The new Epstein files are a peek into the Trump consigliere’s chummy relationship with the sex offender, from late-night notes to private jet rides. Will MAGA even care?
“All canceled,” Epstein messaged cryptically at 7:37 p.m. ET. By then, he’d flown his private jet from Paris to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, where he was met by federal agents who arrested him on charges of sex trafficking of minors.
The exchange, certainly one of the last Epstein had as a free man, is a glimpse of the tight relationship that developed in the years after Bannon’s acrimonious ouster from the White House and until Epstein’s final arrest for abusing dozens of underage girls, some of whom were allegedly as young as 14 years old. Over that time, the two regularly exchanged advice. In November 2018, as Bannon was hatching a plot to export MAGA-flavored nationalism abroad after his success storming Washington with Trump, Epstein suggested he build his campaign around a media company, not an NGO. The latter would afford less privacy and invite more scrutiny. “Press. Private. Protected,” Epstein told Bannon. “Think of it as a battle plan. You have made great strides. Forged ahead. some time you stop and build a fort to protect your gains.” Within a year, Bannon launched War Room, a live podcast beamed out daily from a basement studio near Capitol Hill. He styled himself as a general barking orders to the shock troops of the MAGA movement. The extent to which Epstein inspired the launch of War Room, which The Washington Post once described as “a far‐right Meet the Press,” is unclear, and Bannon hardly mentions his old friend anymore. The crimes of Epstein—who a medical examiner determined died by suicide as he awaited trial—have been a fixation of Trump’s base for years, yet these days they barely merit a mention on War Room. One possible reason for that came into focus last year as Trump’s Justice Department, under pressure from Congress, began to dump out millions of documents from their cache of files related to the Epstein case. These documents further illuminated the extent of the friendship between Bannon and Epstein, whose private exchanges are jocular, even affectionate at times. Epstein sent Bannon caring messages about his health and offered him stays at his properties and trips on his plane. After organizing a flight for Bannon, Epstein joked that he was “the most highly paid travel agent in history,” and added: “Massages. Not included.” In one text from 2018, Bannon actually messaged Epstein, “You up???” In another, he told Epstein that a Fox Business anchor who had him on her show was “so wet” during their interview. When prosecutors upheld Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, the two celebrated: “Dude!!!!!!” Bannon messaged. “Tell me this is real.” They seemed to relish in confiding in each other about Trump’s struggles in office, including in one exchange where Bannon called Trump “stupid” and another where he mocked him as a “stable genius.” Epstein once messaged Bannon, “Now you can understand why trump wakes up in the middle of the night sweating when he hears you and I are friends.” Bannon is not implicated in any criminal wrongdoing in the files. Rather, he seems to fit into another archetype of Epstein associate: Someone who put aside any reservations they may have had about Epstein’s horrific abuse of children because they were seduced by his wealth and connections and shadowy multi-continental existence. Epstein’s currency was part money, part mystery, and Bannon found both seductive. “Bannon wanted what Epstein had,” said one source close to both men. Was it the cash? The network? The pond-hopping for upper-crust get-togethers? “All of the above,” the source said. Bannon did not respond to requests for comment. Epstein was also incredibly useful for Bannon’s globetrotting crusade against globalism. In the wake of his ouster from the White House, as Bannon hopped around the Schengen zone railing against immigrants and working to string together an alliance of right-wing politicians from Matteo Salvini in Italy to Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Epstein served as a sounding board. At one point, Bannon casually inquired: “Do u know anyone in Europe that wants to control the European Parliament and with it the EU.” In another exchange, Bannon suggested he was serving as a strategic adviser to Ehud Barak, the former prime minister of Israel and longtime Epstein associate. For Bannon, Epstein was a conduit to an international network of elites. For Epstein, Bannon offered insight into Trump, an old friend he remained fascinated by. “They were both using each other,” the source who knows both men explained. “Jeffrey would introduce people together a lot, as a way of making himself useful for his patrons.” Bannon’s relationship with Epstein has been public knowledge for some years now. In his 2021 book Too Famous, Michael Wolff wrote that Bannon had recorded hours of interviews with Epstein in his Upper East Side townhouse as part of a documentary project to rehabilitate his reputation. In response to Wolff’s reporting, Bannon confirmed that he’d recorded more than 15 hours of interviews, but he claimed they were for a documentary that would expose how Epstein’s “perversions and depravity toward young women were part of a life that was systematically supported, encouraged and rewarded by a global establishment that dined off his money and his influence.” Bannon never released this exposé, and in their messages, Bannon and Epstein discussed filming a documentary that would explore the financier’s life and showcase his diverse interests, burnishing his reputation as a caddish but misunderstood intellectual. Bannon was clearly aware of what Epstein was accused of, and in one private exchange explicitly described the interviews as “media training.” In another, he tells Epstein: “First we need to push back on the lies; then crush the pedo/trafficking narrative; then rebuild your image as a philanthropist.” In another: “we must counter ‘rapist who traffics in female children to be raped by worlds most powerful, richest men’---that can’t be redeemed.” As more details of Bannon’s friendship with Epstein have poured forth from the Justice Department’s file dumps, including that infamous mirror selfie and around two hours of their interview footage, the MAGA movement has seemed reluctant to turn on one of its own. That started to change in December, when I watched Ben Shapiro take the stage at TPUSA’s AmericaFest and deliver a barn-burning diatribe against the America First faction of the conservative movement. That included Bannon, whom Shapiro derided as “a PR flack for Jeffrey Epstein.” More dumps followed—mentions of “Bannon” now total 2,877 in the files that are currently available—and the chorus of criticism has grown louder. In recent weeks, Elon Musk began attacking Bannon on X, the platform he owns. “You can see the evil oozing out of Bannon’s face,” Musk wrote in one post. He’s called Bannon “evil” at least five times in the last week, though it’s hard to imagine such an insult sticks to someone whose critics regularly compare him to Joseph Goebbels. So, why the crusade against Bannon? After all, Musk himself is in the files, as are many of his close associates. That includes Trump, whom he helped get elected president. According to one source who knows both men, it’s personal: “Bannon started the attacks,” they said. The two have feuded since at least 2018, when Bannon called Musk “an immature manchild” in an interview with CNN. In the years since, he’s dubbed the South African–born billionaire a “parasitic illegal immigrant” and a “truly evil person.” Musk has called him “a fat, drunken slob” who should be in prison. Both Bannon and Musk have loyal acolytes who have ensured the fight wages on. Soon after the billionaire owner of X declared war on Bannon, large accounts on the platform like DogeDesigner and Ian Miles Cheong, a Dubai-based right-wing commentator , started attacking him. In turn, Musk reposts their attacks, ensuring their virality. Bannon has been quiet in the face of mounting criticism. He does not appear to have addressed his ties to Epstein publicly, and he last mentioned the case on his show last summer when he called for transparency. One of the sources who has known Bannon for more than a decade questioned how long his silence can last, particularly if reports are accurate that he plans to run for president in 2028. “It’s very nice to be in the totally controlled environment of your own podcast and to have people on your payroll being the ones asking you questions,” the source said. “But once you're out running for president, you're fair game. They can ask you anything.” Yet MAGA’s basement general, whose show has more than one million followers on Rumble, a YouTube alternative, is unlikely to lose his audience over the scandal. “Bannon will distance himself from Trump for a while,” said one source who is close to both Bannon and the president. “Assuming no outrageous revelations come out, they’re smart, the strategy will be lay low. Let the flame burn off and don't give it any more fuel.” Will his audience forgive and forget? “Fuck, yeah!” the same source said. “They’re such cult followers. And Bannon’s the original thought leader of MAGA world. He will be forgiven.” Even as Musk and his supporters turn up the heat on Bannon, it’s still hard to believe that Trump will throw him under the bus for his relationship with Epstein. The entire saga is drenched in fickle opportunism. Shapiro is happy to use this latest controversy to attack Bannon but remains silent when it comes to Trump’s own extensive history with a sex offender. Musk’s use of the relationship as a battering ram against his old foe comes just days after it was revealed he tried—on multiple occasions—to attend parties on Epstein’s notorious island, inquiring at one point about which would be the “wildest party” to come to. And by Congressman Jamie Raskin’s account, Trump is mentioned “more than a million times” in the unredacted files. His administration was busy this week with a different Bannon case: The Justice Department announced that it was moving to wipe out Bannon’s 2022 conviction for contempt of Congress, for which he served four months in prison.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Reports shed new light on ties between NY Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and Jeffrey EpsteinGiants co-owner Steve Tisch claimed his association with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was “brief,” but reporting in The Athletic and the Wall Street Journal on the email …
Read more »
“You Up???” Inside Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein’s Disturbingly Close FriendshipThe new Epstein files are a peek into the Trump consigliere’s chummy relationship with the sex offender, from late-night notes to private jet rides. Will MAGA even care?
Read more »
Exposed: Inside the NYC condo building where Jeffrey Epstein secretly kept his underage victimsPresident Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan says the federal operation in Minneapolis is ending and agents will be leaving the city. The surge saw as many as 3,000 agents on the ground.
Read more »
Steve Bannon courted Epstein in his efforts to ‘take down’ Pope FrancisSteve Bannon, a longtime adviser to US President Donald Trump, discussed opposition strategies with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein against Pope Francis, with Bannon saying he hoped to “take down” the pontiff, according to newly released files from the US Department of Justice.
Read more »
Epstein files: Former Trump advisor corresponding over ways to undermine popeNewly released documents show Steve Bannon discussing strategies with Jeffrey Epstein in 2019 and declaring he would 'take down' the pontiff.
Read more »
MAGA Architect Plotted With Epstein Against Pope FrancisSteve Bannon wrote to Epstein that he wished to “take down” the Pope.
Read more »