Epstein files reveal damning secrets of the global elite

KARACHI:

If there ever was a record of the dirty dealings of the global elite, it would be the Epstein files. From Donald Trump to Bill Clinton, and even India’s hardline, ultra-religious prime minister Narendra Modi, few members of the political and social elite seem immune to the disgraced financier’s web.

The scandal that dogged Trump’s second presidency from the beginning has taken another explosive turn, as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released a new batch of the notorious Epstein files.

The revelation lands like a political bombshell, dragging into public view a troubling list of world leaders, self-proclaimed philanthropists like Bill Gates and tech barons like Elon Musk, expanding a controversy long associated with elite excesses, influence trading and whispered incorrectness.

Even accessing the documents comes with an unusual caveat: Visitors must confirm they are over 18 before proceeding. The caution alone indicates the disturbing nature of the material, showing how Jeffrey Epstein’s dark legacy continues to dominate international headlines more than seven years after his mysterious death in a New York prison cell.

Newly revealed files suggest the disgraced financier’s influence may have seeped into the highest circles of global power, with references linking him to former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton and George HW Bush.

Among the most explosive material are allegations contained in documents accusing a former US president of sexual assault aboard a yacht.

While these claims remain unproven, their presence, experts believe, adds to the atmosphere of excess, secrecy and alleged elite exploitation that defines Epstein’s shadowy network.

Celebrities from almost every sphere of influence moved within Epstein’s orbit. Soccer icon David Beckham, Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Andrew (the disgraced royal whose association with Epstein came to eclipse even his birth in the House of Windsor) and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was recently named to Trump’s Peace Board, all appear in the financier’s growing gallery of notoriety, laid bare to the public through millions of Justice Department documents.

One revelation carries a particularly cruel irony: Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist whose public image revolves around saving lives, is referenced in documents containing allegations that he contracted a sexually transmitted infection after an encounter allegedly facilitated by Epstein, a man infamous not only for trafficking but also for being a convicted sex offender.

Buried within the trove is a 2015 email exchange in which Epstein’s aides toyed with the idea of ​​supporting Malala Yousafzai and her foundation to supposedly serve their own interests.

It is still unclear whether Malala received any help, but the discussion itself exposes how Epstein sought to link himself to globally admired figures and causes.

In another email, his longtime assistant, Lesley Groff, pointed to the Malala Fund’s vacant CEO position, apparently probing any connection Epstein might have to landing a paid position.

In the case of Pakistan, it appears that the national polio program remained on Epstein’s radar. Terje Rod-Larsen, a prominent Norwegian diplomat known for his role in the Oslo Accords, was briefing the financier on the situation.

So much so that he even learned about the measures taken by Bill Gates to eradicate polio, including his meetings and exchanges with senior Pakistani officials.

In iMessages exchanged in July 2018, a year before his arrest, Epstein’s open hostility toward Pakistan’s new leadership is also laid bare in the files.

He reacted to Imran Khan’s election as prime minister with unbridled scorn, calling him “a far greater threat to peace than Erdogan, Khomeini, Xi or Putin,” and summoned some of the world’s most controversial leaders to make his point.

Bold as it may seem, no topic seemed off-limits to Epstein. In another email from 2018, forwarded from a redacted account, a discussion arises around the Indus Water Cooperation – the controversial “water wars” between India and Pakistan that recently made headlines amid India’s threats to call off the agreement some seven years later.

The email, sent to Adam Lupel and copied to Nadia Al Said, both then at the Peace Institute, hints at Epstein’s interest in sensitive, high-stakes geopolitical disputes long before they came to light publicly.

Just across the border in Pakistan, Epstein reportedly gained significant access to India’s Narendra Modi, the BJP leader whose devout Hindu image has earned him almost reverential treatment from millions at home.

Emails and text messages in the documents reveal previously unknown efforts by the convicted financier to broker influence within Indian political circles, including direct interactions with a senior leader of Modi’s Hindu nationalist party, hinting at the financier’s ambition to engage in power far beyond the West.

Modi, who has denied any association through India’s foreign ministry, is reported to have sought Epstein’s advice to visit Israel, where he reportedly sang and danced.

Epstein also tried to arrange a meeting between Modi and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon in 2019, less than two months before his arrest.

Observers who have examined Epstein’s connection believe these documents do more than describe him as a man unafraid to pass judgment on the world stage.

They reveal a figure who wove an intricate web among the political elite, shaping influence where and when it suited him, embedding himself in the corridors of power with chilling calculation.

The most recent records also include internal memos and summaries of suggestions submitted by members of the public. Many reference President Trump in relation to sexual misconduct.

Newly revealed and unverified allegations of sexual assault involving Trump have emerged along with new accounts from Epstein’s victims describing interactions with the future president.

The documents shed more light on connections to other prominent figures. Elon Musk appears in emails arranging possible meetings with Epstein in Florida and the Caribbean between 2012 and 2014, although Musk has repeatedly denied his engagement.

The correspondence mentions Bill Gates about meetings and arrangements, which he also denies. Others, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, British billionaire Richard Branson and former White House aides Steve Bannon and Kathy Ruemmler, appear throughout, indicating that Epstein’s network spread without limits or barriers.

Perhaps most chilling is the confirmation that Epstein’s abuses were reported to authorities long before the public knew about it. Internal FBI memos reveal that agents were aware as early as 2006-2007 of multiple allegations involving underage girls at Epstein’s Florida estate, but federal prosecutors largely ignored them.

Epstein eventually reached a plea deal at the state level, pleading guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution and serving only 18 months of his sentence. The international reach of Epstein’s influence is further exposed by his connections to British royalty.

Prince Andrew, now the former Duke of York, appears extensively in the archives, with multiple references to dinner parties, guest lists and emails documenting repeated interactions.

The statement also exposes Epstein’s manipulations to rehabilitate his image through elite networks. Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, appears as someone Epstein allegedly tried to recruit to repair his public reputation.

Even as legal scrutiny intensified, Epstein continued to cultivate high-profile contacts, exploiting professional and personal relationships to maintain influence.

Despite the breadth of the new statement, experts warn that much of Epstein’s operation remains somewhat confusing in legal terms. Of the six million potentially explosive pages originally identified by the Justice Department, only half were revealed, and many files are heavily redacted to protect victims’ identities or to withhold sensitive material describing political influence campaigns and even abuses.

President Trump, whose name appears more than 1,000 times in the documents, initially opposed the release but eventually, under political pressure and mounting calls, signed the bill requiring the release of the files.

The massive revelation, years after Epstein’s death, experts say, has reignited scrutiny of powerful figures who once socialized with or were contacted by him, raising renewed questions about the complicity, conscience, responsibility and extraordinary reach of a man whose influence extended even into the halls of global geopolitics.

With millions of pages still unpublished and many redactions concealing damaging details, the dark story of Epstein’s influence is far from over, Moira Donegan, writer-in-residence at the Clayman Institute, wrote in a recent article published by The Guardian.

Donegan notes that the documents provide grim testimony to the dangers of concentrated power, the vulnerabilities of the marginalized, and the lasting consequences when justice is delayed or denied.