Epstein scribbled ‘not a stable genius’ and pressed for investigations in an 11th-hour bid for leniency
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Jeffrey Epstein sought to leverage his connection to Donald Trump in an apparent last-ditch request for leniency while in jailawaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, a 35-day stint inside a notorious New York prison that ended with his suicide in 2019.
Previously unreleased handwritten notesobtained byThe New York Timesreveal Epstein’s half-baked sentences and phrases scribbled on legal pads, including what appear to be ideas for federal prosecutors to investigate then-President Trump.
“Trump is a total con artist,” he wrote, adding the phrases “smoke & mirrors” and “never had money.”
He also suggested former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg “knows all” and suggested the president’s “college transcripts” should be publicly released. “Not a stable genius,” he wrote.
The circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death and his alleged connections to a wider network of powerful pedophiles haveconsumed Congress and the Trump administration, which is eager to move on from federal investigations into Epstein and the political blowback surrounding the release ofmillions of documents connected to his cases.
Thenewly published messages— obtained as part of a sprawling investigation fromThe Timesthat examines the wealthy and well-connected pedophile’s final days — do not appear to have raised any new allegations against the president.
Epstein’s attempts to provide potentially useful information to federal prosecutors in exchange for the possibility of clemency in his own case do not appear to have moved the needle in his favor.
His writings suggest he wasn’t able to offer up anything that wasn’t already known. Trump and Weisselberg were later subject to extensive investigations that resulted in bombshell fraud verdicts targeting the president’s real estate empire and his family wealth.
Weisselberg spent 100 days inside Rikers Island in 2023 after he wasconvicted on a range of tax crimesin a separate case stemming from a sweeping criminal investigation into Trump’s business. Hereturned to jail in 2024after pleading guilty to perjury over testimony he gaveduring a blockbuster fraud case targeting the president’s business.
That same year, a judge determined Trump and his business partnersillegally enriched themselves by defrauding banks and investorsas part of a decade-long scheme to secure favorable financing terms for some of his brand-building properties.
