THE NEW YORK TIMES: Donald Trump demands inquiry into Epstein’s ties to prominent democrats
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he wanted the Justice Department to investigate high-profile Democrats — including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and venture capitalist and megadonor Reid Hoffman — who he alleged had ties to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a social media post, Trump blasted Democrats for “using the Epstein Hoax” to distract from the recent government shutdown, and said that federal law enforcement would order investigations into members of their party, who he insinuated were involved in Epstein’s sex-trafficking of girls.
“This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,” Trump wrote. “Records show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his ‘Island.’ Stay tuned!!!”
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Trump said he would be asking Attorney General Pam Bondi, “and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI,” to conduct the investigation into the “involvement and relationship” between Epstein and the Democrats.
Trump also wrote that it would also include “J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions.”
The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment.
The demand appeared to be a retaliatory move after Democrats released emails earlier this week that suggested Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation was deeper than previously known.
On Wednesday, House Democrats released emails in which Epstein wrote that Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s victims, and that Trump “knew about the girls,” many of whom were later found by investigators to have been underage.
Epstein also wrote in an email: “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop,” referring to his confidant Ghislaine Maxwell.
The White House has maintained that Trump was not involved in Epstein’s operations, had cut off his friendship with Epstein in the mid-2000s and that the latest document releases were an attempt to smear him.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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Originally published on The New York Times
