It was one of the major scenes in Washington in 2019. Everyone was watching former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen as he testified before the United States (U.S.) House Committee about his former boss.
Democratic committee member Stacey Plaskett was preparing to question Cohen and was seen on camera sending a message to someone on her phone.
This week, the public learned the identity of the other person in that exchange, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein’s influence on politicians
Emails released by his estate under a court order show that Epstein encouraged Plaskett to ask a question about an employee of the Trump Organization. After she did so, Epstein replied to her with the message: “Good job.”
In retrospect, the incident has drawn the attention of many who claim it illustrates how strong the late investor’s influence was among the U.S. elite.
Plaskett, a representative of the U.S. Virgin Islands, denies that she sought Epstein’s advice, stating that on that day she was messaging many people, including Epstein, who was one of her constituents.
As a former lawyer, she says she learned to seek information from all sources, even from people she did not like.
Mini-scandals before the arrest
“I learned to seek information from all sources of information. Epstein’s deviant behavior disgusts me. I strongly support his victims and admire their courage. I have always believed that all Epstein files should be released,” Plaskett said.
The exchange with Epstein took place before his arrest for sex trafficking, but after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution. His private island in the U.S. had earlier been mentioned in a Miami Herald investigation as a place where he sexually abused underage girls.
Six months after the exchange with Plaskett, Epstein was found dead in his prison cell, allegedly a suicide. His death and the conspiracy theories that followed shook Washington and Wall Street and led to the downfall of some of his former friends.
Epstein and the elite network
His exchange with Plaskett was just one of many in the latest batch of more than 20.000 pages of personal documents, once again showing Epstein’s ability to maintain social ties with the elite even after his criminal conviction and the Herald’s revelations.
“He was a diabolical monster, but at the same time brilliant in the sense that he was able to maintain an incredible network of some of the most powerful people in the world,” said Barry Levine, author of T
The Spider: Inside the Tangled Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
“He had a certain charisma that led people to turn to him.”
‘A network of utility and manipulation’
Epstein saw himself as a “collector of people” who established connections for transactional purposes, Levine says.
“He would use information he obtained… with the intention of ultimately getting favors, finances, or in a darker sense, possibly blackmailing some of those people.”
Famous figures in contact with Epstein
Relations between Epstein and Lord Peter Mandelson in the United Kingdom (UK) were particularly scrutinized. Documents show that Mandelson maintained contact with the pedophile until the end of 2016, before the Herald’s revelations, but after his conviction.
Epstein had a diverse network of scientists, entrepreneurs, and politicians, including Noam Chomsky, whom he financially supported over the years. Many were impressed by his influence and wealth, while others may not have been aware of the abuse.
Those who cut ties
Donald Trump cut off contact with Epstein before his later troubles. Trump described Epstein in 2002 as a “terrific guy,” but their relationship deteriorated in the early 2000s. Trump denied any knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking.
Howard Lutnick, then U.S. Secretary of Commerce, was Epstein’s neighbor for 10 years and immediately recognized the threat. After his first encounter with Epstein, he decided never to be in his presence again.
“I decided that I would never again be in a room with that disgusting man,” Lutnick said.
