Overview
- A heavily redacted, 69-page OCDETF memo shows the DEA opened a 2010 investigation code-named “Chain Reaction” into Jeffrey Epstein and 14 others for drug trafficking, prostitution and money laundering.
- The memo describes illegitimate wire transfers allegedly tied to illicit drug or prostitution activities in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York City.
- Senator Ron Wyden asked DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole to provide an unredacted copy by March 16 and to detail what illicit drug activities were under investigation.
- Wyden noted that Epstein and the 14 alleged co-conspirators were never charged for drug trafficking or financial crimes and asked whether DOJ components recommended such charges.
- Questioning extensive redactions that conceal the 14 names, Wyden also pointed to his separate probe of Epstein-linked finances, citing claims that JPMorgan failed to report over $4 billion in suspicious transactions and his PETRA bill to obtain Treasury records.