Trump orders criminal probe into Epstein’s links with Clinton, Democrats

Washington: The Trump administration has ordered the Justice Department and FBI to investigate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s links to prominent Democrats, including former president Bill Clinton, dramatically raising the stakes in the political fallout over Epstein’s crimes.

President Donald Trump said on Friday (Saturday AEDT) that he would ask Attorney-General Pam Bondi to open the probe. Within hours, Bondi confirmed she had directed the US attorney for the Southern District of New York - Trump appointee Jay Clayton - to take the lead and act “with urgency and integrity”.

The Epstein saga returned to centre stage this week after Democrats released three emails from the disgraced financier’s estate that mentioned Trump, and Republicans responded by releasing 20,000 pages of Epstein-related documents that have shed light on his wide network of powerful contacts.

A looming vote in the House of Representatives will likely see dozens of Republicans vote with Democrats to support a bill to compel the release of the so-called Epstein files. While the bill has no practical effect unless passed by the Senate and signed by Trump, the president and his allies have urged Republicans not to join the push.

In a series of social media posts on Saturday (AEDT), Trump doubled down on his warnings to “weak … soft and foolish” Republicans and said he would direct Bondi to probe Epstein’s links to high-profile Democrats and institutions.

“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, JP Morgan, Chase [sic] and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him,” Trump posted.

“This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats. Records show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his ‘Island’. Stay tuned!!!”

Like Trump, Clinton was friends with Epstein but later cut ties, and says he knew nothing about the financier’s crimes. Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008, and died in jail in 2019 awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

Summers was Clinton’s treasury secretary and later ran the National Economic Council during Barack Obama’s presidency. His email exchanges with Epstein appeared in several of the documents released this week. He has previously expressed regret over his association with Epstein.

Hoffman, a billionaire entrepreneur, is a major Democratic donor who has apologised for helping rehabilitate Epstein’s image in 2015.

“Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat’s [sic] problem, not the Republican’s [sic] problem!” Trump wrote on social media. “Ask Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, and Larry Summers about Epstein, they know all about him, don’t waste your time with Trump. I have a Country to run!”

Trump’s public order to open the investigation – and Bondi’s rapid response – breaks with the well-established norm that the president does not directly involve himself in the actions of the Justice Department.

Trump has overtly departed from those norms. In September, he publicly directed Bondi to expedite prosecution of several of his political foes; Democratic senator Adam Schiff, former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney-General Letitia James.

“We can’t delay any longer,” Trump wrote at the time. CNN reported the Truth Social post was supposed to be a private message to Bondi. Since then, Comey and James have been indicted.

Unusually, Trump has not taken questions at press events in the past 48 hours, including at a bill signing event to reopen the federal government following a record 43-day shutdown.

Democrats timed the release of select Epstein emails to coincide with the day the shutdown ended, which enraged the president. The shutdown ended when a handful of Democrats broke ranks and voted with Republicans to open the government.

“The Democrats are doing everything in their withering power to push the Epstein Hoax again … in order to deflect from all of their bad policies and losses, especially the SHUTDOWN EMBARRASSMENT, where their party is in total disarray, and has no idea what to do,” Trump wrote on Saturday (AEDT).

The president is also battling accusations that he is indifferent to the affordability crisis, following Democratic success in state and local elections dominated by cost-of-living concerns.

Trump has falsely claimed that the price of “everything” is down, including groceries. In fact, supermarket prices have increased, and inflation ticked up to 3 per cent. However, inflation remains far lower than the post-COVID spike under predecessor Joe Biden, as does the price of petrol.

“Cost, and INFLATION, were far higher under the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, than they are now,” Trump posted. “In fact, costs under the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION are tumbling down, helped greatly by gasoline and ENERGY. Affordability is a lie when used by the Dems. It is a complete CON JOB.”

Trump has recently been criticised by some members of his own party, such as MAGA ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said the president was spending too much time on foreign affairs and neglecting domestic, hip pocket issues.

Late Friday night, local time, Trump hit back at the firebrand Republican congresswoman, saying he was withdrawing his support for her and would endorse a candidate running against her in a preselection.

“All I see ‘Wacky’ Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!” he posted to social media. “She has gone Far Left, even doing [ABC talk show] The View, with their Low IQ Republican hating Anchors.”

Trump said Greene was upset that he was no longer returning her calls. But with dozens of cabinet ministers, hundreds of members of Congress, other world leaders to speak with, “and an otherwise normal life to lead, I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day”, Trump said.

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