President Donald Trump has reignited public scrutiny over the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal, publicly calling on the media to turn its attention to former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
His comments, made during an impromptu press appearance before his departure to Scotland on Friday, came just a day after his personal attorney and U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with convicted sex trafficker and Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell at the federal correctional facility in Florida.
“You ought to be speaking about Bill Clinton,” Trump said pointedly to reporters. “You ought to be speaking about Larry Summers. You ought to be speaking about some of his friends that are hedge fund guys. They’re all over the place.”
The remarks have sent political shockwaves across Washington, reviving a firestorm of controversy surrounding the Epstein case that many believed had settled with the financier’s 2019 death in federal custody. They also come at a time when the Department of Justice has declared its investigation closed and stated no new charges are forthcoming.
Trump’s call for renewed attention to Clinton and Summers follows the Biden administration’s refusal to unseal further grand jury materials related to the Epstein investigation.
That refusal has been condemned by many conservatives who accuse the Department of Justice and FBI of protecting elite figures tied to Epstein's network.
Trump’s direct targeting of Clinton and Summers is not new—but the context and timing are notable. With his legal team now actively engaging with Maxwell in prison and the DOJ’s decision not to release further documents drawing skepticism from across the political spectrum, Trump is turning public attention toward the high-profile names that he says the media has deliberately ignored.
During his exchange with reporters, Trump specifically accused Clinton of visiting Epstein’s infamous private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a location repeatedly named in testimonies by Epstein’s victims. “He was there. Everybody knows he was there,” Trump said. “Ask him how many times he went.”
Clinton, through his representatives, has long denied ever stepping foot on Epstein’s island, and reiterated the claim in his 2024 memoir Citizen, where he wrote, “I never visited the island. I wish I had never met Epstein at all.”
Yet flight logs and photographs have shown that Clinton traveled multiple times on Epstein’s private jet, nicknamed the “Lolita Express.” Though these flights do not prove misconduct, they have fueled years of speculation about the depth of Clinton’s relationship with Epstein and his access to Epstein’s properties.
Trump, who has also been photographed with Epstein and Maxwell in the early 2000s, has consistently maintained that he had a falling out with Epstein well before the financier’s 2007 plea deal in Florida. “I kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago,” Trump has claimed, adding, “I was not a fan.”
However, Trump’s renewed involvement through his legal representative Todd Blanche has now inserted him back into the very narrative he’s long tried to sidestep.
The fact that Blanche, who represents Trump in ongoing criminal and civil proceedings, met with Maxwell on two consecutive days has prompted widespread speculation about the purpose of the meetings.
Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for multiple federal convictions including sex trafficking of a minor, has remained largely silent since her 2021 conviction. Though she has filed appeals and hinted at possessing “explosive information,” she has never fully disclosed the extent of what or whom she knows.
Legal analysts speculate that the meetings between Blanche and Maxwell could signal a strategic effort by Trump’s legal team to acquire information, either to protect Trump from allegations or to expose other political opponents.
Blanche, speaking briefly after the Thursday meeting, stated, “Today, I met with Ghislaine Maxwell, and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow. The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time.”
He did not clarify whether Maxwell is now cooperating with the DOJ or merely consulting with private legal representatives.
According to DOJ officials, Maxwell is allowed legal visits and may consult attorneys in pursuit of appeals or other legal avenues. However, the involvement of Trump’s personal attorney—and the fact that Blanche also holds a federal government position as Deputy Attorney General under Trump—has raised questions about the separation of personal and official interests.
Trump’s naming of Larry Summers further widened the scope of suspicion. Summers, who served as Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton and later as Director of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama, has been photographed with Epstein and was revealed in previously unsealed documents to have attended several private dinners with Epstein after the financier’s controversial 2008 plea deal.
Though Summers has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing, his repeated appearances in Epstein’s circle—including funding proposals and emails that suggest Epstein’s role as a financial patron—have fueled distrust, particularly among those questioning the institutional protection Epstein enjoyed for so many years.
Trump referenced unnamed hedge fund billionaires allegedly connected to Summers and Epstein, implying a broader network of elite financial and political figures with shared ties to the disgraced financier. “They’re all over the place,” Trump said. “You know their names. The media knows their names. But nobody wants to talk about them.”
The Department of Justice’s announcement in July that no new Epstein-linked individuals would be charged has only intensified frustration from lawmakers and victims' advocates. The DOJ and FBI said they found no new prosecutable individuals and that the scope of the investigation had been “satisfied.”
Critics argue this conclusion came without transparency, without full release of Epstein’s files, and without accountability for the many powerful individuals documented as having been close to him.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, while often a political rival of Trump, recently criticized the DOJ’s decision to close the case. “There must be transparency. If the American people feel like justice isn’t being served, that’s a failure of democracy.”
Republican lawmakers have gone further. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) are calling for a full congressional investigation into why the FBI is refusing to unseal the remaining Epstein files.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY), Chair of the House Oversight Committee, has already issued subpoenas related to Epstein’s travel logs and financial records. Maxwell is scheduled to testify behind closed doors in August in response to Comer’s subpoena.
While Trump’s opponents argue his re-entry into the Epstein narrative is a political liability, others believe it could become a weapon against his most prominent Democratic rivals—particularly if Maxwell provides names or connections implicating figures like Clinton or associates of the Obama administration.
“Trump’s always been a media tactician,” said GOP strategist Brian Kempner. “If he’s now turning the Epstein scandal into a broader indictment of elite corruption—and can credibly stay outside the blast zone—it becomes a political cudgel.”
Still, many warn the plan could backfire. “Aligning with someone like Ghislaine Maxwell, even indirectly, is incredibly dangerous,” said national security analyst Evelyn Martin. “Even if Trump never did anything wrong, just being associated with her again dredges up images and headlines that damage credibility.”
For Trump, the gamble seems worth the risk. “He’s dead,” Trump said of Epstein earlier in July. “He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don’t understand what the fascination is. The credible information’s been given.”
But his push for the media to examine Clinton, Summers, and unnamed financiers suggests he knows the story is far from over—and he intends to control the narrative.
Whether that results in vindication, exposure of others, or greater chaos remains uncertain. But with Maxwell now back in the spotlight, and Trump holding the microphone, the Epstein case is once again at the center of American political intrigue.
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