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By Jack Royston
Chief Royal Correspondent
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A past probe into Jeffrey Epstein's relationship with a major financier asks a searching question of a Trump administration memo stating there is "no credible evidence" that Epstein "blackmailed prominent individuals."
A review ordered by President Donald Trump found Epstein did not keep a client list and that there was no basis for new charges, according to the D.O.J. and FBI memo released Monday.
The ruling sent shock waves through Trump's MAGA base, many of whom have long argued the full truth about Epstein's industrial-scale child abuse had been hidden to protect his powerful friends.
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The memo read: "There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions."
In 2021, financiers Apollo Global Management conducted an investigation into its CEO, Leon Black, and his $158 million business relationship with Epstein.
The review, run by law firm Dechert, appeared to support the theory that Epstein's modus operandi involved invoking his personal friendships as leverage.
Dechert stated there was no evidence Black knew about Epstein's criminal conduct but also described Epstein referencing "personal matters" in demanding an additional $40 million on top of a $20 million payment already made for a complicated financial transaction.
An executive summary filed with the SEC and seen by Newsweek read: "Following that [$20 million] payment, Epstein sent numerous emails in 2016 and 2017 in which Epstein complained about the lack of further payment and attempted to pressure Black to provide greater compensation.
"Epstein's communications on these issues were lengthy and often included unsubstantiated assertions regarding work Epstein had purportedly performed for Black, the value of that work, and agreements that had purportedly been made relating to compensation.
"Epstein's communications also included extended warnings about a number of perceived issues affecting the Family Office and Black's estate planning, coupled with assertions that Epstein no longer wished to play any role in resolving those issues.
"Epstein also would invoke his friendship with Black in those emails, including by referencing personal matters that Black had shared with Epstein in confidence, although there is no evidence that those matters had any relationship to any of Epstein's criminal activity or to any of Black's payments to Epstein."
Another passage read: "Epstein would, at times, allude to their personal relationship when attempting to negotiate aspects of their business relationship, but Dechert has seen no evidence suggesting that either their professional or personal relationships ever touched upon Epstein's criminal activities or any other illegal activity."
The Dechert report did not use the term "blackmail" and it is important to note that Black denied that he was blackmailed by Epstein to the New York Times in October 2020: "Any suggestion of blackmail or any other connection to Epstein's reprehensible conduct is categorically untrue."
Newsweek approached Apollo for comment.
A lawyer for Black told Newsweek it was "absolutely false" to suggest that Epstein threatened or blackmailed Black and also stated the Dechert report had debunked such suggestions.
Black, at the time, wrote a letter to Apollo's investors, seen by Newsweek, which read: "For a period of six years, Mr. Epstein provided professional services to my family partnership and related family entities, involving estate planning, tax, and philanthropic advice.
"No other Apollo employee ever engaged Mr. Epstein or used his professional services."
"Lastly, and most importantly," he added, "I was completely unaware of, and continue to be appalled by, the reprehensible conduct that surfaced at the end of 2018 and led to the federal criminal charges brought against Mr. Epstein."
Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008 but played down the significance of that crime in dealings with Black, the Dechert report said.
"While Mr. Black was aware of Epstein's guilty plea in 2008," it read, "he was unaware of the scope and extent of the criminal offenses that later surfaced publicly through media reports in 2018, and that culminated in Epstein's arrest in July 2019, and suicide shortly thereafter."
Black retired from Apollo in the aftermath of the report.
MAGA Backlash After Trump Admin's Memo
Pam Bondi has been among the Trump administration officials under pressure over the D.O.J. and FBI memo, with a past Fox News interview resurfacing in which she appeared to suggest the Epstein "client list" was on her desk awaiting review.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday: "She was saying the entirety of all the paperwork in relation to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes [was on her desk.]
"That's what the attorney general was referring to, and I'll let her speak for that. Again, when it comes to the FBI and Department of Justice, they are more than committed to make sure bad people are put behind bars."
Bondi had been asked on Fox News: "The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients? Will that really happen?"
"It's sitting on my desk right now to review," she replied. "That's been a directive by President Donald Trump. I'm reviewing that. I'm reviewing JFK files, MLK files. That's all in the process of being reviewed because that was done at the directive of the president from all of these agencies."
The saga has sparked outrage among MAGA commentators, with some asking why Ghislaine Maxwell was jailed for sex trafficking if there were no clients.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek*, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on* Newsweek*'s* The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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