Trump tries to turn the Epstein case against his political enemies and orders an investigation into them

WashingtonAmid the Epstein case siege, Donald Trump has decided to base his argument on the same emails that point to him —and which he has called false— for ordering the Justice Department to investigate his political enemies who are also mentioned. In a post on Truth Social this Friday, the US president said he will ask Attorney General Pam Bondi, as well as the FBI, to "investigate Jeffrey Epstein's involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, JP Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on between them."

"This is another Russia, Russia, Russia-type scandal, with all the arrows pointing at the Democrats." The records show that these men, and many others, spent large parts of their lives with Epstein and on his "island," the president wrote, referring to the investigations during the Russian investigations.

Larry Summers is Clinton's former Treasury Secretary and also served as chairman of the economic council for former President Barack Obama. Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, is one of the few tech giants who doesn't have a very good relationship with Trump. Hoffman is cited in some of the more than 20,000 emails released by the commission, as is tech mogul and JD Vance benefactor Peter Thiel. But Trump doesn't seem inclined to launch an investigation against Thiel. Nor does he seem willing to open an investigation against Steve Bannon, who is also cited in the papers.

As for the banks, JPMorgan Chase reached a $75 million settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2023 in a lawsuit accusing the bank of having facilitated Epstein's sex trafficking ring for years. The settlement did not imply an admission of guilt, the bank stated at the time, adding that it regretted any association with Epstein and would not have done business with him "if it had believed he was using the bank to commit heinous crimes."

The US president is thus attempting to turn the Epstein scandal against Democrats and other entities after the latest emails released by the congressional committee accuse him of spending hours with one of the pedophile's victims and of having knowledge of the child trafficking ring. Trump, who acknowledged his friendship with Epstein, has always denied any knowledge of the sexual assaults he committed against minors.