The Epstein network: Influence and power across politics and business

Part of the documents released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday detail how Epstein maintained strong ties with world leaders, business magnates, and politicians for years after pleading guilty in 2008 to charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution.

While Epstein’s relationship with Donald Trump—which ended more than a decade before Trump’s first presidential election—receives significant attention in these documents, the trove also reveals the extent of the late investor’s broader influence. These messages, spanning covert and overt efforts to leverage power, include men and women across both political parties.

The U.S. newspaper The Washington Post reported on Epstein’s powerful friends and provided a list of individuals connected to him.

The media cited Stephen K. Bannon, former White House strategist during Trump’s first term, who reportedly exchanged frequent messages with Epstein in the months leading up to Epstein’s 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges.

The documents also reveal a two-year correspondence between Epstein and Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury Secretary and economist, including discussions about ranked-choice voting and Summers’ apparent romantic troubles.

Additionally, The Washington Post referenced Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister and War Minister of Israel, who emailed Epstein in September 2013 noting that Summers had withdrawn from consideration for the Federal Reserve chairmanship. Barak wrote: “A big blow to a friend; he will probably be released in a few days.”

Later that same day, Epstein emailed Barak to arrange meetings with billionaire banker Ariane de Rothschild and a person known as the “Chinese Kissinger.” Representatives for Barak did not respond to requests for comment.

Separately, Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey, special envoy for Syria, and senior Trump fundraiser, appears in several exchanges.

In one March 2016 email, Epstein tells Barrack that reporters had contacted him asking about Trump, but he refrained from commenting. Barrack responded, “Hope you are well. Let’s talk.” Epstein replied, “Send photos of you and your child… it makes me smile.” Barrack’s embassy representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly instructed his team to investigate Epstein’s ties with Bill Clinton, aiming to deflect attention from his own alleged connections with the convicted sex trafficker.

Trump stated on his social platform, Truth Social, that he would ask Pam Bondi, the U.S. Attorney General, and the FBI to “investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton.”

He also mentioned Larry Summers, former Clinton Treasury Secretary, Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, banking giant J.P. Morgan Chase, and “many other individuals and institutions.”

Trump claimed, “Records show that these men and many others spent a large part of their lives with Epstein and on his ‘island.’”

Former Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton has been closely scrutinized for his association with Epstein, including flying on Epstein’s private jet, though he has never been accused of wrongdoing in the scandal.

According to emails reviewed by AFP, Epstein himself claimed that Clinton “never” visited his infamous private Caribbean island.

Clinton’s spokesperson stated, “These emails prove that Bill Clinton did nothing wrong and knew nothing. The rest of the noise is a distraction from Trump’s electoral failures, the government shutdowns, and who knows what else”.