Wyden’s letter seeks to demonstrate what the Trump administration is not doing to examine Epstein’s financial relations with the rich and powerful.
This comes after Bondi’s recent announcement that there’s no evidence of any Epstein “client list,” which appeared to close the door on any release of the “Epstein files,” the trove of evidence gathered by law enforcement in connection with his arrest.
That has persuaded much of the MAGA movement—and many liberals and Democrats—that a lot is being kept hidden about his activities that would implicate other elites.
Wyden’s move here is in some ways a trolling exercise, since DOJ won’t act on it.
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 2024—when Democrats controlled the Senate—Wyden’s staff viewed in camera (that is, privately) thousands of pages of Treasury files documenting those transactions. »