In late November, I decided to hold off writing further about Epstein until this file dump was released, as it would provide the best possible picture for enduring reporting. I (and everybody else) are still waiting to obtain 80GB of data which is proving annoyingly difficult to get, thanks to DOJ technical limitations.
What we have learned so far is startling in its scope and specificity, even as some details could use more sunlight.
1) Epstein was first and foremost about Epstein. His money, real estate, travel, appetites, personnel, network, scientific interests, and medical concerns all flowed together in a continuous feedback loop.
2) He and Steve Bannon were partners in crime for several years until his death. Certainly the first Trump administration was deeply shaped by their shenanigans, as was the European far right movement. And their work is still shaping things now.
3) Epstein considered Putin his fixer. Whenever he had a hard problem, he put in a call to either Belyakov (FSB agent), a friend of Putin’s, Putin’s people, or Ehud Barak, who knew Putin.
4) Epstein traveled to Russia repeatedly over the course of at least 20 years, getting visas year after year starting in at least 2002. One visa was sponsored by Vympel, an organization for FSB veterans. You can’t get this without FSB cooperation.
5) Epstein was a secular Jew, worked with many Jews, and code-switched for that audience, but didn’t like Israel as a place. When invited to go there in 2017 with “his girls” by Deepak Chopra, Epstein said, “Another destination. I do not like Israel. AT ALL.” His interests in Israel were more abstract.
6) His sex crimes seem to have been primarily a product of his own personal pathology. With some reports of his needing “3 fresh girls a day” and constant chatter about medical testing and treatment for herpes and various other sex-related conditions and conundrums, he was obsessed with sex and it weighed on him. He would have been far more effective at his day job without this distraction.
7) The files reveal relatively meager information about trafficking for distribution to others. While there is a raft of unverified allegations from the public after his highly publicized August 2019 death, many of them bear hallmarks of being shaped by press coverage and of coming from people without first hand knowledge. Some seem more authentic and deserve additional investigation, to the extent not already done.
8) The breadth of his reach into US, UK, and other European power networks is unparalleled. This suggests access to virtually unlimited funds and intelligence. He may have received that primarily from his Kremlin channels, through other partners, and also through his own entrepreneurial activities with people like Thiel.
9) Silicon Valley is deeply compromised. Beginning with people like Yuri Milner and Thiel, and then extending into Epstein’s assistant turned VC Masha Drokova Bucher, there is a clear concerted effort to drill into Silicon Valley’s tech networks for capture, control, and wealth generation.
10) Russia created Epstein. Russia exposed Epstein. This is a clear strategy of demoralization. No one has heaped more praise on Rep. Thomas Massie than Russia’s proxies. The hope is that we lose faith in elites, in government, and in democracy. This sets the stage for escalation. We should be careful about falling for this trap.
Epstein had a huge role in shaping the information environment over the last decade, and that appears to have been his intention. Steve Bannon lives; he should be held accountable, as should other living collaborators.
There are many other power centers that contributed to this as well. But it seems clear at this point that Epstein contributed greatly to the misery of the world, and most especially to the misery of his personal victims.
Much more to report soon, but those are some initial impressions. Onward.
What we have learned so far is startling in its scope and specificity, even as some details could use more sunlight.
1) Epstein was first and foremost about Epstein. His money, real estate, travel, appetites, personnel, network, scientific interests, and medical concerns all flowed together in a continuous feedback loop.
2) He and Steve Bannon were partners in crime for several years until his death. Certainly the first Trump administration was deeply shaped by their shenanigans, as was the European far right movement. And their work is still shaping things now.
3) Epstein considered Putin his fixer. Whenever he had a hard problem, he put in a call to either Belyakov (FSB agent), a friend of Putin’s, Putin’s people, or Ehud Barak, who knew Putin.
4) Epstein traveled to Russia repeatedly over the course of at least 20 years, getting visas year after year starting in at least 2002. One visa was sponsored by Vympel, an organization for FSB veterans. You can’t get this without FSB cooperation.
5) Epstein was a secular Jew, worked with many Jews, and code-switched for that audience, but didn’t like Israel as a place. When invited to go there in 2017 with “his girls” by Deepak Chopra, Epstein said, “Another destination. I do not like Israel. AT ALL.” His interests in Israel were more abstract.
6) His sex crimes seem to have been primarily a product of his own personal pathology. With some reports of his needing “3 fresh girls a day” and constant chatter about medical testing and treatment for herpes and various other sex-related conditions and conundrums, he was obsessed with sex and it weighed on him. He would have been far more effective at his day job without this distraction.
7) The files reveal relatively meager information about trafficking for distribution to others. While there is a raft of unverified allegations from the public after his highly publicized August 2019 death, many of them bear hallmarks of being shaped by press coverage and of coming from people without first hand knowledge. Some seem more authentic and deserve additional investigation, to the extent not already done.
8) The breadth of his reach into US, UK, and other European power networks is unparalleled. This suggests access to virtually unlimited funds and intelligence. He may have received that primarily from his Kremlin channels, through other partners, and also through his own entrepreneurial activities with people like Thiel.
9) Silicon Valley is deeply compromised. Beginning with people like Yuri Milner and Thiel, and then extending into Epstein’s assistant turned VC Masha Drokova Bucher, there is a clear concerted effort to drill into Silicon Valley’s tech networks for capture, control, and wealth generation.
10) Russia created Epstein. Russia exposed Epstein. This is a clear strategy of demoralization. No one has heaped more praise on Rep. Thomas Massie than Russia’s proxies. The hope is that we lose faith in elites, in government, and in democracy. This sets the stage for escalation. We should be careful about falling for this trap.
Epstein had a huge role in shaping the information environment over the last decade, and that appears to have been his intention. Steve Bannon lives; he should be held accountable, as should other living collaborators.
There are many other power centers that contributed to this as well. But it seems clear at this point that Epstein contributed greatly to the misery of the world, and most especially to the misery of his personal victims.
Much more to report soon, but those are some initial impressions. Onward.
Some have asked if I have overlooked Trump in this overview. Honestly, I have not; this release just doesn’t tell us a lot we didn’t already know.
They do confirm that Epstein and Bannon consider Trump to be their puppet, and one of several. Their familiarity suggests common network ties, but we knew that.
This also comes as no surprise to those who have followed my prior reporting. Vladimir Kryuchkov, head of the KGB in the late 1980’s, recruited Trump and used Robert Maxwell to exfiltrate Kremlin funds. He died right after the 1991 coup and Epstein seems to have stepped in where he left off, after having worked with other network members prior.
These new files don’t say very much about that but they are consistent with that understanding as well.
The big takeaway here isn’t an expose of Trump, but the broader influence campaign designed to take down the West for which Epstein was a logistics coordinator and network liaison. Trump’s an actor on the stage, doing his part.
They do confirm that Epstein and Bannon consider Trump to be their puppet, and one of several. Their familiarity suggests common network ties, but we knew that.
This also comes as no surprise to those who have followed my prior reporting. Vladimir Kryuchkov, head of the KGB in the late 1980’s, recruited Trump and used Robert Maxwell to exfiltrate Kremlin funds. He died right after the 1991 coup and Epstein seems to have stepped in where he left off, after having worked with other network members prior.
These new files don’t say very much about that but they are consistent with that understanding as well.
The big takeaway here isn’t an expose of Trump, but the broader influence campaign designed to take down the West for which Epstein was a logistics coordinator and network liaison. Trump’s an actor on the stage, doing his part.
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