain remarks from Clinton and Summers have so far been unsuccessful, and attempts to contact Hoffman have also been unavailing.

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

Trump has consistently denied knowing about the late financier’s abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls.

Still, some of Trump’s most ardent supporters have accused his administration of a cover-up. Trump, who frequently engages with reporters, has declined to take questions over the last several days as new revelations about Epstein have become public.
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 manoeuvred 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.

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

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 socialised 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.
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