The Epstein scandal has been a political thorn in Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it will carry out President Donald Trump`s request to investigate Jeffrey Epstein`s alleged ties with former Democratic President Bill Clinton and U.S. bank JPMorgan, as Trump sought to shift the focus from his own relationship with the convicted sex offender.

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

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

The Epstein scandal has been a political thorn in Trump`s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe 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.

Along with Clinton, who socialized with Epstein in the early 2000s, Trump said he had asked the Justice Department to investigate former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn founder who is also a prominent Democratic donor. All three men were mentioned in the 20,000 Epstein-related documents released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.

"Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat`s problem, not the Republican`s problem!" Trump wrote on social media. "They all know about him, don`t waste your time with Trump. I have a Country to run!" JPMorgan said in a statement it regrets its past association with Epstein, who was a client between 1998 and 2013, and did not help him commit "heinous acts."

Clinton and Summers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hoffman could not be immediately reached for comment.

Donald Trump and Jeffrey EpsteinIllustration: Kelly Caminero/HuffPost; Photo: Getty Images

TRUMP FACES CONTINUED PRESSURE OVER EPSTEIN

Trump and Epstein were friends during the 1990s and the 2000s, but Trump says he broke off ties before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Trump has consistently denied knowing about the late financier`s abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls. Still, some of Trump`s most ardent supporters have accused his administration of a cover-up. Trump, who frequently engages with reporters, has declined to take questions over the last several days as new revelations about Epstein have become public.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to vote next week on legislation that would force the Justice Department to release all of the material it holds on Epstein, who was facing federal charges of sex trafficking minors at the time of his suicide. The measure is expected to pass, even after House Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly maneuvered to try to block the vote. It would also require the Senate to pass similar legislation and Trump`s approval to compel the Justice Department to act.

Just four in 10 Republicans in an October Reuters/Ipsos poll said they approved of Trump`s handling of the Epstein files, well below the nine in 10 who approve of his overall performance in the White House.

TRUMP ‘TRYING TO DISTRACT`

"Trump is clearly desperately trying to distract from his own presence in the Epstein emails," said Alan Rozenshtein, a University of Minnesota law professor and former Justice Department lawyer.

JPMorgan paid $290 million in 2023 to some of Epstein`s victims to settle accusations that it had turned a blind eye to his sex trafficking. The deal followed embarrassing disclosures that JPMorgan ignored internal warnings and overlooked red flags about Epstein, who was a client of the bank between 1998 and 2013. The bank did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement.

No credible evidence has surfaced that Clinton, Summers or Hoffman were involved in Epstein`s sex trafficking. All have previously denied wrongdoing and have expressed regret about their relationships with him.

Clinton flew on Epstein`s private jet several times before the financier`s 2008 conviction, while Summers accepted philanthropic gifts from Epstein while serving as president of Harvard University. Hoffman has acknowledged meeting with Epstein multiple times in professional situations.

Before his 2008 conviction, Epstein worked and socialized with a long list of well-known figures, including the UK`s former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his royal title due in part to his association with Epstein.

Trump has harnessed the Justice Department to target other political opponents, some of whom now face criminal charges that outside experts have described as politically motivated.

"It`s outrageously inappropriate for the president to be giving orders to the Department of Justice to investigate individual United States citizens," said Patrick J. Cotter, a former federal prosecutor now at the law firm UB Greensfelder. "That is not how it`s supposed to work."

Clayton, the prosecutor who will head the probe, is a political independent who chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump`s first White House term.