cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/50091438
Deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein allegedly played a key role in one of the largest known sexual blackmail operations connected to Russian intelligence, according to Daily Mail.
Journalists calculated that newly released documents in the Epstein case contain 1,056 references to Russia and Vladimir Putin, and 9,629 references to Moscow.
Citing intelligence sources, the British outlet reported on February 1 that Epstein’s private social network and parties were instrumental in collecting compromising material on high-profile Western political and business figures.
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The materials obtained were allegedly funneled to Russian intelligence agencies. The report asserts that the operation involved Ghislaine Maxwell—currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking—who had ties to her father, Robert Maxwell, a businessman long suspected of cooperating with the KGB and Mossad in the 1970s.
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The report references declassified US Department of Justice files and emails from Epstein’s archive. One email, dated September 11, 2011, mentions coordination for a possible meeting between Epstein and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. A person identified only as “Igor” was reportedly helping schedule a trip to Russia in mid-September.
Another email, sent in 2014 by Japanese entrepreneur Joi Ito, discusses a potential joint meeting involving Epstein, Putin, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. However, according to a follow-up email, the plan was canceled after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 by Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine. Ito wrote: “Now, after the plane crash, it seems like a bad idea.”
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Messages from Epstein’s files suggest that he claimed he could provide valuable intelligence on then-President Donald Trump ahead of Trump’s 2018 summit with Putin in Helsinki. Daily Mail does not confirm whether such materials were ever delivered or used.
The investigation also highlights Epstein’s apparent long-standing ties to Russian organized crime, which may have facilitated his ability to transport large numbers of women from Russia. Intelligence officials interviewed by Daily Mail believe these relationships were central to his operational capabilities and possibly served as leverage over him.
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LOL. The USSR and Israel were enemies by the 1970s, with the USSR cutting all diplomatic ties in 1967.
It's far far far more likely that Epstein and everything he was doing, which was deeply tied to US business interests at the highest levels, was a CIA operation and that all of the program's ties to Russian intelligence was under the auspices of CIA intelligence, counterintelligence, and disinformation.