Epstein tried to meet with Putin on multiple occasions, - CNN
American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of sex crimes in the United States, wanted to get closer to Russian officials, in particular to meet with Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin.
This was reported by CNN, citing declassified files, according to Censor.NET.
According to the television company, Epstein regularly met in New York with Vitaly Churkin, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations. He even offered to help his son get a job at an asset management firm.
Epstein's letters
After Churkin's death, Epstein wanted to talk to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In June 2018, the financier sent an email to Norwegian politician Thorbjørn Jagland, then Secretary General of the Council of Europe: "I think you could suggest to Putin that Lavrov be given information on how to talk to me. Vitaly Churkin used to (communicate) with me, but he died."
Yagland replied that he would meet with Lavrov's assistant next Monday and propose this.
Epstein replied: "Churkin was great. He understood Trump after [our] conversations. It's simple. You just need to show that he understands something, and that's it."
As noted, although Epstein's interest in finding models from Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe was already well known, recently released documents related to the disgraced financier provide new insight into his attempts to get close to high-ranking Russian officials, including Putin, whom Epstein tried to meet or talk to several times.
At the same time, the Kremlin rejected speculation that Epstein was a spy for Russia.
Analysts warned CNN that the declassified documents only show that Epstein tried to establish relationships with influential figures and position himself as a kind of geopolitical player. The documents do not indicate whether Epstein succeeded in establishing ties with the Russian dictator.
On potential meetings with Putin
The CNN article states that on May 9, 2013, Epstein wrote to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that Jagland "is going to meet with Putin in Sochi" on May 20 and that Yagland asked if the financier could meet with the Russian dictator "to explain how Russia could structure deals to encourage Western investment."
"I have never met him, I wanted you to know," Epstein added in his email to Barack.
- On May 14, 2013, Jagland wrote to Epstein that he planned to convey to Putin a message that the financier could be useful.
"I have a friend who can help you take the necessary steps (and then introduce you) and ask if he would be interested in meeting you," the letter says.
- However, in another email to Barak dated May 21, 2013, Epstein claimed without evidence that he had rejected Putin's request for a meeting during an economic conference in St. Petersburg. Epstein said that if the Russian dictator wanted to meet with him, he would "need to set aside time and privacy."
Journalists clarified that it is unclear whether Putin ever requested a meeting with the financier.
An email dated July 14, 2014, addressed to Epstein, suggests that he planned a meeting with Putin and invited LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman to join him. Joy Ito, then director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, wrote to Epstein: "I was unable to convince Reid to change his schedule to attend the meeting with Putin with you."
Some of Epstein's contacts with Russians took place at a difficult time for US-Russian relations – after the US intelligence community accused Moscow of interfering in the 2016 presidential election.
The media recalled that the Norwegian prosecutor's office had already launched an investigation into Jagland after the publication of Epstein's files. According to his lawyer, the politician will cooperate with the investigation but denies any violation of the law.
Documents show that Epstein had close ties to at least one Russian who had connections to the Russian Federal Security Service. In a 2015 letter to billionaire Peter Thiel, Epstein referred to Sergei Belyakov, who, according to TASS, graduated from the FSB Academy in Moscow in 1999, as "my very good friend."
