FBI was ordered to flag any mention of Trump in Epstein files, top Democrat says
In a letter to leadership of the Justice Department, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said his office 'was told that these personnel were instructed to 'flag' any records in which President Trump was mentioned.'
Durbin's statement comes after a report in the Wall Street Journal that Trump sent a raunchy 50th birthday card to Epstein that included a sketch of a naked woman, featuring breasts and a squiggly 'Donald' signature mimicking pubic hair.
The Journal reviewed copies of a collection of lewd letters that Epstein's longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, gathered from Epstein's friends and colleagues and compiled in an album to mark his 2003 birthday.
Trump, who denies writing the letter, has repeatedly threatened to sue the Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch.
'I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his 'pile of garbage' newspaper, the WSJ,' Trump wrote Friday on TruthSocial. 'That will be an interesting experience!!!'
Trump had already been facing mounting pressure from his MAGA base to publicly release Justice Department files from the case of Epstein, a disgraced financier whose sprawling sex trafficking ring victimized more than 200 women and underage girls.
Trump ordered Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi to reverse course on a recent decision to close the case and unseal grand jury testimony.
'Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,' Trump announced Thursday on Truth Social. 'This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!'
The Department of Justice and FBI declared earlier this month in a memo that Epstein's case was closed and his 2019 death in a New York city jail was a suicide. But Bondi, a Trump appointee and arch loyalist, immediately agreed Thursday to Trump's new demand.
'President Trump — we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts,' Bondi wrote on X.
It remains to be seen if Trump and Bondi will persuade a federal judge in New York to release the grand jury transcripts. Such documents are typically not made public and released only under narrowly defined circumstances.
Trump and Epstein became friends in the 1980s.
'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,' Mr. Trump told New York magazine, in 2002, noting that Epstein was 'a lot of fun to be with' and 'likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.'
But their friendship apparently broke down in 2008 after Epstein was convicted of child sexual offenses. Their relationship — and the possibility of Trump's involvement in Epstein's crimes — has been scrutinized ever since.
The Epstein case has riveted Trump's Republican base, largely because of the multimillionaire financier's connections to rich and powerful people they suspect were involved in his child sex trafficking.
But releasing the files is not entirely up to Trump, even if he wanted to.
'You've got decades' worth of materials,' said David Weinstein, a Miami defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, who said the disclosure of grand jury information is governed by federal rules and cannot be released without a court order.
Even if material does get released, it will pertain only to Epstein and Maxwell's direct activities — and will be much more limited than the volume of investigative materials, including witness interviews, emails, videos and photos that otherwise exist.
Additionally, 'there's a lot of redactions that will have to be made,' Weinstein said, noting the number of individuals who might have been associated with Epstein during the investigation but were not themselves suspected or charged with crimes. 'You've seen some of that already in the civil cases that were filed, and where courts have said, 'No, this is what can be put on the docket.''
After the Department of Justice dropped the case, many of Trump's most vocal allies, such as U.S. Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), openly dissented from the administration and called for the release of all files.
Earlier this week, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie introduced the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would require Bondi to make public all unclassified records, documents and investigative materials that the Department of Justice holds on the Epstein case.
'We all deserve to know what's in the Epstein files, who's implicated, and how deep this corruption goes,' Massie said in a statement. 'Americans were promised justice and transparency. We're introducing a discharge petition to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on releasing the COMPLETE files.'
A poll conducted by the Economist/YouGov earlier this month found that 83% of Trump's 2024 supporters favor the government releasing all material related to the Epstein case.
Wilner reported from Washington, Jarvie from Atlanta. Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
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