At Trump’s urging, Bondi says U.S. will examine Epstein’s ties to foes : NPR

NEW YORK — Acceding to President Donald Trump’s calls for, U.S. Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi mentioned Friday that she has ordered a prime federal prosecutor to analyze intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Trump political foes, together with former President Invoice Clinton.

Bondi posted on X that she was assigning Manhattan U.S. Legal professional Jay Clayton to steer the probe, capping an eventful week through which congressional Republicans launched practically 23,000 pages of paperwork from Epstein’s property and Home Democrats seized on emails mentioning Trump.

Trump, who was pals with Epstein for years, did not clarify what supposed crimes he wished the Justice Division to analyze. Not one of the males he talked about in a social media put up demanding the probe has been accused of sexual misconduct by any of Epstein’s victims.

Hours earlier than Bondi’s announcement, Trump posted on his Reality Social platform that he would ask her, the Justice Division and the FBI to analyze Epstein’s “involvement and relationship” with Clinton and others, together with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman.

Trump, calling the matter “the Epstein Hoax, involving Democrats, not Republicans,” mentioned the investigation also needs to embrace monetary large JPMorgan Chase, which offered banking companies to Epstein, and “many different folks and establishments.”

“That is one other Russia, Russia, Russia Rip-off, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,” the Republican president wrote, referring to particular counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of alleged Russian interference in Trump’s 2016 election victory over Invoice Clinton’s spouse, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Requested later Friday whether or not he needs to be ordering up such investigations, Trump advised reporters aboard Air Pressure One: “I am the chief regulation enforcement officer of the nation. I am allowed to do it.”

In a July memo relating to the Epstein investigation, the FBI mentioned, “We didn’t uncover proof that might predicate an investigation in opposition to uncharged third events.”

The president’s demand for an investigation — and Bondi’s fast acquiescence — is the most recent instance of the erosion of the Justice Division’s conventional independence from the White Home since Trump took workplace.

Additionally it is a unprecedented try at deflection. For many years, Trump himself has been scrutinized for his closeness to Epstein — although just like the folks he now desires investigated, he has not been accused of sexual misconduct by Epstein’s victims.

None of Trump’s proposed targets have been accused of intercourse crimes

A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson, Patricia Wexler, mentioned the corporate regretted associating with Epstein “however didn’t assist him commit his heinous acts.”

“The federal government had damning details about his crimes and did not share it with us or different banks,” she mentioned. The corporate agreed beforehand to pay thousands and thousands of {dollars} to Epstein’s victims, who had sued arguing that the financial institution ignored purple flags about legal exercise.

Clinton has acknowledged touring on Epstein’s non-public jet however has mentioned by way of a spokesperson that he had no data of the late financier’s crimes. He additionally has by no means been accused of misconduct by Epstein’s recognized victims.

Clinton’s deputy chief of workers Angel Ureña posted on X Friday: “These emails show Invoice Clinton did nothing and knew nothing. The remaining is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and who is aware of what else.”

Epstein pleaded responsible in Florida in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage woman, however was spared an extended jail time period when the U.S. lawyer in Florida agreed to not prosecute him over allegations that he had paid many different youngsters for sexual acts. After serving a few 12 months in jail and a piece launch program, Epstein resumed his enterprise and social life till federal prosecutors in New York revived the case in 2019. Epstein killed himself whereas awaiting trial on intercourse trafficking prices.

Summers and Hoffman had nothing to do with both case, however each have been pleasant with Epstein and exchanged emails with him. These messages have been among the many paperwork launched this week, together with different correspondence Epstein had with pals and enterprise associates within the years earlier than his loss of life.

Nothing within the messages steered any wrongdoing on the lads’s half, aside from associating with somebody who had been accused of intercourse crimes in opposition to youngsters.

Summers, who served in Clinton’s cupboard and is a former Harvard College president, beforehand mentioned in an announcement that he has “nice regrets in my life” and that “my affiliation with Jeffrey Epstein was a serious error of judgement.”

On social media Friday night time, Hoffman referred to as for Trump to launch all of the Epstein information, saying they may present that “the requires baseless investigations of me are nothing greater than political persecution and slander.” He added, “I used to be by no means a shopper of Epstein’s and by no means had any engagement with him aside from fundraising for MIT.” Hoffman bankrolled author E. Jean Carroll’s sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit in opposition to Trump.

After Epstein’s intercourse trafficking arrest in 2019, Hoffman mentioned he’d solely had a number of interactions with Epstein, all associated to his fundraising for MIT’s Media Lab. He however apologized, saying that “by agreeing to take part in any fundraising exercise the place Epstein was current, I helped to restore his fame and perpetuate injustice.”

Bondi, in her put up, praised Clayton as “some of the succesful and trusted prosecutors within the nation” and mentioned the Justice Division “will pursue this with urgency and integrity to ship solutions to the American folks.”

Trump referred to as Clayton “an excellent man, an excellent lawyer,” although he mentioned Bondi selected him for the job.

Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Change Fee throughout Trump’s first time period, took over in April as U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York — the identical workplace that indicted Epstein and received a intercourse trafficking conviction in opposition to Epstein’s longtime confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell, in 2021.

Trump adjustments course on Epstein information

Trump steered whereas campaigning final 12 months that he’d search to open up the federal government’s case information on Epstein, however modified course in current months, blaming Democrats and portray the matter as a “hoax” amid questions on what data he might have had about Epstein’s yearslong exploitation of underage women.

On Wednesday, Democrats on the Home Oversight Committee launched three Epstein e-mail exchanges that referenced Trump, together with one from 2019 through which Epstein mentioned the president “knew in regards to the women” and requested Maxwell to cease.

White Home spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt accused Democrats of getting “selectively leaked emails” to smear Trump.

Quickly after, Republicans on the committee disclosed a far greater trove of Epstein’s e-mail correspondence, together with messages he despatched to longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon and to Britain’s former Prince Andrew, now referred to as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Andrew settled a lawsuit out of court docket with certainly one of Epstein’s victims, who mentioned she had been paid to have intercourse with the prince.

The Home is dashing towards a vote subsequent week to pressure the Justice Division to launch all information and communications associated to Epstein.

“I do not care about it, launch or not,” Trump mentioned Friday. “If you are going to do it, then you must go into Epstein’s pals,” he added, naming Clinton and Hoffman.

Nonetheless, he mentioned: “This can be a Democrat hoax. And a pair, a number of Republicans have gone together with it as a result of they’re weak and ineffective.”