US lawmakers have released over 20,000 pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender. The documents mention several well-known individuals, including Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, former President Donald Trump, and his former advisor Steve Bannon. While Trump had a friendship with Epstein, he claims they stopped associating in 2004, before Epstein’s first arrest, and he denies any wrongdoing.
Among the notable names is journalist Michael Wolff, known for his book “Fire and Fury,” which details Trump’s presidency. The new documents reveal emails between Wolff and Epstein, where they discuss Trump’s campaign. In 2015, Wolff informed Epstein that CNN would question Trump about Epstein, to which Epstein suggested crafting a response. Their correspondence includes a strategy where Wolff advised letting Trump “hang himself. ” Wolff had previously disclosed that he interviewed Epstein multiple times for “Fire and Fury. “
The documents also include communications between Epstein and Larry Summers, who served as Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton. These emails show that the two met for dinner regularly and discuss connections to powerful individuals. After Trump’s election, Summers requested that Epstein stay away from Trump due to potential conflicts of interest, expressing concern over Trump’s actions.
Following the release of the emails, Summers announced he would reduce his public engagements while continuing his teaching role. He expressed regret for his prior associations with Epstein and took full responsibility for his decisions. Summers also stepped down from a position at the Center for American Progress.
Additionally, there are email exchanges between Epstein and Kathryn Ruemmler, who was White House counsel during Barack Obama’s presidency. They discussed hush-money payments made by Trump to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, a matter that led to Trump’s conviction for falsifying business records. Epstein remarked on Trump’s alleged misconduct, highlighting his knowledge of Trump’s actions. Despite this, Ruemmler’s current employer, Goldman Sachs, has stated it supports her, explaining that the emails were from before she joined the company. Ruemmler has expressed regret over knowing Epstein.
Billionaire investor Peter Thiel has been mentioned in new documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, having been first noted in September. In a letter dated November 2018, Epstein invited Thiel to his Caribbean island, where some of Epstein’s crimes reportedly occurred. A representative for Thiel stated that he never visited the island. On a podcast, Thiel expressed his disapproval of Epstein, admitting he met him a few times and was introduced by a Silicon Valley colleague in 2014. Thiel regretted not asking more questions about Epstein and suggested that Epstein had substantial knowledge about taxes.
The latest documents also detail interactions between linguist Noam Chomsky and Epstein. Most of their discussions were academic or personal, but there were instances where politics, particularly Trump, were mentioned. In a December 2016 email, Chomsky commented that Epstein’s prediction about Trump not entering the White House was overly simplistic. Chomsky has previously stated that Epstein merely assisted him in managing his finances without benefiting directly from the transactions, acknowledging they met occasionally.
Publicist Peggy Siegal had dealings with Epstein during his scandals. In 2011, Epstein requested she contact Ariana Huffington to discredit accusations made by Virginia Giuffre, a notable Epstein accuser who died by suicide in the previous year. Siegal shared that she could only send Epstein’s request if rewritten for better clarity. She ultimately did not contact Huffington, emphasizing that the request was unusual and indicative of Epstein’s tendency to involve others in his unrealistic plans. Huffington confirmed she was never contacted regarding the issue and did not assign any reporters to it.
