US House Democrats urge independent probe into Trump’s alleged links to Epstein

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US House Judiciary Committee Democrats on Monday released a new staff report alleging that President Donald Trump was implicated in accounts of sexual assault involving 11 women connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and calling for an independent investigation into Epstein’s associates and the Justice Department’s handling of relevant records.

The report, released by Rep. Jamie Raskin, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said five women directly accused Trump of rape or sexual assault in Epstein’s company or presence.

It also describes accounts from other women who alleged that the late Epstein or his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell – also convicted of sexual crimes – attempted to introduce or direct them to Trump.

Drawing on survivor accounts, interviews conducted by committee staff, FBI records and documents released under the 2025 Epstein Files Transparency Act, the report examines alleged connections among Trump, Epstein, and Paolo Zampolli, who until recently served as a senior Trump administration official and diplomat.

The report argues that the available evidence warrants investigating whether Trump and Zampolli were involved in Epstein’s trafficking and abuse network during the 1990s. That potential involvement remains an allegation, not an established legal finding.

"Donald Trump says he knew Jeffrey Epstein ‘just like everybody in Palm Beach knew him.’ Not exactly,” Raskin said in a statement accompanying the report, referring to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

“Evidence involving 11 women tells a completely different and far more damning story about their relationship and the abuse of young women and girls that took place in their network," he added.

Raskin accused the Justice Department of withholding evidence and limiting inquiries into Epstein’s possible accomplices.

Raskin called for an independent special counsel to investigate the allegations and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors have access to relevant evidence.

"The women who survived Epstein deserve to be heard, Congress must have the complete files required by law, and an independent special counsel must investigate Epstein’s co-conspirators and DOJ’s (Justice Department) cover-up and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors have the evidence they need to pursue justice,” he said.

Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls.

Released case files named prominent figures, including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and the former Prince Andrew, though being named does not establish wrongdoing.

Diyar Güldoğan