A four-year congressional investigation into the assets of millionaire financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been stalled indefinitely by the Trump administration, which has revoked access to sensitive documents that had been granted under former President Joe Biden.
The US Senate Finance Committee began its inspection of Epstein’s financial history in 2022, when ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) discovered Wall Street executive and Trump ally Leon Black vastly overpaid Epstein for tax and estate planning services. Further digging revealed that Black had reached a $65 million settlement agreement in 2023 with the US Virgin Islands — home to Epstein’s infamous enclave — in exchange for immunity from an Epstein-related prosecution. Immunity was granted despite prosecutors’ conclusion that “Epstein used the money Black paid him to partially fund his operations in the Virgin Islands.”
“Over the course of the ongoing Finance Committee investigation, my staff have uncovered new evidence, including through review of federal government records, indicating that money paid by Black to Epstein was used to finance Epstein’s sex trafficking operations,” Wyden said. “Major US financial institution failed to do legally required due diligence on the payments.”
