US President Donald Trump on Friday urged the Department of Justice and the FBI to open a formal investigation into former President Bill Clinton’s relationship with the late financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The call marks Trump’s most direct intervention yet in a scandal that has resurfaced following the release of new email records linked to Epstein.
The president’s remarks appeared aimed at shifting public attention as renewed scrutiny has fallen on his own past associations with Epstein.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump demanded probes not only into Clinton but also into JPMorgan Chase, former Harvard University president Larry Summers, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and several other high-profile figures who were connected to Epstein over the years.
Trump accused Democratic leaders of weaponising the scandal to divert attention from the recent bipartisan deal to end a protracted US government shutdown, calling the controversy a “Democrat problem” rather than a Republican one.
“I will be asking A.G. Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions,” Trump wrote.
He claimed records show that several of these individuals “spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his ‘Island.’’
Clinton, who long acknowledged knowing Epstein and flying on his private jet on several occasions, has repeatedly denied ever visiting Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean, a claim seemingly supported by 2011 emails in the newly released trove.
The latest batch of emails, subpoenaed by Congress from Epstein’s estate, has revived longstanding speculation about the financier’s network of relationships.
According to excerpts made public this week, the correspondence included messages alleging Trump “knew about the girls” and describing extended time spent with Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most well-known accusers.
Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, had reportedly described Trump as “friendly,” according to the White House.
There has been no immediate response from Clinton, Summers, Hoffman, or JPMorgan Chase, the bank that agreed in 2023 to pay $290 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by Epstein’s victims over its handling of his accounts.
Although Trump has not been accused of criminal misconduct in connection with the Epstein case, the issue has dogged his second term since his return to the Oval Office in January.
His administration faced internal unrest earlier this year when the Justice Department reaffirmed that Epstein died by suicide in 2019 and dismissed claims that a so-called “client list” existed.
The scandal intensified midweek after the release of the subpoenaed emails, prompting divisions within the Republican-led House of Representatives.
A group of MAGA-aligned lawmakers forced a vote scheduled for next week that would compel the Justice Department to release its remaining Epstein-related files.
In a new social-media post, Trump attempted to distance himself from the congressional push, telling supporters: “Don’t waste your time with Trump. I have a Country to run!”
Six years after Epstein’s death, questions surrounding the full extent of his alleged trafficking ring and the powerful individuals who orbited him continued to fuel political, legal, and media battles in the US and abroad.
With fresh disclosures expected from both Congress and the Justice Department, the scandal appears set to remain a defining flashpoint in Washington’s political landscape.
