Friday, July 19, 2019
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Trump to Barak: Inside Epstein’s little black book
Fresh allegations about the
convicted sex offender are reverberating from Washington to the Middle East
By ALISON TAHMIZIAN
MEUSE, BEIRUT
From Donald Trump to Bill
Clinton, Ehud Barak to Tom Barrack, Prince Andrew to Prince Salman: the high
flying contacts of Jeffrey Epstein warrant fresh attention as the convicted sex
offender looks to face a new reckoning with his victims.
Even as Epstein heads to
federal court to face conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, fresh
questions are emerging over the 66-year-old’s exact relationship with his rich
and powerful contacts and the true source of his wealth.
An address
book dubbed the “holy grail” – seized by the FBI in
August 2009 from Epstein’s former butler, then published by the news site
Gawker in 2015 – contains the names of celebrities to art dealers, princes to
politicians. Scores of his underage victims are listed under the category
“massage,” their names and numbers redacted by Gawker to protect their
identities.
It includes top model scout
Jean Luc Brunel, who has been accused of funneling underage girls to Epstein
through his agencies Karin and MC2, as well as billionaire Victoria’s Secret
owner Leslie Wexner, who in 1995 gave over his Manhattan mansion to Epstein.
It does not include former
President Clinton, though his name is listed on the flight logs of Epstein’s
private jet, dubbed the “Lolita Express.”
With no major financial deals,
no university degrees and only one major client known to the public, Epstein’s
crafted reputation as a finance guru appears suspect at best, and part of a
darker scheme at worst.
While some contacts may have
served a limited purpose in Epstein’s privileged ecosystem, cultivated to boost
his aura of prestige, the allegations against Epstein suggest that many came to
understand they could rely on the jet-setting host as a pimp, and that he could
also turn the tables against them.
Virginia Giuffre (née
Roberts), who alleges she was recruited into working as a sex slave as a minor
– picked up from the Trump resort Mar-a-Lago – says she was not only
charged with having sex with and recruiting young girls for Epstein, but for
other prominent men as well.
In a 2015 sworn affidavit,
Giuffre says that “in addition to constantly finding underage
girls to satisfy their personal desires,” Epstein and his
alleged madame, Ghislaine Maxwell, would recruit girls for their social
network.
“Epstein specifically told
me that the reason for him doing this was so that they would ‘owe him,’ they
would ‘be in his pocket,’ and he would ‘have something on them.’ I
understood him to mean that when someone was in his pocket, they
owed him favors,” she said.
Giuffre says she was forced to
have sex with Epstein’s lawyer, the high-profile Harvard law professor Alan
Dershowitz, on at least six occasions, starting from when she was 16 years
old. Dershowitz from that time has angrily rejected
the accusations: “She’s still a prostitute,” he told Florida’s Local 10
news, adding that whatever transpired between Giuffre and Epstein was “a
separate issue,” which had nothing to do with him.
Thus far, the only prominent
personality to fall from grace amid the renewed scandal has been former US
Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, compelled to resign from his post last week amid a
furor over a plea deal he brokered for Epstein as US attorney for the Southern
District of Florida.
That decade-old deal saw
Epstein convicted at the state level for soliciting “prostitution,” even though
his victim was below the age of consent, and also saw him avert hard jail time.
In February, a US federal judge ruled the deal invalid as it was granted
without knowledge of the victims.
Acosta may not be the last to
face consequences. Earlier this month, a US Court of Appeals ruled that
certain records in a defamation lawsuit filed by Giuffre against alleged madam
Maxwell must be released to the public, threatening to broaden the scope to an
elite cohort.
Israel to Saudi Arabia
A raid on Epstein’s Manhattan
residence last week revealed not only a massive trove of lewd photos of middle
and high-school aged girls, but also a foreign passport with his photo, a false
name, and a residence listed in Saudi Arabia.
Epstein’s lawyers have
insisted the travel document was necessary as protection against purported
hijackers or terrorists. Prosecutors say it proves he is a flight
risk. The Saudi embassy in Washington did not respond to a query by Asia
Times for comment.
While it appears Epstein had
no residence in Saudi Arabia, he appears to have cultivated a number of
prominent contacts from the oil-rich Gulf state.
Among the numbers in his book
is “Saud Prince Solman”. It is likely in reference to the current king, Salman,
who at the time of butler’s tenure (2004-5) would have been a prince. Salman’s
son, Mohammed bin Salman, would have still been a teenager at the time. The
name can be pronounced as it is spelt in the book.
The Aspen phone line of Saudi
Prince Bandar – the country’s longtime envoy to Washington whose daughter,
Reema bint Bandar, now serves in the role – is listed in Epstein’s little black
book, as is the number of Saudi businessman Amr Dabbagh and Saudi-Syrian
businessman Wafic Said.
Tom Barrack, the
Lebanese-origin real estate investor whose advice Trump has sought when it
comes to the Middle East, also makes an appearance.
When it comes to Israel,
Epstein’s links are more concrete, namely to Ehud Barak, the former Israeli
premier who is now attempting a political comeback. Epstein was a major
investor in Carbyne, an Israeli company in which Barak is the controlling
shareholder, and the former premier has visited Epstein’s properties on a
number of occasions.
On Tuesday, the British
tabloid the Daily Mail published photos showing Barak appearing to hid his
face in a neck warmer as he entered Epstein’s mansion in January 2016. A number
of young women were photographed entering the residence on the same day. Three
of the four are named and identified as being above the age of consent.
The scandal is now playing out
in Israel, providing fresh ammunition for PM Benjamin Netanyahu to aim at his
rival’s flailing bid against him.
Trump & Country
For all the politicians and
princes, the standout name in the Epstein address book is none other than the
sitting American president.
“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years.
Terrific guy,” Trump told a New York Magazine reporter in 2002. “He’s a lot of
fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do,
and many of them are on the younger side.”
The president has since moved
to distance himself from the disgraced investor, telling reporters he was never
a fan.
But the Trumps stand out in
Epstein’s contact book. While many entries consist of just a single telephone
number, the Trump entry contains multiple direct lines for properties from Palm
Beach to Mar-a-Lago. Alternative phone numbers for Melania, his houseman, and
security are also listed. And there are separate entries for Trump’s first wife
Ivana, and his eldest daughter and current White House adviser Ivanka.
Epstein also makes an
appearance as a guest of Trump on his jet in a 2000 profile for Maximum
Golf magazine, dredged up by The Daily Beast. “You broke the cardinal rule,
Jeffrey! Never be late for someone else’s plane,” the now-president says. Epstein
arrived with none other than Maxwell at his side, and while it was not included
in the article, the reporter told the
outlet another guest – who could have been their niece – was in tow.
“The thing is, to hang around
those billionaire guys, you either have to be sleeping with them or you’re
finding them girls. There’s no in-between,” a professed friend of
Maxwell’s told Town
and Country in a profile last week.
With the pending release of
some 2,000 pages of previously sealed court documents, and the likely exposure
of key names from Epstein’s cohort, the elite may finally be hitting
turbulence.
"Can't Change a Corrupt System by Taking Its Money": Sanders Urges All 2020 Democrats to Reject Insurance, Big Pharma Cash
"What the real debate is
about is: do we have the courage to take on these incredibly powerful special
interests, who make huge profits?"
—Sen. Bernie Sanders
—Sen. Bernie Sanders
"If we are going to break
the stranglehold of corporate interests over the healthcare needs of the
American people," Sanders plans to say in Medicare for All speech,
"we have got to confront a Washington culture that has let this go on for
far too long."
Arguing that fundamental
changes to America's profit-driven and deadly healthcare
system will be impossible to enact as long as political leaders continue to
accept industry cash, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday will deliver a Medicare
for All speech calling on 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to join him
in rejecting campaign donations from insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists,
executives, and PACs.
"You can't change a
corrupt system by taking its money," Sanders will say in the address,
according to an excerpt released by his campaign. "If we are going to
break the stranglehold of corporate interests over the healthcare needs of the
American people, we have got to confront a Washington culture that has let this
go on for far too long."
In his speech, Sanders will
introduce and take the "No Health Insurance and Pharma Money Pledge,"
which states:
"I pledge to not take contributions from the health insurance or
pharmaceutical industry and instead prioritize the health of the American
people over health industry profits."
"Taking the pledge means
that a politician or candidate's campaign will adopt a policy to not knowingly
accept any contributions over $200 from the PACs, lobbyists, or executives of
health insurance or pharmaceutical companies," according
to Sanders's website. "The pledge does not apply to rank-and-file
workers employed by pharmaceutical giants and health insurance companies."
According
to financial disclosures, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala
Harris (D-Calif.), and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg are among the 2020
presidential candidates who have accepted campaign donations from healthcare
executives.
Just hours after launching his
campaign in April, as Common Dreams reported at
the time, Biden attended a high-dollar fundraiser hosted by Daniel Hilferty,
the CEO of insurance giant Independence Blue Cross—a company covered by
Sanders's pledge.
Biden—an opponent
of Medicare for All who called support for such a plan a "sin"—has
also received large donations from pharmaceutical behemoths Merck & Co. and
Gilead Sciences, the Washington Post reported on
Wednesday.
"Sanders has opted not to
hold fundraisers catering to wealthy donors," the Post noted,
"and is not seen by insurance and drug companies as an ally."
The Vermont senator tweeted Wednesday
that candidates who refuse to take the No Health Insurance and Pharma Money
Pledge should explain to the American public "why those interests believe
their campaigns are a good investment."
"The main point that I'm
going to be making is that the struggle we are having in this country for
healthcare for all—for a Medicare for all single-payer system—is really not a
debate over healthcare policy," Sanders said in an interview with
the New York Timesahead of his speech. "It is a question of whether,
as a nation, we are prepared to take on the incredible power of the insurance industry,
the drug industry, and the entire healthcare industry."
Sanders's speech will come
after several days of sparring with the Biden campaign over the most effective
and humane way to confront America's healthcare crisis.
As Common Dreams reported on
Monday, Biden—who has recently spent a significant
amount of time attacking single-payer on the campaign trail—unveiled
an incremental healthcare plan that would create a public option and expand
Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Matt Bruenig, founder of the
left-wing think tank People's Policy Project, estimatedthat
Biden's proposal could cause the deaths of 125,000 people over 10 years by
leaving millions of Americans uninsured.
In response to the former vice
president's plan, the Sanders campaign circulated
a chart highlighting the contrasts between "Bidencare" and
Medicare for All, which would guarantee insurance to everyone in the United
States.
"Biden's plan would
preserve a broken system," read the campaign's graphic
In his interview with
the Times on Wednesday, Sanders said he doesn't believe "there
really is much of a debate as to whether or not the current healthcare system
is dysfunctional."
"The real question that
we have to ask ourselves is, why? How did we end up where we are?" said
the Vermont senator. "What the real debate is about is: do we have the
courage to take on these incredibly powerful special interests, who make huge
profits?"
In his interview with
the Times on Wednesday, Sanders said he doesn't believe "there
really is much of a debate as to whether or not the current healthcare system
is dysfunctional."
"The real question that
we have to ask ourselves is, why? How did we end up where we are?" said
the Vermont senator. "What the real debate is about is: do we have the
courage to take on these incredibly powerful special interests, who make huge
profits?"
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