Former PM denies meeting as Epstein files released
Former prime minister and outgoing US Ambassador Kevin Rudd has refused to go to Jeffrey Epstein’s New York home following the release of new US Justice Department files.
In a long statement, Dr. Rudd has vehemently denied communicating with the convicted US sex offender or visiting any of his homes.
Millions of pages of documents related to Epstein were released overnight by the US Department of Justice, shedding further light on his network of contacts in business, politics and the media.
The documents provide insight into how Epstein used his connections to court those in power and used others to initiate meetings between himself and other high-profile individuals.
For decades, Epstein maintained friendly relations with former presidents and senior officials and was reportedly involved in intelligence and influence activities.
Epstein was imprisoned for soliciting sex with minors and committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on more serious charges of sex trafficking of minors.
More than 2,000 videos and more than 180,000 images were also posted in Friday’s dump.
The files posted on the department’s website contain some of the several million pages of records that officials say were withheld after the documents were first released in December.
The e-mails included in the release of the file show that Epstein sent Dr.
A statement from Dr Rudd’s office said: “Our office has no record of this meeting and there is no clue in the published documents as to who organized this meeting. In any event, they failed to arrange the publicity.”
Dr Rudd is one of thousands of people named in the Epstein files and the AAP does not suggest any personal relationship between Epstein and Mr Rudd.
“As Dr. Rudd has attended literally thousands of events in New York over the years, we cannot rule out the possibility that they may have attended the same event at some stage,” the statement said.
“Many of the references to Dr. Rudd in these latest documents mention him in passing. Others suggest that mutual acquaintances of Jeffrey Epstein identified him as Dr.
The statement comes after months of accusations between the government and Congress over the slow pace and lack of transparency of documents withheld over years of records and legal documents related to the Epstein case.
In a statement, Dr Rudd’s office said: “Even if these various recordings were to be accepted at face value in some way, none of them allege that Dr Rudd engaged in any wrongdoing or had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
“Dr Rudd’s legal team is prepared to take legal action against defamatory statements suggesting any personal relationship between Dr Rudd and Epstein.”
with AP
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