US President Donald Trump has ordered law enforcement to investigate links between disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and former President Bill Clinton as he looks to deflect attention from his own ties to the alleged sex trafficker.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he would be "asking" Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI "to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton."

He also namechecked Clinton's former treasury secretary Larry Summers, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffmann, banking giant JPMorgan Chase and "many other people and institutions."

Trump claimed: "Records show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his 'Island.'"

What are Bill Clinton's alleged links to Jeffrey Epstein?

Former Democratic President Bill Clinton has faced scrutiny over his ties to Epstein and flew on his private plane — but he has never been accused of any wrongdoing in the scandal.

Epstein himself said that Clinton had "never ever" been to his notorious private Caribbean island, according to emails viewed by the AFP news agency.

The emails "prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing," said a Clinton spokesman. "The rest is noise meant to distract from [Trump's] election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and who knows what else."

JPMorgan Chase — which counted Epstein among its clients and in 2023 agreed to pay $290 million (€250 million) to settle a class action lawsuit brought by victims — also rejected Trump's claims.

"The government had damning information about his crimes and failed to share it with us or other banks," the bank said in a statement. "We regret any association we had with the man, but did not help him commit his heinous acts."

Back in July, the FBI and Justice Department said in a memo that they had no evidence to justify an investigation into uncharged third parties.

Nevertheless, the Justice Department said on Friday it will fulfill Trump's request and Attorney General Bondi has appointed Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, to lead the investigation.

How close were Trump and Epstein?

Questions about his long friendship with Epstein have dogged President Trump since his return to the White House in January.

The 79-year-old has accused opponents of pushing an "Epstein hoax" after emails emerged in which Epstein suggested Trump "knew about the girls" and spent hours with one of the victims at his house.

"I know nothing about that," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Florida for the weekend on Friday.

"They would have announced that a long time ago," he said, insisting: "Jeffrey Epstein and I had a very bad relationship for many years."

Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019 before he could face trial on sex trafficking charges. But questions continue to mount over his alleged masterminding of a sex ring which provided powerful men with underaged girls.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko