New DOJ files reveal Jeffrey Epstein's emails seeking a Putin meeting & pitching himself to the Kremlin. Poland investigates Russian intel links. Full fact timeline.
Epstein Emails Show Direct Push for Putin Access, New Justice Department Files Disclose (Image: File)
Recently unsealed U.S. Justice Department documents establish that convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein aggressively campaigned to position himself as a conduit to the Russian government, specifically seeking a direct audience with President Vladimir Putin. The records, which include direct email communications, reveal Epstein’s multi-year effort to leverage his network for high-level Kremlin access, triggering a new European investigation into his overseas contacts.
The documents show Epstein primarily communicated with Thorbjørn Jagland, the former Norwegian Prime Minister who was serving as Secretary General of the Council of Europe in 2018. In a June 2018 email, Epstein suggested Jagland facilitate an introduction, writing, “I think you might suggest to putin, that lavrov, can get insight on talking to me. vitaly churkin used (to) but he died. ?!” Jagland, in reply, stated he would raise the matter with an assistant to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This exchange positions Jagland as a key intermediary in Epstein’s attempted outreach.
Epstein portrayed himself as an analyst with unique understanding of American power. Following up on the reference to the late Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, Epstein emailed Jagland, “churkin was great. he understood trump after [our] conversations. it is not complex.” In another message, he told Jagland that Putin was “in a unique position to do something grand” and claimed, “this is confidential,” that he advised Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. These statements illustrate how Epstein marketed his alleged insider knowledge as a valuable commodity to Russian leadership.
The document release has prompted an official state investigation and a forceful Kremlin denial. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced this week that Poland would examine Epstein’s possible links to Russian intelligence. “More and more leads, more and more information, and more and more commentary in the global press all relate to the suspicion that this unprecedented pedophilia scandal was co-organized by Russian intelligence services,” Tusk said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claim, stating, “The theory that Epstein was controlled by Russian intelligence services can be taken in any way, but not seriously.”
While the emails show active pursuit of access, concrete evidence of established influence remains limited. The documents and related reports confirm:
A: According to the released documents, there is no evidence a meeting occurred. Epstein himself stated in a 2013 email, "I never met him."
A: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk cited the accumulation of new leads and global press commentary suggesting possible coordination between Epstein’s activities and Russian intelligence services.
A: Jagland, in his official capacity at the Council of Europe, agreed to pass Epstein’s message to the office of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
A: Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Disclaimer: This information is based on inputs from news agency reports. TSG does not independently confirm the information provided by the relevant sources.
