Epstein's Double Agent

Mar 17, 2026

Previously published by Blue Amp Media

In the history of the Trump Administration and the Epstein Files we’ve often talked about leaks, spies, moles, the idea of someone on the inside funneling valuable information to the American public that would otherwise be hidden behind corruption and bureaucracy, not unlike the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the Iran Contra Affair, or the Watergate Scandal. We think of heroes like Miles Taylor, who risked his reputation and the safety of his family to write the anonymous New York Times op-ed I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration, chronicling the cabinet’s attempts at restraining an unhinged world leader.

“There is literally no telling whether he might change his mind from one minute to the next.” - Anonymous top official inside the White House

We think of Daniel Ellsberg who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, which proved the U.S. government had misled the American public about the Vietnam War.

We're Going to Publish': An Oral History of the Pentagon Papers - The New York Times

Donald Trump revoked Taylor’s security clearance and accused him of treason. Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917. However, neither man was ultimately convicted of a crime.

But what if we had someone leaking information the other direction, taking it from the American public and funneling it back to powerful people to use as a means to stifle scandals and benefit the men behind the curtain? Or what if someone acted as both? What if there was someone investigating the powers that be, writing books and articles that seemed to reveal decades of deals with the devil, but also playing a few hands themselves? How dangerous would a double agent in the Epstein Files be?

Michael Wolff on chaos, power and America's reckoning - Monocle — Monocle Radio

I started following Michael Wolff a couple years ago, when I didn’t know much about Epstein but knew Wolff had made it his life’s works to infiltrate the “eye of the most extraordinary political storm since at least Watergate.” And thus, beginning sometime in January 2017, he did just that, becoming renowned for being the journalist who, second to Maggie Haberman, had the most unfettered access to Donald Trump. It led to the publication of his most notable book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, which debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, selling nearly 5 million copies worldwide and making Wolff a millionaire.

Ellie's Coffee Fund

But I don’t think that’s why I paid attention. Because despite my greenhorn status in the political world, I’d heard rumors of interview tapes, about 100 hours of them, talking to a man who knew everything, knew everyone, and had potentially led one of the biggest crime rings in American history.

His name was Jeffrey Epstein.

Jeffrey Epstein is shown smiling and wearing a blue shirt as he sits at a dining table. Other people are in the background.

At the time, I had a little transcription business (still do), and the idea of listening to interviews this far off the record felt kind of delicious. Up until that point I’d spent most of my late nights listening to interviews with Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Michelle and Barack Obama, Harry and Meghan, and a long list of survivors who still have not gone on the record to name their attackers in the White House, Hollywood, the music industry, and abroad. I’ve signed endless NDAs and know things Oprah wishes she did. All from my little second-hand couch in western Montana, one or two kids (at the time) still on the breast, and just trying to pay rent.

Now I’m known as the “Epstein Girl,” a title which I hope to shake here in the near future as this investigation winds down and I can reclaim my writing skills on more than one topic. But for now, it means paying attention. And 3.5 million files later, it appears the sleep deprivation is paying off.

I wrote a piece about Michael Wolff just after Christmas. I’d read through all of his emails with Epstein from the November 12th file drop, that started innocently enough. He wanted to write a book about the disgraced financier, potentially in the same way he wanted to write about Trump—an exposé of a bad guy in power who was willing to say and do anything for headlines. And sure, Wolff had been a little vague about whose idea it was to write the book, seeming to claim that Epstein had pushed him to do it. So he bluffed a little. I could look past it.

But as I read pages and pages of emails between Epstein and Wolff, organizing them into a long, chronological thread over years, I started to realize this wasn’t a business proposition; it was a friendship. And the same type of friendship Epstein had with most people—you give me something, I’ll give you something; you screw with me, and your reputation is effectively over.

It started with a flight sometime between 1999-2001, when Wolff traveled on Epstein’s plane to the West Coast for a TED conference. He noticed something off, a group of teenagers that never left Epstein’s side.

“You didn’t know what to make of this…Who is this man with this very large airplane and these very tall girls?” - Michael Wolff

But it didn’t bother him much, because in 2004 Wolff joined Mort Zuckerman, Epstein, Harvey Weinstein, Donny Deutsch, and Nelson Peltz in an attempt to buy New York Magazine, which eventually fell through.

Fast forward to January 30th, 2026, when the Department of Justice released 3.5 million newly-public files from the Epstein case, including 1,830 pages of emails between Michael Wolff and Jeffrey Epstein. In their conversations, which now appeared to start much earlier, Wolff traveled to meet Epstein all over the world, interviewing him, bringing his family, even discussing visiting Epstein’s island in the Caribbean.

Wolff often came to the house for dinners with Epstein and Woody Allen, where they discussed the backlash of the MeToo Movement and how to counter it and dodge the accusations that had chased down most of their friends. They often talked about Ronan Farrow’s championing of his sister Dylan, and disparaged Nick Kristof for allowing her to tell the story of her abuse and abuser in his New York Times blog.

But even prior to the MeToo Movement, things seemed to take a turn in their relationship, and it was no longer about ignoring or joking about Epstein’s past, but now campaigning for Epstein’s revamped image. As early as 2011, Wolff was talking about discrediting other journalists who tried to tell the truth about Epstein’s criminal history, both financially and in the sexual trafficking of young girls.

In 2015, Wolff was slated to write a piece on Epstein for New York Magazine, including the now well-known photographs from Christopher Anderson that were recently published on Instagram. However, at some point Epstein backed out, ghosting the magazine and Wolff as well, despite their close relationship. Or so it seemed. The magazine’s photo team turned to Wolff to see if they could find Epstein for final publication, but Wolff was no help.

“Dear Michael, I hope this message finds you well. Know that we have been trying to reach Jeffrey via email, but he is not responding.” - Jody Quon, NYM Photo Editor

Wolff claimed he was trying to reach Epstein, but “obviously can’t do more than that.” Meanwhile, he’d sent the whole email thread to Epstein for review.

“Let me know what you want to do about this. Cold in Paris.” - Michael Wolff

The article was never published, and the photographs wouldn’t be made public until six years after Epstein’s death.

In early 2016, Wolff got word that James Patterson was writing a book about Epstein. He approached the publisher, asking if he could read an advanced copy. This is his conversation with Erinn McGrath of Little, Brown and Company.

After signing the NDA, Wolff forwarded all the correspondence about the book to Epstein

Michael Wolff continued to correspond with Epstein on the regular until he died, but during that time, and especially after his entry into the White House, Wolff seemed to wield more power when it came to information. And Epstein knew it. Not only were they discussing the information coming out of the Trump Administration, but at some point Epstein, with Wolff’s knowledge, began sending ideas and letters back to the White House, including during the Mueller Investigation.

I don’t know what was sent by Epstein, or if it ever ended up on Bill Barr’s desk. I don’t know if there was ever a leak. But Michael Wolff knows, and two weeks later Robert Mueller would conclude the Russia probe.

I’ve followed Michael Wolff, including a paid subscription, purchasing two books, and feverishly watching all of his interviews (and enjoying the décor) for a very long time. But the analytical side of me can’t ignore the complicated relationship he had with Jeffrey Epstein that included changing the narrative, quashing stories, discrediting journalists, and, for all intents and purposes, hiding 100 hours of interviews that could help bring this investigation to a conclusion and give justice to over a thousand survivors. I’m not saying it has all the answers, but 100 hours with a criminal mastermind, a global financial mob boss, a sex-trafficking kingpin, wouldn’t lead us to nothing.

But also, considering how Wolff played two sides of the coin with Jeffrey Epstein and the American public who revered him, what do we know about the relationship he’s had with Donald Trump? How did he get as much information as he did, and what did Trump get in return? It’s just conjecture, but it’s an honest question that needs honest answers. I’ve lost my faith in the integrity of Wolff’s writing, and more importantly, his intent. Would Melania Trump really sue the man they let into the White House again and again for long and very willing conversations? And considering Wolff’s overt protection of Epstein, has he protected Trump, too, in this investigation? After all, it was Epstein who knew everything about Donald Trump, and who was willing to talk about it. And I’ll bet that’s just what he did in those interviews.

But we don’t have the interviews. We don’t have the transcripts. And my belief is it’s because Wolff now knows they would not only condemn Epstein, but they’d condemn Trump, and probably Wolff, too. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he release them, all 100 hours of conversations with a man he called a “Monster?”

After all, who doesn’t want to catch a monster?

“For almost very one of his friends he would sooner or later urge them to see their financial lives in highly personal fashion. In part, this was the root of his relationship with wealthy men, to help them see their wealth as a living, emoting, vital part of themselves. Your fortune reflected your life. Your life reflected your fortune. Own it.” - Michael Wolf, Too Famous.

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?