U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate senior Democrats — including former president Bill Clinton — for alleged ties to late disgraced financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, two days after Democrats released emails they claim link Trump closely to Epstein’s crimes.
Bondi said she has appointed Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead the inquiry, saying the Department of Justice will act “with urgency and integrity” so the American people “receive answers.”
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US President Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein
(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP, New York State Sex Offender Registry/AP)
Trump posted on Truth Social that the probe should cover Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, Democratic donor Reid Hoffman and JPMorgan Chase, accusing the Democratic Party of running an “Epstein hoax” to distract from the recent government shutdown. “This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,” he wrote. “Records show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his ‘Island.’”
Trump also said he is considering a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, who is serving a prison sentence for her role in his sex trafficking ring.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Clinton’s name appears 512 times in the newly revealed email threads, while Summers is mentioned 117 times. The White House continues to push back against the fact that Trump’s name appears 1,670 times in 2,300 email chains.
According to CNN, Trump is personally directing the administration’s response to the Epstein fallout, determined to control the messaging.
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In correspondence between Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Donald Trump is mentioned as having spent time with a victim and described as 'that dog that hasn't barked'
In July, The New York Times reported that Bondi had informed Trump that his name appears in the so-called “Epstein Files”—a trove of emails and other documents held by authorities and reviewed by the House Oversight Committee.
One of the emails, written in 2011, quoted Epstein telling Maxwell that Trump “spent hours at my house” with one of his victims. Epstein described Trump as “that dog that hasn't barked.”
In another 2019 exchange with journalist Michael Wolff—the year Epstein died—Epstein reportedly wrote that “of course [Trump] knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”
The context of the statement remains unclear. At the time, CNN noted it may have referred to Trump’s claim that he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago for allegedly harassing young female staff at the club.
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In another exchange between Epstein and journalist Michael Wolff, Epstein claims Trump 'knew about the girls'
Since Epstein’s case resurfaced in 2019, Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity or any connection to it. When Bondi’s office announced earlier this year that it would revisit the case, Trump supporters expected major revelations—especially after Bondi said Epstein’s “client list” was being reviewed. Many were stunned when she later stated in July that no such list exists.
After the release of the emails by the Democrats, the White House dismissed the new documents, calling them yet another attempt to smear the president. “The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. According to her, the emails "prove nothing" except that the president "did nothing wrong."
Next week, the House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill that would mandate the release of the Epstein files. Dozens of Republicans are expected to support the measure and demand full disclosure of the documents. The bill is unlikely to pass in the Senate—and even if it does, Trump could veto it.