U.S. Attorney generalPam Bondi on Friday ordered a top federal prosecutor to investigate Jeffrey Epsteinâs relationships with several of President Donald Trumpâs political opponents â a move made after Trump publicly demanded action.
According to The Associated Press, in a post on X, Bondi announced that Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton would lead the probe.
Her decision capped a tumultuous week marked by dueling document releases from both Republicans and Democrats involving Epsteinâs estate.
Trump, who had long known Epstein socially, did not specify what crimes he believed should be investigated. None of the individuals Trump named â including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman â have been accused of sexual misconduct by Epsteinâs victims.
Earlier Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he wanted Bondi, the Justice Department, and the FBI to examine Epsteinâs âinvolvement and relationshipâ with Clinton, Summers, Hoffman, JPMorgan Chase, and others. He labeled the matter âthe Epstein Hoax, involving Democrats, not Republicans,â comparing it to what he called the âRussia, Russia, Russia Scam.â
The documents released this week included thousands of pages of Epsteinâs emails, news articles, legal filings, and other material. While Epstein referenced Trump and Clinton in various messages over the years, none showed evidence of wrongdoing by either man.
Clinton has acknowledged traveling on Epsteinâs private jet but has said he had no knowledge of Epsteinâs criminal behavior. Neither Clinton nor Trump has been accused of misconduct by Epsteinâs accusers.
Epstein kept in touch at various points with Summers and Hoffman, according to the records. Summers has called his association with Epstein âa major error of judgement.â Hoffman has said his limited interactions with Epstein were tied to fundraising efforts for MITâs Media Lab and apologized after Epsteinâs 2019 arrest, saying he helped ârepair his reputation and perpetuate injustice.â None of Epsteinâs victims have accused Hoffman of wrongdoing.
Bondi called Clayton âone of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the countryâ and pledged that the Justice Department âwill pursue this with urgency and integrity.â
Clayton, a former SEC chairman under Trump, now leads the same federal office that previously prosecuted Epstein and secured a sex-trafficking conviction against Ghislaine Maxwell in 2021.
Trump has questioned the circumstances of Epsteinâs 2019 jailhouse death and suggested last year he might seek to reopen government files. More recently, however, he has shifted to portraying the matter as politically driven amid renewed attention to his own past ties to Epstein.
On Wednesday, House Democrats released three Epstein email exchanges that referenced Trump, including one in which Epstein wrote in 2019 that Trump âknew about the girlsâ and another from 2011 stating Trump had âspent hoursâ at his house with a sex-trafficking victim. The emails offered no details. The White House accused Democrats of âselectively leaked emailsâ aimed at smearing Trump.
Shortly afterward, Republicans released what they said was an additional 20,000 pages from Epsteinâs estate, including emails in which Epstein often criticized Trumpâs political rise and maintained contact with major academic and business figures well after his 2008 conviction.
Some emails detailed Epsteinâs close discussions with Summers on both political and personal matters. Others showed brief exchanges with Hoffman, including a 2015 message from Epstein commenting on Hoffmanâs diet program. Hoffman replied, âslow progress. planning to see you in August. Hope your well.â
