19 October 21
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The disgraced financier and convicted sex offender was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges, and died a month later in his jail cell by suicide.
In his new book, "Too Famous: The Rich, the Powerful, the Wishful, the Damned, the Notorious – Twenty Years of Columns, Essays and Reporting," Michael Wolff reveals Epstein's thinking in his final few months.
According to the book, Epstein believed that The Justice Department had arrested him, under the instruction of then-President Donald Trump, because they wanted information on Bill Clinton, who had flown on his private jet multiple times.
"The White House, through the Justice Department, was looking to press a longtime Republican obsession, and Trump ace-in-the-hole, and get Epstein to flip and reveal the sex secrets of Bill Clinton," Wolff wrote, according to The Daily Mail.
"Trump, if he was obsessed with Clinton, which he was, was also obsessed with what Epstein knew about Clinton.'"
Epstein also believed New York prosecutors who were investigating Trump's business affairs might have ordered his arrest to "pressure him to flip on Trump," Wolff reportedly suggests in the book.
Wolff said that there were "many likely holes in these theories," but Epstein believed that there could have been "a deal to be made," The Daily Mail said.
Wolff revealed that months before Epstein's death, he visited the billionaire at his infamous $75 million mansion in New York City, The Daily Mail said.
During Wolff's visit, Steve Bannon reportedly called Epstein on the phone and told him that he had feared him during Donald Trump's presidential campaign because he thought the financier knew secrets about Trump.
"You were the only person I was afraid of during the campaign," Bannon told Epstein.
"As well you should have been," Epstein reportedly replied.
Steve Bannon served as Donald Trump's campaign manager in 2016 and went on to become the president's chief strategist during the first seven months of his first term.
In his book, Wolff also claims that in 2019 Bannon gave Jeffrey Epstein media training for a possible 60 Minutes interview that did not end up happening.
Although Bannon confirmed he did spend over 15 hours recording practice interviews with Epstein, he disputed some of Wolff's characterizations of the conversations.
During his visit to Epstein's house, Wolff said the sex offender told him he thought Trump was a "moron" and believed that Attorney General Bill Barr was really in charge, according to The Daily Mail.
According to Wolff, Epstein said things had started to go wrong when he and Trump wanted to buy a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, which he lost to Trump.
After that, Epstein said he believed Trump had "cultivated" the Palm Beach police to look into him, the paper reported.
Wolff wrote that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was also present at Epstein's house when he visited, The Daily Mail said.
Michael Wolff has written several books about Donald Trump's presidency, including the bestselling "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House."
Some have questioned Wolff's journalistic credibility, arguing that his novel-like writing often obfuscates where he got specific anecdotes and information.
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