How Close Were Epstein’s Ties to Russia, Really?

AN UNEXPECTEDLY PROMINENT new subplot has emerged following the recent release of millions of additional documents from the Epstein files: an alleged “Russian trail.” The voluminous evidence of Jeffrey Epstein’s contacts with various Russians, some of whom had ties to Russia’s spy agencies, has led some observers to conclude that the multimillionaire financier, sex trafficker, and rapist was also an intelligence asset belonging to the Kremlin.

Citing “intelligence sources,” the Daily Mail, the British tabloid, recently reported that Epstein was “running ‘the world’s largest honeytrap operation’ on behalf of the KGB when he procured women for his network of associates.” Then, last Tuesday, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk announced an inquiry to assess whether Epstein had links to Russian espionage—and whether Russia might have Epstein-related compromising materials on various political leaders. It should come as no surprise that Tusk’s remarks gave a boost to theories that Vladimir Putin has kompromat on Donald Trump.

But as with much else in the Epstein story, the facts are often enmeshed with thinly sourced speculation. For instance, while the Daily Mail has some interesting information on Epstein’s Russian contacts, its headline contains the unsupported assertion that Epstein “had multiple talks with Putin after conviction.” But the article itself hedges this claim, saying only that Epstein “seems to have secured audiences with Putin” after his 2008 guilty plea (to two counts of solicitation, including solicitation of prostitution with a minor). A look at the relevant files shows that Epstein talked repeatedly about such meetings; but, as the independent Latvia-based Russian news site Meduza concludes, “There’s no evidence in the released files that a meeting between Putin and Epstein ever took place.” Notably, in May 2013, Epstein claimed to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak that he had turned down Putin’s invitation to meet:

The conference in question, the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (held in June), was partly coordinated by Epstein’s pal Sergei Belyakov, who was then serving as Russia’s deputy minister for economic development. (More about him later.) This lends some credence to the possibility that there was, in fact, some talk of Putin meeting with Epstein on the forum’s sidelines. On the other hand, Putin asked me to meet, and I told him no is just the sort of thing a clout-obsessed narcissist would tell a powerful friend, and