Transcription
The downfall of the highest ranking official to date in the Epstein saga. Today, the UK fired its ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, first. His name popped up in that Epstein birthday book that was released this week, which includes a note apparently from Mandelson describing Epstein as, quote, my best pal, unquote. Then there was more, much more. Mandelson's name came up over and over in a collection of Epstein emails published today by Bloomberg. Let's bring in Jason Leopold, a senior investigative reporter for Bloomberg who helped publish this report. Thanks for joining us, Jason. Give us a sense of the type of emails that mentioned former Ambassador Mandelson.
Sure. Thanks for having me on, Jake. So these emails, there are about 100 of them between Mandelson and Epstein, and it covers a five-year span between 2005 and 2010. Importantly, however, there are maybe about 80 or so that span the two years in which Jeffrey Epstein was charged with sex crimes in Florida and following through through 2008 when he was trying to fight back the federal investigation. Mandelson. And within those emails, keep going. Within those emails, you see, you read Mandelson, you know, supporting Epstein to the point where he, he brings up, by using The Art of War, as a tactic to a way to fight back against these allegations. There's another email, just a day after Epstein reported to prison in 2008, and what you said that, you know, this is something that just couldn't happen in Britain. It was essentially a grave injustice what was happening to Epstein.
That's true. It didn't happen in Britain. Prince Andrew, obviously, was named in the scandal. Mandelson told the British tabloid The Sun that he found his words, quote, very embarrassing. He said he regretted falling for Epstein's lies. Did you find it notable that Mandelson is not denying that he wrote these emails?
Yeah, I do find that notable. But, you know, the emails speak for themselves, and, you know, for your listeners out there, you know, we have a separate story that our brilliant team of data reporters and engineers put up just to explain how we vetted these emails. So it was very clear that, you know, that it would be essentially denying, you know, what we were presenting here. And as I mentioned, there are, you know, there's a trove, but in the ones that we, that we reported on, you really get to see how that relationship between Epstein and Mandelson was and how it was very close to the point where, you know, Mandelson was trying to help him, in trying to help him beat back these charges at the federal investigation and, you know, essentially going to work for him, lobbying to some, or at least that's what Epstein asked him to do, to assist him.
You also note, in the emails that you obtained, that Epstein and his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who's in prison right now, exchanged emails about trying to discredit the women who raised allegations against them. Tell us more about that.
Sure. So, this is another story that we published this morning, and this is based on 650 emails Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein exchanged. And it really gets to, you know, you get to see how close their partnership was. And within those emails, there are discussions that are taking place in which Maxwell, you get the sense that the heat is turning up on Maxwell. She is discussing with Epstein how they can discredit, discredit ultimately Virginia. Jeffrey, and she asks him for, and this is in 2014, by the way, in an email. Can you give me whatever your attorneys have, the files on Virginia? And basically within those files, what it appears to be some sealed documents, confidential documents. And sometime later, a story pops up in the New York Daily News related to what was in those confidential files.
Fascinating stuff. Jason Leopold of Bloomberg, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Great reporting. Thank you, Jake. Appreciate it.