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Daily Mail
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Tulsi Gabbard doesn't rule out if Epstein had foreign intel ties
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard did not rule out claims that wealthy financier and convicted Jeffrey Epstein was connected to foreign intelligence operations before he died in prison. The director spoke to reporters at the White House press briefing on Wednesday. 'I haven't seen any evidence or information that reflects that,' Gabbard said in response to a question from the Daily Mail, asking if she could rule out any connections that Epstein had to either foreign or domestic intelligence. 'If anything comes before me that changes that in any way, I support the president's statement loud and clear, if any credible evidence comes forward he wants the American people to see it,' she added. Epstein was given an enormously generous plea deal of just 13 months in June 2008, even after he was being investigated for multiple accounts of [expletive] and trafficking and facing 40 years in prison. The plea deal shocked federal prosecutors as they had obtained as many as 40 victims of Epstein, many of whom were willing to testify against him. The agreement was made with then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, who later reportedly said that he was told that Epstein 'belonged to intelligence' and to back away from the case. Acosta was later selected by Trump to serve in his first administration as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. During a July 2019 press conference, Acosta (pictured) was asked to confirm if he was made aware that Epstein was an intelligence asset. Acosta did not deny the report but said he would 'hesitate to take as fact' the news in the story. 'A lot of reporting is just going down rabbit holes,' he concluded. Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this month she also did not know if Epstein was an intelligence asset. 'To him being an agent, I have no knowledge about that,' she said to reporters. Gabbard appeared at the briefing to detail the Russia collusion hoax, outlining what she described as 'treasonous' behavior by former President Barack Obama and former intelligence officials who she claimed colluded to perpetrate the Russia 'hoax' that tangled up President Trump's first term. 'The stunning revelations that we are releasing today should be of concern to every American,' she said. 'This is not about Democrats or Republicans, this has to do with the integrity of our Democratic republic.' She detailed behind-the-scenes information from declassified documents that revealed the roles that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan, and former FBI director James Comey (pictured) played in the effort to prove that Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. 'I'm not asking you to take my word for it, I'm asking you in the media to conduct honest journalism and the American people to see for yourself,' she said, referring to the documents she released on Friday and Wednesday. Referring to the 'Steele dossier,' compiled by former MI6 intelligence agent Christopher Steele on behalf of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, Gabbard noted that Brennan was the one who insisted on including the salacious and now discredited document into intelligence briefings to claim that Trump was connected to Russia, even as top officials contested the claim. She blamed the media for working with rogue intelligence agents to try and undermine the Trump administration. 'President Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Brennan, James Comey, James Clapper and others including the mouthpieces in the media knowingly lied when this was created ... with high confidence as though it were fact,' she said. Gabbard said she would refer all of the released documents to the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate the criminal nature of their actions. 'I'm not an attorney ... but when you look at the intent, creating a fake, manufactured intelligence document that directly contradicts multiple assessments created by the intelligence community, the expressed intent and what followed afterward can only be described as a year's long coup and treasonous conspiracy against the American people, our republic, and an attempt to undermine President Trump's administration,' she said.
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Tulsi Gabbard reveals whether there's 'evidence' Epstein had foreign or domestic intel ties
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard did not rule out claims that wealthy financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was connected to foreign intelligence operations before he died in prison. The director spoke to reporters at the White House press briefing on Wednesday. 'I haven't seen any evidence or information that reflects that,' Gabbard said in response to a question from the Daily Mail, asking if she could rule out any connections that Epstein had to either foreign or domestic intelligence. 'If anything comes before me that changes that in any way, I support the president's statement loud and clear, if any credible evidence comes forward he wants the American people to see it,' she added. Epstein was given an enormously generous plea deal of just 13 months in June 2008, even after he was being investigated for multiple accounts of pedophilia and sex trafficking and facing 40 years in prison. The plea deal shocked federal prosecutors as they had obtained as many as 40 victims of Epstein, many of whom were willing to testify against him. The agreement was made with then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, who later reportedly said that he was told that Epstein 'belonged to intelligence' and to back away from the case. Acosta was later selected by Trump to serve in his first administration as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. During a July 2019 press conference, Acosta was asked to confirm if he was made aware that Epstein was an intelligence asset. Acosta did not deny the report but said he would 'hesitate to take as fact' the news in the story. 'A lot of reporting is just going down rabbit holes,' he concluded. Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this month she also did not know if Epstein was an intelligence asset. 'To him being an agent, I have no knowledge about that,' she said to reporters. Gabbard appeared at the briefing to detail the Russia collusion hoax, outlining what she described as 'treasonous' behavior by former President Barack Obama and former intelligence officials who she claimed colluded to perpetrate the Russia 'hoax' that tangled up President Trump's first term. 'The stunning revelations that we are releasing today should be of concern to every American,' she said. 'This is not about Democrats or Republicans, this has to do with the integrity of our Democratic republic.' She detailed behind-the-scenes information from declassified documents that revealed the roles that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan, and former FBI director James Comey played in the effort to prove that Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. 'I'm not asking you to take my word for it, I'm asking you in the media to conduct honest journalism and the American people to see for yourself,' she said, referring to the documents she released on Friday and Wednesday. Referring to the 'Steele dossier,' compiled by former MI6 intelligence agent Christopher Steele on behalf of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, Gabbard noted that Brennan was the one who insisted on including the salacious and now discredited document into intelligence briefings to claim that Trump was connected to Russia, even as top officials contested the claim. She blamed the media for working with rogue intelligence agents to try and undermine the Trump administration. 'President Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Brennan, James Comey, James Clapper and others including the mouthpieces in the media knowingly lied when this was created ... with high confidence as though it were fact,' she said. Gabbard said she would refer all of the released documents to the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate the criminal nature of their actions. 'I'm not an attorney ... but when you look at the intent, creating a fake, manufactured intelligence document that directly contradicts multiple assessments created by the intelligence community, the expressed intent and what followed afterward can only be described as a year's long coup and treasonous conspiracy against the American people, our republic, and an attempt to undermine President Trump's administration,' she said.
Forbes
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Epstein Files: What To Know About His Original Charges
The case against Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious financier connected to wealthy and powerful figures in politics and business, is back in the spotlight again as the Trump administration faces immense pressure to release the Justice Department's remaining files from his prosecutions. Federal prosecutors announce new charges against Jeffrey Epstein in 2019. Getty Images Epstein became the target of a criminal investigation in 2005, when local police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating tips and reports of Epstein soliciting sex from minors as early as March of that year, but the reported financier was only ever charged with a single count of solicitation of prostitution by a Florida grand jury—a move that sparked outrage from local police, who forwarded their evidence to the FBI. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to one count of solicitation of prostitution and one count of solicitation of prostitution from a minor—securing a plea deal with then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta's office after facing a federal investigation following state charges. Epstein was arrested again in New York in July 2019, this time facing federal charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy related to his alleged abuse of 'dozens of underage girls' between 2002 and 2005. Epstein was found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial after authorities determined he hanged himself in August 2019—but irregularities in the record and the lack of security camera footage from inside Epstein's jail cell have sparked conspiracy theories from a swath of the public that remains unconvinced by the official account. Before his arrests, Epstein was a financial manager connected to multiple billionaires, politicians, and scientists, including former President Bill Clinton, billionaire former Victoria's Secret owner Les Wexner and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. President Donald Trump has also been connected to the disgraced financier in the past, but has long denied any wrongdoing, insisted their friendship ended long ago, and has not been implicated in his crimes. The exact sources of Epstein's wealth remain opaque, although records released after his death previously revealed he was likely not a billionaire. Police in Palm Beach signed a probable cause affidavit charging Epstein with unlawful sex acts with a minor in March 2006, but State's Attorney Barry Krischer instead referred the case to a grand jury—sparking backlash, including from the then-chief of the Palm Beach Police Department, who then turned over evidence against Epstein to the FBI. The grand jury charged Epstein with only a single count of solicitation of prostitution, while the FBI began a formal investigation into the Palm Beach financier. Jeffrey Epstein appears with Ghislaine Maxwell, Donald Trump, and Melania Trump at a party at ... More Mar-a-Lago in 2000. Getty Images Epstein's attorneys quickly began negotiating a plea deal with Acosta's office, which he finally signed in 2008. Epstein agreed to plead guilty to state charges for solicitation of prostitution and one count of solicitation of prostitution from a minor in exchange for a 13-month prison sentence and registering as a sex offender. He was released from prison months early in July 2009, being given work release to return to his West Palm Beach office during the day and only report back to the prison to sleep. Dozens of his alleged victims began filing lawsuits after his release after details of the non-prosecution agreement he signed with the U.S. attorney's office finally became public. Jeffrey Epstein's mugshot after his arrest in 2019. Kypros What Was The Plea Deal? Epstein's lawyers began negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors at least by 2007, but continually pressed for more and more concessions, the Miami Herald reported. Federal prosecutors had already written a 53-page indictment against the financier before they finally agreed to the deal, the Herald's investigation revealed. Epstein agreed to plead guilty to the two charges of prostitution in exchange for 13 months in prison. As part of the deal, Epstein signed a non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors, which remained sealed. The deal also included a clause that extended immunity to 'any potential co-conspirators' in the case. Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell appear together in 2005. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Maxwell was Epstein's longtime girlfriend who was convicted for helping the financier find underage girls to abuse. She's the daughter of Robert Maxwell, a British media mogul and former member of parliament with alleged connections to multiple intelligence agencies. Robert Maxwell died after apparently falling from his yacht in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in 1991. Maxwell was arrested in 2020 for her role in helping Epstein recruit girls, after evading lawsuits from alleged victims for years. Much of the information we know about Epstein was released during Maxwell's prosecution, including the flight logs from Epstein's private jet, which showed the financier traveling multiple times with Clinton and Trump. After a closely watched trial in Manhattan, Maxwell was convicted on five federal charges, including one count of sex trafficking of a minor, one count of transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts, and three counts of conspiracy related to sex trafficking. Maxwell has long maintained her innocence, and has appealed her case all the way to the Supreme Court to throw out her conviction for violating the non-prosecution agreement Epstein signed. The Justice Department has disputed this claim, arguing Epstein's original agreement only applied to the Southern District of Florida. Former Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of ... More Florida during Epstein's prosecution. Getty Images How Was Alexander Acosta Involved In The Prosecution? Acosta was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida under former President George W. Bush, and was responsible for approving Epstein's controversial plea deal. Trump nominated Acosta to serve as secretary of labor in 2017. At his confirmation hearing, Acosta initially defended his handling of the original case. 'At the end of the day, Mr. Epstein went to jail. Epstein was incarcerated. He registered as a sex offender. The world was put on notice that he was a sex offender, and the victims received restitution,' Acosta said. When Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., pressed him on Epstein being allowed out on work release, Acosta said 'I am on record condemning that, and I think that was awful,' deflecting criticism back to how the state administered his sentence. In November 2018, the Miami Herald began publishing its 'Perversion of Justice' investigative reports, reexamining the case and Acosta's role in approving the plea deal and non-prosecution agreement for the disgraced financier—thrusting Epstein back into the national spotlight due to Acosta's new position in the Trump administration. Acosta resigned from his position in the Trump administration shortly after Epstein's second arrest in 2019. The Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility investigated Acosta's handling of the case. In a November 2020 report, the OPR found that Acosta "exercised poor judgement,' specifically condemning his office's decision not to notify Epstein's victims of the non-prosecution agreement he signed as part of his plea deal. 'His decision left victims uninformed about an important proceeding that resolved the federal investigation, an investigation about which the USAO had communicated with victims for months,' the report reads. 'It also ultimately created the misimpression that the Department intentionally sought to silence the victims.' Was He Linked To Mossad? Some commentators, most notably Tucker Carlson, have tried to link Epstein to Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. It is unclear if Epstein ever had links to the agency, and former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett rejected the claims outright. 'As a former Israeli Prime Minister, with the Mossad having reported directly to me, I say to you with 100% certainty: the accusation that Jeffrey Epstein somehow worked for Israel or the Mossad running a blackmail ring is categorically and totally false,' Bennett wrote in a statement on X.
