A new collection of emails from the server of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein shed fresh light on his relationships with top global figures.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Peter Mandelson and Donald Trump are among the names who appear in the 23,000-page archive released by the Democrats yesterday.
Though many of those links were already public knowledge, the latest trove contains a raft of new revelations and accusations.
And it is expected not to be the last big release.
A new Democrat recently sworn into the US
The information in those documents could prove troublesome for President Trump – and several other high-profile individuals around the world, including the UK.
Here’s what we learned from the most recent emails.
Andrew and Virginia Giuffre
An email exchange between Epstein and a journalist appears to suggest an infamous picture of then-Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre is authentic.
The message refers to a ‘girl’ whose name is not provided, but it appears to concern stories relating to Giuffre.
Epstein describes the girl as a ‘total liar’, saying the Daily Mail newspaper paid her to talk to them.
But he adds: ‘Yes she was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew, as many of my employees have.’
The image appears to show Andrew with his hand on then-17-year-old Giuffre’s waist, while Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell smiles in the background.
Andrew, who was stripped of all his titles including prince last month, told Newsnight in 2019: ‘I have absolutely no memory of that photograph ever being taken.
‘You can’t prove whether or not that photograph is faked or not.’
Duke asks for help
Emails purportedly from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he is now known, also feature in the tranche released yesterday.
Among the messages is one from 2011, in which someone listed as ‘the Duke’ – believed to be Andrew – pleads for help with a story linking him to Virginia Giuffre.
He writes to Epstein: ‘Please make sure that every statement or legal letter states clearly that I am NOT involved and that I knew and know NOTHING about any of these allegations.
‘I can’t take any more of this my end.’
Peter Mandelson contacts
Lord Peter Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US in September, after the publication of his messages in Epstein’s 50th birthday book.
He was only seven months into the role, and the debacle was a serious blow to Keir Starmer’s government.
In a letter to British embassy staff, Mandelson wrote: ‘I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims.’
At that point, the last known contact between Mandelson and Epstein was around 2011, but the latest emails show an exchange they had in 2016.
In a message from November 6 that year, Epstein makes reference to the peer’s birthday two weeks earlier, writing: ’63 years old. You made it.’
Mandelson replies by saying: ‘Just. I have decided to extend my life by spending more of it in the US.’
The pair then discuss Donald Trump’s recent election victory and other details of their lives, including Epstein saying: ‘In hindsight. you were right about staying away from Andrew.’
Questions for Trump
One email between Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein in 2011 alleges that Trump ‘spent hours at my house’ with a redacted victim of sex trafficking.
Epstein told Maxwell: ‘I want you to realise that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.’
‘I have been thinking about that’, Maxwell, who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for grooming teenage girls to be abused by Epstein, wrote back.
Trump has always emphatically denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists yesterday: ‘The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.’
Tips from Michael Wolff
Michael Wolff shot to worldwide fame when his book ‘Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House’ was published in 2018.
At that point, he had already been in touch with Jeffrey Epstein for a number of years, with the pair discussing extensively the financier’s relationship with Donald Trump.
In one email during Trump’s presidential campaign in 2015, Epstein asked Wolff for advice on how the then-candidate might respond if he was asked about their links.
Wolff replied: ‘I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency.’
Other top figures from the US who are shown to have exchanged friendly emails with Epstein include Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon and billionaire PayPal founder Peter Thiel.
When will the Epstein files be released? Latest vote update
There has been a 50-day wait for new Democrat representative Adelita Grijalva to be sworn into the US House of Representatives.
But today, that is expected to happen – and soon afterwards, she will add her name to a petition which will force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.
According to Politico, both sides believe that vote is most likely to take place in the first week of December, after a recess for Thanksgiving.
The news website reports Republicans believe the measure would eventually be killed off in the Senate if the House votes it through.
But some have pointed out the House Oversight Committee – which was behind the release of the 50th birthday book and the latest batch of emails – could make many of the most important documents public regardless.
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