The newly released more than 20,000 pages of emails related to American criminal Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in prison in 2019 after being convicted of child sexual abuse and exploitation, made headlines around the world last week. The full Epstein files have not yet been released. However, among the released documents, correspondence made public by Democratic Party members suggests that US President Donald Trump may have had more information about Epstein's crimes than he has publicly acknowledged. While the public naturally focuses primarily on the correspondence about Trump, the documents released so far contain other significant information and allegations, though not widely reported in the press. For the public's information, I would like to summarize some of these as follows:
Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 at the age of 66, wrote in a 2017 email, "I've met some very bad people. None of them were as bad as Trump. There wasn't a single good cell in his body." In other messages, Epstein described Trump as a "maniac" showing signs of "early dementia." The correspondence reveals that Epstein occasionally interfered in US foreign policy and leveraged his international connections. Before Trump's 2018 bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Epstein suggested that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov seek his views on Trump.
In an email to Thorbjørn Jagland, the former Prime Minister of Norway who was then president of the Council of Europe, Epstein wrote, "You could suggest to Putin that Lavrov could gather his opinion on Trump by speaking with me." Interestingly, around the same time, in February 2018, I also conducted an exclusive interview with Thorbjørn Jagland. Jagland discussed Turkey and Europe in the interview. Without mentioning his connections with Russia, he said that Turkey should be proud of being a European country: “Participation in a legal framework like the Council of Europe is not a burden for Turkey, but a source of confidence. Europeans who want to push Turkey away will see that if this happens, Europe will have much bigger problems than it has now,” he said. Had I known Jagland had such connections to both Epstein and Russia, I would have definitely asked him about Epstein.
Epstein also stated in the correspondence that he spoke about Trump with Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations who passed away in 2017. He continued: “Churkin was wonderful! After our conversations, he understood Trump. It’s not complicated. You have to be seen to achieve something; it’s that simple.” In numerous correspondences with business partners and friends, Epstein boasts about his relationships with powerful figures in politics, media, technology, and foreign affairs. In a 2018 exchange with former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, Epstein suggested Bannon spend eight to ten days in Europe, saying, "There are many leaders of countries we can arrange one-on-one meetings with." Epstein wrote, "If you want to play here, you'll have to make the time; Europe isn't remote."
Among the characters Epstein turned to for advice was the family of director Woody Allen, who has been implicated in sexual harassment allegations. In an email, Epstein shared a news article about James Woolsey, who ran the CIA during the Bill Clinton administration, joining Trump's 2016 presidential campaign as an advisor, along with Allen's adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, who later became his wife. Previn replied to Epstein's email, "Woody said it didn't make sense."
