Jeffrey Epstein purportedly provided advice to Russian government officials on managing interactions with Donald Trump, offering insights shortly before the US President’s crucial meeting with Vladimir Putin. This information was disclosed in a collection of 23,000 documents submitted to the US House Oversight Committee from Epstein’s estate following his death.
In a 2018 email exchange, Epstein demonstrated his efforts to influence international affairs, engaging with Thorbjørn Jagland, the former Prime Minister of Norway and Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Epstein suggested that Putin could benefit from insights provided by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov through him, referencing the late former Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin’s previous interactions with him.
Jagland, who was also the chair of the Nobel Committee in 2009 when Barack Obama received the peace prize, expressed willingness to discuss Epstein’s proposal with Lavrov’s assistant. Epstein praised Churkin’s understanding of Trump and emphasized the importance of Trump receiving something tangible from their interactions.
Leading up to Trump’s Helsinki summit with Putin, Epstein’s efforts to arrange a meeting with Lavrov raised concerns. Following the summit, Epstein criticized Trump’s performance, echoing sentiments shared by others about possible Russian influence on Trump. He highlighted Trump’s lack of understanding of symbolic gestures and criticized his approach to diplomacy.
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