US Justice Department heeds Trump’s demand to probe Epstein’s ties with Democrats

US President tries to shift focus from his relationship with convicted sex offender

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The US Justice Department said on Nov 14 it will fulfil President Donald Trump’s request to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s ties with former Democratic president Bill Clinton and JPMorgan, as Mr Trump sought to shift the focus from his relationship with the convicted sex offender.

The move comes two days after a congressional committee released thousands of documents that raised new questions about Mr Trump’s relationship with the late financier, and marks the latest in a series of demands by Mr Trump for federal law enforcement to pursue his perceived political enemies.

Attorney-General Pam Bondi said Mr Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, will lead the investigation.

The Epstein scandal has been a political thorn in Mr Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe Ms Bondi and other Trump officials have covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019.

Mr Trump has harnessed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to target other perceived political enemies, notably former FBI director James Comey and New York State Attorney-General Letitia James, both of whom were charged after Mr Trump replaced the prosecutor leading the cases.

Legal experts say Mr Trump’s demands could undermine the criminal cases that emerge from those probes, as judges can dismiss cases found to be motivated by “vindictive prosecution” - which both Mr Comey and Ms James have raised, though judges have not yet ruled on their requests to dismiss the cases.

Mr Patrick J. Cotter, a former federal prosecutor, said it was “outrageously inappropriate” for Mr Trump to order the department to investigate individual citizens, adding: “That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”