On February 23, CBS News reported on a newly uncovered document in the Epstein files showing that beginning in December 2010 the DEA was running an investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and 14 other people for drug trafficking, prostitution, and money laundering.
The investigation, called “Chain Reaction,” was still underway in 2015. But the investigation disappeared, although the document suggested that it was a significant investigation. And that the government was on the verge of indictments.
Sen. Ron Wyden has been following the money behind Epstein’s activities. He turned up the info that JPMorgan Chase neglected to report more than $1B in suspicious financial transactions linked to Epstein.
Wyden has pushed hard for Treasury Secretary Bessent to produce the records of those suspicious transactions for the Senate Finance Committee. But Bessent refuses.
He also wrote to DEA administrator Terrance Cole February 25, noting “[t]he fact that Epstein was under investigation by the DOJ’s [organized crime drug enforcement] task force suggests that there was ample evidence indicating that Epstein was engaged in heavy drug trafficking and prostitution as part of cross-border criminal conspiracy. This is incredibly disturbing and raises serious questions as to how this investigation by the DEA was handled.”
He also noted that the heavy redactions in the document appear to go far beyond anything authorized by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Particularly since the document was not classified, and said so clearly at the top of each page. So what is the reason to withhold an unredacted version of this document from the Congress?
Wyden had asked Cole to produce a number of documents by March 13.
Including:
An unredacted copy of the memo in the files.
Info about what triggered the investigation.
What types of drugs Epstein and his 14 associates were buying or selling.
When Operation Chain Reaction concluded and what was its result.
Why no one was charged.
And why the names of the 14 co-conspirators were redacted.
But yesterday Wyden sent a letter to Deputy AG Todd Blanche, saying: “It is my understanding that shortly after I requested an unredacted copy” of the document in the Epstein files, the DOJ “stepped in to prevent DEA from complying with my request. According to a confidential tip received by my staff, DEA Administrator Terry Cole was ready to provide an unredacted copy of the memorandum, but you stepped in to prevent him from doing so. My staff inquired with the DEA about the status of the production of this document and the DEA responded by directing questions to your office.”
The letter continued: “Your alleged interference in this matter is highly disturbing, not just because it continues the DOJ’s long-running obstruction of my investigation, but also because of your bizarrely favorable treatment of Ghislaine Maxwell, one of Epstein’s closest criminal associates. I should not have to explain the significance of the fact that Epstein was a target of [this high-level DEA] investigation. It suggests the government had ample evidence indicating he was engaged in large scale drug trafficking and prostitution as part of cross-border criminal conspiracy and that Epstein was likely pumping his victims, including underage girls, with incapacitating drugs to facilitate abuse. I am at a loss to understand why you are blocking further investigation of this matter.”
We the people are at a loss too. Why does the Trump administration, aided by the GOP Congress, continue to stonewall and cover up the Epstein investigation?
Scream politics all day long. But there is only one political party that is seriously trying to get to the bottom of the Epstein scandal. And it is NOT the GOP.
Why?
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