AG Bondi orders investigation of Epstein''s ties to Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, and JPMorgan Chase

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Nov. 14, 2025, that she assigned Manhattan U.S. Attorney JCJay Clayton to lead an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's ties to Trump political foes, including former President BCBill Clinton, LinkedIn co-founder RHReid Hoffman, former Treasury Secretary LSLarry Summers, and JPMorgan Chase. Bondi posted on X that Clayton is 'one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country' and said the Justice Department 'will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people.' The announcement came hours after Trump demanded the probe on Truth Social.

Trump posted on Truth Social on Nov. 14 that he would ask Bondi, the Justice Department, and the FBI to investigate Epstein's 'involvement and relationship' with Clinton, Summers, Hoffman, JPMorgan Chase, and 'many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him.' Trump didn't explain what supposed crimes he wanted investigated. None of the men he mentioned has been accused of sexual misconduct by any of Epstein's victims. Trump was friends with Epstein for years and has been scrutinized for that relationship, though he also has never been accused of misconduct by Epstein's known victims.

An FBI memo from Jul. 2025 stated: 'We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.' The Justice Department and FBI conducted a systematic review of the Epstein case files and found no basis for criminal charges against people beyond those already prosecuted. Despite this finding, Bondi ordered the investigation just four months later at Trump's direction, raising questions about whether the probe is politically motivated rather than based on evidence of crimes.

JCJay Clayton served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021 and took over as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of 🗽New York in Apr. 2025. The Southern District is the same office that indicted Epstein in 2019 and won a sex trafficking conviction against Epstein's longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell in 2021. Clayton was never a prosecutor before taking over the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office and previously worked as a partner at law firm Sullivan & Cromwell specializing in corporate mergers and acquisitions.

Clayton's confirmation as U.S. attorney has been stalled by Senate Democratic Minority Leader CSChuck Schumer, who invoked the Senate 'blue slip' tradition to block the nominee. After Clayton's 120-day interim term expired, Manhattan's federal court judges retained him in the role until the Senate could confirm someone. As he leads the Epstein probe, Clayton will lack the help of at least one SDNY prosecutor who worked on the prosecutions of Epstein and Maxwell: former prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of ex-FBI Director James Comey, who was abruptly fired from the office earlier in 2025.

Clinton's deputy chief of staff Angel Ureña posted on X on Nov. 14: 'These emails prove BCBill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing. The rest is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and who knows what else.' Clinton has acknowledged traveling on Epstein's private jet but has said through a spokesperson that he had no knowledge of the financier's crimes. He has never been accused of misconduct by Epstein's known victims. The House Oversight Committee released over 23,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate earlier in the week, but nothing in the messages suggested wrongdoing by Clinton or the others Trump named.

RHReid Hoffman bankrolled writer E. Jean Carroll's sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit against Trump, which resulted in Trump being ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages. After Epstein's sex trafficking arrest in 2019, Hoffman said he'd only had a few interactions with Epstein, all related to his fundraising for MIT's Media Lab. He apologized, saying 'by agreeing to participate in any fundraising activity where Epstein was present, I helped to repair his reputation and perpetuate injustice.' Hoffman's financial support for Carroll's lawsuit against Trump provides a clear political motive for Trump's demand to investigate him.

The president's demand for an investigation and Bondi's quick acquiescence represent the latest example of erosion of the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House since Trump took office in Jan. 2025. It's also an extraordinary attempt at deflection, coming the same week House Republicans released over 23,000 pages of Epstein documents and House Democrats seized on emails mentioning Trump. Trump is using the Justice Department to investigate his political enemies while facing questions about his own decades-long friendship with Epstein. This marks a continuation of Trump's pattern of weaponizing federal law enforcement against perceived adversaries.