Senator Wyden blasts DEA, asks why 'major' investigation into Epstein never led to charges (drugs,prostitution, money)

[Amaryllis]

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2026/02/oregon-senator-blasts-dea-asks-why-major-investigation-into-epstein-never-led-to-charges.html

Updated: Feb. 26, 2026, 2:42 p.m.|Published: Feb. 26, 2026, 12:21 p.m.
By Fedor Zarkhin | The Oregonian/OregonLive

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden is demanding answers from the Drug Enforcement Administration after newly released records revealed that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was the target of a Department of Justice drug trafficking and money laundering investigation.

The document revealing the investigation was a 69-page DEA memo written in 2015 and released this year as part of the records dump the Trump administration posted online in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
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The memo revealed that Epstein was among 15 people under investigation for illegitimate wire transfers tied to drug trafficking and prostitution, according to the document.

In his letter to DEA Administrator Terrance Cole on Thursday, Wyden asserted that none of the 15 people were indicted as part of the investigation, called “Chain Reaction,” and asked Cole to explain why. Wyden also asked that the agency release an unredacted version of the report.

“I am concerned that the DEA and DOJ during the first Trump Administration moved to terminate this investigation in order to protect pedophiles,” Wyden wrote. “I am also concerned that the excessive redactions of this memorandum for operation ‘Chain Reaction’ go well beyond the intent of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”