{"id":891025,"date":"2026-02-08T03:22:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/08\/a-whos-who-of-powerful-men-are-named-in-the-epstein-files\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T03:22:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:22:31","slug":"a-whos-who-of-powerful-men-are-named-in-the-epstein-files","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/08\/a-whos-who-of-powerful-men-are-named-in-the-epstein-files\/","title":{"rendered":"A who\u2019s who of powerful men are named in the Epstein files"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 From tech titans to Wall Street power brokers and foreign dignitaries, a who\u2019s who of powerful men make appearances in the huge trove of documents<\/a><\/span> released by the Justice Department in connection with its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

All have denied having anything to do with his sexual abuse of girls and young women. Yet some of them maintained friendships with Epstein, or developed them anew, even after news stories made him widely known as an alleged abuser of young girls.<\/p>\n

None have been charged with a crime connected to the investigation. Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell<\/a><\/span> in 2019. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a primer on some of the notable names in the Epstein files:<\/p>\n

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/h2>\n

The man formerly known as Britain\u2019s Prince Andrew<\/a><\/span> has long been dogged by questions about his relationship with Epstein, including allegations from the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre<\/a><\/span> that she was trafficked by Epstein and instructed to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17.<\/p>\n

The former prince has repeatedly denied<\/a><\/span> that it happened, but his brother, King Charles III, still stripped him of his royal titles<\/a><\/span> late last year, including the right to be called a prince and the Duke of York.<\/p>\n

Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s name appears at least several hundred times in Friday\u2019s document release, including in Epstein\u2019s private emails.<\/p>\n

Among the correspondence is an invitation for Epstein<\/a><\/span> to dine at Buckingham Palace, Epstein\u2019s offer to introduce Mountbatten-Windsor to a 26-year-old Russian woman, and photos that appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over an unidentified woman lying on the floor.<\/p>\n

Sarah Ferguson<\/h2>\n

In March of 2011, Sarah Ferguson, then the Duchess of York, made a public apology for letting Jeffrey Epstein pay off some of her debts. Both she and her ex-husband, the former Prince Andrew, had come under tremendous public scrutiny for continuing a friendly relationship with Epstein after he pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.<\/p>\n

She told London\u2019s Evening Standard newspaper she would have \u201cnothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.\u201d But just two months later, she emailed Epstein to say she was going on Oprah Winfrey\u2019s TV show and wanted his advice on how she should answer questions about their relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to make sure you are aware of this and seek your advice on how you would like me to answer,\u201d Ferguson wrote.<\/p>\n

Epstein replied, \u201cJeffrey was unfairly characterized as a pedophile by the tabloid press. Many years ago jeffrey pleaded guilty to soliciting underage prostitutes. He paid his debt to society and has sought forgiveness. I have nothing more to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elon Musk<\/h2>\n

The billionaire Tesla founder turns up at least a few times in Friday\u2019s document release, notably in email exchanges in 2012 and 2013 in which he discussed visiting Epstein\u2019s infamous Caribbean island compound.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not immediately clear if the island visits took place. Spokespersons for Musk\u2019s companies, Tesla and X, didn\u2019t respond to emails seeking comment Friday or Saturday.<\/p>\n

Musk<\/a><\/span> has maintained that he repeatedly turned down the disgraced financier\u2019s overtures. \u201cEpstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED,\u201d he posted on X in 2025.<\/p>\n

Richard Branson<\/h2>\n

The billionaire founder of the Virgin Group, a global conglomerate, exchanged numerous emails with Epstein.<\/p>\n

In a 2013 exchange, Branson invited Epstein to his own private Caribbean island, which regularly hosts large conferences, charity events and business meetings. <\/p>\n

\u201cAny time you\u2019re in the area would love to see you,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAs long as you bring your harem!\u201d <\/p>\n

In another message that year, he suggested Epstein rehabilitate his image by convincing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to tell the public how Epstein had \u201cbeen a brilliant adviser to him\u201d and had \u201cmore than learnt your lesson and have done nothing that\u2019s against the law since.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company stressed in a statement Saturday that there was no wrongdoing on Branson\u2019s part and that any dealings with Epstein were \u201climited to group or business settings\u201d more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Branson also declined a charitable donation and decided not to meet or speak with him again after his team \u201cuncovered serious allegations,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHad they had the full picture and information, there would have been no contact whatsoever,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cRichard believes that Epstein\u2019s actions were abhorrent and supports the right to justice for his many victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donald Trump<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s long been known that Epstein was friends with Trump before the two had a falling out.<\/p>\n

The new trove of documents contain thousands of references to Trump, much of which sheds little additional light on the men\u2019s relationship. They included emails in which Epstein and others shared news articles about Trump, commented on his policies or his politics, or gossiped about him and his family.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department also disclosed a spreadsheet created last August that summarized calls made to law enforcement tip lines from people claiming to have some knowledge of wrongdoing by Trump.<\/p>\n

That document included a range of uncorroborated stories involving many different celebrities, and somewhat fantastical scenarios, occasionally with notations indicating what follow-up, if any, was done by agents.<\/p>\n

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that the FBI fielded \u201chundreds of calls\u201d about prominent individuals that were \u201cquickly determined to not be credible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bill Clinton<\/h2>\n

Like Trump, Clinton spent time with Epstein more than two decades ago, including flying occasionally on his private jet and seeing him at the White House. Clinton also denied any knowledge of Epstein\u2019s wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Clinton\u2019s representatives say the former president broke off relations with Epstein after the first round of criminal charges in 2006.<\/p>\n

The investigative file includes snapshots of Clinton and other famous people that Epstein kept in his home in New York. It also contains messages investigators received from members of the general public, demanding to know why Clinton wasn\u2019t being investigated. None of Epstein\u2019s victims have publicly accused Clinton of being involved in Epstein\u2019s crimes.<\/p>\n

Steven Tisch<\/h2>\n

The New York Giants co-owner is mentioned more than 400 times in the files released Friday. Correspondence between the two shows Epstein offered to connect Tisch to numerous women over the years.<\/p>\n

In one 2013 email exchange with the subject line \u201cUkrainian girl,\u201d Epstein encouraged Tisch to contact a particular woman, whose physical beauty he praised in crude terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cPro or civilian?\u201d Tisch asked in reply.<\/p>\n

Tisch, a scion of a powerful New York family that founded the Loews Corporation, has acknowledged knowing Epstein but denied ever going<\/a><\/span> to his infamous Caribbean island.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments,\u201d said Tisch, who also won an Academy Award in 1994 for producing \u201cForrest Gump.\u201d \u201cAs we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brett Ratner<\/h2>\n

The film director who made the recently released Melania Trump documentary appears in several photographs included in the government\u2019s files.<\/p>\n

One, first released in December, shows him with his arms wrapped around the shirtless torso of Jean Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent who killed himself in jail in 2022 while awaiting trial on rape charges.<\/p>\n

The more recent document release has a sequence of other photos apparently taken around the same time. Some show Ratner sitting on a couch with Epstein, Brunel and at least two young women. In the photos, Rattner has his arms wrapped around one of the women, whose faces are blacked out.<\/p>\n

Ratner and a spokesperson for his film company didn\u2019t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.<\/p>\n

Casey Wasserman<\/h2>\n

The president of the committee for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles exchanged flirty emails<\/a><\/span> with Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, Friday\u2019s document release shows. <\/p>\n

In a 2003 exchange, Wasserman wrote to Maxwell: \u201cI think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?\u201d<\/p>\n

In another, Maxwell asks whether it will be foggy enough during an upcoming visit \u201cso that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wasserman released a statement Saturday saying he never had a personal or business relationship with Epstein and that he regretted the correspondence with Maxwell, which he said came \u201clong before her horrific crimes came to light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence<\/a><\/span> for sex trafficking.<\/p>\n

Ehud Barak<\/h2>\n

The former Israeli prime minister and his wife turn up frequently in the documents released Friday, showing they stayed in regular contact with Epstein for years, including well after his 2008 guilty plea for sex crimes in Florida. <\/p>\n

Among the correspondence are plans for a 2017 stay at Epstein\u2019s New York residence. Other missives discuss mundane logistics for other visits, meetings and phone calls with Epstein. <\/p>\n

Barak has acknowledged regularly visiting Epstein on his trips to New York and flying on his private plane, but maintains he never observed<\/a><\/span> any inappropriate behavior or parties.<\/p>\n

Barak served as Israel\u2019s prime minister from 1999 to 2001 and later served as its defense minister.<\/p>\n

Larry Summers<\/h2>\n

Clinton\u2019s former Secretary of the Treasury and the onetime president of Harvard University is another of Epstein\u2019s well-known longtime acquaintances. The new documents are full of references to meetings and dinners between the two men.<\/p>\n

A previously-released trove of documents show Summers emailing Epstein in 2019, after the financier had been charged with sexual abuse of minors, to discuss his interactions with a woman, writing he\u2019d told her \u201cawfully coy u are.\u201d Epstein replied: \u201cyou reacted well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Summers has called his interactions with Epstein \u201ca major error of judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howard Lutnick<\/h2>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s commerce secretary visited Epstein\u2019s private Caribbean island with his family on at least one occasion, records released Friday show. <\/p>\n

That appears to contradict prior statements he\u2019s made claiming he cut ties with the disgraced financier, who he\u2019s called \u201cgross,\u201d decades ago. <\/p>\n

But emails show Lutnick and his wife accepted an invitation to Little St. James in the U.S. Virgin Islands in December 2012 and planned to arrive by yacht with their children.<\/p>\n

The former chairman of Newmark, a major commercial real estate firm, also had drinks on another occasion in 2011 with Epstein and corresponded with him about the construction of a building across the street from both of their homes.<\/p>\n

The Commerce Department, in a statement, said Lutnick had \u201climited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sergey Brin<\/h2>\n

The billionaire Google co-founder made plans to meet with Epstein and Maxwell at his townhouse in New York years before he was publicly accused of sexually abusing underage girls, emails show. <\/p>\n

In one exchange in 2003, Maxwell invited him to join her at a screening of the Renee Zellweger film \u201cDown with Love\u201d in New York. <\/p>\n

She followed up a few weeks later to invite him to a \u201chappily casual and relaxed\u201d dinner at Epstein\u2019s house. Brin offered to bring along Google\u2019s then-CEO Eric Schmidt.<\/p>\n

Spokespersons for Google didn\u2019t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday.<\/p>\n

Steve Bannon<\/h2>\n

The one-time adviser to Trump exchanged hundreds of friendly texts with Epstein, some sent months before the financier\u2019s 2019 arrest and jailhouse suicide. <\/p>\n

The two discussed politics, travel and a documentary Bannon was said to be planning that would help salvage Epstein\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n

One 2018 exchange, for example, focused on Trump\u2019s threats at the time to oust Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In a 2019 message, Bannon asked Epstein if he could supply his plane to pick him up in Rome.<\/p>\n

Epstein and Bannon also exchanged gossipy messages about Trump and his politics.<\/p>\n

Bannon hasn\u2019t responded to emails seeking comment.<\/p>\n

Miroslav Lajcak<\/h2>\n

A national security adviser to the Slovakian prime minister, Lajcak resigned Saturday after his past communications with Epstein appeared in Friday\u2019s document release. <\/p>\n

Opposition parties and a nationalist partner in Fico\u2019s governing coalition had called for him to step down. <\/p>\n

Lajcak, a former Slovak foreign minister and a onetime president of the U.N. General Assembly, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but was photographed meeting with Epstein in the years between his initial release from jail and his subsequent indictment in 2019 on sex trafficking charges.<\/p>\n

He said his correspondence with Epstein were part of his diplomatic duties.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The AP is reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department in collaboration with journalists from Versant, CBS and NBC. Journalists from each newsroom are working together to examine the files and share information about what is in them. Each outlet is responsible for its own independent news coverage of the documents.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Philip Marcelo
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 From tech titans to Wall Street power brokers and foreign dignitaries, a who\u2019s who of powerful men make appearances in the huge trove of documents released by the Justice Department in connection with its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein . All have denied having anything to do with his sexual abuse of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":891026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[128,23756],"tags":[5866,11071],"class_list":{"0":"post-891025","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-powerful","8":"category-whos","9":"tag-powerful","10":"tag-whos"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}