• Trump urges DOJ to investigate Epstein's ties to Bill Clinton and others.
• The request follows the release of thousands of documents highlighting Epstein's connections.
• Current U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton will lead the investigation.
• Trump claims the Epstein scandal is a "Democratic hoax" to distract from his presidency.
• No evidence of wrongdoing from Clinton, Summers, or Hoffman regarding Epstein has been found.

President Donald Trump announced on November 14 that he has urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's connections with several prominent Democratic figures, including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. This request arose after a congressional committee released extensive documentation that renewed scrutiny regarding Trump’s own relationship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019, according to Reuters, SCMP, and Channel News Asia.

During his address on social media, Trump framed the ongoing investigations as politically motivated, asserting, "Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat's problem, not the Republican's problem!" He expressed frustration with perceived partisan distractions regarding his presidency, a sentiment echoed in communication with his supporters, according to BBC and Al Jazeera.

In response to Trump's demand, Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that Jay Clayton, a senior federal prosecutor in Manhattan, would lead the investigation. Bondi emphasized the department's commitment to pursuing these inquiries with integrity, revealing a substantial choice of monitoring Epstein's connections following the release of 20,000 pages of documents related to his activities, according to HuffPost and Los Angeles Times.

Legal experts have expressed concern regarding the appropriateness of Trump's demands for investigations into individual citizens, arguing that this undermines the DOJ's independence from the White House. Trump's calls have attracted criticism for potentially politicizing legal processes, particularly within the context of the ongoing Epstein scandal, which complicates the political landscape, according to HuffPost and Le Monde.

Despite Trump's assertions, none of the figures he targeted have faced accusations of wrongdoing related to Epstein from any of his known victims. Clinton has denied any knowledge of Epstein's abuses, while Summers and Hoffman also expressed regret about their past associations with Epstein. Trump has consistently distanced himself from Epstein, claiming that he broke ties prior to Epstein's legal troubles in 2008, which has raised questions about the transparency of his history with Epstein, according to NPR and Channel News Asia.