Epstein positioned himself as Trump insider in newly released emails
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Newly released House Oversight emails show Jeffrey Epstein posing as a political insider after President Donald Trump’s primary, offering foreign leaders “insight” about the new president and boasting that he had already briefed a top Russian diplomat on how to deal with him.
The batch of emails, made public this week by the House Oversight Committee, spans from 2016 to 2018 and reveals that Epstein sought to re-establish himself on the world stage by courting heads of state, billionaires and diplomats.
The convicted sex offender, who died in federal custody in 2019, positioned himself as a man with rare access to and understanding of Trump, offering his analysis to global figures eager to make sense of the new administration.
In a 2018 meeting, former Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland thanked Epstein for a “lovely evening” and said he would meet with the assistant of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
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Jeffrey Epstein positioned himself as a political insider after President Trump’s election in 2016 and gave foreign leaders insight into his behavior, according to House Oversight emails. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
Epstein said Jagland should have told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Lavrov “could get an idea by talking to me” and said, “Vitaly Churkin was great; after our conversations, he understood Trump.”
Churkin, Russia’s longtime ambassador to the United Nations, died in 2017.
The messages show that Epstein repeatedly identified himself as an interpreter of Trump’s behavior.
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In 2018, Jeffrey Epstein emailed former Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, suggesting that he tell Russian President Vladimir Putin that the then-Russian Foreign Minister could obtain information about then-newly elected President Donald Trump. (AP Photo, Terje Pedersen, NTB scanpix)
“It’s not complicated,” he wrote to Jagland. “He must be seen to have achieved something so simple.”
Earlier emails show that Epstein tried to gain access during Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
Dubai ports boss Sultan bin Sulayem asked whether Trump would accept his ally Tom Barrack’s invitation and whether it would be possible to shake the president’s hand. Epstein said the events would be “very crowded” but offered to help organize meetings in Washington or New York before or after.
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Jeffrey Epstein was found in prison after a suicide attempt and was later pronounced dead. (Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)
Epstein also remained in contact with prominent American financiers and political figures. In December 2016, he exchanged notes with Hyatt heir Tom Pritzker, boasting that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had sent him “a tent, carpets and everything.” Pritzker joked that the gesture could be “code for ‘I love you.'”
In a separate thread published in 2018 after Trump’s summit with Putin in Helsinki, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers asked Epstein: “Do the Russians have anything on Trump? He was awful today, even by his standards.”
Epstein dismissed the idea, saying Trump was “completely predictable” and offered to make a statement by phone.
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“He thinks he has bewitched his enemy,” Epstein wrote. “He has no idea about symbolism. He has no idea about most things.”
Together, the communications paint a picture of Epstein trying to leverage his reputation and relationships for renewed influence, using his contacts in Washington, the Middle East and Europe to insert himself into the global intrigue of the Trump era.
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When reached for comment, the White House told Fox News Digital: “These emails literally prove nothing.”
The House Oversight Committee released a cache of Epstein-related documents this week as part of an ongoing investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of the financier’s previous plea deal and broader network of contacts.
