Sources: Epstein Considered Partnering With Blair in Political Consultancy

Feb. 28—Sources report that the pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein had considered partnering in some way with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a high‑paid political consultancy that would involve some of Epstein's wealthy clients and associates as clients. He also thought, these sources say, that with his contacts, such a consultancy would get contracts with various governments for potential lobbying and other work.

The sources report that Epstein had apparently brought up this idea in the 2000s and continued to talk about it even after his sex trafficking of a minor conviction in 2008, after which many of his former friends in high places were forced to distance themselves.

The sources say he would have liked to involve his friend, former President Bill Clinton, in what he envisioned as a "super consultancy" but admitted that Bill had to stay away from him because of "Hillary's position and ambitions" [Clinton was Barack Obama's Secretary of State and then ran for President in 2016 against another of Epstein's former close friends, Donald Trump].

Epstein’s 2002 Meeting With Blair

Epstein met Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street on May 14, 2002, as confirmed in emails released by the Department of Justice. The meeting, which spokesmen for Blair claim lasted only 30 minutes, was arranged by Epstein's good friend and the political mentor of Blair, Lord Peter Mandelson, who was then a Labor Party backbencher having been forced to resign twice from cabinet posts. Epstein, these sources who had knowledge through their own contacts of what Epstein was up to, had wanted Mandelson to play a role in the consultancy, as he would also have wanted Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, to do likewise.

Both Andrew and Lord Peter are under investigation for misconduct in public office for passing secret government papers and reports to Epstein for use in business dealings.

How the Meeting Was Arranged and Described Internally

Blair took the meeting with Epstein only after another of Lord Peter's stable of protégés, Blair's chief of staff Jonathon Powell, urged him to do so, reminding him of Epstein's connection to Blair's friend Bill Clinton. A memo on Epstein, prepared for Blair by a civil servant named Rycroft, described Epstein as “a financial adviser to the super-rich and a property developer,” “a friend of Bill Clinton and Peter Mandelson,” and “very rich and close to the Duke of York.”

According to the reports in the Epstein file release, the meeting discussed politics in both the United Kingdom and the U.S. It occurred prior to Blair dragging the United States into an "endless" and misguided war against Iraq, based on false intelligence provided to the U.S. by Blair and British intelligence.

Blair Associates, Later Ventures, and Epstein-Barak Audio

Blair has said this was his only contact with the pedophile. But in the released Epstein files, there are several references "to my friend Tony" in emails and texts, with the implication that the two remained in touch. Blair, after leaving office, did form a lucrative political consultancy, Tony Blair Associates, that did have contracts with various governments; he shut that down in 2016 to concentrate his work on the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, one of whose major funders is Larry Ellison, the pro‑Zionist founder of Oracle.

Buried in the 3 million files released is a recording between Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, which seems to confirm the source reports about Epstein wanting to set up a "super consultancy." It is thought that the recording dates from around 2013.

The two discussed the “gigantic” sums paid to former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for his consulting work, and questioned his financial arrangements, according to a report on the recording in Al Jazeera. Epstein is considering strategies for former political figures to make money after leaving office. Epstein talks approvingly of the significant sums being paid to the former United Kingdom leader for his work but speculates that the money is not all going to Blair, with payments of some funds being made to other parties. The audio does not provide specific details about the other parties.

Barak raises the question of a “business model,” asking Epstein “how do we make money out of” a contract with a government or governments. He raises “something that I’ve heard from you … that Tony Blair, for example, is doing some probably $11m per year from the Kazakhstan government just to give them advice, to help them with lobbying in some NGO or UN organization.”

Epstein replies: “Tony has turned funny. I don’t know what Tony’s doing for money. And I don’t know if the money that Tony is getting is actually to Tony or somebody else. I hear gigantic numbers given to Tony – $5m here, $10m here, $5m there. Tony’s not making $30m a year.”

Barak replied: “Yeah, but he’s become quite … I can judge from the style of his watches that he’s …”

“Yes, but he’s [only] making $10m a year,” says Epstein.

Barak then responds: “Probably he [gets] the money and he leaves some of it to the others, probably some of the providers.”

Blair’s Response and Ongoing Reputation

"Leaked emails suggest that Epstein served as a trusted financial adviser, fixer, concierge, sounding board and even friend to Barak during their long-running relationship, which continued for years after the disgraced financier," Al Jazeera reports. Other reports say that Barak enjoyed using Epstein's underage girls for rough sex.

Asked for comment on the released conversation through his institute, a spokesperson for Blair said: “None of these people have any idea about what he did or didn’t earn, and the figures given are rubbish.”

The spokesperson said that Blair had met Epstein only once, as had been previously reported, and had never spoken to or seen him since.

“He has never discussed what he earned with either of the other two people mentioned,” they said.

To this day, critics in the Middle East and the UK brand Blair a “war criminal,” and he remains a toxic figure in some quarters, which was a reason that Arab leaders had objected to President Donald Trump appointing Blair to his Board of Peace.