Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.,accused Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., of having ties to sex offenderJeffrey Epsteinin thesecond U.S. Senate debateAug. 3, which Markey denied.
“In thenewly released Epstein files, your name appears repeatedly. I’m not going to get into all the details, but I do want to ask one question,” Moulton said. “Why would you even take a meeting with a lobbyist on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein?”
Markey responded that Moulton’s line of questioning was “absolutely reprehensible.”
“I have never met Jeffrey Epstein, I don’t know Jeffrey Epstein. I have been calling for the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein since day one at 8 a.m.,” Markey said. “What you’re saying right now is absolutely the worst of the playbook of destruction and character assassination which is so characteristic of MAGA Republicans.”
Just one's name appearing in the files, which are millions of pages, isnot evidence of wrongdoing. When pressed for the context in which Markey’s name was mentioned, Moulton said it was “in the context of doing a favor for one of Epstein’s pals who was sex trafficking women.”
He gave no other details during the debate.
Files relating to Epstein released by the Justice Department show that Markey met with colleagues of a lobbyist who appeared to have a connection with Jeffrey Epstein. However, the emails do not show whether Markey knew Epstein was aware of the meeting or its context, and his campaign confirmed that Markey did not know that the lobbyist was associated with Epstein.
In 2015, when Markey was the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s subcommittee on Africa, he met with colleagues of lobbyist Bob Crowe about Karim Wade, the son of Senegal’s then-president and who was in prison for corruption.
Croweforwarded an emailthat mentioned that meeting to Epstein.
“We are engaging Congress and had an initial briefing with Senator Ed Markey,” the email says.
According to theMiami Herald, Epstein paid Crowe’s firm, Nelson Mullins, to lobby Congress and the State Department to put pressure on Senegal to release Wade.
Also in 2015, Crowe’s colleaguesent Epstein an invitationto a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee luncheon where Markey was a special guest.
In 2016, Wade was released from prison in Senegal after receiving a presidential pardon from then-Senegal President Macky Sall.
Later that year,Markey led a congressional delegationto meet with Sall in Senegal.
The emails do not show whether Markey knew Epstein was involved in Wade’s case. The emails also do not show communication between Markey and Epstein. Markey's campaign confirmed that he did not know that Crowe was associated with Epstein, nor did he know that Epstein was involved in Wade's case.
