Raskin Probes Epstein For Skipping Foreign Influence Paperwork
Congress opened an investigation Tuesday into evidence that Jeffrey Epstein acted as an unregistered agent for foreign powers, sought to influence Trump administration policy and leveraged his relationship with President Donald Trump without completing the federal paperwork that converts clandestine influence peddling into a respectable Washington profession. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, requested records from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, insisting that American diplomacy remain the exclusive province of people who have passed background checks, received government badges and learned which disclosure forms may be ignored after filing.
Trump defended the arrangement as a model of public-private efficiency. “Jeffrey was doing diplomacy at no cost to the taxpayer, tremendous diplomacy, and Jamie Raskin wants bureaucrats filling out forms instead of getting beautiful foreign influence done,” Trump said, clarifying the administration’s doctrine that national sovereignty may be subcontracted to any well-connected acquaintance with a passport and an open afternoon. White House allies noted that conventional diplomats require salaries, offices, ethics training and congressional oversight, while Epstein needed only international contacts, access to powerful people and the confidence to treat foreign-agent law as a voluntary customer survey.
Documents reviewed by Judiciary Committee Democrats indicate Epstein offered guidance involving Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Russia while presenting himself as someone with access to Trump. National-security officials traditionally describe that combination as a counterintelligence concern, although fiscal conservatives have identified it as eliminating the State Department middleman. The inquiry will now determine whether Epstein’s alleged error was attempting to shape U.S. policy for foreign interests or merely failing to register the enterprise, retain a lobbyist and host a reception with miniature crab cakes. Under Washington’s established rules, influence sold quietly is corruption, influence sold through a consulting firm is expertise, and influence sold near a president is foreign policy. The presidency is therefore not for sale; it has merely entered the export sector.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.