Dozens of people who communicated with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein over the years are now being scrutinized for their relationship based on emails that lawmakers have released to the public.
The late financier’s correspondents are mostly men, and recognizable names include economist, scientist, investor and journalist. They sought advice on pursuing women, discussed current events and otherwise bantered in these pen friendships.
These email exchanges occurred years after Epstein became a registered sex offender in 2008. Between a federal indictment, police investigation, civil lawsuits, and public allegations, Epstein is accused of recruiting and trafficking more than 1,000 girls as young as 14 to participate in sex with him, his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell and other men.
Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein as he announces the financier’s charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, in New York, U.S., July 8, 2019.
The women said they were abused all over the world – in California, Florida, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, the United Kingdom and the Virgin Islands – by Epstein, his partner Ghislaine Maxwell, and trafficked to other men.
Here’s a look at what some of the men and women who corresponded with Epstein said in their exchanges.
Larry Summers
Summers, a former Treasury secretary and former president of Harvard University, appeared to seek advice from Epstein about a romantic relationship he was interested in starting with a female economist he described as a “mentee”.
In an email message on November 20, 2018, the female economist appears to ask Summers about editing a research paper. Summers forwards the email to Epstein and says, “Think no response for a while is probably appropriate.” Epstein replies, “she’s already starting (sic) to sound needy 🙂 beautiful.”
Summers’ email correspondence ran from November 2018 to July 5, 2019, according to The Harvard Crimson. The Miami Herald’s blockbuster expose on Epstein ran in November 2018. A federal court ruling in February 2019 paved the way for federal charges against Epstein, and he was indicted on July 6, 2019. Epstein died by suicide about a month later while awaiting trial.
Epstein’s Emails: Larry Summers is under fire. Here’s why.
The Fallout: Larry Summers will leave his role as a professor at Harvard immediately amid the Epstein probe
New Elisa
Elisa New, who has been married to Summers since 2005, sent Epstein a copy of an invitation to an unnamed event on November 25, 2018. She is a professor of American literature at Harvard and also discussed literature with him.
In one message she says she is going on a trip to Australia and will read a copy of “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov. The book is about a 30-year-old married scholar and his sexual obsession with a 12-year-old girl. People later named Epstein’s private plane, which flight logs show ferried VIPs and women all over the world, “The Lolita Express.”
New then recommends reading “My Antonia” the next time he is on a long plane trip. “The prose is very beautiful, and the book has – we think – themes similar to Lolita in that it is about a man whose whole life is forever stamped by his impression of a little girl.”
Lawrence Krauss
Lawrence Krauss, co-president of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, appears at a news conference in New York, on January 14, 2010.
Physicist Lawrence Krauss, who wrote “The Physics of Star Trek,” texted Epstein for advice when a reporter with BuzzFeed News contacted him about sexual harassment allegations he was facing. Versions of these allegations were later published.
“I made a neck with that woman, but I never forced myself on her, and we talked about kissing or going beyond that and decided not,” Krauss writes to Epstein December 11, 2017. He includes a long list of events in his account of the meeting that prompted the inquiry and asks if he should respond to the reporter.
Epstein asks if Krauss had sex with the accused and for the details of the meeting if it happened. Then he concludes: “I don’t respond. My advice is consistent. Off the record.” Krauss writes: “We didn’t have sex. I decided it wasn’t a good idea.”
Steve Bannon
President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign CEO Steve Bannon takes a phone call outside Trump Tower in New York, U.S. December 9, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Kauzlarich
On November 16, 2018, Steve Bannon, who was a top White House aide during President Donald Trump’s first term, tells Epstein that he will miss a flight at London’s Heathrow airport. Epstein replies: “There. There’s a gulf air that leaves at 950 with a stop in Bahrain,” before following up, “Arrives. 1130.”
Bannon responds: “You’re an amazing assistant.”
The two sent many emails back and forth throughout 2018, some simply sharing news articles. Records also show that Epstein scheduled a 7 a.m. breakfast with Bannon on Feb. 16, 2019. By then, Epstein knew he was under federal investigation.
Democratic Document Dump: Epstein records name Musk, Bannon, Thiel, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Jonathan Farkas
Jonathan Farkas, scion of the Alexander shop family and the husband of Trump’s ambassador to Malta, sent an email to Epstein on 8 May 2017. He asks what Epstein thinks about a woman he is seeing who is not his wife.
“Beware that she is not to be trusted in ALLL,” writes Epstein.
“Timer 2?” asks Farkas.
“worse,” says Epstein.
“Jeffrey please help me here she is a hooker,” asks Farkas.
Epstein’s response: “. alcoholic. drugs. unstable. consuming liar. BEWARE”
Michael Wolff
Michael Wolff appears in 2012.
Journalist Michael Wolff sent an email to Epstein on October 29, 2016, days before Trump was first elected president. He was writing a book about Trump’s 2016 campaign.
“There’s an opportunity to come forward this week and talk about Trump in a way that can get you a lot of sympathy and help get him done,” Wolff writes. “Interested?” There is no indication in the emails that Epstein responded or acted on Wolff’s request. The president said he ended his friendship with Epstein many years before this exchange.
On February 1, 2019, Epstein sent Wolff a 5 a.m. typo email regarding the federal investigation into his conduct. He describes some activity that conforms to what his accusers said they were forced to do for money but plays down the other allegations.
“there were many girls,” he wrote. “The girls came back (sic) home multiple times for 200 dollars for a rub and tow . . . no sex . . . some worked in massage parlors, mostly in their mid-twenties.”
Boris Nikolic
Epstein emailed biotech venture capitalist Boris Nikolic in January 2010 to inquire about a conference in Switzerland, according to PBS.
Nikolic writes in the email chain that he met with Epstein’s friends, former President Bill Clinton and then Prince Andrew. Later, he writes that he is it is she gets sick of meetings, and, “it will be fun to be here.”
“I was just flirting with a 22 year old hot blond blue eyed Mexican chick,” writes Nikolic. “It turns out that she is with her husband. She didn’t have a chance to check him. But as we concluded, something good is rented;)”
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears in 2025.
Epstein’s schedule for December 6, 2014 reads: “Reminder: Elon Musk to the island on December 6 (is this still happening?)” After Forbes covered the alleged trip to the island in September 2025, Musk posted a response on social media: “This is false.”
Musk told Vanity Fair in 2019 that he visited Epstein at his Manhattan home years earlier “for about 30 minutes.”
“We didn’t see anything inappropriate, apart from the strange art,” said Musk. “He tried repeatedly to get me to visit his island. I refused.”
Kathryn Ruemmler
Kathryn Ruemmler, then a federal prosecutor, arrives in federal court on the first day of jury selection in the Enron trial in Houston on January 30, 2006.
The Goldman Sachs executive and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama made disparaging comments about people in New Jersey in an email with Epstein. On March 24, 2018, she shared an article titled, “How close is Donald Trump to a psychiatric breakdown?”
Later in the thread, Epstein writes: “many to blame. mostly the feminists.” Ruemmler replies: “Be careful, or the pendulum will swing the other way and the feminists will be responsible for everything.” Epstein says he was joking, and Ruemmler responds, “So I am, mostly. :-)”
“see you at 2, I ordered sushi for you,” Epstein says.
Goldman Sachs spokesman Tony Fratto, told CNBC: “These emails were private correspondence long before Kathy Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs.”
Transparency Note:
Michael Wolff was a USA TODAY freelance contributor from 2012 to early 2017. USA TODAY had no knowledge of any relationship between him and Jeffrey Epstein, nor any actions beyond his submissions for publication. We are committed to integrity and transparency, as we uphold our editorial standards and maintain the trust of our readers.
Contributing: Josh Meyer, Zac Anderson
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who’s in Epstein’s emails? Summers, Bannon among names mentioned.