Newly released documents paint a jaw-dropping picture of Jeffrey Epstein’s cozy connections with the elite, right up to his dramatic downfall.
Over 8,000 pages of calendars, schedules, and flight logs, recently unveiled by Congress and reviewed by CBS News, expose how Epstein maintained deep social and professional ties with prominent figures across film, business, and politics, even as sex trafficking allegations swirled after his controversial 2008 plea deal in Florida.
Let’s rewind to that 2008 “sweetheart deal” with Florida prosecutors -- a slap on the wrist that raised eyebrows then and still stinks of privilege now.
Fast forward to the years following, and Epstein wasn’t exactly hiding in the shadows; he was rubbing elbows with the likes of Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn, logging nearly 100 meetups between 2014 and 2019.
Calendars show travel with the couple to his properties, from a ranch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a residence in Palm Beach, Florida -- not to mention film set visits and cozy Valentine’s Day dinners in Paris.
Allen’s spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal in 2023, “never had a business meeting with Epstein and not once spent time with him without Soon-Yi also being present.” Well, that’s a tidy defense, but dozens of personal hangouts with a man under such dark clouds still raise questions about judgment in Tinseltown’s moral maze.
Epstein’s reach wasn’t limited to Hollywood; he scheduled 28 meetings with Hyatt’s Tom Pritzker between 2013 and 2018, while the late New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson dined with him as late as 2016.
Flight logs even place Richardson on a 2011 helicopter trip from the British Virgin Islands to the U.S. Virgin Islands alongside Epstein and alleged victims -- hardly the kind of company one expects for a public servant.
Then there’s Kathy Ruemmler, former global chair at Latham & Watkins and now chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs, who notched over 50 meetings with Epstein, including glamorous get-togethers in Paris and St. Lucia with tech moguls like Peter Thiel and Bill Gates.
Ruemmler’s regret is on record -- “I regret ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein,” she said -- but that didn’t stop appointments as late as May 2019, just weeks before his arrest at Teterboro Airport on federal sex trafficking charges.
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson clarified, “He referred business to her and they shared a common client that originated as an Epstein referral.” Fine, but mixing business with a figure so tainted by scandal feels like dancing on an ethical tightrope, especially when “Glam Squad” visits to her apartment are penciled into his calendar.
Epstein’s calendar also reveals ties to wellness guru Deepak Chopra, with a dozen meetings across several years, including one-on-one sessions in Paris and introductions to MIT Media Lab figures.
Even in his final two years, previously undisclosed details show Epstein planning meetups with political firebrands like Steve Bannon and continuing his odd mentorship under Allen with film editing lessons.
His network wasn’t just social. Records from as early as 2012 show ambitions to launch a gene-sequencing company, while medical follow-ups with Dr. Attia suggest he played the patient role amid his jet-setting schemes.
Until the very end, Epstein lived a life of screenings at Manhattan Film Center, dinners with billionaires like Leon Black, and invitations to high-profile events. That's proof that wealth and connections can delay accountability far too long in a society obsessed with status over substance.
