Trump urges Justice Department to examine Epstein connections to Clinton and others

Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump on Friday called on Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to open a new inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein’s relationships with a series of public figures and institutions, including former President Bill Clinton, economist Larry Summers, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and banking giant JPMorgan Chase.

In a social-media post published on the afternoon of 14 November 2025, Trump said he would “be asking A.G. Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship” with the named individuals “to determine what was going on with them, and him.”

Jay Clayton tapped to lead the probe

Bondi responded within hours, announcing that Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, will head the effort. “SDNY U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton is one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country, and I’ve asked him to take the lead,” Bondi wrote on X. She pledged that the department would handle the matter “with urgency and integrity.”

The appointment places Clayton, whose office has jurisdiction over many high-profile financial and public-corruption cases, at the center of a politically sensitive investigation that revives questions surrounding Epstein’s extensive social and business network.

DOJ’s previous findings

Trump’s directive comes four months after the Justice Department and FBI released a joint memorandum concluding there was “no incriminating ‘client list’” tied to Epstein and “no credible evidence” that the financier blackmailed prominent figures. At that time, federal officials indicated they did not expect additional charges against uncharged third parties.

Despite those findings, pressure has mounted in Congress to unseal remaining Epstein records. Earlier this week, Rep. Adelita Grijalva secured the 218th signature on a bipartisan discharge petition compelling the DOJ to release the files. Rep. Robert Garcia, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said the committee’s work had “panicked” the president and accused Trump of attempting to shift attention away from new questions about his own ties to Epstein.

Emails referencing Trump trigger renewed scrutiny

The latest push follows the disclosure of emails from Epstein’s estate by House Democrats. One email described Trump as “the dog that hasn’t barked,” while another told Ghislaine Maxwell that an alleged victim had “spent hours at my house” with Trump. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the messages, stating they “prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.”

Trump and Epstein were publicly friendly during the 1990s and early 2000s, but Trump said after Epstein’s 2019 arrest that they had not spoken in more than a decade following a personal dispute.

Focus on Clinton and JPMorgan Chase

Epstein’s relationship with Clinton has been under examination since flight logs revealed that the former president traveled on Epstein’s aircraft in 2002 and 2003 on four overseas trips totaling 26 flight segments. Clinton has denied any wrongdoing and has stated he never visited Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. No Epstein survivor or associate has publicly accused Clinton of misconduct connected to those flights. Epstein himself wrote in a 2015 email, “Clinton was NEVER EVER there, never.”

Imagem: Internet

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has accused Epstein and Maxwell of sex trafficking, testified in litigation that she met Clinton on the island; both Maxwell and Epstein disputed her claim. Flight records that surfaced in court filings do not place either Clinton or Trump on trips to the property.

Attention has also returned to JPMorgan Chase, which said in a statement that “the government had damning information about [Epstein’s] crimes and failed to share it with us or other banks.” The bank ended its relationship with Epstein years before his 2019 sex-trafficking arrest. In 2023 JPMorgan paid $290 million to settle a class-action suit brought by Epstein survivors and $75 million to the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, both without admitting wrongdoing.

Maxwell’s incarceration and ongoing questions

Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year federal sentence after her 2022 conviction for recruiting and grooming minors for Epstein. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have asked the Bureau of Prisons to explain why she was transferred to a low-security facility following an interview with one of Trump’s former personal attorneys.

Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan federal detention center in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking underage girls and young women.

The new investigation ordered by Trump places the Justice Department in the position of reconsidering matters it declared largely resolved in July. Observers note that any fresh probe will likely revisit evidence previously examined by federal agents, congressional investigators, and multiple civil courts. An overview of DOJ procedures for special investigations is available on the department’s official site, justice.gov.

No timeline has been provided for Clayton’s investigation, and the Justice Department has not indicated whether it will alter its earlier conclusions or release additional Epstein files while the new review is under way.

Crédito da imagem: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images