Epstein linked to Israeli ‘deep state’, US intel, says Vance: What we know
In a podcast interview, Vance also acknowledges the Trump administration ‘screwed up’ on communications around the Epstein files. United States Vice President JD Vance says
In a podcast interview, Vance also acknowledges the Trump administration ‘screwed up’ on communications around the Epstein files. United States Vice President JD Vance says Jeffrey Epstein “seemed to be connected” to elements of the “Israeli deep state” as well as the “highest levels of American intelligence”. In a wide-ranging interview by podcaster Joe Rogan on Wednesday, Vance also acknowledged that the Trump administration “screwed up” on communications around the Epstein files. Epstein was known as a financier and a socialite before he was convicted of several sex offences in the US. Known for his wide web of connections to the world’s elite, he was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Florida and was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, but critics call the relatively minor conviction a “sweetheart deal”. His victims have alleged that he operated a sprawling sex trafficking network used by elites. Apart from the Epstein case, Vance also covered US foreign policy, the war on Iran, and US-Israel relations in his interview, which ran for nearly three hours and was viewed more than a million times on YouTube in less than 24 hours.
Here’s what we know about the interview What did Vance say about Epstein? Nearly an hour and 47 minutes into the interview, host Rogan asks Vance: “Well, most people think he [Epstein] was Mossad.” Vance responds: “Yeah, Mossad or CIA or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel or another country. He clearly had connections to the upper levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence.” The US vice president then claims that Epstein “seemed to be connected to the elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of centre”. “It wasn’t like he was super connected to the right of centre of Israeli politics,” he said, adding that the disgraced sex offender had friends on both the left and the right in the US. “In America he had friends across the political spectrum in a way he didn’t necessarily have in Israel,” Vance said. Vance, however, also said there are no documents linking Epstein directly to US intelligence agencies or a foreign agency. He then went on to say “if that [such a document] existed, it wouldn’t exist in 2026”. Is there evidence linking Epstein to Israel? The US Department of Justice released 3.5 million files related to Epstein in January 2026, known as the “Epstein files”.
The BriefWire