President Trump won’t recommend special counsel in Epstein investigation, spokeswoman says

WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump will not recommend a special counsel in the Jeffrey Epstein review a White House spokeswoman disclosed Thursday turning aside calls for further action in an inquiry that has roiled the Justice Department and angered supporters who had been expecting a treasure trove of documents from the circumstance The rejection of a special counsel is part of an effort by the White House to turn the page from continued outrage from corners of Trump s base over the Justice Department s refusal last week to release additional records from the assessment into Epstein a well-connected and wealthy financier who killed himself in jail in as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges Authorities also disclosed Epstein did not maintain a much-hyped client list and revealed the evidence was clear he had died by suicide despite conspiracy theories to the contrary Trump on Wednesday sought to clamp down on criticism from his own supporters about his administration s handling of the Epstein-related records calling them weaklings who were being duped and characterizing the probe as a hoax even though his hand-picked leaders at the FBI and Justice Department had long stoked society expectations that major information was being hidden The news organization Just the News published excerpts Wednesday from a Trump interview in which Trump commented he would be open to having a special counsel look into anything credible related to Epstein as well as other long-standing grievances he and his supporters have long raised But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to close the door Thursday on a special counsel for the Epstein examination saying the idea was floated from someone in the media to the president The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein incident she mentioned Justice Department regulations allow for the attorney general to appoint and supervise an outside special counsel to investigate assertions of criminal wrongdoing in instances when prosecutors might face a feasible or perceived conflict of interest The department in newest years has appointed a succession of special counsels sometimes though not reliably plucked from outside the agency to lead investigations into politically sensitive matters including into conduct by President Joe Biden and by Trump Last year Trump s personal lawyers launched an aggressive and prosperous challenge to the appointment of Jack Smith the special counsel assigned to investigate his efforts to undo the presidential balloting and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach Florida A Trump-appointed judge agreed ruling that then-Attorney General Merrick Garland had exceeded his bounds by appointing a prosecutor without Senate approval and confirmation and dismissed the circumstance That legal gang included Todd Blanche who is now deputy attorney general as well as Emil Bove who is Blanche s top deputy but was not long ago nominated to serve as a judge on a federal appeals court