Donald Trump faced renewed scrutiny Wednesday following reports that his name appears in US Justice Department documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Simultaneously, Congress issued a subpoena for testimony from Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s convicted accomplice.
A spokesperson for the former US president refuted a Wall Street Journal report that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump in May that he was mentioned in the Epstein files.
According to the Journal, citing senior administration sources, Trump was also told that numerous other high-profile individuals were named, and the Justice Department intended to withhold further document releases pertaining to the investigation.
The White House sought to minimize the connection between Trump and Epstein. Spokesperson Steven Cheung stated, “The President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is simply a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.”
Trump recently filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, in response to an article concerning an allegedly sexually suggestive letter bearing Trump’s name, found in a 2003 album created for Epstein’s birthday. Trump denies authoring the letter and has since initiated legal action against the Journal.
Subsequently, the White House reportedly barred a Journal reporter from traveling on Air Force One to Scotland.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department concluded there was insufficient basis to prolong the Epstein investigation, sparking criticism from Trump’s supporters who have long suspected a cover-up of Epstein’s offenses and connections within the establishment.
This has also reignited discussion of Trump’s 15-year-long association with Epstein. In June, Elon Musk, the billionaire and sometimes critic of Trump, tweeted that Mr Trump is “in the Epstein files”.
The Journal stated on Wednesday, “During a review of what Attorney General Pam Bondi called a ‘truckload’ of documents about Jeffrey Epstein this year, Justice Department officials discovered that Donald Trump’s name appeared several times.”
Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, issued a statement claiming that “Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts. As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings.”
This followed a federal judge’s rejection of the Justice Department’s initiative to publicize previously withheld grand jury transcripts connected to Mr. Epstein, marking the initial such ruling in a series of attempts by the Trump administration to fully disclose all information surrounding the case.
According to court documents, the request originated with federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007. US district judge Robin Rosenberg determined that the Justice Department’s request in Florida did not meet any of the criteria required to grant an exception to the rules around remaining grand jury materials secret.
The Justice Department has requests pending to release transcripts related to later indictments brought against Mr. Epstein in Manhattan federal court.
In 2008, Mr. Epstein reached a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida that avoided more severe federal charges and instead allowed him to plead guilty to state offenses including procuring a minor for prostitution.
The wealthy financier was later arrested in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges. His former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was charged with helping him abuse teenage girls.
Mr. Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City approximately one month after his arrest. Investigators determined he died by suicide. Later, Maxwell was convicted at trial and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The Justice Department has inquired with Ms. Maxwell’s lawyers about her willingness to speak with prosecutors, and Blanche stated on Tuesday that he anticipated meeting with her in the coming days.
Both Democrats and about a dozen Republicans in the House of Representatives are demanding answers. On this Wednesday, the powerful House oversight committee backed via an 8-2 vote the effort to subpoena the Justice Department for all files associated with Mr. Epstein, with three Republicans joining all Democrats. They also subpoenaed Ms. Maxwell for a deposition, to be held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, on 11 August.
Committee Chair James Comer explained in a cover letter to Ms. Maxwell: “While the Justice Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to your and Mr Epstein’s cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of you and Mr Epstein.
“In particular, the Committee seeks your testimony to inform the consideration of potential legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations.”
