Justice Department to Investigate Epstein Ties, but Not to Trump [View all]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/us/politics/trump-epstein-inquiry-democrats.html

https://archive.ph/WSdYo

Justice Department to Investigate Epstein Ties, but Not to Trump
President Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate the dealings of Democrats with Jeffrey Epstein, after a week in which his own relationship with the convicted sex offender was in the spotlight.
By Erica L. Green, Glenn Thrush and Alan Feuer
Published Nov. 14, 2025 Updated Nov. 15, 2025, 4:55 a.m. ET

When a trove of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails were made public this week, Donald J. Trump’s name was all over them. But on Friday, when Mr. Trump demanded that the Justice Department investigate a list of powerful men mentioned in the emails, his own name was nowhere to be seen — he had singled out only Democrats.

Equally remarkable was how quickly Attorney General Pam Bondi acquiesced to his demand, even though four months ago the Justice Department formally declared that nothing in the Epstein files warranted further investigation.

That about-face, as much as any action Ms. Bondi has taken this year, demonstrated the near-complete breakdown of the Justice Department’s traditional independence to prosecute cases based on facts and the law, as opposed to presidential fiat. And, crucially, it could foreclose any further disclosures of the Epstein files.

Less than four hours later, Ms. Bondi said she had chosen Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, to handle the matter.

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