Advertisement
The Trump administration is facing growing pressure from far-right supporters to appoint a special prosecutor to take over the case files related to Jeffrey Epstein. But despite the public outcry, there are major legal and constitutional reasons why that probably won’t happen.
According to Politico, top officials at the Department of Justice, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputies, are firmly against the idea. They argue that appointing a special counsel in this situation would go against the U.S. Constitution. DOJ leaders like Todd Blanche, Stanley Woodward, and Emil Bove have made it clear they don’t support creating independent prosecutors without a strong legal basis.
When asked about the idea, former President Donald Trump distanced himself, saying he had “nothing to do with” the decision. He placed the responsibility squarely on Bondi. Later, his press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump “would not recommend” appointing a special counsel to investigate Epstein’s files. Bondi herself has faced controversy in the past, including allegations of improper foreign ties and questionable political relationships, which have only added fuel to the fire for her critics.
So, why can’t a special counsel just be appointed?
Under current Department of Justice rules, special counsels are only used in active criminal cases and when there’s a clear conflict of interest that would prevent the DOJ from handling the case fairly. But Epstein died in 2019, and his criminal case is technically closed. Also, there’s no evidence that Trump’s DOJ has a conflict of interest in the matter, legally speaking.
Calls for a special counsel ramped up after Bondi said earlier this year that she had seen a so-called “Epstein client list” and was reviewing it. When she didn’t make those files public, far-right commentator Laura Loomer demanded Bondi’s removal and pushed for an outside prosecutor to take over. At the same time, the House Judiciary Committee began pressuring the DOJ to release Epstein-related documents, especially ones that name Trump, even calling the department’s handling of the case a “coverup.”
Trump’s own history with special counsels makes this situation even more complex. He’s been the target of multiple high-profile investigations by special prosecutors, including Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and Jack Smith’s inquiries into the 2020 election and classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. After those experiences, Trump remains highly sceptical of the special counsel process.
Legal scholars, such as Josh Blackman from South Texas College of Law, say that even if a special counsel were appointed, it wouldn’t change much. That’s because the special counsel would still report to Bondi, meaning she’d have the final say on what the public sees, or doesn’t see. In short, it would be the same leadership, just with a new face.
So while the demand for transparency around Epstein’s files isn’t going away, the legal roadblocks and internal resistance from Trump’s own DOJ make it very unlikely that a special prosecutor will be appointed anytime soon.