The Epstein Files

Curious how he’s going to obstruct, deflect and distract next.

Take a look at Congress’ long-shot attempt to force the release of the government’s records, led by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie. A seemingly innocuous word appears in the resolution: “unclassified.”

Screenshot of Epstein Files Transparency Act

It is an official word that in theory only exists when it comes to national security matters; that is, that the release of such information could cause “harm” to the national security. (There is, of course, a small chance that some FBI methods relating to intelligence collection might officially qualify as “classified” because the release might expose certain capabilities of the government, but even there, I’d argue that the public has a right to know.)

And yet somehow the word made its way into the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

…

That included Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel, who Epstein sent an email to in 2014 saying “that was fun , see you in 3 weeks.”

Four years later, Epstein asked if Thiel was enjoying Los Angeles, and, after Thiel said he couldn’t complain, replied “Dec visit me Caribbean.” It’s unclear if Thiel ever responded. 

In emails with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, an Emirati businessman, Epstein complimented Bannon, saying in 2018 that “We have become friends you will like him.”

“Trump doesn’t like him,” responded Sulayem.

A year earlier, Sulayem asked Epstein about an event where it appeared Trump would be in attendance, asking, “Do you think it will be possible to shake hand with trump.”

“Call to discuss,” Epstein wrote back.

…

cross-posted from: https://europe.pub/post/6464070

Folks, it's happening!

Interestingly, Barak was relying on Epstein’s support rather than vice versa, despite the fact that Barak was a very powerful figure in the Israeli security establishment. And so, these emails, in addition to House disclosures, which also point to the same information, show that this intelligence agent, who was a longtime military intelligence agent in Israel, who was Barak’s chief aide for many years, lived at Epstein’s house for significant stretches of time, weeks at a time, between this period of 2013 to 2015.

He was staying at Epstein’s house. We don’t know specifically from the communications what they may have been working on or what his role may have been there, the reason he was staying at his house. Barak would also stay at his house sometimes to hold meetings and to do business in New York. That was facilitated by that. But we do see that they were corresponding, and at one point, Epstein does transfer money to Koren.

And there was also communication between Barak and Koren in the inbox which we believe is coded communication, perhaps referring to dead drops of information or something else in New York City that they were engaged in. It’s hard to tell because part of the reason that this correspondence is interesting is that we knew from the Snowden disclosures many years ago that Barak and Koren were being surveilled by the NSA in New York around this time or in the United States around this time

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/38696015

The financier’s ties to President Donald Trump have led to mounting suspicion, including from fellow Republicans like Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), who have said they plan to join Democrats in voting for the files’ release.

Johnson has managed to delay a vote on the Epstein files for months. In July, as a bipartisan resolution pushed by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) was gaining steam, Johnson sent Congress home early for its August recess, which delayed business until September.

In the final weeks before the shutdown, after a bill to fund the government stalled in the Senate, Johnson sent members home again on September 19, just days before Grijalva’s election would have made her the 218th vote to force an Epstein resolution to the floor.

While Grijalva expressed excitement at finally being sworn in, she said, “this delay never should have happened in the first place.”

According to a report Friday from Drop Site News, Epstein had helped broker a defense agreement between the West African nation Côte d'Ivoire and Israel, a revelation uncovered from recently leaked emails of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

“This might keep the House out of session throughout next year,” wrote Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in a social media post on X Saturday, referencing Drop Site News’ reporting.

The House has been in recess since September 19after members passed a funding bill that the Senate has failed to pass, largely due to disagreements on health care policy. 

While House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has the ability to reconvene the House at any moment – even amid the ongoing government shutdown – he has refused to, with some critics arguing his hesitancy stems from wanting to avoid a vote on an Epstein-related piece of legislation.

She is the required vote to release the Epstein files

The government shutdown is delaying proceedings in Congress’ investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, affecting a measure to require the release of files in the possession of the federal government and holding up testimony from key figures. Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has kept the House of Representatives out of session for two weeks and counting as part of his party’s strategy to pressure Senate Democrats into voting for their resolution to fund the government. That has slowed down the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the late pedophile and held a petition demanding the release of the files at bay.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.europe.pub/post/72367

What, you thought we forgot about that?

Think about how lame it is that a 79 year old pedophile who is stonewalling the release of the full and unredacted Epstein Files for over 3 months now, by

• demolishing a part of his residence to build The Trump-Epstein Eternal Friendship Ballroom (of which no plans exist, just a few AI generated images
• repeatedly flip flopping on his support to Ukraine like a toxic push pull partner
• repeatedly flip flopping on tariff policies in snap pump in dump schemes
• leaving hundreds of thousands federal workers unpaid (including air traffic controllers) for a shutdown that is completely unnecessary

This white man baby has been a pedophile before he had children of his own, openly admitted on camera to thoughts of pedophelia with his daughter Ivanka Trump, and is still a pedophile today covering for the world’s most rich and powerful pedophiles.

This is also the only reason he is where he is and is still alive while his is attacking every fiber and value of the country he feigns to love.

This Halloween will last until the people wake up and put an end to this on their own terms. Every day he is there, your path to victory becomes harder.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/48759495

Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for an investigation into former Barclays CEO Jes Staley and “all current and former US banking executives who may have facilitated Jeffrey Epstein’s illicit conduct,” according to a letter seen by The Guardian.

Staley, who like the Democratic senator is from Massachusetts, was known as one of the chief financial enablers of Epstein, allowing the late sexual predator to continue his account with J.P. Morgan in the midst of his crimes coming to light. The New York Times called Staley Epstein’s “chief defender” at J.P. Morgan, processing billions of dollars for him even as Epstein’s abuse and trafficking crimes were public.

Warren also noted that Staley is already banned for life in the UK banking industry for his connections to Epstein, and referred to court documents suggesting that Staley told Epstein about the bank’s apprehension towards him (and his large cash withdrawals), allowing him to alter his approach so that his account wouldn’t raise further suspicion.

Warren has urged the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to announce plans for an investigation by 7 November.

“It is critical to send a message to the public and current bank employees that this type of egregious misconduct has no place in the American banking system,” Warren wrote.

“Staley is not the only bank executive with concerning ties to Epstein. For example, according to Staley’s sworn deposition, he discussed Epstein with [J.P. Morgan] CEO Jamie Dimon on at least two occasions,” she continued. “The Fed, OCC and FDIC should investigate any other current or former banking executives who engaged in similar conduct to determine whether their conduct satisfies the legal standards for a ban on working in the banking industry and civil monetary penalties.... Any banking executives who facilitated the crimes of one of the world’s most notorious sex criminals should be held to account.”

TRIGGER WARNING

Article also discusses allegations of violent rape of Giuffre by a former Prime Minister.

The number of well known assholes that are being protected by not having the files released must be in the hundreds now.

She also wrote that she was forced to have sex with a "well-known prime minister" who she alleged beat her so badly that she begged for her life.

She does not reveal the man's nationality nor any other details about his identity.

Her long-time publicist and friend Dini von Mueffling told 7.30 she believes the name of this former prime minister and the others in Epstein's network will eventually be revealed.

[…]

Virginia says Epstein told her he had set up hidden cameras in his numerous properties, from Manhattan to West Palm Beach, to film rich and powerful people and in some cases to blackmail them.

"She talked to lots of people about it, including me," Ms von Mueffling said.

"It's very well known that Epstein had video cameras all over all of his homes.

Grijalva would be the decisive 218th member to support a discharge petition and force a House vote on the Epstein files over the objections of Johnson and Trump.

Grijalva has asserted the delay is an attempt to block a vote on the Epstein files. Among her supporters, that’s a given.

“If Donald is innocent, then why wouldn’t he want them totally out? Expose everybody, Democrat, Republican, whomever. It’s time,” said Doug Hayden, a homebuilder from Green Valley, Arizona. “Just gotta swear her in and let her do her job that we elected her for.”

Johnson has denied the saga is related to the push to release the Epstein files, which has support from a handful of Republicans in addition to House Democrats. He claimed he is following a precedent not to swear-in new members during a recess set by his predecessor, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. However, earlier this year, Johnson seated a pair of Florida Republicans less than 24 hours after their special election victories at a time when the House was not in regular session. The move filled two House vacancies and bolstered Johnson’s narrow majority at a critical time.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/48631410

Link to post: https://x.com/AmerBanker/status/1981752785176502504

Article without paywall: https://removepaywalls.com/4/https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/the-next-epstein-is-probably-already-here-hidden-in-plain-sight

This was not a mere oversight or the failing of a rogue employee; it was a systemic breakdown in which the normal rules of compliance were suspended for a VIP client. They are rooted in a banking culture that too often gives ultra-wealthy individuals a pass on the very controls imposed on everyone else.

The arithmetic was simple: projected millions outweighed compliance warnings, illustrating the recurring imbalance between business priorities and risk management.

By contrast, Epstein and his peers intersperse questionable transfers with vast volumes of legitimate activity, rendering the illicit share just a sliver of total turnover. Between 2003 and 2013, Epstein maintained roughly 50 JPMorgan accounts that processed more than $1 billion. Of this, regulators cited only a few million dollars as suspicious. That ratio made the problematic flows nearly invisible within aggregate volume. The concealment was not accidental.

The architecture that allowed Epstein’s network to thrive was never dismantled so much as patched.

It is not implausible that the “next Epstein” is already being discreetly serviced by private banking somewhere in the U.S.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/48630957

Link without paywall: https://removepaywalls.com/4/https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/the-next-epstein-is-probably-already-here-hidden-in-plain-sight

Officially, Epstein's death in a Manhattan detention center in 2019 closed the criminal proceedings against him. Yet the more important question for U.S. banks is whether the conditions that enabled his financial operations have truly been dismantled. On close inspection, the answer remains troubling. The uncomfortable truth is that the vulnerabilities exposed by his case were not unique. This was not a mere oversight or the failing of a rogue employee; it was a systemic breakdown in which the normal rules of compliance were suspended for a VIP client. They are rooted in a banking culture that too often gives ultra-wealthy individuals a pass on the very controls imposed on everyone else. That leaves a sobering conclusion: The financial system is probably still vulnerable. This is why the key vulnerabilities deserve closer attention.

The Epstein saga stands as the most glaring failure in handling high-risk clients since the collapse of Riggs Bank in 2005. But unlike Riggs, the banks at the center of Epstein's story, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, were not struggling institutions. They were global leaders, presenting private banking as a core commercial pillar alongside retail, corporate and investment banking. That strategic framing underscores the structural tension: the segment catering to ultra-high-net-worth and politically exposed clients is both the most lucrative and the most exposed to compliance risk.

In practice, this tension meant compliance rarely carried decisive weight. Deutsche Bank, for instance, approved Epstein's accounts in 2013, despite his 2007 conviction, reportedly projecting "revenue of $2–4 million annually." Years later, the New York Department of Financial Services would fine the bank $150 million, citing a "fundamental failure" to monitor accounts for activity "obviously implicated by Mr. Epstein's past." JPMorgan reached a $290 million settlement with victims, after plaintiffs alleged the bank "ignored obvious red flags" because of the relationship's profitability. The arithmetic was simple: projected millions outweighed compliance warnings, illustrating the recurring imbalance between business priorities and risk management.

The AML risk profile of ultra-wealthy clients differs sharply from that of retail customers. Money mules channel nearly 100% of their activity into high-risk flows, ensuring rapid detection and closure. By contrast, Epstein and his peers intersperse questionable transfers with vast volumes of legitimate activity, rendering the illicit share just a sliver of total turnover. Between 2003 and 2013, Epstein maintained roughly 50 JPMorgan accounts that processed more than $1 billion. Of this, regulators cited only a few million dollars as suspicious. That ratio made the problematic flows nearly invisible within aggregate volume. The concealment was not accidental. High-net-worth clients typically employ top-tier counsel to design contracts, payment rationales and corporate structures. On his Deutsche Bank accounts alone, Epstein paid more than $7 million to lawyers. Each individual payment, viewed in isolation, appeared lawful. Only when investigators reconstructed the full chain did the red flags emerge. Regulators later concluded that the failure was not in missing one anomalous transfer, but in ignoring the obvious implications of Epstein's history when assessing his broader activity.

Where vulnerabilities persist, bad actors will exploit them. The architecture that allowed Epstein's network to thrive was never dismantled so much as patched. It left sufficient room for similar abuses to emerge in new guises, hidden behind layers of wealth and influence. The lesson is clear: Unless compliance models move beyond transactional monitoring and address integrity risks at the level of leadership and governance, the sector risks repeating history. It is not implausible that the "next Epstein" is already being discreetly serviced by private banking somewhere in the U.S.