White House says Trump will not tap special counsel for Epstein case

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump will not appoint a special counsel to review the case of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the White House said Thursday.

"The idea was floated from someone in the media to the president. The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case," spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "That's how he feels."

Some prominent Trump supporters have called on Trump to tap a special counsel to handle the matter as the president faces the largest rift within his MAGA base to date amid the continued fallout from the Justice Department's recent announcement that it determined Epstein died by suicide in 2019 and claimed he had no "client list."

Trump and others in his orbit had long clamored for the release of files related to Epstein, which some believe contains the names of prominent members of the rich and powerful.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in February that Epstein's "client list" was "sitting on my desk right now," a sharp departure from the Justice Department's announcement that no such document exists.

Trump has insisted that his base move on from the issue, alleging that they are now falling into a plot by Democrats.

Former Trump ally Elon Musk criticized the Trump administration's refusal to release the documents, appearing to suggest Wednesday that the declination may be due to Trump being among the names in the files.

"That is a high level of confidence," Musk said on X in response to a post from prediction website Polymarket saying there is a "100% chance" that Trump is named in the files.

Amid Trump's continued criticism of demands from his supporters for the release of the documents, Musk, a former top lieutenant who spent months in the White House alongside the president, maintained: "We were all told that the list was going to be released."

"Not a single Epstein client has been prosecuted. Not even one," Musk said, further casting doubt on Trump's description of the growing Epstein controversy as a "hoax."

"Wow, amazing that Epstein 'killed himself' and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax," Musk said, referring to Ghislaine Maxwell, a former decades-long aide to Epstein.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson broke with Trump and called for the release of government files related to Epstein.

"I'm for transparency," Johnson said in an interview with conservative podcast host Benny Johnson. "It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it."

Johnson, a close Trump ally, said Bondi "needs to come forward and explain" her conflicting statements about the so-called Epstein "client list."

"I agree with the sentiment that we need to put it out there," he added.

House Republicans voted 211–210 to block a Democratic motion that would have allowed a vote on Representative Ro Khanna’s measure to require the Justice Department to publish the Epstein files within 30 days.

Democrats seized on the divide, calling for hearings and accusing Republicans of shielding the powerful.

“If you’re not hiding anything, prove that to the American people,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told a news conference Monday.