The key facts

  • House Democrats demanded a special prosecutor to investigate Trump's ties to Epstein eight days before the midterm elections
  • The 53-page report renewed sexual misconduct allegations; Raskin said five women have accused Trump
  • Trump denies wrongdoing and has not been charged in the case; the only person convicted remains Ghislaine Maxwell

Call for a special prosecutor on the eve of the election

Democratic lawmakers on Monday, eight days before the November 3 midterm elections, called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Republican President Donald Trump's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, AFP reports. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released a 53-page report renewing previously made allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump, a former close friend of the financier.

The substance of the demands and allegations

Ranking Democratic committee member Jamie Raskin accused the Justice Department of concealing 'crimes in order to protect the president' and stated that 'five women have directly accused Trump of rape or sexual assault in Epstein's presence or in his company.' The Democrats demanded that Attorney General Todd Blanche appoint an independent special prosecutor who would investigate not only the president's actions but also 'all of Epstein's potential accomplices and co-conspirators.' At the same time, the report's authors themselves acknowledged that the Justice Department under Blanche — Trump's former personal attorney — was unlikely to take this step, and accused the department of now 'leading the cover-up' of Epstein's operation itself.

Background of the case

Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking minors; his death was ruled a suicide. Trump resisted the Justice Department's release of the so-called 'Epstein files' for several months, but ultimately signed the law passed by Congress requiring their publication. The name of the 80-year-old president appears repeatedly in the documents, but he denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged in connection with the case. The only person convicted in the case remains Epstein's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, 64: in 2021 she was found guilty of supplying underage girls to Epstein and sentenced to 20 years in prison. According to AFP, ahead of the elections that will determine control of Congress, Democrats reportedly spent more than $35 million on advertising related to the Epstein topic.