In the years leading up to his death in 2019, Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier, spent countless hours in front of a camera, engaged in a verbal duel with Steve Bannon.
The footage, which was intended to be part of a documentary titled "The Monsters: Epstein's Life Among the Global Elite," produced by Bannon's company Victory Films, has yet to see the light of day. Bannon, a prominent figure in the right-wing political sphere, was seen challenging Epstein on his controversial past and his newfound support for Time's Up, an organization dedicated to combating sexual harassment.
"I made my living from old thinking," Epstein said from his opulent Manhattan residence. "But the future is for the way women think." Bannon, ever the provocateur, retorted, "Is that kind of sop because of all the depravity you've done against young women?" This exchange, as reported by The Business Insider, was a classic display of Bannon's confrontational style, designed to stir up controversy and chaos in the political left.
Despite Bannon's claims of producing a documentary, the footage remains unreleased, and his close association with Epstein has been conveniently forgotten. Bannon and Epstein's relationship began in the summer of 2018, with Bannon advising Epstein on how to navigate his numerous legal and media investigations. This relationship continued until Epstein's arrest on sex-trafficking charges in the summer of 2019.
The unreleased footage has not surfaced in any legal proceedings, including the criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's associate who was convicted of aiding his sex trafficking operation. Those who were familiar with Bannon and Epstein during this period have dismissed Bannon's documentary claims as a smokescreen. They suggest that Bannon was actually attempting to assist Epstein, a notorious sex offender, in managing his public relations crisis.
Bannon first met Epstein in December 2017, shortly after his departure from Donald Trump's White House. Epstein, who had his own connections with Trump, had been a part of the Manhattan and Palm Beach social scenes. The two had been friends since the 1980s but had a falling out in the 2000s. Following Epstein's death in jail, a compensation program funded by his $630 million estate identified approximately 150 victims, with later litigation suggesting the number could be closer to 200.
Bannon is currently serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena from the House panel investigating the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. He is also awaiting trial on criminal charges related to his role in We Build the Wall, an organization whose cofounders allegedly misappropriated funds intended for the construction of a US-Mexico border wall.
Despite Bannon's controversial past and his association with Epstein, recent media coverage has largely overlooked this connection. A lengthy Esquire magazine article published last fall, which detailed Bannon's maneuvers in right-wing media, including his role in the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, made no mention of Epstein. Bannon, who frequently communicates with journalists, has consistently ignored requests for comment about his relationship with Epstein.
The question remains: what happened to the footage? According to Mark Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein's brother, Bannon was attempting to "rehabilitate his reputation" following a series of articles published by the Miami Herald in 2018 about his sexual abuse of girls in Palm Beach. Mark Epstein claimed that Bannon had requested $6 million to complete the documentary, a request he declined.
Jeffrey Epstein died in jail before he could stand trial. A Justice Department report published last year concluded that Epstein had taken his own life in his cell, a finding that Mark Epstein dismissed as "blatant bullshit." He also suggested that the footage was intended to help prepare his brother for potential future testimony.
While the footage remains unseen, it could potentially offer a glimpse into Epstein's final months. However, it has not been subpoenaed for any legal cases involving Epstein or his estate. Brad Edwards, an attorney representing numerous Epstein victims, suggested that the footage could be subpoenaed in future cases.
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