Democratic Senator Calls Trump's Epstein Bluff
Trump et al are denying access to Epstein information -- accusing Democrats of political theater. But Sen. Ron Wyden just called Trump's Epstein bluff.
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Democratic Senator Ron Wyden just called Donald Trump’s Epstein files bluff.
Trump is trying to convince his base that he wants to release the Epstein information but he can’t because it’s up to AG Pam Bondi, et al. And also, there is no list. And also, if there is a list then it doesn’t matter because Obama and Biden made up lies. And another thing, his base is stupid to care. If that doesn’t suffice, how about he releases information they basically already know, like the grand jury testimony?
So Wyden (D-OR) has a great idea for Trump, who must really want to get to the bottom of which elites exactly raped girls in this land of the free. Wyden is so sure this is a helpful avenue for AG Pam Bondi to follow, that he sent her a letter informing her that the Treasury Department might have a lot of info about Epstein’s financial dealings with the world’s elite.
Also, just in case Bondi thinks it’s not worth exploring, Wyden says his office has already documented that Epstein-related filings by banks that contain “information on more than 4,725 wire transfers involving Epstein’s accounts, all of which merit further investigation.”
Oh no.
Greg Sargent revealed the letter in The New Republic:
Wyden’s office just sent a new letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi—which The New Republic obtained—suggesting seven potent lines of inquiry that the Justice Department could follow, right now, to dig more deeply into Epstein’s web of financial relations with global elites.
“I am convinced that the DOJ ignored evidence found in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Epstein file, a binder that contains extensive details on the mountains of cash Epstein received from prominent businessmen that Epstein used to finance his criminal network,” Wyden writes in the letter.
This letter is awkward not just because it lays bare for the public just how much Bondi and the Trump administration are doing to avoid uncovering any of the elites involved, but also because it puts a dent in Republican talking point that Democrats didn’t care about the Epstein files until Trump started covering them up.
Dem Senator Was Investigating Epstein Info for Years and Got Access Under Biden
Sargent explained that the DOJ is unlikely to act on Wyden’s letter, but it’s serving the purpose of signaling to the public what lines of inquiry might be available for Bondi to follow. In the course of Wyden offering up ideas, he reveals that his investigators know about these records because ***they have been examining them for several years.**
That’s right. They’ve been examining them for several years, that would be… under former President Joe Biden.
For instance, Wyden suggests that DOJ prosecutors and FBI agents should “immediately investigate the evidence contained in the Treasury Department records on Epstein.” Wyden’s investigators know of these records because his office has been examining Epstein’s financial transactions for several years. In February of 2024—when Democrats controlled the Senate—Wyden’s staff viewed in camera (that is, privately) thousands of pages of Treasury files documenting those transactions.
It’s entirely possible that the DOJ has already investigated these financial dealings, including a “$1.5 billion in suspicious transactions flagged to Treasury by big banks, which is detailed in the Times report,” but Sargent notes that Wyden thinks it’s incumbent upon the DOJ to acknowledge if they have and if they have, what they uncovered.
The entire piece is worth a read, because it’s dense with info on this topic. I’ll just pull out one other nugget, because the man telling his base that the Epstein files are a made up conspiracy by Democrats who hate him is comparing it to the “Russia” conspiracy that he also (falsely) claims is a lie.
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