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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said that Jeffrey Epstein was likely to have been a Russian spy, announcing an investigation into the matter.
Earlier this week, Tusk said the release of files associated with the convicted sex offender, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting further charges, suggested Epstein's sex offenses were "co-organized by Russian intelligence services."
"More and more leads, more and more information, and more and more commentary in the global press all relate to the suspicion that this unprecedented pedophilia scandal was co-organised by Russian intelligence services," Tusk said on Tuesday.
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He did not provide further evidence to support the assertion, but said Polish authorities would investigate to determine whether there had been any impact on Poland.
Epstein's links to Russia have also been raised by others following the most recent release of thousands of files by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), as Epstein often made reference to Russian women and other connections in Moscow. The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed the allegation, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying: "I would like to joke about such versions, but let's not waste our time."
Newsweek reached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin's office via email for comment.
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Why It Matters
More than 3 million pages of Epstein‑related documents have been released by the DOJ, with more to come after President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November last year amid calls from the public for greater transparency about the case.
The act required the DOJ to publish "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials" held by the department relating to Epstein and his associates.
The release of Epstein files has sparked intense scrutiny of high-profile figures, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, both of whom are named in the documents. Appearing in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing.
What To Know
Tusk said: “More and more leads, more and more information, and more and more commentary in the global press all relate to the suspicion that this unprecedented pedophilia scandal was co-organized by Russian intelligence services.
“I don’t need to tell you how serious the increasingly likely possibility that Russian intelligence services co-organized this operation is for the security of the Polish state.
“This can only mean that they also possess compromising materials against many leaders still active today.”
His intervention comes after reports that Putin's name appears more than 1,000 times in the latest release of files. The files mentioned Russian girls and alluded to Epstein meeting Putin.
One email sent from a redacted individual to Epstein in September 2011 said: "Spoke with Igor. He said last time you were in Palm Beach, you told him you had an appointment with Putin on sept.16, and that he could go ahead and book his ticket to Russia to arrive a few days before you. He also looked into security in Soci for you."
Another email shows Epstein offering to introduce a 26-year-old Russian woman called Irina to an account named "The Duke," believed to be Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2010, after Epstein served a 13-month prison sentence for solicitation of prostitution with a minor.
Meanwhile, in November 2010, Epstein emailed Peter Mandelson, then a senior member of the British government and said: "I do not have a visa for Russia, it is a bank holiday in paris today... any ideas how i can get one."
And in July 2015, Epstein emailed Thorbjon Jagland, the former prime minister of Norway: "I still would like to meet putin and talk economy, i would really appreciate your assistance."
Speaking to Times Radio, Christopher Steele, a former head of MI6's Russia desk, said it was "very likely" Epstein was paid by Moscow to gather kompromat, compromising information that is collected for blackmailing and other political purposes, and that "the majority of his investment funds" could have come "from the Soviet Union."
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters: "I would like to joke about such versions, but let's not waste our time."
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