The Epstein Conspiracy Wasn’t What We Suspected

Since 2019, many in mainstream and alternative media, including Public, have speculated about financier Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent links to the intelligence community (IC), particularly Mossad and the CIA, his alleged involvement in sexual blackmail, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. The picture that emerged for many of us was of Epstein filming powerful men in compromising situations with underage girls, for the purpose of collecting kompromat at the behest of a foreign or domestic intelligence agency.

Several key pieces of evidence stood out. One of Epstein’s early clients was Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi arms dealer who brokered arms shipments from Israel to Iran during the CIA’s illegal Iran-Contra scandal. The father of Epstein’s partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, was Robert Maxwell, who some believe was a “superspy” for Israel. Epstein met twice with former CIA Director William Burns and tried to meet with former CIA Director John Brennan.

Journalist Vicky Ward once claimed that Alex Acosta, then a federal prosecutor, let Epstein off easy with a 2007 federal non-prosecution agreement because he was told Epstein “belonged to intelligence” and was “above [his] paygrade.” Newly released files show Epstein requested his CIA file.

The files also show he sent an email to himself, apparently in the voice of Bill Gates advisor Boris Nikolic, describing Gates’ philandering and STD, and alleging that he secretly gave his wife antibiotics. Epstein had many photos and videos of powerful men with young women. There are emails of Epstein ordering hidden motion-detection cameras be placed in Kleenex boxes. And the newly released files show UK Labour politician Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the US, in his underwear.

But after having spent several weeks reading through the files and related investigations, it’s clear to us that the totality of available evidence does not support the picture of a government-backed sex blackmail operation. Rather, it suggests that Epstein primarily served his own interests. If Epstein was a slave to anything, it was to his passions and perversions. Ward’s claim that Epstein “belonged to intelligence” is not reliable. She said she heard it third-hand from an anonymous source. Her former Vanity Fair editor and colleagues told the New Yorker that her reporting was not trusted, and said that she had provided inaccurate quotations in the past.

Epstein may have worked for governments as a deal “fixer” or financial advisor with a unique ability to ...