DOJ checks Epstein ties to Clinton

JPMORGAN, DEMOCRATS PROBED

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The Justice Department announced it would launch an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's ties to former president Bill Clinton, onetime Treasury secretary Larry Summers, Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman, and JPMorgan Chase & Co at the public urging of President Donald Trump, after new emails prompted questions about the current president's own relationship with the disgraced financier.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was tasking former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Jay Clayton, who now is the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, with the probe. The US attorney's office in the southern district is one of the most prestigious, responsible for prosecuting many high-profile financial crimes and cases involving Wall Street.

"Clayton is one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country, and I've asked him to take the lead," Ms Bondi said in a social media post. "As with all matters, the Department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people."

The announcement came shortly after the president requested the investigation in a social media post of his own, asking the attorney general to "determine what was going on with them, and him".