Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak apologizes for keeping Epstein relationship after 2008 conviction
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak has apologized for his years-long friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that included frequent correspondence and frequent visits to the financier’s Manhattan apartment, as well as visits to his private island.
The former Israeli leader was not implicated in Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls and has not been accused of wrongdoing. But in an exclusive interview with Israel’s Channel 12 on Thursday, he said he regrets knowing Epstein and apologized to all those who “felt very uncomfortable.”
“I am responsible for all my actions and my decisions, and there is room to ask if there was no room for a deep judgment about me and a full examination of what the details really are, what really happened there.”
Barak, who has distanced himself from Epstein, made the latest interview after millions of pages of documents were released by the US Department of Justice about its investigation into Epstein. Barak and his wife, Nili, have appeared repeatedly in documents, showing they remained in regular contact with Epstein for years, including cutting a deal with prosecutors in 2008 that led to an 18-month prison sentence.
Epstein committed suicide while in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges filed in New York that he sexually assaulted and trafficked dozens of girls.
In an interview on Thursday, Barak said that it is possible that more information will appear in the documents in the coming weeks, but he insisted that he did not do anything illegal or inappropriate.
“I promise you that nothing will be found, because there is nothing,” he said.
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Barak felt Epstein paid the price after his arrest
Barak admitted to visiting Epstein on numerous occasions, flying in his private jet and staying at his New York apartment when he was out of government office. Barak said he, his wife and other security guards visited Epstein’s home in the US Virgin Islands for three hours, but only saw Epstein and other maintenance workers there.
Barak said he did not witness or participate in any inappropriate behavior. He said he was aware of Epstein’s previous conviction but thought he had “paid his debt to society.”
“It is only in 2019, when the re-investigation of this whole story begins, that the breadth and depth of the man’s heinous crime is revealed and I cut ties with him, and everyone cuts ties with him,” said Baraki.
Barak served as prime minister from 1999 to 2001, when Israel and the Palestinians held high-level peace talks before the deal collapsed and Palestinian protests erupted. He later served as defense minister.
His relationship with Epstein came to a head seven years ago after Barak announced a political comeback from a failed bid to oust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Meanwhile, US tax records show that Barak received about $2 million US in undisclosed “research” for the past decade from the Wexner Foundation – a charity that supports Jewish causes. At the time, Epstein was a trustee of the foundation, named after Bath & Body Works founder Leslie Wexner, whose decades-long relationship with Epstein came under intense scrutiny after Epstein’s 2019 impeachment.
Barak downplayed the relationship when it emerged, saying Epstein “didn’t support me or pay me.”
Newly released documents show that Epstein connected Barak with Steve Bannon. The former campaign chairman and White House adviser to US President Donald Trump has not been implicated in any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
DP World names new chairman
Meanwhile, others are facing negative consequences after being named in the Epstein documents recently released by the US Department of Justice.
Dubai has announced the new chairman of DP World, one of the largest companies in the world. Friday’s announcement by the government’s Dubai Media Office did not specifically mention Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
However, it said that Essa Kazim was appointed as the chairman of DP World and Yuvraj Narayan was appointed as the CEO of the group. Those were the positions held by bin Sulayem.
DP World did not respond to a request for comment.
Other e-mails between the two men cited or linked to pornographic images, sex massages and escorts, although the e-mails do not appear to implicate bin Sulayem in Epstein’s allegations.
DP World is a logistics giant that operates the Jebel Ali port in Dubai and operates terminals in other ports around the world.
The announcement comes a day after financial groups in Canada – the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the province’s pension fund – and the United Kingdom said they were suspending DP World’s business after newly released emails showed a years-long friendship between bin Sulayem and Epstein.
US House of Representatives members Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, a Republican, questioned why Sulayem, Wexer and four other men had their names redacted in the latest section of the documents after reviewing the files Monday at the Justice Department. The words later were not answered.
“@RepThomasMassie and I have asked the DOJ to stop protecting this man again [unredact] in his name. They agreed. Then I went down to the House to call the names. Today, he is resigning. We will not rest until there is accountability for Epstein’s class,” Khanna, a Democrat, said on social media.
In the US, Kathy Ruemmler, chief legal officer at the investment bank Goldman Sachs, said on Thursday that she will resign from June 30 after six years at the company. He described Epstein as an “older brother” and downplayed his sex crimes in unedited emails.
The brother of the late Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre is urging Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to answer questions from American lawmakers about the late sex trafficker. Meanwhile, King Charles says the Royal Family will cooperate with the police investigation if asked.
While Ruemmler has called Epstein a “monster” in recent statements, he had a very different relationship with Epstein before his 2019 arrest. She received several expensive gifts from him, including luxury bags and a fur coat.
“Very nice and thoughtful! Thank you Uncle Jeffrey!!!” Ruemmler, a former White House adviser to President Barack Obama, wrote to Epstein in 2018.
