Epstein affair | Powerful men who appear in the new documents

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday released the largest batch of records relating to Jeffrey Epstein to date, a massive tranche including more than 3 million pages of documents and thousands of videos and images.

These documents shed new light on the fallen financier’s relationships with several personalities, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They also contain a significant amount of uncorroborated information passed to law enforcement.

Here is what these files reveal about several of these men:

President Donald Trump

The files reportedly contain at least 4,500 documents mentioning Trump. One of them is a summary compiled last summer by FBI agents of a dozen tips provided by the public about Trump and Epstein, according to emails released Friday by the Justice Department.

It’s unclear why investigators wrote the summary, which includes accusations of sexual abuse allegedly committed by Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. The emails cite no supporting evidence, and the New York Times does not go into detail about these unverified claims.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. In response to a request for comment, the White House returned the New York Times to a public statement from the Justice Department, which said the documents released Friday “may contain false or misleading images, documents or videos.”

Most of the other documents are news articles or emails referencing Trump.

Bill Gates

According to publicly released emails, Jeffrey Epstein wrote notes to and about Gates in 2013 suggesting that Gates was having extramarital affairs. A representative for Gates called the accusations “absolutely absurd and completely false.”

In an email, Mr. Epstein wrote that he had helped Mr. Gates obtain medication “to deal with the consequences of his sexual relationships with Russian girls” and that he had facilitated dates between Gates and married women.

It is unclear whether Jeffrey Epstein sent these emails to Bill Gates. The fallen financier wrote the messages shortly after his attempt to broker a partnership between Bill Gates’ foundation and JPMorgan Chase failed, thereby depriving Epstein of what he hoped would be a considerable source of income.

Howard Lutnick

The files revealed that Howard Lutnick, now U.S. Commerce Secretary, planned to visit Epstein’s island in 2012, despite previously saying he severed all ties with Epstein around 2005.

Reached by telephone on Friday, Mr. Lutnick said he could not comment on this visit to the island because he had not seen the latest documents related to the Epstein affair.

“I didn’t spend any time with him,” Lutnick said. He then hung up.

The documents suggest the visit did take place. The meeting was scheduled for December 23, 2012. The next day, an Epstein assistant sent Lutnick a message from the latter: “Nice to see you,” he said.

Richard Branson

An email exchange between British billionaire Richard Branson and Jeffrey Epstein in 2013 suggests that the two men enjoyed a warm and familiar relationship, based at least in part on their shared interest in women.

In an email dated September 11, 2013, Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, wrote to Jeffrey Epstein: “I was very happy to see you yesterday. » He added: “Whenever you are in the area, I would like to see you. As long as you bring your harem! »

A Virgin Group representative said that Richard Branson sent the email shortly after hosting Jeffrey Epstein at a group business meeting on the private island Mr. Branson owns in the British Virgin Islands. Mr. Epstein arrived at the meeting with three adult women, described as a “harem,” who did not attend the meeting, the representative said.

“The only contact that Richard and Joan Branson had with Jeffrey Epstein was over 12 years ago and was limited to a few occasions in a professional or group setting,” the representative said in a statement. “Richard believes Epstein’s actions are heinous and supports the right to justice for his many victims. »

Elon Musk

According to the documents, Jeffrey Epstein and Elon Musk exchanged several messages between 2012 and 2014, comparing their schedules in order to find time to meet in Florida or the Caribbean.

“If you find time, come visit me on my island” in the Caribbean, Jeffrey Epstein wrote to Musk on September 25, 2012, urging the billionaire to “bring your friend(s).

“Sounds good to me, I’ll try to come,” replied Elon Musk.

Over the years, the tech entrepreneur has denied visiting the fallen financier’s island. In a social media post in September, Musk wrote that Epstein “tried to get me to come to his island and I REFUSED.”

But several emails show that Elon Musk withdrew from projects that the two men had developed.

Musk wrote on Saturday in a message posted on »

Steve Tisch

Jeffrey Epstein exchanged several messages throughout 2013 with Steve Tisch, co-owner of the New York Giants football team.

In some of these exchanges, Jeffrey Epstein appeared to connect Steve Tisch with women of specific ethnic origins and described their bodies in vulgar terms.

On several occasions, Mr. Tisch used a very familiar register to ask Jeffrey Epstein if the woman he was describing was a sex worker. In one of these exchanges, in April 2013, Jeffrey Epstein asked Steve Tisch to send him his phone number, because he did not want to leave traces of their conversations.

In a statement, Mr. Tisch said: “We had a brief relationship during which we exchanged emails about adult women, and we also discussed films, philanthropy and investments. I did not respond to any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know today, he was a horrible individual and I deeply regret having had any relationship with him. »

Prince Andrew

“I have a friend you might like to have dinner with,” Jeffrey Epstein wrote to Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom in 2010. In a later email, Epstein added that this “friend” was 26 years old, Russian, intelligent, beautiful and trustworthy. The prince replied that he would be “delighted” to meet this woman.

A few hours later, he wrote to Epstein again asking: “What did you tell him about me and did you also give him my email?” »

This email exchange adds new details to what was already known to the general public about the long friendship between Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he is now known. In October, the prince was stripped of his royal titles after new revelations exposed how close his ties to Epstein were.

Around 2001, Jeffrey Epstein allegedly made a teenage girl available to Prince Andrew, who allegedly had sex with her on several occasions, according to court documents filed by the woman, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly rejected M’s accusations^me Giuffre and denied any wrongdoing related to his friendship with Epstein.

Sergey Brin

Co-founder of Google and one of the richest men in the world, Sergey Brin visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island near St. Thomas. He also planned to dine at Epstein’s New York home and corresponded with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime companion and convicted accomplice, according to the documents released Friday.

“Dinners at Jeffrey’s are always cheerful, unfussy and relaxed,” Maxwell wrote to Brin in April 2003. “Look forward to seeing you.” »

It has long been known that Jeffrey Epstein introduced JPMorgan executives to Sergey Brin, whose fortune exceeds $250 billion, helping the bank count him among its clients.

Sarah Ransome, one of the plaintiffs against Jeffrey Epstein, claimed in court documents in 2024 that she met Brin and his then-fiancée, Anne Wojcicki, on Epstein’s island, which for many years was the center of his sex trafficking ring. One of Epstein’s former boat captains told New York Times earlier this year that he had seen Brin on the island several times.

Brin and Wojcicki did not respond to requests for comment.

This article was first published in the New York Times.

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