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Bloomberg News has seen what's in Jeffrey Epstein's email Eighteen thousand messages to and from the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender from one of his personal email accounts.
There are messages that cover a wide range of topics and subjects. You have messages about his Amazon shopping habits, messages about his finances. There's even a message about moving a forty pound tortoise to and from Epstein's private island.
That's Bloomberg Senior investigative reporter Jason Leopold.
We really get a sense of what was going on in Epstein's life during these critical years.
These are messages dating back to two thousand and two, but most of them are from two thousand and five to two thousand and eight. Bloomberg reporters and data analysts spent the last month pouring over these emails to better understand how Epstein built and sustained his vast influence machine and sex trafficking operation.
We're reading Jeffrey Epstein in his own words, and you're sort of like a fly on the wall. You get to look into his wealth, you get to look into how he emotionally, psychologically manipulated and abused his victim. You get to see how he worked behind the scenes trying to beat back these criminal allegations, his indignation as he's being investigated. Really, though, to me, what stands out is his callousness toward these young women, these young girls, as they were brought into his world.
One picture that emerges from these messages is that Julayne Maxwell, Epstein's one time girlfriend, had a more involved and enduring role than she said previously. In twenty twenty one, a jury effect Maxwell guilty of recruiting and grooming women for Epstein to sexually abuse. Recently, she sought to downplay how close she was to him. Some of these emails appear to contradict that.
It certainly adds to questions about her credibility and truthfulness.
Bloomberg Legal reporter Eva Benny Morrison.
I think it certainly poses more questions than it answers about what the true nature of their relationship was, and also comes for a critical time from Maxwell. Her lawyers have indicated that they would welcome any relief from the Trump administration, whether that looks like a pardon or a commutation of her twenty year sentence for sex trafficking.
I'm David Gera, and this is the big take from Bloomberg News Today. On the show, Jeffrey Epstein's emails. What eighteen thousand never before seen messages reveal about Epstein himself and his relationships with Glenn Maxwell and powerful people all over the world. This is an incredible trove of email messages, and I'm curious sort of what you can tell us about how you got them.
Sure, I'm going to give you a really short answer. I cannot discuss anything related to sources or methods. I sound like the CIA now, but yeah, I really can't go into anything related to how we were able to obtain this.
When they did get their hands on this collection of emails, Jason Leopold and Ava Benny Morrison wanted to see what they reveal about the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Julane Maxwell.
Over the years, We've only really heard Maxwell describe that relationship in her own words on a few occasions, in a twenty sixteen deposition and then most recently in a two day interview with a top DOJ official.
And I'm I'm gilln Maxwell.
Good morning, as Maxwell, how are you?
July Maxwell sat for an interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The Justice Department later released the recordings, and it happened as the Trump administration sought to quiet and uproar over its refusal to release the so called Epstein files. The conversation started with Blanche explaining the terms of the interview.
Whatever you talk about today, you have what's called immunity, So that means that the words that you say today we cannot use against you in a case in chief if we were able to bring one.
Okay, thank you.
There's exceptions to that, the most meaningful one of which is that if you say something today that's not true, that's a lie, we can bring a prosecution against you for what's called false statements.
One of the first things Blanche asked Maxwell about was how she and Jeffrey Epstein met in nineteen one.
Right, I met him at his officis in on that sale, And I think the most memorable thing I can think about that is he was wearing a tie, which she didn't often give. It had a giant so mykel ketch up ste sounds like, well, okay.
She really described herself as a one time girlfriend of Epstein, someone who was then hired to become his property manager and look after his luxury homes all over the world, but was drifting away from him as she entered into a long term relationship with someone else. She has said that her role in his life was very, very diminished by about two thousand and eight when he reported to jail in Florida.
So when he's going to go to jail, he says, can you stay around and manage everything?
Yeah?
And do you do that? I do, okay, and then we'll come back to that.
We'll not manage everything now. I mean there are other people at this point most specific role than was very very diminished.
But these emails seem to call into question the truthfulness of some of those statements. You know, in two thousand and eight alone, as he was preparing to to prison, they were exchanging emails at a rate of almost one per day. As she was helping wind down his affairs, his properties all are around the world. He was going to her for advice on the minutia of the state
charges that he might play guilty to. So it shows a real consistency of communication that contrasts I think, and conflicts with some of her statements publicly about when they ceased contact.
There's also correspondence that shows the two of them remained incredibly close personally.
On two occasions in two thousand and five. In two thousand and seven, they are discussing a shared fertility procedure.
The first time was in October two thousand and five, just days after police showed up at Epstein's home with a search warrant, Maxwell sent Epstein detailed instructions for a sperm donation. She said he could collect a sample at home, but it had to be within ninety minutes of a procedure she had scheduled. About two years later, Maxwell emailed Epstein another set of instructions at another critical moment.
In two thousand and seven. One of these email exchanges occurred just as he was preparing to sign a non prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors, So that really undercuts what Maxwell has said about the presence that she had in his life, saying that she was pretty much all but absent from his orbit by that point.
Maxwell has maintained Epstein kept her in the dark about the details of his first sexual abuse case from the mid two thousands. But these emails show she not only knew about the legal issues he faced, but she also helped him strategize during his negotiations with federal prosecutors.
These emails really do demonstrate her knowledge of the legal jeopardy that Epstein faced in two thousand and six leading up to this non prosecution agreement that he had signed that you saw him essentially escaped federal charges.
In exchange for immunity from those federal charges. Epstein agreed to plead guilty to two state felonies in Florida, including procuring miners to engage in prostitution. Again, he consulted with Maxwell over email while he and prosecutors negotiated that deal, so she was very.
Much in the know. You know, he's asking her, what do you prefer loudon lascivious conduct or procuring miners for prostitution, and you know, she's responding essentially by saying that she would prefer the former for the most part.
Take us to two thousand and nine, So Jeffrey Epstein gets out of jail. Then he served thirteen months of an eighteen month sentence. Julian Maxwell has told the Department of Justice that back then, her relationship with him was quote almost non existent. What can we learn from the emails about that period of.
Time, Well, there's a gap in the emails, and the communications pick up again around twenty fourteen, when Maxwell herself was under scrutiny for conspiring with Epstein in the trafficking of young girls.
One of those accusers was Virginia Giuffrey. In twenty fourteen, Gufrey accused Maxwell of helping Epstein find and traffic teenagers. That same year, Maxwell sent Epstein a request quote can you send me the file on Virginia that your lawyers have or whatever info you have on her? And by early twenty fifteen, Maxwell wrote to Epstein she planned to distribute that dossier to others.
So the communications between Maxwell and Epstein around twenty fourteen really shows how Maxwell went on the offensive on the offensive in terms of her plans to attack and discredit one of the victims who had accused her of being a co conspirator. And she's exchanging emails with Epstein over the course of a year more or less and disclosing what she planned to do and how she intended to be incredibly aggressive in defending her reputation.
Jeffrey went on to sue Maxwell for defamation for calling her a liar in a public statement, and that case was eventually settled out of court. Jeffrey died earlier this year. Her family says the cause of death was suicide. Avid. There's more than correspondence here in these emails, as a spreadsheet, the kind of details what Jeffrey Epstein is spending money on, and that includes gifts of watches, cash transfers, gifts of lingerie.
This is one of the most fascinating parts of this inbox was this spreadsheet. We had heard over the years how Epstein lavished gifts upon the victims and associates, but this spreadsheet really gives a meticulous insight into how he tracked a number of these cashtress and gifts one point
eight million dollars worth over a three year period. In many of the entries, there's a description of the item that's been purchased or the amount of money that is being wired, and why it's being wired, and who the recipient is and the date. Many of the recipients are young women, assistants that worked for him, women who would go on years later to accuse Epstein of abuse and even Maxwell in facilitating that abuse. For example, there is
purchases from the lingerie chain Vitoria Secrets. There are chocolates there, tuition fees for massage schools, cash payments to cover rent. For one particular victim, the initials GM appear next to about two hundred and fifty entries, suggesting that Maxwell had a role in at least helping Epstein distribute some of
these gifts. We actually spoke to one victim who received just over seventy five thousand dollars in gives and payments while she was being abused by Epstein, and she really described how Epstein weaponized his wealth like this and used these gifts to exert control over the young women and isolated them so they were completely dependent upon him.
Jason, there are emails here with the names and ages of young women, sometimes even accompanied by photos. Can you describe those exchanges, those messages.
As Eva noted, there were a number of women, young women who were working as recruiters for Epstein, and it would seem that these recruiters would set out to find other young girls for Epstein. And you know, there's one email here that is pretty disturbing, and it describes a nineteen year old woman who's based in Brooklyn. She may be someone that she could bring in to Epstein's orbit, and so there's a description.
She's fire.
She's a little curvy, pretty face, long brown hair, hazel eyes. And this recruiter states that, you know, I already told her she could be rewarded for help with her girlfriends.
Basically, this recruiter thinks she may have found another potential recruiter. But first the email notes this new girl said she quote needs to try herself to see what it is.
And Epstein responds to this email, you know, describing her, she is too big, but if you think it important, you know, I could do it one time in the afternoon. So the emails just show how the recruiting essentially kind of how it worked, and Epstein's responds to the girls that were presented to.
Him after the break. The powerful people who appear in this cache of emails, including former President Clinton and the current president Donald Trump. Six years after Jeffrey Epstein's death, there is still intense interest in identifying who was in his network, the men and women he met with, and the friendships he had with prominent politicians and executives and celebrities.
I asked Bloomberg's ava Benny Morrison, what we can learn about Epstein's relationships with those people from the eighteen thousand emails Bloomberg News has obtained.
What we can see is that Maxwell actually plays a part in facilitating some of these connections. So in a couple of instances, she's passing on greetings from designer Tommy hillfigure from Martha Stewart. She's also urging Epstein to host Google co founder Sergey Brynn at his private island in the US Virgin Islands.
Representatives for Hillfigure, Stuart, and Brynn did not respond to requests for comment.
In another example, in an email from Maxwell in September two thousand and six, just a couple of months after news broke about Epstein's arrest on prostitution charges in Florida, she sends through a list of fifty one names politicians, Wall Street power brokers, and business executives, including the likes of former CEO of Best Earns Jimmy Kain and the former Barclays CEO Jess Staley.
Cain died in twenty twenty one. Staley did not respond to a request for comment.
She asked him to review the list and remove or add any names that he sees fit Epstein replies and tells her to remove Donald Trump's name.
The email has no subject line or additional commentary, so it's impossible to know whether they were planning an event, preparing a list of holiday card recipients, or something else. Jason picking up on that, how often does Donald Trump appear in these emails?
Great question? He only appears a few times in the emails. Trump's name services again around the time where you know Epstein and his legal team were trying to get federal prosecutors to drop the case against him, And this time it's in any email that Maxwell sends Epstein in August of two thousand and seven, and just a month before
he signed this controversial non prosecution agreement. And she says in the email, you have to assume they went to Donald Trump, and she references other individuals and also notes documents in West Palm Beach. It's possible that Maxwell may have been referring to reporters who are covering Epstein, you
know at the time, but it's not entirely clear. And you know, we did reach out to the White House and ask them to comment on this, and they provided us with a statement that they called this fake news.
Ava says that spreadsheet we talked about earlier, which included information about gifts Jeffrey Epstein sent to girls he abused, also included details about payment's Epstein made and presence he sent to his employees and apparently intended to send to some high profile people.
For example, there is a line item for a thirty five thousand dollars watch purchase for dB and when we've dug into the emails, we've found some correspondence between Maxwell and Epstein talking about purchasing a very nice watch for Doug Band, who was a former aide to President Bill
Clinton and the architecture of his post presidency. In those emails, they're discussing the payment of it and making sure he gets it for Christmas, and whether the note should be just from Epstein or from Maxwell or from both of them. And I think the Doug Band reference is particularly interesting because it is a window into Maxwell's relationship with the
Clinton world. I will point out that when we went to Doug Band for comment about the watch, a spokesperson for him said that he never received a watch from Maxwell. There's also a entry for a seven one thousand dollars purchase at Alexis Dealership for Alan Dershowitz. Alan Dershowitz is a very well known lawyer. He's a Harvard law professor, and he was representing Jeffrey Epstein during his negotiations with prosecutors in Florida. And when we spoke to Alan about it,
he said, yes, my wife drove the car. Mostly I didn't really like it.
Dershowitz told Bloomberg that when they'd pick up Epstein on visits to Martha's vineyard, he didn't like the fact that their old car didn't have air conditioning, so he bought them a new one. Dershwitz says it was part of his legal fees. Bill Clinton's name came up during that interview in July between Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Julane Maxwell. She said the former president was actually her friend, not Epstein's.
It's interesting because she seems to kind of like claim over that connection, and in the emails there's several references to her updating Epstein on having lunch with Clinton. Today. I'm in Mumbai waiting for Clinton I'm somewhere else waiting
for Clinton. She doesn't specify in the emails Witch Clinton she is referring to, but it's very clear from the emails that she did have her own relationship with the Clinton world, and this adds to the public reporting out there already that she also had a close relationship with Chelsea Clinton.
A spokesperson for Bill Clinton said the Clintons knew nothing about Epstein's horrific crimes and quote learned about them when the rest of the world did. Jason, let me close with a big picture question. So, as you've noted, we get a sense of Jeffrey Epstein's voice through these emails, kind of lays bare this contradiction between what Jilane Maxwell has said about her relationship with him and what it
seems like it actually was. How do you think about the significance of this corpus of emails, especially on that note of that contradiction that her relationship with him might have been closer and more enduring than than she said publicly.
I think these emails are hugely significant and incredibly important as it relates to a narrative around Jeffrey Epstein, Julane Maxwell and what their world looked like. It adds so much to this narrative because even with all the books and news stories and court documents and the fights that are taking place within the administration right now about releasing Epstein files, it underscores that there is still so much
to learn about their relationship. There is still so much to learn about the way in which Epstein operated this network that resulted in the abuse of according to the Justice Department, more than one thousand girls young women, and the emails add so much now to that narrative. There's quite a bit more that we now understand about his operation their partnership as a result.
This is The Big Take from Bloomberg News. I'm David Burra. To get more from The Big Take and unlimited access to all of Bloomberg dot com, subscribe today at Bloomberg dot com slash podcast offer. If you like this episode, make sure to follow and review The Big Take wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps people find the show. Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.