Warren calls on Federal Reserve nominee to explain Epstein links

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, asked President Trump’s nominee to serve as Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, to clarify his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a Wednesday letter to Warsh, Warren referenced two emails released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in which the nominee is listed as a guest to a pair of gatherings that Epstein seemingly attended.

One email, in September 2010, lists the guests for a dinner party hosted by former British politician William Astor. Warsh is listed as a guest alongside his wife, Jane Lauder. Dozens of others are listed, including Epstein and his longtime accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump and first lady Melania Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and his then-wife Vanessa Trump, and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were also listed.

Another email, in December of that year, lists Lauder and Warsh as among a large group of people traveling to the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy for Christmas. President Trump is not listed as part of that group, while Maxwell is.

Warren wrote to Warsh that “it is essential that Congress and the public fully understand the extent of any interactions or relationship you had with” Epstein. She also noted the events Warsh attended occurred after the disgraced financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute in 2008, and after he had settled multiple civil lawsuits with accusers.

The Massachusetts Democrat asked Warsh to clarify whether he traveled to Saint Barthélemy in December 2010 or January 2011, whether he attended a gathering in either of those months where Epstein was present and, if so, the extent of their interactions, if any.

She also asked whether he attended an event where Epstein or Maxwell was present in September, October or November 2010, and whether the president or any members of his family were in attendance.

Lastly, Warren asked for details on any additional communications Warsh had with Epstein or Maxwell not referenced in the emails.

Trump in January nominated Warsh to lead the central bank, succeeding Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May. But even before her letter Wednesday, Warren expressed concern over the former Fed board of governors member, slamming him for previously supporting high interest rates before, in her view, pivoting in order to get the nomination from the president.

Trump criticized Powell throughout last year for not backing a larger or earlier interest rate cut.

“Kevin Warsh is not a guy who will make an independent economic decision. It tells me Kevin Warsh is a sock puppet,” she argued on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last month.

Meanwhile, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Banking Committee, has vowed to hold up Warsh’s nomination until the Justice Department’s probe of Powell concludes.

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