【By Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】On November 19, local time, U.S. President Trump announced that he had signed a bill directing the U.S. Department of Justice to release all files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The president posted a long article on his self-created social media platform "Truth Social," portraying the disclosure of these files as a transparency initiative he had pushed for Congress to pass, and using the opportunity to criticize Democrats' past connections with Epstein, naming Clinton, Summers, and Hoffman among others.

Industry leaders, best-selling authors, globally renowned scientists, banking tycoons, top journalists, and political figures... CNN pointed out on the same day that as newly exposed emails revealed the truth, a "network of power" surrounding Epstein also came to light, including well-known names such as Bannon, Mandelson, Prince Andrew, and Pritzker, even the wife of author Woody Allen was involved.

In one email after another, these people sought advice, connections from Epstein, chatted with him, and even exchanged gossip about Trump. Even after Epstein was convicted in 2008 for "luring minors into prostitution" and registered as a sex offender, these communications continued unabated, with some even seeking his "advice" on how to keep their own sexual scandals from being exposed.

The "network of power" involving Epstein spans multiple fields CNN

In 2019, Epstein died in a prison cell in a New York City jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Last week, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight released over 23,000 pages of email records, which were obtained from Epstein's estate and made public in an unusual way.

CNN stated that these emails have been carefully reviewed, and there is outside attention on whether new insights into Epstein's relationship with Trump can be gained. In fact, the emails show that as Trump climbed the political ladder, Epstein was eager to talk about their past friendship and expressed opinions on Trump's so-called "mad" mental state and various aspects of his cabinet appointments.

Thousands of emails also reveal another side of Epstein's twisted and corrupt influence on American society — how he positioned himself at the center of a network of power and influence.

CNN analyzed the 23,000-page email records and found approximately 2,300 email exchanges, at least 740 of which were between Epstein and notable individuals from academia, government, media, and business.

These email exchanges also included numerous text messages, spanning from 2009 until the day before Epstein's arrest in July 2019.

"These emails reveal in a shocking way private conversations between American celebrities and a person they knew was a sex offender. Despite this, they still trusted him, sought his help, advice, and friendship," wrote CNN.

In this "network of power" of Epstein, the main people involved are:

Politics: Prince Andrew (Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, stripped of titles), Peter Mandelson (former British ambassador to the United States), Steve Bannon (former chief strategist of Trump), Kathryn Ruemmler (former White House counsel), Larry Summers (former U.S. Treasury Secretary and former Harvard University president), Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem (senior UAE business official), Ehud Barak (former Israeli Prime Minister), Ken Starr (former U.S. Deputy Attorney General and former federal appellate judge, who led the investigation into Clinton's sexual misconduct).

Business: Jonathan Farkas (socialite and heir to a department store), Peter Thiel (Silicon Valley venture capitalist), Tom Pritzker (billionaire and hotel magnate), Jes Staley (former CEO of Barclays).

Media and Arts: Deepak Chopra (author), Soon-Yi Previn (wife of author Woody Allen), Michael Wolff (columnist and best-selling author), Landon Thomas Jr. (financial reporter for The New York Times).

Academia: Lawrence Krauss (theoretical physicist and cosmologist), Noam Chomsky (philosopher and linguist).

For example, Steve Bannon, who previously served as Trump's chief strategist, covers multiple areas including government, business, and media. Bannon was once an investment banker and later became a key figure within the Republican Party and a right-wing media personality.

CNN found that during the period from 2016 to June 2019, he exchanged over 70 emails and numerous text messages with Epstein.

Email exchanges between Epstein and Bannon CNN

These details indicate that there was a "mutually beneficial" relationship between Bannon and Epstein: Epstein tried to introduce Bannon to right-wing leaders in Europe, while Bannon intervened in media investigations into Epstein's victims. Additionally, the two often discussed Trump and his inner circle, with Epstein referring to Bannon as "brother" and inviting him to visit his properties in the Caribbean, New Mexico, and Palm Beach, Florida.

Due to his "circle of friends" including U.S. President Trump, former President Clinton, and UK's Prince Andrew, among other powerful elites, and due to his "mysterious suicide" in prison, the case involving the "pedophile billionaire" Epstein has always drawn attention.

It is no secret that Trump had a close relationship with the infamous billionaire. Trump himself has previously admitted to having a 15-year friendship with Epstein, but insisted that they had cut off contact more than two decades ago and firmly denied any involvement in criminal activities related to Epstein.

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump had promised to release documents related to the Epstein case upon taking office. On July 7, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a memo stating that there was no credible evidence indicating that Epstein possessed a "client list" used for blackmailing prominent individuals, and there was no evidence suggesting that Epstein was murdered, and that they would not release more documents related to the Epstein case in the future.

Subsequently, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight launched an investigation into the Epstein case, and has since released approximately 65,000 documents, but suspicions regarding Epstein's sexual crimes and his "suicide" remain unresolved.

Since the resumption of the U.S. House on November 12, Democrats and Republicans have taken turns releasing parts of the Epstein case documents, accusing each other's party leaders of being connected to Epstein or having involvement in his sexual crimes, including Trump, Democratic former President Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and White House former counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, officials who served in the Democratic administration.

Additionally, there has been a split within the Republican Party over whether to support the release of Epstein case documents. Trump's loyal ally, Georgia Republican Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene, recently publicly broke with Trump over this issue. Subsequently, Trump changed his stance, stating that if the relevant bill passed in Congress, he would sign it.

On September 2, 2025, local time, anti-Trump protests erupted in Washington D.C., with protesters holding signs demanding the release of confidential documents related to the Epstein case. IC Photo

On the afternoon of November 18, local time, a bill formally named the "Epstein File Transparency Act" was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives with a vote of 427 to 1, a decisive majority, and then successfully passed in the Senate. Finally, Trump announced that he had signed the bill.

In a long article posted on social media, Trump again mentioned that Epstein had connections with former U.S. President Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Summers, and LinkedIn co-founder Hoffman, among other Democrats. At the same time, Trump strongly criticized what he called "years of political persecution" and boasted about his supposed "achievements in governance."

"Perhaps the truth about these Democrats and their connection with Jeffrey Epstein will soon come to light, because I have just signed the bill to disclose the Epstein files!" he continued: "Like previous frauds, this latest fraud will eventually backfire on the Democrats! Thank you all for paying attention to this matter. Make America great again!"

On November 19, local time, U.S. Attorney General Bonta stated that the U.S. Department of Justice will release the Epstein case records within 30 days.

This article is exclusive to Observer Net, and without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7574721948270346795/

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