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The Democratic National Committee’s donations from the late financier Jeffrey Epstein have come under renewed scrutiny as Epstein’s sex-trafficking case files continue to roil the Trump administration.
The DNC’s donations from Epstein in the mid-1990s, totaling $32,000, were never returned by the committee, while several other Democratic lawmakers and entities have since donated or returned theirs.
The donations, visible in public campaign finance records, are back in the spotlight as the DNC relentlessly taunts the administration over Epstein by creating a social media account dedicated to raising awareness about his nonpublic case files and circulating a mobile billboard about it by the White House.
DNC Chairman Ken Martin recently accused President Donald Trump, who was once friends with Epstein prior to Epstein facing charges, of covering up for a “notorious sexual predator.”
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Asked for comment on never returning Epstein’s donations, a DNC spokesperson brushed off the funds, which were given in the mid-1990s, in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Instead of trying to blow the cobwebs off of decades-old contributions and defunct campaign accounts, Donald Trump should release the Epstein files,” the spokesperson said.
Scrutiny over donations and any conflicts they present is common in political campaigning. The RNC faced calls to return what Business Insider found to be $1.4 million from its former finance chair Steve Wynn, a casino mogul who stepped down from his role with the committee and with Wynn Resorts after facing numerous allegations of sexual misconduct and settling lawsuits over them.
The DNC also accepted more than $90,000 from the private hedge fund of billionaire Glenn Dubin, who has close ties to Epstein. At least two top Republicans, Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa., and Vivek Ramaswamy, also accepted donations from Dubin. Epstein invested millions in a hedge fund managed by Dubin. One of Epstein’s most vocal accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, testified in 2015 that associate Ghislaine Maxwell forced her to have sexual relations with Dubin. Dubin was never criminally charged.
Epstein donated on a smaller scale to Republicans, including President George H.W. Bush.
Epstein first pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution before facing federal charges in 2019 of trafficking and abusing underage women. Epstein died in what authorities said was suicide while in jail awaiting trial.
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Epstein used his enormous wealth to donate to several Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. When Epstein’s charges were announced in 2019, donation recipients faced pressure to disassociate from the funds.
Schumer, who received thousands from Epstein in the 1990s, vowed in 2019 to offset the funds by making a donation in their amount to anti-trafficking and women’s advocacy groups. Similarly, Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., revealed she would disavow Epstein’s donations by giving to The Women’s Coalition and The Family Resource Center after facing criticism for initially choosing to hold onto the money.
The DCCC received a $10,000 check from Epstein in 2018 but said the money was unsolicited and immediately refunded.
The late Don Fowler, former DNC chairman, said in a statement after Epstein was charged, that his committee’s donations were too old to address, according to CNBC.
“Go back and give money that he gave 20 years ago? Are you nuts?” Fowler said.
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