Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) called on the FBI Tuesday to conduct a counterintelligence threat assessment of files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in order to determine whether a foreign actor could use them against President Trump or other prominent Americans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever may be in the Epstein files is clearly troubling enough that Donald Trump doesn\u2019t want to touch this issue with a ten-foot pole,\u201d Schumer said on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s natural to ask: what happens if America\u2019s adversaries use cyber-attacks or other means to access investigative materials into Jeffrey Epstein that are embarrassing \u2013 or worse \u2013 for President Trump and the people around him?\u201d Schumer said<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens if Epstein materials end up in the hands of the Chinese government, or Russia, or North Korea?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Schumer argued that unless the Epstein files are released and made fully transparent to the public, they could become compromising material that foreign adversaries could use to \u201cblackmail someone like the president\u201d or other senior leaders in government.<\/p>\n
Schumer wants the FBI to assess what risk would be posed if a foreign adversary were to gain access to information in the Epstein files.<\/p>\n
He is asking the FBI to determine if foreign intelligence agencies could gain access to the information in the files through \u201ccyber intrusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also wants the FBI to identify any vulnerabilities that could be exploited by foreign intelligence, such as \u201cbeing able to gain leverage over Donald Trump, his family or other senior government officials.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s asking the nation\u2019s top law enforcement agency to \u201cpublicly show they are developing mitigation strategies to counter these threats and safeguard our national security.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump said Monday at a press conference in Scotland that he ended his friendship with Epstein more than 20 years ago after \u201che did something that was inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n