President Donald Trump has tasked Attorney General Pam Bondi with probing Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to Bill Clinton and key Democratic donors following the explosive release of Epstein’s email scandal. Trump also criticized certain Republicans, accusing them of being “soft and foolish” for allegedly succumbing to what he termed the “Epstein hoax.” Earlier this week, Republicans unveiled 23,000 pages of Epstein’s emails, where the late financier purportedly claimed to possess incriminating information on “dirty Donald.”

On his platform, Truth Social, Trump announced, “I will be instructing A.G. Pam Bondi, alongside the Department of Justice and our great patriots at the FBI, to look into Jeffrey Epstein’s links with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and several other individuals and entities, to uncover their dealings with him.” He added, “This is another Russia, Russia, Russia scenario, with all indicators pointing towards the Democrats. Evidence shows these individuals frequently interacted with Epstein and visited his ‘Island.’ Stay tuned!!!”

Clinton’s association with Epstein stretches back many years. The former president was included in Epstein’s list of influential contacts, entertained him at the White House, and traveled multiple times on Epstein’s jet, infamously dubbed the “Lolita Express.” Separately, Trump criticized some in his own party, stating, “Certain Weak Republicans have been ensnared because they are naive and easily misled,” underscoring internal party tensions.

‘Epstein was a Democrat , and he is the Democrat’s problem, not the Republican’s problem! Ask Bill Clinton , Reid Hoffman, and Larry Summers about Epstein, they know all about him, don’t waste your time with Trump. I have a country to run!’ Epstein said one of his victims, Virginia Giuffre , ‘spent hours’ alone with Trump. Shortly before her passing in April, Giuffre said Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions.

Democrats on the committee also released a selective batch of emails where Epstein referred to Trump in correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell and the author Michael Wolff over a period of at least eight years. Amid the fallout from the email debacle, the White House deployed young children to surround the president in a tender moment caught on video in the Oval Office.

In the video, Trump offers gifts to the grandchildren of journalist Salena Zito at the Resolute Desk. The heartfelt moment, which has since racked up over 500,000 on X, shows a young boy asking the president his name as he accepts Trump’s gift. ‘My name is Donald,’ Trump says with a soft grin. The White House told reporters that the children had stopped by the Oval Office just to say hello to the president.

Trump also asks the children if they would like gold coins and presidential pens as a gift. ‘She said yes — she’s smart,’ the president says with a laugh after one of the children accepts his offer. ‘She’s so cute.’ The viral clip, which was posted by White House communications adviser Margo Martin, ends with Trump handing out pens to Zito’s grandchildren. ‘OK, do you want a pen?’ Trump says. ‘One of them. One, two, three.’

The short video provided a behind-the-scenes look at the president’s softer side amid the meltdown from the Epstein scandal. Trump, 79, has 11 grandchildren and is the father to four children. The White House issued a statement downplaying the Epstein emails following their release on Wednesday. The House Oversight Committee obtained the deceased [child predator’s] emails via a subpoena of Epstein’s estate.

Karoline Leavitt called the email dump a politically-motivated ‘smear’ campaign and repeated Giuffre’s former statements about Trump in which she absolved him of any wrongdoing. ‘The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,’ Leavitt said in a statement.

Giuffre, who committed [self-murder] earlier this year, was recruited by Maxwell while employed as a spa attendant at the Mar-a-Lago Club in 2000. She was 16 years old. Trump expelled Epstein from his club around October 2007 ‘for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre,’ Leavitt said.