Topline
A new bunch of documents from Jeffrey Epstein, including his emails and schedules, obtained by the Wall Street Journal show that a number of businessmen and other big names continued to spend time with Epstein, travel with him and ask for or solicit favors from him long after he was registered as a convicted sex offender.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 18: Jeffrey Epstein attends Launch of RADAR MAGAZINE at Hotel QT on May 18, 2005. … [+]
Key Facts
The documents show that Larry Summers, former Harvard president and Treasury secretary, continued to meet with Epstein more than a dozen times between 2013 and 2016 after Harvard began rejecting Epstein’s donations following his 2008 guilty plea to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution, though a spokesperson for him told the Journal he “deeply regrets being in contact with Epstein after his conviction;” Summers said he didn’t fundraise for Harvard or personally get money from Epstein during that time, but the documents show he did receive money for his wife’s nonprofit.
Woody Allen, who had previously been known to be “friendly” with Epstein, actually met with him almost monthly in 2014 and 2015 and had dozens of dinners at Epstein’s home, the documents show, but a spokesperson for Allen told the Journal: “Woody never had a business meeting with Epstein and not once spent time with him without (his wife) also being present.”
Terje Rød-Larsen, a Norwegian diplomat who resigned from his role as president of the International Peace Institute in 2020 after his ties to Epstein were publicized, was at Epstein’s New York townhouse so often from 2013 to 2017 that the staff knew to have cucumbers around for his gin, the Journal reported, and he didn’t answer requests to comment.
After Epstein’s 2019 arrest, co-founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman said he had only met with Epstein to help raise funds for MIT, but new documents show Epstein had planned for Hoffman to visit his island twice and that Hoffman was once scheduled to stay at Epstein’s townhouse and attended a “breakfast party;” Hoffman told the Journal he visited the island just once to fundraise for MIT and said he is sorry for his “personal misjudgment” regarding Epstein.
Leon Black, billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management who has been accused of raping a woman at Epstein’s estate, had scheduled more than 100 meetings with Epstein from 2013 to 2017, per the documents, and declined to comment to the Journal.
Key Background
Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell in 2019 after being indicted on federal sex trafficking and sex conspiracy charges, was known to hang around other big names in finance, technology and politics, many of whom have since tried to distance themselves from him. Since news broke of his sex trafficking ring, there have been accusations that Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz, Donald Trump and more had close relationships with the financier and may have attended “parties” at Epstein’s homes. Epstein also faced a 2007 federal sex crimes indictment in which he was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls and resulted in a brief stint in a Florida jail and the requirement he register as a sex offender, though the plea deal was criticized as too lenient.
Tangent
The Wall Street Journal has reviewed two batches of Epstein documents that provide insight into his personal and business life. The last round of reporting, published on Sunday, revealed that Epstein’s calendar shows the CIA director, Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer, Noam Chomsky, the Bard College president, a staffer at Henry Kissinger’s consulting firm and an executive at the bank Edmond de Rothschild Group all spent time with Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender. In most cases, the documents don’t reveal the purpose of the meetings and the Journal was unable to verify if each scheduled meeting took place. But many of the people who appeared on the calendars told reporters “they met with Epstein for reasons related to his wealth and connections.”
Further Reading
Jeffrey Epstein’s Private Calendar: CIA Director William Burns, Goldman Sachs’s Top Lawyer, Noam Chomsky (Wall Street Journal)
Jeffrey Epstein Documents, Part 2: Movie Screenings With Woody Allen and Dinners With Larry Summers (Wall Street Journal)
Ghislaine Maxwell Given 20 Years For Sex Trafficking Jeffrey Epstein’s Victims (Forbes)
Epstein’s Estate Will Pay $105 Million To U.S. Virgin Islands Over Sex Trafficking Claims (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/05/03/new-documents-reveal-how-frequently-larry-summers-woody-allen-and-more-met-with-jeffrey-epstein/