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Trump requests DOJ probe into Epstein's ties with

Democrats

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No credible evidence links Clinton, Summers, Hoffman to

Epstein's trafficking

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Trump denies knowledge of Epstein's abuse and trafficking

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Republican support for Trump on Epstein issue is low

By Andy Sullivan and Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on

Friday said he will ask the Justice Department to investigate

Jeffrey Epstein's alleged ties with U.S. bank JPMorgan ( JPM )

and prominent Democrats, including former President Bill

Clinton, as the Republican's relationship with the disgraced

financier is back in the spotlight.

The request comes two days after a congressional committee

released thousands of documents that raised new questions about

Trump's relationship with the late convicted sex offender, and

marks the latest in a series of demands by Trump for federal law

enforcement to pursue his perceived political enemies.

The Epstein scandal has been a political thorn in Trump's side

for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories

about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe

the government has covered up Epstein's ties to powerful figures

and obscured details surrounding his death by suicide in a

Manhattan jail in 2019.

Along with Clinton, who socialized with Epstein in the early

2000s, Trump said he had asked the Justice Department to

investigate former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Reid

Hoffman, the LinkedIn founder who is also a prominent Democratic

donor. All three men were mentioned in the 20,000

Epstein-related documents released by the House Oversight

Committee on Wednesday.

"Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat's problem,

not the Republican's problem!" Trump wrote on social media.

"They all know about him, don't waste your time with Trump. I

have a Country to run!"

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

A JPMorgan ( JPM ) spokesperson said in an emailed statement: "We

regret any association we had with the man, but did not help him

commit his heinous acts."

Clinton and Summers did not immediately respond to requests

for comment. Hoffman could not be immediately reached for

comment.

TRUMP FACES CONTINUED PRESSURE OVER EPSTEIN

Trump and Epstein were friends during the 1990s and the

2000s, but Trump says he broke off ties before Epstein pleaded

guilty in 2008 to charges of soliciting a minor for

prostitution.

Trump has consistently denied knowing about the late financier's

abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls. Still, some of

Trump's most ardent supporters have accused his administration

of a cover-up. Trump, who frequently engages with reporters, has

declined to take questions over the last several days as new

revelations about Epstein have become public.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is

expected to vote next week on legislation that would force the

Justice Department to release all of the material it holds on

Epstein, who was facing federal charges of sex trafficking

minors at the time of his suicide. The measure is expected to

pass, even after House Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly

maneuvered to try to block the vote. It would also require the

Senate to pass similar legislation and Trump's approval to

compel the Justice Department to act.

Just four in 10 Republicans in an October Reuters/Ipsos poll

said they approved of Trump's handling of the Epstein files,

well below the nine in 10 who approve of his overall performance

in the White House.

TRUMP 'TRYING TO DISTRACT'

"Trump is clearly desperately trying to distract from his own

presence in the Epstein emails," said Alan Rozenshtein, a

University of Minnesota law professor and former Justice

Department lawyer.

JPMorgan ( JPM ) paid $290 million in 2023 to some of Epstein's victims

to settle accusations that it had turned a blind eye to his sex

trafficking. The deal followed embarrassing disclosures that

JPMorgan ( JPM ) ignored internal warnings and overlooked red flags

about Epstein, who was a client of the bank between 1998 and

2013. The bank did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement.

No credible evidence has surfaced that Clinton, Summers or

Hoffman were involved in Epstein's sex trafficking. All have

previously denied wrongdoing and have expressed regret about

their relationships with him.

Clinton flew on Epstein's private jet several times before

the financier's 2008 conviction, while Summers accepted

philanthropic gifts from Epstein while serving as president of

Harvard University. Hoffman has acknowledged meeting with

Epstein multiple times in professional situations.

Before his 2008 conviction, Epstein worked and socialized

with a long list of well-known figures, including the UK's

former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his royal title due in

part to his association with Epstein.

Trump has harnessed the Justice Department to target other

political opponents, some of whom now face criminal charges that

outside experts have described as politically motivated.

"It's outrageously inappropriate for the president to be

giving orders to the Department of Justice to investigate

individual United States citizens," said Patrick J. Cotter, a

former federal prosecutor now at the law firm UB Greensfelder.

"That is not how it's supposed to work."