Elon Musk, Steve Bannon & Peter Thiel mentioned in 6-page Epstein doc released by Democrats

On Friday, Democratic lawmakers released documents on the investigation into convicted sex offender and British financier Jeffrey Epstein. One of the key highlights of the document was that it reflected Epstein’s interactions with prominent conservatives, including Elon Musk, Steve Bannon and Peter Thiel.

The six pages of documents with redaction were released after the US Department of Justice provided them to the House Oversight Committee, which is currently investigating how the sex-trafficking charges against Epstein, who died in 2019 in federal custody, were handled.

The copies of Epstein’s calendar were released by the Democratic minority of the Committee. It showed a breakfast planned with Bannon, an influential Donald Trump ally, in February 2019. Apart from this, another schedule mentioned a lunch with Thiel in November 2017 and a potential trip by Musk to Epstein’s private island in December 2014.

Meanwhile, a manifest from 2000 for Epstein’s plane includes Prince Andrew, whose relationship with Epstein is well-documented. The documents released by the Democrats also included a financial showing Epstein paying someone listed as “Andrew” for “Massage, Exercise, Yoga” that same year.

Interestingly, earlier this year, the Tesla CEO accused Trump of being in the so-called “Epstein files” on social media after the tech mogul criticised Trump’s tax and spending legislation. In July, Musk publicly said, “How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?”

Democrats call them out

Pointing to the significance of the latest records’ release, Sara Guerrero, a spokesperson for the oversight committee, said: “It should be clear to every American that Jeffrey Epstein was friends with some of the most powerful and wealthiest men in the world. Every new document produced provides new information as we work to bring justice for the survivors and victims.”

Meanwhile, Eric Swalwell, a Democratic representative of California, took to X following the records’ release. “Trump OUTS @elonmusk as being in Epstein Files. Revenge for Elon outing Trump? Elon, what do you know about Trump’s involvement?” he said.

In response to this, the Republican-led committee slammed the Democrats for selectively deciding which records should be made public. “This is old news. It’s sad how Democrats are conveniently withholding documents that contain the names of Democratic officials. Once again, they are putting politics over victims. That’s all Robert Garcia and Oversight Dems know how to do. We are releasing them all soon,” the statement said, referring to Robert Garcia, the committee’s ranking member.

It is pertinent to note that the documents are the latest in the saga over the government’s handling of the Epstein case. Meanwhile, in the US House of Representatives, Democrats joined a small group of Republicans on a petition that will force a vote on legislation to compel the release of the Epstein files. It needs 218 signatures to succeed, which it is expected to soon get after Democrat Adelita Grijalva this week won a special election to an Arizona seat that became vacant when her father died.

However, it is important to note that any legislation passed in the House would also need approval by the Senate, whose Republican leaders have shown little interest in the issue. Trump, who has called the furore over Epstein a “ Democrat hoax”, would also need to sign the bill.