US justice department investigates Epstein’s alleged ties to Clinton and banks after Trump request
In one email, Summers gives Epstein his opinion of Trump early in his presidency, writing: “DJT is world s luckiest guy in terms of opposition, economy etc. still think his world will collapse”.
A representative for Summers told the Wall Street Journal in 2023 that the former treasury official and past president of Harvard University “deeply regrets being in contact with Epstein after his conviction”.
The documents also included email exchanges between Epstein and his long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
In one email, sent in 2011, Epstein writes to Maxwell: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him.”
Trump was a friend of Epstein’s for years, but the president has said they fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. While he was discussed in some of the messages released this week, he did not send or receive them.
Traditionally, presidents do not direct the justice department to investigate individuals and companies and have often brought in special counsels – independent attorneys from outside the administration – to carry out investigations.
It is also rare for an administration to seek an investigation of a predecessor. However, the Biden administration started investigations tied to allegations that Trump tried to interfere with the 2020 election, which were then referred to a special counsel. The cases were dropped when Trump returned to the White House.
In a letter addressed to Congress, Epstein survivors and the family of Virginia Giuffre – a prominent accuser of his – called for US lawmakers to vote in favour of releasing the files.
“As you gather with your family this season, remember that your primary duty is to your constituents. Look into the eyes of your children, your sisters, your mothers, and your aunts,” the letter reads.
“Imagine if they had been preyed upon. Imagine if you yourself were a survivor. What would you want for them? What would you want for yourself? When you vote, we will remember your decision at the ballot box.”
On Friday, Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said it would be “huge miscalculation” for Trump to oppose the release of material related to Epstein.
Greene was among the four other House Republicans – Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, Thomas Massie – who joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition calling for the release of the files.
“I truly just stand with the women, and I think they deserve to be the ones that we’re fighting for,” she told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News.
On Friday night, Trump announced that he had withdrawn his support for Greene, calling his formerly close ally “wacky” and “a ranting lunatic”, and offering to back her Republican challenger in next year’s midterm elections.
“That’s too bad she’s lost a wonderful conservative reputation,” he told reporters.
