Epstein Files: Who Else Was Mentioned?

US lawmakers have released more than 20,000 pages of documents from the estate of disgraced financier and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Some documents mention Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, former prince and brother of King Charles; US President Donald Trump; former Trump adviser Steve Bannon; and a cast of other figures from the worlds of media, politics and entertainment, who underline the breadth of Epstein’s contacts book.

Trump was a friend of Epstein’s for years, but the president said they had a falling out around 2004, years before Epstein’s first arrest. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing regarding Epstein.

Here are some of the other names discussed, which do not indicate any wrongdoing on the part of any of the parties mentioned.

Michael Wolff, 72, is an American journalist and columnist, as well as a prolific author of books about the rich and famous.

Fire and Fury, the first of several books covering Trump’s first term as US president, was released in 2018, featuring descriptions of a dysfunctional White House and salacious details about America’s commander in chief. Trump said it was “full of lies.”

The new batch of records linked to Jeffrey Epstein has shed light on a relationship that appears to indicate a correspondence between Wolff and the late convicted sex offender.

Attention was particularly focused on one of the emails, in which Wolff appeared to give advice to Epstein regarding Trump, as Trump was campaigning for the White House for the first time.

Wolff wrote to Epstein in 2015 to inform him that CNN planned to interview Trump, as a presidential candidate, about his relationship with Epstein.

Epstein responded: “If we were able to come up with an answer for him, what do you think it should be?” »

The two men then discuss strategy, with Wolff writing: “I think you should let him hang himself.”

In another email from October 2016, days before the US presidential election, Wolff offered Epstein the opportunity for an interview that could “end” Trump.

Responding to the post in a video posted to Instagram, Wolff said: “Some of these emails are between Epstein and me, with Epstein discussing his relationship with Donald Trump. »

“I’ve been trying to talk about this story for a very long time,” he added.

In fact, Wolff revealed before the last US presidential election that he had interviewed Epstein “periodically” for Fire and Fury – and released recordings of those conversations.

The documents include correspondence between Epstein and Larry Summers, who was former Democratic President Bill Clinton’s Treasury secretary. It was previously reported that the two men knew each other.

The emails indicate the two men met frequently for dinner, with Epstein often trying to connect Summers with high-profile global figures. At one point in July 2018, Epstein proposed a meeting with the “President [sic] of the United Nations, person of interest to you”.

In another email from late November 2016, just after Trump’s election, Summers asked Epstein to “put no effort into anything regarding me with Trump.”

Because of Trump’s “conflict of interest approach,” “proximity to Russian President Vladimir Putin” and a “reckless response” to the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Summers said he was “better off a million miles away.”

A spokesperson for Summers declined to comment, but referred the BBC to Summers’ previous statements. A representative told the Wall Street Journal in 2023 that the former official “deeply regrets having any contact with Epstein following his conviction.”

The House Oversight Committee released several email exchanges between Epstein and Kathryn Ruemmler, a lawyer who served as White House counsel during Barack Obama’s presidency.

In August 2018, Ms. Ruemmler and Epstein discussed secret payments made by Trump to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election — an issue for which Trump was later convicted of falsifying business records. Trump denies allegations he had an affair with Daniels.

The exchange between Ms. Ruemmler and Epstein culminated with Epstein writing: “See, I know how dirty Donald is.”

Goldman Sachs, where Ruemmler currently serves as chief legal officer and general counsel, told CNBC it stood by its employee.

“These emails were private correspondence long before Kathy Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs. Kathy is an exceptional general counsel and we benefit from her judgment every day,” Goldman spokesperson Tony Fratto said in a statement to CNBC.

In 2023, Ms. Ruemmler told the Wall Street Journal: “I regret knowing Jeffrey Epstein.”

The BBC has asked Ms Ruemmler and Goldman Sachs for further comment.

Billionaire investor and Trump supporter Peter Thiel’s name has appeared again in Epstein’s latest documents – after first being mentioned in a batch made public in September.

According to the newly released records, Epstein wrote to Mr. Thiel in November 2018 inviting him to visit him on his Caribbean island, where some of Epstein’s crimes were allegedly committed.

The BBC has requested comment from the Thiel Foundation and the investor’s Founders Fund. A representative for Mr. Thiel told Politico that he had never visited the island.

Mr. Thiel criticized Epstein in an August 2024 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

“You know, I also met with Epstein several times,” Thiel said.

Mr. Thiel said he was introduced to Epstein by another Silicon Valley executive in 2014.

“I didn’t check, I didn’t ask enough questions about it,” Mr. Thiel said. He surmised that “Epstein knew a lot about taxes.”

The latest released document includes more correspondence between famed linguist Noam Chomsky, 96, and Epstein. Many of their discussions were academic or personal.

Sometimes conversations turned to the topic of Trump, notably in December 2016.

In his email, Mr. Chomsky told Epstein: “I note that your prediction was correct that Trump would avoid the White House because it is too primitive.”

The BBC has contacted a representative for Mr Chomsky for comment.

In response to a previous Wall Street Journal article about their relationship, Mr. Chomsky said Epstein helped him move money between his accounts without “a cent from Epstein,” and acknowledged that “I knew him and we met from time to time.”

Epstein consulted publicist Peggy Siegal as the scandal surrounding him and his associates unfolded.

Epstein wrote to Ms. Siegal in 2011 asking her to contact Huffington Post founder Ariana Huffington to discredit the story of Virginia Giuffre, who was a prominent accuser of Epstein and Andrew. Giuffre committed suicide earlier this year.

Epstein told Siegal that Huffington “should defend the dangers of false allegations….”

The email exchange shows Ms. Siegal telling Epstein: “If you rewrite your last email with better grammar (and so I have a better understanding), I can copy and paste it and send it to Ariana Huffington from me…”.

In a telephone interview, Ms. Siegal told the BBC that she never forwarded Epstein’s request to Huffington. “I didn’t call Ariana,” she said. Huffington “used to publish my writing and there is no reason in the world for me to jeopardize that relationship,” Ms. Siegal added.

But the fact that Epstein asked was “not unusual. It was a ridiculous request,” she said.

“Jeffrey had a habit of trying to trap people in his crazy world,” she added.

Meanwhile, Huffington told Politico that she “was never contacted and never sent a reporter.”