Michael Wolff's Emails to Epstein
The following is a years’-long email thread between journalist Michael Wolff and Jeffrey Epstein. I have kept in all the spelling errors and original dialogue.
9/23/2014 6:17 PM - 8:06 PM
Correspondence between Lisa New (wife of Larry Summers), Wolff, and Epstein
LN: That was fun- definitely the highlight of a day that was not without other interesting moments Don’t know which is better— the wholly unexpected surprise reminder (by a prime minister) of my boyfriend from 1976( who was in high school, who lived with his doting parents), or, getting creamed on my producer’s budget but then offered the opportunity to profess poetry for production funds . There may be someone as good in New York but i’ll never tell you and you really have a heck of a seminar table there. When do we do Whitman’s “Song of Myself” 1-15 Who else is reading with us? I’m ready. A few other follow ups: David and Brigid point out that reality tv doesn’t cost anything because it is, as it sounds, very low budget. No writing , no special expertise or knowledge or research , no archival footage , no copyright clearance, no actors, no travel beyond the one location, certainly no clinton or woody allen or justice elena kagan or david brooks or lena dunham or even Professor New. That said, I think if we’re hiring the crew id do it for less — probably 1, 250,000 all in . But I haven’t won 10 Emmys and David has . That has value too. As does Wgbh . But I’ll be more prepared for the next conversation and want to be much more prepared for templeton, so thank you. I really liked Michael. I would like to send him some stuff, but in googling him I noticed that we have the same birthday. May I have his email? You are in! Yeay! Lets see what this may mean? I’ll improve my numbers and you’ll improve your deep reading ?
JE: clinton woody kagan, do not add one penny to budget
MW: What time???
JE: thurs 1
MW: Fab! And tomorrow?
9/24/2014 12:07 AM
JE: not sure yet talk in mornig
9/25/2014 1:47 PM
MW: See you at 1:00….
1/9/2015 1:20 PM - 2:33 PM
JE: [REDACTED] the story teller , crafted much of it out of whole cloth. . part of her story, is that she was at multiple orgies with clinton and specifically, the minute details of a dinner had on the island with him, “ he sat on my left. came by black. heli. flown by ghislaine. clinton was NEVER EVER there, never, it punches a hole in the dershowitz , andrew allegation. making it all apparent that it was fantasy. and delusional. thoughts. who should break the story.
MW: Is Clinton willing to say he was not there? Btw. I’ve just filed a column for USA Today for Monday explaining how Dershowitz and Andrew allegations were picked up from unverified civil court docs, transferred to UK tabs, which go wild because of no libel rules on U.S. court papers, and then translated back here as “reported fact.” Problem with story is that tabs are too invested in present story line, and unlikely that the Times or WSJ will want to touch it—tho, depending on who is willing to go on record, they might. There is another politico reporter I know who might do it, again, if the on-the-record sources are public people. Or, I will use it for New York Magazine, but that won’t be until Feb. Can you still talk tomorrow? When works? Woody and Soon-Yi coming for dinner tonight. m
JE: anytime tomorw ok
1/10/2015 10:22 AM - 5:58 PM
MW: Can you talk at noon? Probably need about 30 minutes. What is best number?
JE: now good?
MW: Need 15
JE: free now
1/16/2015 4:36 AM - 6:23 PM
JE: Out of respect and love for my former girlfriend I have tried to keep her out of my mess. she was never questioned, or subpoenaed. her name never surfaced.. I thought it right as a friend to protect her name. however during the entire time she was my serious girlfriend. She traveled with me almost everywhere, each house, she is on the plane many many times. she knew and remembers She never saw anything that claims. She can confirm 1. I was never alone at the house. staff, friends etc. , no girl ever complained, not once. 2. jane doe 1 and 2 , were local strippers, that would call all the time asking if they could do massage. . . they left message after message. 3. We had a serious love relationship, I had promised her not to involve her in my story as it was so sordid. . she was 22 - 24 at the time.. 4 she has photos after photos showing we were together. . 5 she knows clinton was never on the island. 6 she knows no sex with steven hawking, she knows no sex with ehud as he was also never on the island. 6 she is 38 years old now and presentable. . 7 she woudl acknowledge that these girls asked to bring their friends . many of their best friends sat in the kitchen while they gave massages outside on the terrace. ( no sex ). . they certainly looked over age. nevr heard anyone say otherwise. , Jeffrey never asked for underage, that is crazy, . . 8 . answered the phones. served coffee. . there were many massage people , men women, aged up to 60.
MW: I don’t think I woudl put her out there. It probably seems too self-serving. But let’s discuss. I have an idea about how to best use. Do you have time to continue our conversation post-3:00 today or tomorrow?
JE: today ok.
3/29/2015 10:46 AM - 4:22 PM
MW: Have you read? When’s good to talk?
JE: be back on land around 4
MW: In NYC or otherwise? Why don’t we plan on talking then at about 5:00.
JE: ok, I need to run by lawyers, your sentence appears to read i nevefr met clinton or gore?? hash about women, i thought we modified that.
ME: Ok. Talk at 5:00
3/30/2015 1:52 AM
JE: Pg 5 first par — reporter speaks about a “sex slave ring” and speaks in the plural “sex slaves” suggesting more than one accusation
Pg 8 1st par — reporter should clarify that the young woman at your house (and later on your plane) are comely but clearly not underage
Page 20- might lead a reader to think you helped clients hide wealth raises flags)
Pg 21 — Hoffenberg mentioned — I assume from what everyone including J Sweet says he is nuts but not flattering and totally irrelevant to the story
Pg 25 — quoting you on massages — your adversaries will exploit this to show a lack of remorse, minimizing the conduct etc -
Pg 25-26 — don’t help him with SG — he’s confusing SG and HR — whatever SGs age her website said she was 18
Pg 26 — he loops back to your “description” which opens reporter up to tough depoto
Pg 28 — your quotes re NPA being Kafkaesque…...can be exploited to harm you
Pg 30 — he writes about VR [Giuffre] — “new chapter” — sounds like he is quoting you — he can preface it with “according to court papers…” and not suggest you are narrating the descriptions of the VR allegations
Pg 31 — he writes that VR is now suing you for 50M not true case over.
Pg 31-2 — close to end where he says in essence the only thing you regret is not being more circumspect re legal advice - not wise ,
3/31/2015 3:32 PM
(Forwarding Alex Yablon’s extensive fact-checking questions for an article in New York Magazine)
JE: nfw [no fucking way)]
12/15/2015 8:00 PM - 11:52 PM
MW: I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you—either on air or in the scrum afterwards.
JE: if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?
12/16/2015 4:26 PM
MW: I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he’ll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.
1/20/2016 7:18 PM
JE: (Forwarded email from Matthew Mosk to Marty Weinberg) “Mr. Weinberg — I am a reporter with the ABC News Investigative unit. WE are gathering background research on the major candidates for President. Seeing that both former President Clinton and Mr. Trump have been mentioned in connection to the Jeffrey Epstein case, I am interested in better understanding the case, it’s current status, and any information that could help explain Mr. Epstein’s dealings and interactions with both men. I would very much appreciate the chance to meet and discuss this subject in an off the record conversation at your earliest convenience. Please let me know if that would be possible, and if so, when and where we could meet. Many thanks, Matthew.”
1/21/2016 2:06 AM - 2:22 AM
MW: ABC doesn’t really have an “investigative unit” so unless you want to hand it to them they won’t pursue, so ignore. But, nevertheless, the more Trump looks real, or perish the thought, inevitable, the more reporters are going to focus on this, so, as you will not be surprised, you need a strategy.
JE: Yup
2/19/2016 5:44 PM - 9:58 PM
MW: NYT called me about you and Trump. Also, Hillary campaign digging deeply. Again, you should consider preempting.
JE: Im here today, ehud barak at 1 , , would you like to join at 2?
MW: Have to go to a funeral of an old relative in NJ. Won’t be back into city until 3:30 or 4:00. Or what’s your weekend look like?
JE: paris be back the 5th for a few days we can do it then
MW: ok
2/24/2016 10:12 AM - 3:14 PM
JE: Lots of reporters
MW: Yeah, you’re the Trump bullet.
3/18/2016 3:39 PM
MW: A few things to think about: If the Patterson book is being published in August, that presents some time frame issues. You would not be able to do a competing book or documentary before then. This is not to say that they shouldn’t be pursued. In a sense, better that they know what Patterson’s position is and, a year from now say, be able to counter it. I have some thoughts on book and doc to share at your convenience.
That being said, you do need an immediate counter narrative to the book. I believe Trump offers an ideal opportunity. It’s a chance to make the story about something other than you, while, at the same time, letting you frame your own story. Also, becoming an anti-Trump voice gives you a certain political cover which you decidedly don’t have now. Still, this necessary involves you going public. And so the most basic decision is about your willingness to do that. My view is that in a couple of weeks you could master message and technical proficiency. I know a bunch of people who could be very helpful here. This would involve something along the lines of you writing an op-ed, doing a high profile television interview (Charlie Rose, I’d say), and perhaps some social media efforts.
Speaking of which, again, I think a strategic plan, involving your public identity, philanthropic activities and interests, and the development of media allies, ought finally to be put in place. A big, comprehensive, expensive effort.
The alternative is to continue to keep head down and hope Patterson book is just more he-said she-said and Connolly getting lost in the reeds (which, as an inveterate conspiracist, he always does). My worry is that Patterson can be counted on to produce a bestseller, and while he isn’t regarded as a serious writer, he’ll surely be unloading a lot of tabloid copy. Because this will be tied to the election, the Trump-Clinton angle will amp up the attention 10-fold, in fact, possibly, a hundred fold. Possibly more than anything you’ve encountered before.
Meanwhile—
In a lawyer’s letter, I’d suggest including the following points—not necessarily legal, but a warning about how a press campaign might unfold (publishers are more worried about being caught in negative media controversy than they are of legal threats):
Little, Brown has made on the record representation to at least one well-known journalist that it was not publishing a book by James Patterson about Jeffrey Epstein—possibly an effort to avoid inquiries about the questionable nature of the book;
The actual author of the book, John Connolly, is someone other than the stated author, James Patterson. Connolly is known to have developed an obsession with Epstein, such that, his longtime employer, Vanity Fair, has refused to allow him to write about Epstein for the magazine;
Sources have confirmed for us that Patterson has had little more than a minimal consulting role in the book, and that Connolly has functioned in every material way as the book’s researcher and writer. We believe Patterson’s “authorship” of the book will not stand up to scrutiny. And, indeed, that the entire notion of an extension of the Patterson franchise into nonfiction, as it has been used in fiction and children’s book—effectively other authors writing under the Patterson name—presents a host of journalism ethical issues.
4/28/2016 4:37 PM - 7:03 PM
JE: (Forwarding newly-released “Katie Johnson” suit) here we go
MW: Well, I guess if there’s anybody who can wave thus away, it’s Donald. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.
JE: no , obviously somoene who is deranged, but lets see, it will be released by reuters this afternoon supposedly
4/29/2016 4:41 PM
MW: Hardly a whimper. Must be nice to be Donald Trump.
5/11/2016 10:46 AM - 2:52 PM
JE: paris 011 331 441 70210
MW: Any news?
JE: none.. trump lawsuit thrown quickly out. .
MW: all bizarre.
5/25/2016 7:05 AM -11:23 AM
MW: I’m interviewing him this afternoon. Anything you think I should ask?
JE: do you want to be provocative . ? trump shuttle. hawaiin tropic contests. . mortgage on mara lago. . ? revenue of golf courses as income.??! . total debt of all cos . ? people don’t want to contribute money as he said he is worth over 10b , why should they? , calif already coming up short. . father bought chips in the casino to stave off bankruptcy, chips because it was better than a first lien. under the gambling rules. matt his bag man? his loan from his brother in law (Judges husband) how much did his father leave.. his brother robert etc. otherwise you can just throw easys
MW: Job is to get through the hard ones in without being ejected from the room. What’s the one question that pierces through?
JE: maybe you could ask why bernie nussbaum got vince fosters letter quickly, that is a Hillary problem. he would smile then you can ask his relationshipwith the electricians union and maralago . and out you go.
MW: What’s the thumb nail on Nussbaum/foster
JE: Nussbaum white house counsel. . Hillary doing naughties with vince
MW: What was the letter?
6/1/2016 11:29 AM
MW: [The Donald Trump Conversation: Politics’ “Dark Heart” Is Having the Best Time Anyone’s Ever Had]
9/24/2016 1:26 PM
JE: you can also add , fresh political juice by stating that Clinton was never on the island. I never met Al gore. no diiners on the island with either , no matter how much detail has been in the press. in fact boies Gores attny, knows that byt continues to represent the fabricator. the girl who claimed prince Andrew had sex with her also accused Stephen hawking and marvin minsky, . ? ehud barak on a gulfstream with five security guards looking the other way. ? all ludcrous.
10/1/2016 5:34 AM - 2:09 PM
JE: time to talk today, ? now that the book is a dud, no trump, clinton etc. I woudl like to move forward.
MW: I can chat now. [REDACTED] Or if not, when works?
10/21/2016 3:46 PM - 7:48 PM
JE: did trump also ignore ailes? wild
MW: Ailes said he gave up trying to give advice, that Trump was the boy in pre-school who you just knew was going to throw a truck at another kid’s head.
10/29/2016 12:21 PM
MW: There’s an opportunity to come forward this week and talk about Trump in such a way that could garner you great sympathy and help finish him. Interested?
11/10/2016 4:24 PM - 9:45 PM
MW: What was behind this, do you know? Or just nutters?
JE: al taylor , pr former jerry springer. producer
MW: crazy
11/28/2016 12:11 PM - 12:43 PM
MW: Thought you might be interested in this--it’s suddenly made me the only liberal-media guy with access to Trump circle [Steve Bannon Trump Tower Interview] and...I have a bit of an idea for you re media and Saudi friends.
JE: im in palm beach is roger here?
MW: I think so.
JE: I’m here today flying to nw york tomow. if he is up to it iId love to sit with him , house or on plane if we wants a ride
MW: I will ask. How long in New York? Get together?
JE: wed and fri and yes, Ive set you up to see the right hand of the Dep Cr Prince
MW: cool. great.
JE: im happy to go to him. if he is shy
MW: He is not so much shy, as paranoid. I have to contact him through his wife on a burner phone, which they don’t reliably check. But have queried.
11/29/2016 1:19 PM
MW: They came back to New York yesterday. He would like to meet you, tho wary of being seen, etc. I will work it out.
JE: would you like to ask him to dinner tomorrow night you me and woody my house
MW: My guess is that he will be too paranoid. He believes NYP photographers are following him. But will ask.
12/13/2016 8:40 AM - 1:48 PM
JE: michael can you do today at 12 instead of tomorw
MW: I can’t. With the Trump people today.
JE: btw, liked your fake news article
2/15/2017 8:16 AM - 1:59 PM
MW: So...I’m doing this Trump book for a pile of money and with so far quite a bit of cooperation from them (DT) called me the other day and spent 45 minutes on the phone ranting and raving about the media—alarming). I wonder if you could introduce me to Tom Barrack—just to say I’m a journalist who you know and trust, and that I’ll follow up with a description of the project that I’m doing. Also, I’d love a reintroduction to Kathy Ruemmler. I need some off-the-record perspective on White House procedures. Are you in NYC soon?
JE: of course ok to both. . .
JE: can you send me an email to forward to tom. hes in the middle o some of the mess at the moment. everyone lawyering up in wash. .
MW: Dear Jeffrey, You mentioned you were friends with Tom Barrack and I wondered if you might introduce me to him. As discussed, I’m doing a book on the first 100 days of Trump White House—POTUS and key staff know all about it and are cooperating—and would love to chat with Tom on or off the record. Thanks in advance and look forward to seeing you soon. All best, Michael
MW: When in NYC?
JE: today only
JE: kathy agreed
MW: Thanks. Any time to get together today?
JE: 12?
MW: Great.
4/5/2017 12:16 PM - 5:00 PM
JE: [Bannon Taken Off Trump National Security Council in Shake-Up]
MW: War between the Jews and the non-Jews. Jews presently winning.
JE: Yup , tillerdon unhsppy with Jared in Iraq . Pence given health bill . Kelly conway in trouble . All fun barrack gone dark
MW: I got a message from Barrack—he’s in LA.
4/27/2017 12:56 PM - 12:57 PM
MW: Was with Bannon last night who was saying how much Trump liked deputy crown prince: “Real guy’s guy, he loved him. Thinks they can do stuff together.”
JE: yes great
5/30/2017 2:07 PM - 7:57 PM
MW: I’ve been cancelled on for today. Appears everybody gone to ground. Seems Priebus decision expected.
JE: New York tonight
MW: Breakfast?
JE: Colonoscopy
MW: Who is your colonoscopy man?
JE: Krumholtz
MW: His son was in my son’s class at Collegiate.
JE: [Close friend of Trump investigated over alleged €170m tax evasion]
MW: Do you think this means anything more than that is Italy?
6/8/2017 4:48 PM - 9:07 PM
JE: Thoughts [FORWARDS MATTHEW HILTZKIK EMAIL] Attached and below please find some initial questions for you... Looking forward to connecting over the next two days... 1. Please provide a brief overview of your professional background? 2. Who were your mentors? Do you keep in touch with any of them? 3. What are your 4 best professional achievements? 4. Who are some of your business partners. 5. Whoa re third-party validators who would speak on your behalf on the record? 6. Who are third-party validators who would speak on your behalf off the record? 7. What business projects are you currently working on? 8. What are your 5 best scientific achievements? 9. What are you currently working on in the science field? 10. What research institutions are you collaborating with? 11. What past philanthropic causes are you most proud of? 12. What philanthropic causes are you currently working on? 13. What organizations are you collaborating with philanthropically? 14. What upcoming events are you putting together or participating in? 15. What specific impacts have the accusations had on your career? 16. What specific impacts have the accusations had on your personal life? 17. What are the top 10-15 misrepresentations of what actually happened? 18. How are you specifically treated differently at home and abroad? 19. Are there any outstanding legal challenges that you are facing? 20. What are the other outstanding lawsuits that may draw publicly to your case? 21. Is there anything else upcoming that may draw interest to your case? 22. Have you agreed to any non-disclosures? Are there things you can’t say about your case? 23. Did you ever write an op-ed? Would you ever write an op-ed? - Ben Sosenko
MW: A bit tone deaf, but a reasonable basis for creating a brief. If there’s any issues you’d like me to clarify with him or explore, lemme know. It’s just a friendly lunch, with the prospect of some Trump info.
JE: Christie back in
MW: As...?
7/31/2017 11:31 AM - 3:56 PM
JE: donald now down on tillerson
MW: …he’s trying to get Sessions to take Homeland Security. Do you know Sam Waksal?
JE: not well. martha stewarts old buddy
MW: Met him at dinner last night. HE had some good Trump stories.
8/18/2017 3:58 PM - 8:09 PM
JE: I assume no dinner
MW: Just spent two hours on the phone with Bannon. I saw Spicer and Priebus his week. I’d pretty much say that nearly 100% of the non-family senior staff of the first six months now believe that Trump can’t function in this job. I think they all became part of a Republican initiative to take him down. I hear Kelly trying to make Trump understand that Jared and Ivanka have to go.
9/3/2017 12:26 PM - 5:25 PM
JE: White House this week?
MW: Probably won’t know until tomorrow. Waiting on both Jared and Trump. Can you chat? have something to ask.
JE: Yes cell 212-533-3739
JE: sent you his book cover, he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. on the short list.
10/9/2017 1:18 PM
10/8/2017 conversation between Michael Wolff and Steve Bannon, which was forwarded to Jeffrey Epstein
MW: How’s it looking…? lemme know
SB: I’m in CT w/ donors to my revolution now all day…can we meet tomorrow?
MW: Sure. Give me a target window?
SB: Did you see prince in nyt and djt tweets on corker???
MW: Yes!
MW: JE leaves for Paris tomorrow at 9:30AM. Could meet before or tonight.
SB: Can’t make tomorrow. Can we resked for when eh returns.
11/7/2017 10:35 AM
JE: [Harvey Weinstein Hired Intelligence Agencies to Spy on Accusers Including Rose McGowan: Report] righton time, i didn’t know. boies is his co counsel. . represents that claims that al gore, and clinton were both on the island. he knows its not true, or could clearly ask hif former clients.
12/11/2017 3:12 PM 7:52 PM
JE: [Glenn Simpson’s Fusion GPS used Jeffrey Epstein in Donald Trump smear campaign]
MW: Looks like I can’t get away. But will be back in NYC on Sunday. Let me know when you’re back too. I have a bad feeling about this new Woody round. It could pull him into the general Harvey pool of the despised and shunned. Clearly what Ronan and company are hoping for. I think Bannon may be right. This is not going to end until Trump goes down.
JE: Strange time I have two more friends up to bat
MW: And they won’t be the last. My buddy, Lorin Stein, who runs the Paris Review--the Paris Review for god’s sake--just went down. The 80-year-old father of my friend Rachel Horovitz--the playright Israel Horovitz--whacked. Big names on the horizon: Michael Douglas, Larry Gagosian, and still my favorite, Arthur Sulzberger.
JE: you and i are old news? :) .
MW: Cross your fingers.
JE: beleive you me , i do
1/4/2018 10:27 AM - 8:41 PM
JE: (Forwarded email from Kathy Ruemmler) Now being reported that Trump’s lawyers sent a letter to MW’s publisher demanding that they not publish the book.
MW: Yes.
JE: am i mentioned in the book?
1/5/2018 6:04 AM - 11:17 AM
MW: Just passing reference that you, Tom Barrack, and Trump were once friends. One mention. No inference.
JE: ok, barrack keeps texting me. good luck this morning, the next question is who will do YOUR biography, now that you are world famous :)/ have fun today
1/6/2018 3:39 PM - 9:20 PM
JE: how does it feel to have the president of the united states. at camp david. focus on you.. ! .
MW: I feel he truly must be off his rocker. Could there be strategy here?
JE: It looks to me as you might have driven him over the edge. DJT: ‘I do things proper !!? “ im really, like. smart. !! sounds like elizas father- donald dolittle. . . or dopey donald or demented donald. as I told you his statement from camp david was laced with “he has made billions and billions of dollars. he is reportedly petrified his bluff will be called. . His 100 million dollar plane he said he bought from paul allen, is really a 1991 boeing 757 previously used by a mexican airline. repainted . His- ladder capital finance 11c, - ladder capital 1 finance 11c, deutsche bank trust co americas . chicago unit acquisition .( it says “springing loan” over 50m -I never even heard of the term . as part of june 17 disclosure form he owes each more than 50 m apiece. but of course, not disclosed just -how much more. . declared the revenue of his real estate as INCOME without deducting expenses or taxes. all a sham
1/7/2018 7:31 PM - 9:37 PM
JE: I didn’t offer him a time yet . As I need my marching orders;)
MW: Just his plan. Trump is going to go down—why doesn’t use this opportunity to strike out on his own? Also, gently imply I have tapes. I wonder, btw, if he isn’t interested in talking to you about in fact bringing down Trump. Can’t wait to hear?
JE: [REDACTED]
1/8/2018 5:57 AM - 5:11 PM
MW: Up?
JE: Yes On conference finish in 10 min
MW: The rich and powerful ALWAYS send lawyers letters . A book about any one of them takes more time to publish as I must be-and I am , meticulous about documentation and back up
JE: he in keeping with past tradition said he would confirm a time around 11 . no word since. . the example you might use, was when john mccain was grilling comey, and made some really weird statements everyone looked at each other, with a “ what is going on: “ look, it turned out to be a brain tumor. . eveyone now with the same , WTF , look at trump but has no idea what the future holds.
MW: Perfect. You should ping SB. HE has some weird ADD thing. You remind him tho and he sometimes clicks.
1/18/2018 7:38 AM - 2:42 PM
JE: how was it.? why dont you stop by today so we can script tomorrow. - assuming no change. . prefer no details on email
MW: All good. I am everybody’s darling. Have to keep reminding people that I am actually quite unpopular. Apparently thing of the past--for now (excepting among a small circle of journalists). Ira Rosen, a 60 Minutes producer and a friend of Bannon’s, came with a message from SB: “You own [sic] me a few million.” Rosen also says he believes SB now weighing the strategy of making a formal and public break with Trump. I can’t get together today because I have to leave for DC at 11AM to speak to 800 book buyers (not to mention pre-signing 800 books). Then tomorrow AM to LA to do Bill Maher show. Making money is hard work.
JE: I m thrilled for you . At the moment he’s coming tomorrow night
MW: Bannon’s “nationalist-populist” platform is coherent, rational, and, apparently appealing to a great many people. I can’t see why at this point he would want to use his world-stage stature to make an argument for it and to claim leadership of it. What does he have to lose? What else is there, except to suck up to Trump, and get the chance to be manhandled by him again?
JE: we discussed what color shirt he should wear at the hearing. :)/. as you recognize there is the one major inflection point. . congress has begun the long process of trying to get answers from him. . invitation. subpoena. future contempt. wh responding. executirve privlege. . special counsel rules different but either very short or very long.
JE: im off sat to europe mid east etc. return around the 30
MW: don’t forget I want to go with you to the mid east sometime....
JE: why don’t we also ask harvey weinstein to join to make sure we dont get any press :)
MW: Ha! On another note, this Woody thing is going south very quickly. Planning to speak to them this morning.
JE: yes, he is having what he refers to as his” brain trust”this weekend. but it appears the group needs a name change. They are all old thinkers. no social media strategy. no links to Connecticut report. . the jackals now lying in wait for the next movie release. which I believe cannot happen at all now. but they tell him what he wants to hear. wonder wheel grossed 7m at the box office. the new movie is young ditz, prostitutes. . drunken journalism student chasing an older guy. . The Connecticut ( hired by the state ) report front page. — WE interviewed dylan Nine times . two professionals AT THE TIME. we conclude that the story is fantasy. . NOTHING ELSE is relevant. mia. ronan. motives, policeman views. etc.
MW: HE has to turn this into a love story with Soon-Yi. She’s the only one who can save him.
JE: not intellectually capable. . and frankly -untiling. my shrink says .........
MW: Yes, yes, that’s their continuing resistance speaking. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is their ONLY option. AND it’s a slam-dunk one. She would turn it around. If Dylan is coming out to speak publicly, Soon-Yi also has to. If Dylan is allowed to be the center of this story, Woody is cooked. If Soon-Yi claims it--and she is actually the center of the story—everything shifts and they can make it their own.
JE: you and i as usual agree. - tell you more face to face. I an going to ask SB to sign your book
3/23/2018 9:01 AM - 9:37 PM
MW: I reached out and I’m seeing him at 6:00 today.
JE: i passed on your newsweek message yesterday. i think he is a bit lost no wins and donald off the rails
MW: I think his FT performance yesterday was quite a hit (btw, he reiterated that my book was all true—helpful!). Curiously, the liberals maybe more fascinated by him than the Trump base is.
MW: Three hours with SB who believes DJT won’t last to the mid terms. Also saw Brad Karp who was super menchy and offering much help on next book.
3/24/2018 1:37 AM
MW: Three hours with SB who believes DJT won’t last to the mid terms. Also saw Brad Karp who is super menchy and offering much help on next book.
4/10/2018 9:17 AM - 2:36 PM
JE: trump likely to hire dershowitz, no kidding
MW: chat? #?
4/22/2018 3:01 PM - 11:34 PM
MW: Just remembered I have to give a luncheon talk tomorrow. So if, by any chance, you got an opening tomorrow AM that would be terrific.
JE: 18 usc 981
MW: You’re killing me.
JE: Trump-financial-Disclosure-2017.pdf
5/5/2018 7:04 AM - 10:28 PM
JE: nyt says trump talking directly to steve
MW: I can’t get to Boston tomorrow—but thanks for inviting. Where in NYT did you see this—can’t find.
JE: [Trump Talking to Steve Bannon Again Amid Multiple Investigations: Report]
5/19/2018 1:40 PM - 8:25 PM
Correspondence between Epstein, Wolff, and Ken Starr
JE: Ken - Michael , Michael/ Ken
MW: Ken, delighted to meet. Jeffrey has long told me about your friendship and the respect he has for you. If you send me your mailing address, it would be my pleasure to send you my recent book about the Trump White House. I’m now at work on a sequel focusing on the legal case against Trump and Trump’s response to it. Any counsel and background you might provide would aid me enormously and enrich the book. I, of course, would be willing to talk with you on an entirely off-the-record basis or under any arrangement that suits. Thanks in advance and I look forward to the chance to chat. All best, Michael
KS: Michael: Excellent. With thanks to Jeffrey, I’m delighted to come into your orbit, and look forward to our conversation. My mailing address is: [REDACTED] Warm regards, Ken
6/22/2018 4:51 PM - 3:17 PM
JE: [How Did Trump and Clinton Pal Jeffrey Epstein Escape #MeToo?]
MW: So..a couple of times a year somebody can cull the Internet and write an article about you that recycles ever other article. That’s a reason to try to create a new story. But, on the other hand, by not offering new news the old seems just ho-hum.
7/12/2018 7:55 AM - 10:36 AM
MW: 1) I saw SB in London yesterday and he seemed especially paranoid about any reporters seeing me with him. My guess is that he is working hard on his relationship with Trump who he sees as newly ascendent and being seen with me might queer that. 2) He went on Hannity last night and will be on Piers Morgan tomorrow and that seemed with an eye toward an audience of one. 3) He was having a meeting yesterday with the French right wingers, including Le Pen’s husband, about refinancing the National Front Party because apparently a good part of their money comes from Russia. Two thoughts here, these guys seem like idiots, pure Ruritania, and Bannon, surrounded by his own thuggish-looking security people and whacky-bloggers advisors, thrives precisely because the world of populism is so unprofessional (if not farcical). more later...
JE: yes, and hannity and he seemed jet lagged and sloppy . it had bit of air of desperation. .
7/20/2018 8:58 AM - 2:11 PM
JE:
MW: Haven’t watched this yet. But was with him for a few hours last night and got the full download: he think trump has lost his stuff, and as well, to boot, is an idiot. Putin, tho, he thinks is a genius.
11/5/2018 2:08 PM - 8:25 PM
JE: if the republicans pull this off , steve would deserve most of the credit. . he was way out in front on this way out. . . execution not to his liking but..... on another note , what were you thinking about me in the book, with what moniker
MW: I was thinking of opening with you and Bannon talking about Trump. Would let you sound smart and offer what I think would be crowd-pleasing perspective, and make you seem like a credible player—former friend of Trump, advisor to World leaders, sought after person, etc—without having to too much rehash old stuff. Doesn’t seem like they can win...but who knows. I’m meeting Bannon had 3 tomorrow and will stay with him until the end.
JE: take photos
JE: thnks for letting me sound smart :)
MW: I haven’t done that party yet...
11/7/2018 6:33 PM
JE: how was it?
11/8/2018 12:30 AM
MW: He was in good form. Thinks Trump is fucked. But likely that the Dems will screw it up too.
12/1/2018 8:57 AM - 3:57 PM
JE: kathy thought the piece is being lauded as great investigative journalism so does your suggested pr group have the better contacts to place a story. on why it is not. . howeer to your point, to what end?
MW: This thing as model journalism is one more element that could give it legs—so another danger. I don’t think it’s a question now of directly debunking this. That’s going against virtue itself What I’d like to do is game out everything, creating a structure for thinking this through. Definitely not a piecemeal response. Figure out where we want to be and where we can reasonably get and work backwards. Maybe we do agree to a big interview with you—Landon Thomas or something like that. But this has to be war gamed out. Obviously I can contribute, Kathy can, would be great to get SB input, but this needs a structure, that’s why I think Hiltzig or somebody assembling a plan would be helpful. Even if in the end you decide to do nothing, at least you’ve come up with a structured way to think about it.
JE: [EMPTY]
MW: don’t tweet this
JE: do you think we highlight , that at the end of the day it was prostitution. sex for money. . a state crime. with state laws.
MW: At this point I don’t think you can go legalistic. They’ve won the high ground—young, vulnerable, poor girls.
JE: im aware. im thinking what would trump do
MW: He never tries to explain. He denies, blames media, denigrates someone else.
MW: Claims are ludicrous and self-serving, media is working with the other side’s lawyers, this is all about Donald Trump.
MW: …all about Donald Trump, the real villain.
12/4/2018 7:59 AM - 1:34 PM
JE: do you think the press would react to the fact that all the settlement money is going to the attorney and none of the girls.? react to the fact that the case was settled but the lawyers want to trumpet their success.
MW: I think it’s a useful point, potentially a powerful one. But I don’t think anything is going to get attention now. I would look for some reporter to do a more nuanced post-mortem on the case—with Trump’s overtones, legal joustings, #metoo-isms, and profit-motives. WSJ is probably right place.
JE: should i , or you reach out to matt. or sean. or ?
MW: I think you should reach out to Matt. Moonves’ guy who I had lunch with yesterday, says he would probably use Hiltzig.
12/15/2018 11:28 AM - 6:40 PM
JE (12/13/2018 email forwarded to MW): thoughts
Ken Starr: Here goes: “Sweetheart deal! “ So goes the critique of the resolution of a long-ago case involving our former client — and now-friend — Jeffrey Epstein. The critique is profoundly misplaced, supported neither by the law or the facts, nor by the structure of our constitutional republic. To the contrary, Jeffrey, Jeffrey was subjected to an unprecedented federal intrusion into a quintessentially local criminal matter in south Florida. His offense to the social order — involving sex for hire — was entirely a matter entrusted to laws of the several States, not the federal government. His conduct — a classic state offense — was being treated exactly that way by able, honest prosecutors in Palm Beach County, but the overweening federal government intruded where it did not belong. And now, over ten years after the fact, the current assault on federal decision-makers at the time, including now-Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta (then the United States Attorney in south Florida), condemns the federal authorities for not going far enough.
The critics are entirely wrong. Neither the facts nor the law support the misguided criticisms being leveled by journalists and politicians at federal offices from over a decade ago — including the highest levels of the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. .
Here are the key facts: Jeffrey Epstein, a successful self-made businessman with no prior criminal history whatever, engaged in illegal conduct that amounts to solicitation of prostitution. That was wrong, and it was reasonably viewed as a violation of Florida state law. Although no coercion, violence, alcohol, drugs and the like were involved, the unsavory facts were carefully assessed by experienced state prosecutors who aggressively enforce state criminal laws. No one turned a blind eye to potential offenses in the public order. To the contrary, the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office conducted an extensive 15-month investigation, led by the chief of the Sex Crimes Division. Mr. Epstein was then indicted by a state grand jury on a single felony count of solicitation of prostitution.
During that intense investigation, the state prosecutors extensively gathered and analyzed the evidence, met face-to-face with many of the asserted victims, considered their credibility — or lack thereof — and considered the extent of exculpatory evidence. Then, after months of elaborate negotiations, the state prosecutors believed they had reached a reasoned resolution of the matter that vindicated the public interest — a resolution entirely consistent with that of cases involving other similarly-situated defendants,
Then, in came the feds. The United States Attorney’s Office tried, to no avail, to fit Mr. Epstein’s situation into its vision of what it viewed as a commercial trafficking ring targeting minors. This was anything but. At long last, the federal authorities acknowledged that stark reality and grudgingly agreed to defer prosecution to the state. But there was a huge catch. In the face of our arguments sharply condemning their overreach, the federal prosecutors insisted on many unorthodox requirements that tugged at fundamental values of due process. For example, the agreement required Mr. Epstein to pay an undisclosed list of asserted victims $150,000 each. Even more, the feds insisted that Jeffrey pay for an attorney to represent such unidentified victims if any chose to filed civil litigation against him. When asked what possible legal authority supported this extravagant exercise of national power, the feds lamely cited a wildly inapposite case from Alaska involving cocaine and forced on-the-street prostitution. Apples and oranges.
Under the federally-forced deal, Jeffrey was sentenced to jail. That would not have been the case under the agreed-upon state disposition of this non-violent, consensual commercial arrangement. Jeffrey complied, served that sentence, and in the process was treated exactly the same as other state-incarcerated individuals. His conduct was exemplary, and so characterized by the state custodial authorities. He continued to work, including his many philanthropic efforts.
Our friend Jeffrey Epstein has paid his debt to society. He has also paid out millions of dollars to the asserted victims and their highly-creative lawyers. For over ten years, he has lived an exemplary life, including carrying on his wide-ranging philanthropies. Those of us who represented him in the Florida proceedings -- for customary professional fees -- now count him as a trusted friend.
Our nation faces vitally important challenges, many involving the treatment of women and basic human dignity. Voices are rightly being raised speaking truth to power, especially about women in the workplace. But Jeffrey, an exemplary employer, has long been called to account by the criminal justice system for his misdeeds of yesteryear. In the spirit of the bedrock American belief in second chances, that unhappy chapter in Jeffrey’s otherwise-magnificent life should be allowed to close once and for all.
MW: Seems very good. Is there reason or opportunity here to evoke JE’s Clinton connection? He had been publicly connected to the former President and became a proxy for the considerable anger at high levels of the Federal government that still surrounded Clinton. Likewise now, one reason to revive the story is that it is a way to tar a Trump administration official, who, in the normal course of his duties, happened to deal with the case.
Matthew Hiltzik: Darren Indyke Also think there should be a line in there somewhere which clearly confirms that JE understands and recognizes he did something wrong
JE: The allegation: Harth claimed that Trump made repeated unwanted sexual advances as she and her romantic partner at the time, George Houraney, pursued a business relationship with the mogul in the early 1990s. She said that on January 24, 1993, at Mar-a-Lago, Trump offered her a tour of th estate, then pulled her into his daughter Ivanka’s empty bedroom. “He pushed me up against the wall, and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress again,” Harth said, “and I had to physically say: ‘What are you doing? Stop it.’ It was a shocking thing to have him do this because he knew I was with George, he knew they were in th enext room. And how could he be doing this when I’m here for business?” In 1997 Harth and Houraney sued Trump for breach of contract, and she filed a separate sexual-harassment suit, accusing him of “attempted rape.” They reached a confidential settlement in the contract suit, and as part of the agreement Harth withdrew her suit.
JE: [A Trump Employee Said He Knew Of Misconduct At The Company. Then He Claimed His Family Was Assaulted]
1/15/2019 11:36 AM
(Epstein to Kathy Ruemmler, forwarded to Wolff)
JE: it would go something like this. ............ 1. Donald doesn’t really own very much, he rents out his name. he puts it on buildings pojects etc. for a royalty or piece of the upside. he then claims the asset is “ his” . its very much like hyatt hotels. Hyatt receives 3 percent per year of revenue and a piece of the profits sometimes if the hotel is sold at a profit. . money launderers. need a name to purchase trophy properties. why? there is little suspicion if a famous wealthy person buys a property that is likely to show in the press. , it cant be jojo my driver. up front , so they approach wealthy people and tell them for 2 -5 million dollars for doing nothing at all. - just lend us your name . - and the person gets the positive press. so and so bought the most expensive painting. sold the most expensive painting, house., diamond. etc. -ex the GANZ art collection was bought and sold by Joe Lewis. . all the publicity was the ganz family estate. selling etc. hypothetically, . someone approached trump and said can you buy the palm beach house. in your name. ( it was trump properties llc ) , not sure who actually owns the llc. ? Donald can get a loan from a bank , but it is guaranteed by , an entity controlled by R R has a bvi co. xitrans. that is owned by a family trust. ( cyprus ). R wife settles in oct after trump announces candidacy . the llc agreement or the loan agreement allows Donald to get a few million for his name. . R in essence is the “ owner. “. he was part of the panama papers release. he also sold the da vinci to mbs. . ? if you are a gangster , where and how you can invest your money. answer not through the front door. Donald’s financial disclosures are the same , he represents his “ income “ as the GROSS receipts of his clubs. “ , means nothing at all ZERO. no income as we no it. he lists his “ assets” ,and their VALUE - but not the corresponding loans. against it. so no net number , hence meaningless
1/31/2019 10:47 PM - 11:22 PM
JE: [REDACTED but assumed to be Virginia Giuffre] worked at mar a lago. . she was the one that accused pince Andrew. . trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. . of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop
2/1/2019 11:07 AM - 7:20 PM
MW: Books and newspaper accounts of Trump’s 45 years in business were full of his shady dealings, and the presidency had only helped to highlight them and to surface even juicier ones. Real estate was the world’s favorite money laundering currency and Trump’s B-level real estate business was quite explicitly designed to appeal to money launderers. What’s more, Trump’s own financial woes, and desperate efforts to maintain billionaire lifestyle, cache, and market variability, forced him into constant and unsubtle schemes. Practically speaking, you couldn’t miss him, as the Mueller investigation appeared to be finding.
In November 2004, for instance, Jeffrey Epstein, the financier later caught in a scandal involving under-age prostitutes, agreed to buy out of bankruptcy a house in Palm Beach, Florida for $30 million—a house that had been on the market for two years. Epstein and Trump had been close friends—playboys in arms, as it were—for more than a decade, with Epstein often counseling Trump on his chaotic financial affairs. Epstein took Trump to see the Palm Beach house to advise him on construction issues involved with moving a swimming pool. As he prepared to finalize his deal for the house, an incredulous Epstein saw a severely cash-constrained Trump bid $41 million for the property, buying it through an entity called Trump Properties LLC, financed by Deutsche Bank. Trump, Epstein knew, had been renting his name, telling Epstein he ought to do the same—that is, for an ample fee, Trump was willing to serve as a front man to disguise the actual ownership in a real estate transaction (This was, in effect, just another variation of Trump’s basic business model of licensing his name for commercial properties owned by someone else.) A furious Epstein, suspecting that the real owner was a Russian oligarch, who Trump knew, Dmitry Rybolovlev—part of the close Putin circle of government-aligned industrialists in Russia—threatened to expose the deal, then getting extensive scrutiny in Florida papers. The fight became all the more bitter when, two months later, the house was put on the market for $125 million. Well known to Trump, who often saw Epstein at his current Palm Beach house, Epstein was visited almost every day, and had been for many years, by girls who he paid for massages with happy endings—girls recruited from local restaurants, strip clubs, and, also, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. Just as the threats and enmity of the two friends increased over the house sale, Epstein found himself under investigation by local Palm Beach police. Epstein’s legal problems vastly escalated as the house, with only minor improvements, was bought for $96 million by Dmitry Rybolovlev. That is, Trump had either miraculously earned $55 million, without putting up a dime, or Rybolovlev, or someone such as Rybolovlev, paid Trump Properties LLC—actual owner unknown—$96 million, thereby providing a clean payment of $55 million to someone. Ryboloyley might have, in effect, paid himself for the house, thereby cleansing the money. Epstein, on his part, would spend 12 months in jail on a prostitution charge.
After the election, when Bannon was introduced to Epstein, Bannon told him, “You were the one person I was truly afraid of coming forward during the campaign.”
“And rightly so,” said Epstein.
JE: Needs edit but …. ie $36 M Ryboloev not known in 05 , Talk later
JE: first edit
JE: “That Russian oligarch who spent that money on that property and never moved into it and ultimately tore it down, he’s also a large shareholder in a bank called the Bank of Cyprus, which has been implicated in Russian money laundering. The chairman of the Bank of Cyprus is the former CEO of Deutsche Bank, to which Donald Trump owed all that money at the time he conveniently got this very large influx of cash from a Russian guy. The vice chairman of that bank until recently was our new secretary of commerce, long time Trump friend, Wilbur Ross.
2/25/2019 7:25 PM
JE: [Robert Kraft, Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump and a day of reckoning for America’s billionaires]
3/11/2019 8:08 PM
MW: This is what I’m going with now—what do you think? In the White House, the President, to general surprise, announced that he would not accompany his family to Mar-a-Lago over the holidays—a confounding, even alarming, turn for anyone who knew how much he valued a golf-and-warm-weather opportunity over any presidential business. Melania certainly had no intention of staying behind. Among other issues, friends suggested that she was still furious about his fireside Christmas Eve chat with a seven-year-old boy, during which Trump asked the boy if he still believed in Santa. “Melania didn’t think that was funny,” said one aide. Trump was “clearly a guy who had never dealt with a seven-year-old.” In an empty White House, Trump’s personal secretary, 28-year-old Madeleine Westerhout, brought his papers and call sheets from the West Wing up to the residences, finding him, she told her friends, in his underwear. And herein, suddenly, was another subplot. Westerhout had been the elevator girl in Trump Tower during the transition. The comely young woman ferrying dignitaries and job-seekers up to the President-elect soon became something of a meme herself Bannon recalled noting that Trump took a particular interest in her. A leering Trump kept repeating, “She’s got a way about her,” his signature, and creepy, stamp of approval for young women. Now the president was telling friends that he wasn’t staying at the White House because of the shutdown—he was staying because he was “banging” Madeleine. Shutdown bravado? Locker room talk? Or all part of a new alternative reality that only he seemed to be living in?”
4/23/2019 8:51 AM - 4:06 PM
Correspondence between Michael Wolff and Steve Bannon
MW: Another big prize for Miami Herald. (Forwarded) [‘Perversion of Justice’ series wins Hillman journalism prize]
SB: Pile on
MW: Look at the judges on this thing: the right-thinking establishment to a tee (to a Ta-Nihisi).
SB: Fix always in
5/22/2019 8:23 PM
JE: Why had no one interviewed some of trump classmates at Wharton ? Deutsh bank papers very bery bad
MW: Where are you tomorrow?
JE: Home
JE: Free afternoon
5/23/2019 12:56 AM
MW: Lunch tomorrow? Or after? I have 4:00 appt. anytime before works.
JE: Great.
May 30, 2019 12:32 PM - 9:43 PM
JE: read the times interview. I would think about pointing to the stormy danials. denial by trump his staff and aides. would it have made sense to go back to them? no would they admit no did they admit no , did they obfuscate yes. did they deny , yes so checking with the subject when you have to goods only confuses the reader ?
JE: lots of reporters inquiries. !. do i think that trump set me up? what do i know about his dealings? did i sepak to you? suggestion. all public record, house bought out of a bankruptcy proceding. I was the stalking horse bid. . never before was there a prosecution of erotic massage by women for money in someones home. every girl got money. returned. most interviewed by police over 21. all public record. . some concern on my team that i will get a cong subpoena. do i have to wear a tie?
MW: Again! Why you need a team in place! Where are you with 011ie?
JE: hes great. he needs to get the documents from the law firms that are wholly focused on this submission to the judge. . BTW He asked for 1 million per month. for a year. .
MW: Expensive. But… In a way this new round of calls is an opportunity: reporters suddenly thinking they don’t know something or that there is a new angle—now would be a good moment to hit them with a better prepared set of responses. Somebody, 011ie or otherwise, should get started on this.
JE: Is it a coincidence that the russian that bought the house in palm beach and knows all , is the same guy that sold a painting last year to mbs for 450 million dollars. that was only worth 1. 5m?
MW: So MBS was paying him off? Why? Ideas?
JE: maybe as a favor to trump. in exchange for yemen and iran support. . smells doesn’t it?
JE: reminder trump overuled congress on yemen .
MW: Starting to smell sweet, the way you put it!
JE: In addition my art guyd said the painting wasn’t very good
MW: You have an art guy?
JE: Doesn’t everyone
JE: Salvator Mundi, the last known da Vinci painting in private hands, has an incredible provenance. Rybolovlev purchased it for $127 million in 2013 through his art dealer, the Swiss businessman Yves Bouvier. Bouvier, the owner and operator of several freeports, bought the painting for $80 million with the intention of selling it to Rybolovlev at a steep profit. Its owner before Bouvier, the New York City-based gallerist Robert Simon, found the painting at an estate auction in New Orleans in 2005. He paid just $10,000.
5/31/2019 9:33 AM
JE: [Michael Cohen Says Trump Told Him to Threaten Schools Not to Release Grades]
6/1/2019 10:59 PM
JE: [Trump announces departure of White House lawyer Emmet Flood]
I will continue to add to this thread as more files are released from both the House Oversight Committee and Epstein’s 1953 Estate.
Ellie is an author, editor, and owner of Red Pencil Transcripts, and works with filmmakers, podcasts, and journalists all over the world. She lives with her family just outside of New York City.
MW was quite the Epstein cheerleader wasn't he ?
I believe Wolff has a lot of explaining to do. He seems to be trying to play both sides of the same coin. I trust this guy zero, nada, nil. He’s a player.