A former US Treasury secretary and a top Wall Street lawyer each exchanged emails with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that criticised president Donald Trump, according to documents released by House Democrats on Wednesday.
In one October 2017 exchange, Lawrence H Summers, who served as Treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001, predicted to Epstein that Trump’s “world will collapse”.
Mr Summers, who also served as the president of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006, complained to the disgraced financier about what he characterised as harsh treatment of an unnamed man who “hit on a few women”.
That email was part of more than 20,000 documents from Epstein’s estate that the House committee on oversight and government reform released.
Democrats on the panel posted their own selection of excerpts from the trove that focused on Mr Trump. In one, Epstein – who died in jail in 2019 while facing a new slate of sex-trafficking charges – appeared to allege that Mr Trump spent hours in a house with one of Epstein’s victims. In another, he wrote of Mr Trump: “of course he knew about the girls.”
Mr Trump has acknowledged a friendship with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s but has said he was unaware of any of Epstein’s sex crimes.
The president posted on social media on Wednesday that Democrats were “trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects”.
“The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The emails include exchanges with other high-profile people, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and Kathryn Ruemmler, now the chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. She was a White House counsel in former president Barack Obama’s administration.
In one email, sent in October 2017, Mr Summers told Epstein that Mr Trump was the “world’s luckiest guy in terms of opposition, economy etc. still think his world will collapse.”
A spokeswoman for Mr Summers, a Harvard professor, declined to comment. He has previously said that he deeply regrets his association with Epstein.
On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Mr Summers routinely corresponded with Epstein, including in emails that sought the financier’s advice on how to handle a female acquaintance.
In May 2017, Mr Summers wrote to Epstein asking “How guilty is Donald?” before detailing his own views.
“Of crudity surely,” wrote Mr Summers. “Of gross ignorance surely. Of being utterly without the intellect temperament for job surely. Of being over line on family profiting very likely. Of gross disregard for appearances almost surely.”
However, Mr Summers questioned the extent of Mr Trump’s links to Russia. “Of Russians having financial leverage” wrote Mr Summers: “Less clear.” He called allegations that Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign was complicit in accepting Russian assistance “plausible but not certain”.
Epstein described Mr Trump as “dumb” in the exchange. “your world does not understand how dumb he really is” wrote Epstein. “he will blame everyone around him. for bad results.”
Asked specifically about that exchange and others presented in this story, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said: “These emails prove literally nothing.”
Mr Summers and Epstein also discussed the topic of public attitudes toward allegations of sexual harassment. “I’m trying to figure why American elite think if u murder your baby by beating and abandonment it must be irrelevant to your admission to Harvard,” wrote Mr Summers. “But hit on a few women 10 years ago and can’t work at a network or think tank. DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT.”
Goldman’s Ms Ruemmler, who has previously said she regrets “ever knowing” Epstein, was an attorney with the firm Latham & Watkins when she exchanged emails with him in 2017.
“Trump is so gross,” she wrote to him in February that year.
“worse in real life and upclose,” replied Epstein. Ms Ruemmler and Epstein also appeared to discuss the August 21st, 2018, guilty plea of Mr Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Among other charges, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations related to alleged hush-money payments made to two women who’d alleged they had affairs with Mr Trump.
“I think he makes the argument that it was his, trumps money, making it not illegal. though he also said he only found out afterwards?” wrote Epstein in an August 23rd, 2018, message to Ms Ruemmler. “and the fact according to the indictment was billed as services rendered and grossed up. im sure his acct has flipped anyway.”
“It makes no difference whether it was his money,” replied Ms Ruemmler. “Issue is failure to disclose. Plus, fact that he has lied his a – off about it makes clear that he knew it was illegal.”
A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs didn’t have an immediate comment.
Mr Bannon, who was a White House adviser during Trump’s first administration until he was fired in August 2017, was in email contact with Epstein in 2019, according to the cache.
In a June 2019 message, he wrote to Epstein: “Can’t believe nobody is making u the connective tissue.”
The email appeared to come in response to Epstein writing a message stating: “recall prince andrews accuser came out of mara lago.”
Mr Bannon didn’t respond to requests for comment.
An email between Epstein and Peter Mandelson, who was fired earlier this year from his post as the UK ambassador to the US, appears to show Epstein regretting his association with the former Prince Andrew.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor last month was stripped of his royal titles by his brother King Charles over his links to Epstein.
“in hindsight. you were right about staying away from andrew,” wrote Epstein in November 2016.
Mr Mandelson, who was fired after Bloomberg News published a different set of emails detailing his links to and support for Epstein, didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday. – Bloomberg
