Democratic Party uses Epstein case to discredit Trump ahead of midterms

The Democratic Party used the Epstein case to discredit Donald Trump a week before the midterm elections. This is a tactic the party has resorted to several times on the eve of important events—whether elections or not—to try to convince the public of the president's alleged connection to the late sex offender.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and who hopes be re-elected in next week's midterms, accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of covering up "crimes" in order to "protect the president."

"Five women have directly accused Trump of rape or sexual assault in Epstein's company or presence," Raskin said, according to statements reported by AFP.

Raskin and the rest of his Democratic colleagues on the committee demanded that Attorney General Todd Blanche appoint an independent special counsel to investigate Trump's alleged ties to Epstein and whether the president was involved in the sex offender's activities.

However, they acknowledged that it will be very difficult for Blanche to agree to such a request, given that he acts as Trump's "personal attorney general"—not the nation's.

Trump has reiterated his innocence, stating that he did not personally know Epstein and that he was never an accomplice or involved in his criminal activities, despite the late sex offender attempted to frame the president without evidence.

To date, the only person convicted in the Epstein case is Ghislaine Maxwell, the sex offender's former partner. She was found guilty in 2021 of procuring underage girls for Epstein, who had numerous ties to executives, politicians, celebrities and academics around the world.

Maxwell testified before Congress that Trump had nothing to do with Epstein and that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.

On Aug. 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where he was serving a sentence for sex trafficking of minors.