As prosecutors contend with a massive trove of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump suggested Friday the Justice Department is spending too much time on the issue — but said prominent Democrats linked to Epstein should be named.
The Justice Department has released scores of records on Epstein over the last week, responding to a law requiring it to publish its files on Epstein by Dec. 19. The files cover more than 20 years worth of investigations into the disgraced financier, and highlighted the relationships he cultivated over the years with well-known people like Mr. Trump and former President Bill Clinton — neither of whom have been accused of any wrongdoing.
And on Wednesday, the department announced that the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan had discovered upwards of 1 million more records “potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.” It said that combing through the newly discovered documents and making necessary redactions could take “a few more weeks.”
Mr. Trump addressed the discovery on Truth Social late Friday, writing: “Now 1,000,000 more pages on Epstein are found. DOJ is being forced to spend all of its time on this Democrat inspired Hoax. When do they say NO MORE, and work on Election Fraud etc.”
The president went on to allege that Democrats, not Republicans, are “the ones who worked with Epstein.”
“Release all of their names, embarrass them, and get back to helping our Country,” he wrote.
Mr. Trump has long been wary of the Epstein issue, periodically calling it a “hoax” and arguing that Republican lawmakers who supported the release of more records on Epstein had fallen for a diversion tactic spearheaded by Democrats.
He eventually said last month that Republicans should vote for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated the files’ release, writing, “it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax.”
Simultaneously, the president has zeroed in on Democrats with links to Epstein. In mid-November, he asked the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s ties to Clinton and two other Democrats. The department had previously said in July that there is no evidence to justify prosecuting any uncharged third-parties in the Epstein case.
Last week’s initial release of Justice Department files on Epstein featured multiple photos of Clinton, including an image of the former president sitting in a hot tub and several images of him at events with celebrities like Michael Jackson.
Another release of files earlier this week included references to Mr. Trump. One 2020 email from a federal prosecutor said flight logs revealed that the president flew on Epstein’s private jet “many more times” than was previously known.
The files do not indicate wrongdoing on the part of Clinton or Mr. Trump. A Clinton spokesperson has long acknowledged that the former president traveled with Epstein on several occasions, but said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
A Clinton spokesperson on Monday pushed the Justice Department to release “any remaining records” in the Epstein files that mention Clinton or include a photo of him, arguing the former president has nothing to hide.
Mr. Trump ran in the same social circles as Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, but says he cut off ties with Epstein many years ago. The president called the release of photos of Clinton and others a “terrible thing” on Monday, saying that many people who appear in images with Epstein “really had nothing to do with” him.
“I don’t like the pictures of Bill Clinton being shown. I don’t like the pictures of other people being shown. I think it’s a terrible thing,” the president told reporters. “I think Bill Clinton’s a big boy, he can handle it. But you probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago … and they’re highly respected bankers and lawyers and others.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-calls-for-release-epstein-files-naming-democrats/
