Epstein offered the Kremlin a way to read Trump

On 24 June 2018, Jeffrey Epstein emailed Thorbjørn Jagland, Norway’s former prime minister. He wanted Russian President Vladimir Putin to let Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talk to him about Donald Trump. Three weeks later, Trump and Putin were due to meet in Helsinki. The emails were made public in November 2025.

Epstein wrote that Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s former UN ambassador, had learned to understand Trump through their conversations. Jagland replied that he would pass the idea to a Lavrov aide. The documents show the proposal was sent. They do not show that Lavrov or Putin accepted it.

That is the gap. Several threads around Epstein are documented. None yet links them into a Russian operation against Trump.

A friendship from the 1990s

Trump and Epstein moved in the same New York and Florida social circles. A 1992 TV clip from Mar-a-Lagoshows them at a party with women. In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine that Epstein liked beautiful women as much as he did, and that many were “on the younger side.”

Epstein later claimed, in 2019 emails, that Trump knew about “the girls” and had visited his home many times. Those are Epstein’s own claims. Trump has denied knowing about the abuse. Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s best-known victims, testified in 2016 that she never saw Trump take part in abuse.

Journalist Michael Wolff says Epstein showed him photographs of Trump with topless young women. Wolff says he does not know their ages. The photos have not been published or authenticated.

Three computers vanished

Epstein kept hidden cameras at his Palm Beach home, according to documents reviewed by ABC News in February 2026. Three computers were removed before a police search in October 2005. One had been wired to the surveillance system.

Police found cameras but no recording equipment. A private investigator held the material for years. The fate of the originals is unclear. The documents suggest the FBI obtained a copy of at least one machine.

This is a concrete lead. It does not show the computers held footage of Trump, or that any material reached Moscow.

The FBI and the Justice Department concluded in July 2025 that they had found no credible evidence Epstein systematically blackmailed prominent people. That finding covers only material the authorities had. It says nothing about private copies.

The Russian contacts

Epstein’s Russian ties went beyond the Jagland email. In 2015 he contacted Sergei Belyakov, a former Russian deputy minister trained at the FSB academy. Epstein asked for help with a Russian woman he said was trying to blackmail New York businessmen. Belyakov replied with information about her.

According to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Belyakov joined the Russian Direct Investment Fund in 2016. The fund is led by Kirill Dmitriev, now a key Russian negotiator with the Trump administration.

Le Monde reported in February 2026 that Epstein advised Belyakov in 2014 on blunting Western sanctions after the annexation of Crimea. The advice included using fewer dollars and more cryptocurrency. In 2015, Epstein connected Belyakov with investor Peter Thiel.

No document shows Epstein worked for Russian intelligence. No document shows Dmitriev knew of Epstein’s material.

Russian money in Trump’s orbit

The money trail starts in Florida. In 2004, Trump and Epstein bid against each other for a Palm Beach mansion. Trump won at $41.35 million. Four years later he sold it to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev for $95 million.

The sale was legal, and no coordination with the Russian state has been shown. Reuters found in 2017 that at least 63 buyers with Russian passports or addresses had bought into seven Trump-branded buildings in South Florida, spending $98.4 million in total. The review could not capture hidden ownership.

Both men were Deutsche Bank clients. German outlets NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that Trump held over $200 million there in 2014. A former employee told the FBI that compliance staff struggled to establish where his wealth came from. The bank has apologized for keeping Epstein as a client. Nothing shows the bank tied the two accounts together.

Senator Ron Wyden said in March 2026 that Epstein made 4,725 transfers worth over $1 billion through JPMorgan. Hundreds of millions moved through Russian correspondent banks, he said. Wyden has not tied all of it to Russia, and has not shown Trump received any of it.

Moscow had other doors

The Kremlin did not need Epstein to approach Trump’s circle. In June 2016, Donald Trump Jr. received an email from music promoter Rob Goldstone offering damaging material on Hillary Clinton. The offer was described as part of Russian government support for the Trump campaign.

Trump Jr. showed interest. On 9 June, he, Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort met Russia-linked figures at Trump Tower.

The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded in 2020 that Russia ran a sweeping influence operation. It called Manafort a serious counterintelligence vulnerability. Committee chairman Marco Rubio stressed that it found no evidence of collusion between the campaign and the Russian government on the interference itself.

During the campaign, the Trump Organization also pursued a Moscow tower project. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohenlater gave Congress false information about how long talks lasted. He had contacted the Kremlin’s office about the deal.

A separate story concerns alleged recordings from Russia. Businessman Giorgi Rtskhiladze told Cohen in 2016 that he had stopped such material from spreading. He later said he had heard the recordings were fake. No link to Epstein has been shown.

Diesel, and a waiver

In October 2026, Russian energy is back on the table. On 9 October, the Treasury’s sanctions office, OFAC, issued a license allowing specific transactions in Russian diesel, covering more than 2.25 million barrels. Trump has cited high energy prices during the war with Iran.

Reuters has reported talks between Kushner and Dmitriev about US investors in Nord Stream and the purchase of Lukoil’s foreign assets. These are proposals and negotiations, not signed deals.

On 16 October, Trump used the waiver authority in the Graham sanctions law. Russia was spared new tariffs and sanctions that Congress had passed with broad support. Existing sanctions under other authorities remain. By the White House’s own wording, the waivers carry no automatic expiry. Dmitriev said the same day that the two countries are discussing joint projects, including data centers powered by small nuclear reactors.

No public evidence shows Epstein material influences these decisions. Economic interests can explain them without blackmail. Trump has long wanted a direct, deal-driven line to Putin. Washington has also kept supplying intelligence to Ukraine.

The missing link

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk set up a group in February 2026 to examine possible Russian intelligence involvement in the Epstein case. He warned that Russian services could hold compromising material on Western leaders. That was a reason to investigate, not proof.

Senator Whitehouse presented a review of the Trump-Epstein-Russia links in March 2026. He stressed that the question of intelligence cooperation remains open.

The missing link is the same as in 2018. There is an offer from Epstein, contacts in Russian power circles, vanished recording equipment and large money flows. There is no documentation that anyone in Moscow received material usable against Trump. To settle it, investigators must follow three chains: who controlled Epstein’s original recordings and copies, who stood behind the transfers, and who profits from the deals now being struck between Washington and Moscow.