Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak attempted to enlist convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s assistance in securing an interview with US President Donald Trump for Israeli media, according to newly released documents.
The correspondence, part of more than three million pages of documents released by the US Department of Justice related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, includes a September 7, 2016, email that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak sent to Epstein as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were competing in the US presidential race.
In the email, Barak noted that Israel’s Channel-2 news had arranged an exclusive interview with Clinton and asked Epstein to gauge Trump’s interest in giving a similar interview to rival Channel-10, which he said would attract “a huge percentage of Israelis and most US citizens in Israel.”
Barak also wrote that Channel-10 was prepared to send to the US “their leading anchor, a gifted positive (blond) lady.”
The US Department of Justice on Friday released a new batch of more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents.
Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty in a court in Florida and was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, but critics call the conviction a "sweetheart deal."
His victims have alleged that he operated a sprawling sex trafficking network that was used by members of the wealthy and political elite.
Epstein's case has remained a politically charged issue in the US, with lawmakers and victims’ advocates from across the spectrum demanding greater transparency about his network of associates and any individuals who may have facilitated his crimes.
