Epstein sought to meet Putin, built ties with Russian officials, files show
The documents tend to expand the scope of international contacts the deceased financier had and it reveals that several high-profile Russians corresponded directly with Epstein.
The files released by the Justice Department also show that Epstein tried to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over several years. (Photos: AP)
Disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein met and reportedly cultivated relationships with senior Russian officials and business figures, including a former pass out of Russia’s Federal Security Services Academy, the recently released documents by the US Justice Department reveal.
The documents tend to expand the scope of international contacts the deceased financier had and it reveals that several high-profile Russians corresponded directly with Epstein.
The files released by the Justice Department also show that Epstein tried to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over several years, The Washington Post reported.
The files also revealed that Epstein regularly met with former Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin in New York. The deceased financier had also offered Churkin’s son Maxim to secure a jon in a wealth management firm in New York.
In June 2018, a year after Churkin had suddenly died, Epstein was looking to meet another Russian official, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
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In an email dated June 24, 2018 to Norwegian politician Thorbjørn Jagland, who was then the secretary general of the Council of Europe, Epstein wrote, “I think you might suggest to putin, that lavrov, can get insight on talking to me. vitaly churkin used (to) but he died. ?!”
In response to Epstein’s email, Jagland wrote that he would meet with Lavrov’s assistant the following Monday and suggest it. Epstein responded, “churkin was great. he understood trump after [our] conversations. it is not complex. he must be seen to get something its that simple.”
Putin’s name reportedly appears more than 1,000 times in the released Epstein files, however, the majority of those references comes from the news clippings and media digests which the sex offender received.
In an email to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, Epstein, while referring to Putin, wrote in 2013: “If he wants to meet he will need to set aside real time and privacy.”
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The files released by the Justice Department also show that Epstein tried to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over several years. (Photos: AP) 
