🏦 Senate Democrats plan JPMorgan-Epstein probe, report says

Finance Democrats reportedly eye the bank's Epstein ties after $290M and $75M settlements. JPMorgan says it regrets any association. 🗣️

By , business desk · Desk editor Laima Ērkšķe-Kreicberga · · 2 min read

Jamie DimonPROBEPhoto: Steve Jurvetson · CC BY 2.0

Photo: Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Desaturated and cropped by MrScandal.

What we know

  • CNBC reported Thursday, per the New York Post, that Senate Finance Committee Democrats plan to scrutinize how JPMorgan executives handled Jeffrey Epstein, a client for about 15 years. CNBC's sources are anonymous.
  • The Post says Democrats are also weighing calls for executives at other Wall Street giants once they take control in January.
  • JPMorgan paid $75M to settle the U.S. Virgin Islands lawsuit and agreed to a $290M settlement with Epstein's victims. It did not admit wrongdoing in either, per the Post.
  • A JPMorgan spokesperson told the Post the U.S. government held damning information on Epstein that it did not share with banks, and that the bank regrets any association with him.
  • The Post names no hearing date or subpoena. Sen. Ron Wyden could become Finance chair in January.

Senate Finance Committee Democrats are planning to scrutinize how JPMorgan Chase executives handled Jeffrey Epstein, CNBC reported Thursday, Nov 5, according to the New York Post's account of that report. The Post says CNBC relied on anonymous sources. The plan would take effect only if Democrats control the committee when the new Congress starts in January.

Who says what

The New York Post, citing CNBC, says the committee's Democrats will focus on decisions by Mary Callahan Erdoes, chief executive of JPMorgan's wealth management division. The Post also says senior Democrats have been studying a 181-page dossier from the Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning think tank, written by former staffers of Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. That dossier argues for a broader set of investigations, according to the Post, which attributes the point to the Washington Sun.

The Post says Erdoes has testified that she knew as early as 2006 that Epstein was accused of paying for underage girls to be brought to his home. It says she did not cut him off as a client until 2013. It also reports that Jamie Dimon testified in 2023 that Erdoes had the authority to drop Epstein, and that former executive Jes Staley testified she had "full authority to remove Epstein as a client." Only the Post's retelling of CNBC supports the claim that this is the committee's plan. The testimony itself is on record.

The response

"The US government had damning information about Epstein's crimes that it failed to share with us or other banks."

JPMorgan spokesperson, to the New York Post

The same spokesperson added, per the Post: "We regret any association we had with him, but we did not help him commit his crimes." The Post's report does not quote Erdoes on the plan. The bank has blamed Staley for failing to report criminal activity related to Epstein, the Post says. Staley has denied being aware of Epstein's crimes, per the same report.

What happens next

The Post gives no hearing date, no subpoena and no deadline. It says the plan depends on Democrats taking control in January, with Sen. Ron Wyden, now the Finance Committee's ranking member, possibly becoming chairman. Wyden posted a one-word remark on social media Tuesday, "Subpoenas," the Post says. Committee Democrats replied, "Let's f--king go." Neither post is a formal committee action.

Backstory

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. JPMorgan dropped him five years later, per the Post. He was charged with human trafficking in 2019 and died weeks later in a Manhattan jail cell.

The U.S. Virgin Islands sued JPMorgan in 2023. Its co-lead counsel, Mimi Liu, told a federal judge the bank "was a full-service bank for Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking," per the Post. JPMorgan paid $75M to settle that suit and agreed to $290M with Epstein's victims. The Post says it did not admit wrongdoing in either.

As of Nov 5, 8:26 PM ET, the story stands on one CNBC report, relayed by the New York Post and sourced to unnamed people. Confirmed on record: the two settlements, the earlier testimony and JPMorgan's statement. Pending: whether Democrats win control in January, who chairs Finance, and whether any subpoena is ever issued. No hearing date has been reported.

Earlier on file: Charlie Javice gets 85 months; JPMorgan paid $175M for Frank

On file: The Jeffrey Epstein file · The JPMorgan Chase file · The Jamie Dimon file

The Ledger

On the record

  • JPMorgan paid $75M to settle the U.S. Virgin Islands suit and agreed to $290M with Epstein's victims, with no admission of wrongdoing, per the Post.
  • JPMorgan's spokesperson told the Post the bank regrets any association with Epstein but did not help him commit his crimes.

Still rumour

  • The Finance Democrats' plan rests on CNBC's anonymous sources, relayed by the Post. No hearing date or subpoena has been reported.

That's the record. The rest is rumour. - MrMoney

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