Democratic senators are calling for a congressional hearing on JPMorgan Chase and other banks’ ties to accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“The American people deserve to know what happened at JPMorgan and other banks that financed Mr. Epstein,” 10 Democratic members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee wrote to Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-South Carolina).
“The Committee should hold a public hearing as soon as possible to examine failures and advance reforms that protect our communities,” they continued.
The letter was signed by Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Jack Reed (Rhode Island), Tina Smith (Minnesota), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Chris Van Hollen (Maryland), Raphael Warnock (Georgia), Andy Kim (New Jersey), Ruben Gallego (Arizona), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware), and Angela Alsobrooks (Maryland).
The senators called for JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to testify before the committee under oath.
The letter was spurred by an investigation published on September 8 in The New York Times Magazine. The Times reported that JPMorgan may have enabled Epstein’s crimes by continuing to work with him despite repeated warnings from employees as early as 2006.
Over the course of the bank’s relationship with Epstein, JPMorgan processed over $1 billion in transactions and opened at least 134 accounts for victims of his sex trafficking operation, according to the Times. The bank made more than $8 million in fees off of Epstein in one year alone.
“During a time when Epstein was regularly sexually abusing teenage girls and young women, JPMorgan processed more than 4,700 transactions, totaling more than $1.1 billion, for him, including payments to his victims,” the Times reported. “It also wired his money to Russian and Eastern European banks that appeared connected to Epstein’s sex-trafficking operations.”
Deutsche Bank, where Epstein was also a client, has also been accused of enabling Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. The bank subsequently paid victims of Epstein and regulators more than $100 million in settlements.
“Deutsche Bank executives, meanwhile, similarly estimated that Mr. Epstein could generate up to $4 million in annual revenues for the bank and decided to bank him in spite of his record,” the senators wrote. “So, despite repeated warnings from their employees, JPMorgan — and other financial institutions like Deutsche Bank — continued to do business with Mr. Epstein, potentially enabling his significant crimes.”
The Trump administration has moved to weaken regulations for the banking industry, but the senators say the Times investigation shows “we need more transparency, not less.”
“As the Trump Administration takes steps to loosen safeguards — such as rolling back anti-money laundering rules, halting enforcement of laws to combat anonymous shell companies, and firing bank examiners — our understanding of these vulnerabilities is more important than ever,” they wrote.
JPMorgan has faced multiple lawsuits over its relationship with Epstein. The U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two islands, sued JPMorgan, arguing that the bank was “indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise.” Epstein allegedly trapped and abused many of his victims on his Virgin Islands compound. The bank settled the case in 2023 for $75 million.
Also that year, JPMorgan settled a lawsuit filed by about 200 victims for $290 million.
Haley Robson, who was sexually abused by Epstein when she was in high school, contacted CEO Dimon directly about the bank’s integral role in Epstein’s crimes.
“I don’t understand how so many people, colleagues, knew what was going on, or had evidence and information that could have helped us, and chose not to speak up,” Haley Robson wrote in a letter to Dimon, The Daily Beast reported in 2023.
“I may not be as smart as you, but we should at least agree that the information you withheld has hurt me and many others,” she continued.
This week, federal lawmakers published a book of notes and drawings made for Epstein’s 50th birthday that was turned over by Epstein’s estate. The book reportedly includes contributions from former President Bill Clinton, Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz, and President Donald Trump. Trump has denied he authored the note signed “Donald Trump,” which features what appears to be the outline of a woman or girl’s body.
“Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” Trump allegedly wrote.
Another contribution to the book, which is unsigned, shows a drawing of Epstein at a child’s birthday party, giving three young girls balloons, and a second drawing of women in bikinis massaging him. The first picture is labeled 1983 and the second is labeled 2003. One of the women has Epstein’s initials tattooed on her exposed buttocks.
“What a great country,” the contributor wrote.
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