Trump Faces Fresh Epstein Scrutiny as Democrats Name an Alleged Co-Conspirator and Demand a Special Counsel

House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a report on Monday demanding a special counsel to investigate President Donald Trump and naming former modelling agent Paolo Zampolli as an alleged Epstein co-conspirator, eight days before the 3 November US midterms.

The 53-page staff report accuses Trump of being 'an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of young women', citing material involving 11 women, five of whom directly accuse the president of rape or sexual assault. Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein's crimes.

Most allegations were already public. Beatrice Keul, a former beauty pageant contestant, told committee staff Trump raped her in 1993 and left her bleeding and bruised. She previously said she had talked him out of an attempted rape.

A Call for a Special Counsel

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee argue that the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation have worked to protect Trump rather than pursue the case, and that their conduct demands 'the appointment of an independent special counsel'. They want that prosecutor to examine not only the president but every potential accomplice in Epstein's trafficking network.

Ranking Member Jamie Raskin said the department had 'deliberately withheld evidence' and 'appears to be covering up these crimes to protect the President'. A Justice Department spokesperson told NBC News the document was 'nothing more than a last-ditch effort by House Judiciary Democrats to mislead the public'.

The Attorney General in the Frame

The report also turns on Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, alleging he 'may have engaged in criminal obstruction of justice while acting on a mission to protect Trump'. It points to Blanche's July 2025 prison interview with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, during which Democrats say he stopped her from discussing a witness, shortly before she was moved to a minimum-security facility.

Democrats frame that meeting as a sign of a department bending to shield the White House rather than the women who say they were harmed.

Naming an Alleged Co-Conspirator

The report names Zampolli, a longtime Trump friend and former US special envoy for global partnerships, as a man who 'may have been' a co-conspirator in Epstein's operation during the 1990s. Zampolli, who has said he introduced Melania Trump to the president, has rejected suggestions of involvement in Epstein's activities and faces no Epstein-related criminal charges. His name appears repeatedly in FBI records cited in the report, though no court has ruled on that allegation.

A Fight Timed for the Midterms

The Judiciary report is separate from the House Oversight Committee's Epstein investigation. Released eight days before polls open, the report doubles as a campaign argument, with Democrats vowing to subpoena files and pursue Epstein's associates if they retake the House of Representatives. Control of the chamber would give them subpoena powers to seek disclosures the Justice Department has resisted.

The White House rejected the findings, with spokeswoman Lauren Bis saying 'None of these allegations are true' and insisting Trump had been 'fully exonerated of anything related to Epstein'. The report recasts whether a sitting president is investigated as a question riding on the midterm result.