Tag: investigations

Newly released emails to and from the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein include correspondence with former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, expanding on previous reporting that Bannon had up to 15 hours of video footage from interviewing Epstein in 2019. Bannon has promised to release that footage in early 2026, and the emails underscore the need for a full release which observers from across the political spectrum have advocated. Bannon is all over the newly released emails, including strategizing with EpsteinDemocrats on the House Oversight Committee on November 12 released a tranche of emails to and from Epstein, who died in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges during the first presidency of his longtime friend Donald Trump. A database of the emails shows some mentioning Bannon as well as correspondence between Bannon and Epstein, demonstrating what appears to be a close working relationship. For instance, in one email reported by Politico Epstein wrote to Bannon in July 2018: “There are many leaders of countries we can organize for you to have one on ones” with if Bannon would visit Europe. In August 2018, Epstein asked Bannon if he wants to “come to Europe,” and Bannon replied: “Yes. But let’s discuss-their is a crazed jihad against u-i’ve never seen anything like it-and I’ve seen a lot.”In a follow-up email, Bannon wrote: “Somebody big has u in the gunsights.” About three months later, in November 2018, the Miami Herald began publishing its series reporting on Epstein’s alleged sex crimes. Then in 2019, Epstein was apparently scheduled to meet Bannon for breakfast on July 7 but was arrested on sex trafficking charges the day prior. Previous Epstein records released by Democrats showed “a 7 a. m. breakfast scheduled with Bannon on Feb. 16, 2019.”The emails shine new light on Bannon’s attempts to rehabilitate Epstein’s public imageIn 2019, Steve Bannon reportedly recorded “12 to 15 hours” of himself interviewing Epstein for a documentary, which The Hollywood Reporter described as “seemingly designed to get Epstein ready for an image-changing sit-down interview with a news outlet like 60 Minutes, with Bannon playing the part of Mike Wallace.” When confronted this year about the matter, Bannon promised to release the footage in early 2026: The Hollywood Reporter reported that the unreleased documentary was not the extent of their relationship author Michael Wolff has claimed Bannon “was a frequent visitor to both Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and his Paris apartment, and the two exchanged calls and emails almost every day.”Additionally, according to Business Insider, “people who spent time with both men” said “the two acted like friends around each other,” with Bannon advising the notorious sex trafficker on “how to handle his myriad legal and media investigations.”Though Bannon promised over the summer to release a “five-part series” on Epstein next year, elected officials and media figures across the political spectrum have pressed for an earlier release. Earlier this year, right-wing figures Roger Stone, Benny Johnson, and Ben Shapiro all called on Bannon to release the footage he taped with Epstein. In doing so, they joined Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, as well as Media Matters president Angelo Carusone, who pointed out that Bannon has gone “radio silent” on the tapes. Some right-wing personalities use the Epstein emails to attack BannonFollowing the release of the new emails, right-wing figures have continued to highlight Bannon’s connections to Epstein. Stone attacked Bannon, calling him a “perjurer , bullshit artist and backstabber” and citing the “over 1700 mentions of Steve Bannon in Jeffrey Epstein’s emails released today including many emails between Steve and his pedophile friend Jeffrey!” Stone also stated: “Bannon took big bucks from Epstein to rehabilitate his image!” Right-wing host Dana Loesch criticized what she called an “eager-to-showboat Bannon” for allowing Wolff “all access” to Trump’s White House. And one right-wing figure questioned “why Jeffrey Epstein was writing lists” for Bannon “as recently as 2019,” calling the emails “a gold mine of lord knows what.”Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones took a different tack, dismissing the presence of Bannon in Epstein’s emails by citing Bannon’s plans to interview Epstein: “It’s Steve Bannon coming to do a TV interview with him. That’s what he does.”On her November 13 show, right-wing host Megyn Kelly reviewed a tape of a conversation between Wolff, Bannon, Epstein, and former Barack Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler recorded for one of Wolff’s books, describing them as “friendly and upbeat.” She added: “It sounds like friends having a good time, laughing and joking as they try to come up with ways to spin a known sex abuser back into the good graces of the public.”Kelly also asked, “Why was our friend Steve Bannon there, and what does he know of the Wolff tapes? More importantly, what about Bannon’s own tapes?” She continued, “It’s been reported he has 15 hours of his own tapes of this guy, but that they’ve never been released. We’re pals with him and would love to ask him directly here in a good exchange.”Correction (11/13/25): The first paragraph of this piece originally misstated the year in which Bannon’s footage with Epstein was recorded. Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.