[ad_1]
The New York Times
The Department of Justice on Saturday released the largest batch of Jeffrey Epstein files to date, a giant tranche including 3 million more pages of documents and thousands of videos and images.
The documents shed new light on the disgraced financier’s relationships with several prominent figures, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They also contain a significant number of uncorroborated tips to law enforcement.
Here are what the files showed about several of those men:
President Donald Trump
The files appeared to contain at least 4500 documents mentioning Trump. One was a summary, assembled by FBI officials last summer, of more than a dozen public tips involving Trump and Epstein, according to emails released by the Department of Justice.
It is unclear why the investigators put together the summary, which includes accusations of sexual abuse by Epstein and Trump. The emails did not include any corroborating evidence, and The New York Times is not describing the details of the unverified claims.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. In response to a request for comment, the White House referred to a public statement from the Justice Department, which said that Friday’s documents “may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos”.
Many of the other documents were news articles or emails that referenced Trump.
Bill Gates
According to released emails, Epstein drafted notes to and about Gates in 2013, suggesting that he engaged in extramarital sex. A representative of Gates called the accusations “absolutely absurd and completely false”.
In one email, Epstein wrote that he had helped Gates acquire drugs “in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls” and that he had facilitated rendezvous for Gates with married women.
It was not clear if Epstein ever sent the emails to Gates. Epstein wrote the messages about Gates not long after his attempt to broker a venture between Gates’ foundation and JPMorgan Chase fizzled out – depriving Epstein of what he had hoped would be a gusher of income.
Howard Lutnick
The files revealed that Lutnick, now the US commerce secretary, planned a visit to Epstein’s island in 2012, though he previously said he severed ties with Epstein around 2005.
Reached by phone on Friday, Lutnick said he could not comment about the island visit because he had not seen the latest Epstein documents.
“I spent zero time with him,” Lutnick said. He then hung up.
The documents suggest the visit did occur. The gathering was set for December 23, 2012. A day later, an assistant to Epstein forwarded Lutnick a message from Epstein: “Nice seeing you,” it said.
Richard Branson
A 2013 email exchange between British billionaire Branson and Epstein suggests that the two had a warm, familiar relationship, built at least in part around their interest in women.
In an email on September 11, 2013, Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, wrote to Epstein, “It was really nice seeing you yesterday.” He added: “Any time you’re in the area would love to see you. As long as you bring your harem!”
A representative for Virgin Group said that Branson had sent the email shortly after hosting Epstein at a group business meeting on the private island Branson owns in the British Virgin Islands. Epstein arrived at the meeting with three adult women, whom he referred to as his “harem” who did not attend the meeting, the representative said.
“Any contact Richard and Joan Branson had with Epstein took place on only a few occasions more than 12 years ago, and was limited to group or business settings,” the representative said in a statement. “Richard believes that Epstein’s actions were abhorrent and supports the right to justice for his many victims.”
Elon Musk
Epstein and Musk exchanged multiple messages between 2012 and 2014, comparing their schedules to find time to meet in Florida or in the Caribbean, according to the documents.
“If you find some time, come visit me on my island” in the Caribbean, Epstein wrote to Musk on September 25, 2012, urging the billionaire to “bring your friend or friends”.
“Sounds good, will try to make it,” Musk replied.
Over the years, the technology entrepreneur has denied visiting the disgraced financier’s island. In a social media post in September, Musk wrote that Epstein “tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED.”
But several emails show that Musk backed out of plans that the two men had made.
Musk wrote on Saturday in a post on X, the social media site he owns: “I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island or fly on his ‘Lolita Express,’ but was well aware that some email correspondence with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name.”
Steve Tisch
Epstein exchanged multiple messages with Tisch, a co-owner of the New York Giants, throughout 2013.
In some of the exchanges, Epstein appeared to be connecting Tisch with women of specific ethnicities and described their bodies in vulgar terms.
On more than one occasion, Tisch used slang terms to ask Epstein if a woman he was describing was a sex worker. In one of those exchanges, in April 2013, Epstein asked Tisch to send him his phone number because he did not want a record of the conversations.
In a statement, Tisch said: “We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments. I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
“I have a friend I think you might enjoy having dinner with,” Epstein wrote to the former prince Andrew in 2010. In a later email, Epstein added that the “friend” was 26 years old, Russian, clever, beautiful and trustworthy. The prince replied that he would be “delighted” to meet the woman.
A few hours later, he wrote Epstein again, asking, “What have you told her about me and have you given her my email as well?”
The email exchange adds new details to what has been publicly known about the long friendship between Epstein, the convicted sex offender, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he is now known. The prince was stripped of his royal titles last October after other new disclosures showed the extent of his closeness with Epstein.
About 2001, Epstein trafficked a teenage girl to Andrew, who had sex with her multiple times, according to legal filings later made by the woman, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied Giuffre’s accusations and any wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with Epstein.
Sergey Brin
Brin, co-founder of Google and one of the richest men in the world, visited Epstein’s private island near St Thomas, made plans to dine at Epstein’s New York home and corresponded with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s long-time companion and convicted co-conspirator, according to the latest documents.
“Dinners at Jeffrey’s are always happily casual and relaxed,” Maxwell wrote to Brin in April 2003. “Look forward to seeing you.”
It has long been known that Epstein introduced JPMorgan executives to Brin, whose net worth exceeds $US250 billion, helping the bank secure him as a client.
Sarah Ransome, one of Epstein’s accusers, claimed in court documents in 2024 that she had met Brin and his then-fiancee, Anne Wojcicki, on Epstein’s island, which was the centre of his sex-trafficking operation for many years. One of Epstein’s former boat captains told The New York Times this year that he had seen Brin on the island more than once.
Brin and Wojcicki did not respond to requests for comment.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
From our partners
[ad_2]
