The day he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges, Jeffrey Epstein was planning a documentary to rehabilitate his image and to counter the soon-to-be-released Netflix documentary. Dirty richreveals a trove of recently published emails. His partner in the project? Trump’s former chief of staff, Steve Bannon, became one of Epstein’s staunchest critics following his death.
The Epstein-backed document was expected to feature interviews with luminaries in media, academia and politics to reshape the narrative, with one of the most high-profile names being Michael Wolff, a friend of Epstein’s and an avid chronicler of the Trump presidency who consulted Epstein on how to manage relations with the president.
“If we work it out, can we film on the island,” Bannon asked, referring to Little St. James, Epstein’s private Caribbean island where he allegedly sexually abused minors. Epstein immediately agreed.
The same day, Bannon, who had produced several films before becoming Trump’s chief of staff, texted the financier again to set up a filming date. “Can we do late morning, say 11 a.m.?”
A few minutes later, Epstein replied curtly: “Everything is canceled. » No explanation followed.
“Aren’t you coming?” » asked Bannon. He never received a response, because around the same time he was typing his message, Epstein was arrested at the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on charges of sex trafficking dozens of minors.
The exchange, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, was part of a massive trove of emails released by lawmakers earlier this month as scrutiny of Epstein’s ties to Trump and other figures intensifies. It highlights a behind-the-scenes media transformation led by Bannon, who later denied reports of a friendship with the financier and became one of the most vocal critics of the Trump administration’s refusal to release the Epstein files. The emails suggest that the former Trump adviser and frequent visitor to Epstein’s Manhattan mansion before his arrest may have been more aware of Epstein’s conduct than he has publicly acknowledged, while expanding the scope of Wolff’s relationship with the disgraced sex offender.
As Jeffrey Epstein: Dirty Richthe Netflix documentary series based on James Patterson’s book, was taking shape in late 2018, Epstein, Bannon and publicist Peggy Siegal, a fixture of the New York media scene and Hollywood awards season who helped facilitate the financier’s return to elite social circles, joined forces to try to avoid the damage. The impetus was a request sent by producers to Siegal asking him to speak on camera.
Three months before Epstein’s arrest in July 2019, Tim Malloy, a television journalist who wrote the book with Patterson, asked Siegal if she would like to appear on the series. Malloy highlighted the involvement of, among others, documentarian Joe Berlinger, who later became executive producer of the series.
“The sordid side of the story has been told. We hope you can give us some insight and context of who he was before his life fell apart,” Malloy wrote to her on April 22, 2019, according to the newly released emails. “We thought of you because of your remarkable reputation in the world of public relations and show business and the fact that you were an acquaintance of Jeffrey Epstein.”
Siegal turned his attention to Epstein and Bannon. “Jeffrey…what do you know about that?” she emailed, saying she would try to find out more from friends at Netflix. Epstein had a cinematic reaction. “Berlinger is a bit of a hacker,” he writes.
Bannon was sarcastic about what the show would be like. “Patterson, the Perversion of Justice team and the guy who made the ‘Ted Bundy’ movie [Berlinger] – this looks like a potential hagiography,” he said sarcastically, implying that Siegal should not participate (Perversion of justice, Miami Herald the bestselling book by writer Julie Brown, was not cited in the email and was not credited in the final series). The thread ended there and Siegal ultimately did not participate.
Two months later, however, Bannon returned to the idea of a pro-Epstein documentary. He went so far as to coordinate interviews and arrange trips, intending to film in Little St. James, where the financier entertained famous friends and allegedly trafficked underage girls for sex.
One familiar name was floated by Epstein to participate in the documentary: Wolff, who appears to have acted as a sort of unofficial consigliere to the sex offender, although he denied being a counselor and insisted his conduct was a ruse to gain access.
In a message from June 2019, Epstein asked Bannon, “Should we use Michael Wolff?
“I think very late in production we get the wolf – late, late, late,” Bannon responded.
The newly released emails include dozens of messages between Epstein and Wolff, some of which show him coaching the financier on his media dealings.
Exhibit A: An email with the subject line “Attention” sent to Epstein in December 2015 informs him that CNN “plans to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you – either on-air or in a scrum afterward.”
“If we were able to come up with an answer for him, what do you think it should be?” »
Wolff responded: “I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he didn’t go on the plane or to the house, then that gives you valuable political and public relations currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive profit for you, or, if it really looks like he might win, you could save him, by generating debt.”
In another email describing what appears to be a give-and-take relationship, Wolff sought advice from Epstein on what to ask Trump in an interview, asking, “What is the question that shines through.” Epstein responded a few hours later.
