Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. During the twenty twenty four presidential campaign, Donald
Speaker 1: Trump and his surrogates talked a big game about Jeffrey
Speaker 1: Epstein and about what they were going to do if
Speaker 1: they were elected. Well, they got elected, and instead of
Speaker 1: doing what they said they were going to do, they
Speaker 1: did the exact opposite. And if you were wondering why,
Speaker 1: all you have to do is take a look at
Speaker 1: the administration and see how many people were involved with Epstein,
Speaker 1: including the person we're about to talk about in this article.
Speaker 1: And this dude happens to be the son of Leon Black.
Speaker 1: And if that's not bad enough, this man's part of
Speaker 1: the Trump administration. Today's article is from The Guardian and
Speaker 1: the headline Trump appoint leading two hundred and five billion
Speaker 1: dollar US agency had personal ties to Epstein. This article
Speaker 1: was authored by Kate Brown. Ben Black, the head of
Speaker 1: a little known government investment agency funded by billions of
Speaker 1: dollars from US taxpayers, had personal and business ties to
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein, according to emails and business filings released by
Speaker 1: the Department of Justice. Well, yeah, we've known about Ben
Speaker 1: Black for a long time and The fact that he's
Speaker 1: even in this administration tells you that this whole thing
Speaker 1: is not serious when it comes to Ebstein. Leon Black,
Speaker 1: his father one of the key people when it comes
Speaker 1: to Ebstein's finances, and his son, Ben Black is part
Speaker 1: of the administration that's promising us transparency. And Scott Assent
Speaker 1: wants to talk about Ron Wyden's son, Buddy, go take
Speaker 1: five looks in the mirror. His father, Leon Black, had
Speaker 1: once been the disgraced financiers highest paying client, calling on
Speaker 1: the convicted sex offender for tax advice and the orchestra
Speaker 1: payments to women. According to The New York Times and Bloomberg, Oh,
Speaker 1: I'm sure that's all it was. You know, Epstein was
Speaker 1: just working for him, because Epstein's such a genius in
Speaker 1: everything he did. Like, who's buying that bullshit these days?
Speaker 1: All you have to do is take one look at
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein's emails and you can tell he wasn't some sylvant,
Speaker 1: wasn't some genius. He was useful, and boy did they
Speaker 1: use him because, believe me, when we're talking about a
Speaker 1: parasitic relationship, that's what all these people had with Jeffrey Epstein.
Speaker 1: A Guardian review of more than five thousand records from
Speaker 1: Epstein's private correspondence found that Ben Black invested in the
Speaker 1: same company as the financier Pedophile in twenty eleven, and
Speaker 1: the two men had a relationship for several years. Afterwards.
Speaker 1: Epstein told a friend that he attended Ben Black's thirtieth birthday,
Speaker 1: advised him on the purchase of an eleven and a
Speaker 1: half million dollar townhouse, and helped one woman compose messages
Speaker 1: to him. She wrote to Epstein to say that she
Speaker 1: and Black had kissed the following day. Good old Epstein
Speaker 1: as the matchmaker. Huh, what is this fiddler on the roof?
Speaker 1: More like diddler on the roof? And now Black holds
Speaker 1: the Senate confirmed position overseeing the Development Finance Corporation, the
Speaker 1: Trump administration's largest overseas investment arm. The agency was previously
Speaker 1: confined to work in low income countries, but Congress recently
Speaker 1: cleared it to invest in high income countries and tripled
Speaker 1: its lending cap to two hundred and five billion, greatly
Speaker 1: expanding Black's influence over taxpayer funds. The Epstein administration and
Speaker 1: full effect, nobody could do this job but Leon Black's kid. Okay,
Speaker 1: I guess I guess he's that talented we're talking about
Speaker 1: Warren Buffett wrapped up with Michael Berry. Huh okay, I
Speaker 1: guess that's what Ben Black is. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Epstein himself
Speaker 1: had some pretty terrible things to say about Leon Black's kids.
Speaker 1: Donald Trump is appointed at least three other men with
Speaker 1: known ties to Epstein to federal office. Howard Lutnik, the
Speaker 1: secret Terry of Commerce, testified recently to the House Oversight
Speaker 1: Committee after admitting that he had traveled to Ebstein's private island.
Speaker 1: He has never been accused of any wrongdoing related to
Speaker 1: Ebstein or otherwise. Lutnick sits on dfc's Board of Directors,
Speaker 1: where he and Ben Black joined six other presidentially appointed
Speaker 1: and Senate Conferm members in reviewing and approving the agency's
Speaker 1: oversees investments. Nothing like one of Jeffrey Epstein's buddies being
Speaker 1: in charge of two hundred and five billion of your
Speaker 1: tax dollars, right, that's reassuring the scope of Ben Black's
Speaker 1: personal connection to Abstein has not previously been reported. Black
Speaker 1: has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection to Epstein
Speaker 1: or any other matter. The DFC did not respond to
Speaker 1: a request for comment. Lawyers for Leon Black responded to
Speaker 1: questions on behalf of both Leon and his son, and
Speaker 1: the White House spokesperson sent The Guardian an unsolicited defense
Speaker 1: of Black's fitness for his job. Look, I'm not saying
Speaker 1: that he's not fit for the gig. I'm Surery's intelligent,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure he knows what he's doing. The fact is,
Speaker 1: why do we have all these Epstein adjacent people holding
Speaker 1: positions of power? Especially considering everything that's come out, you
Speaker 1: would think that that would be you know the line
Speaker 1: in the sand, Ack, buddy, I can't have you in
Speaker 1: this administration. You're name five thousand times in the files.
Speaker 1: But then how can you have that standard when the
Speaker 1: president himself was named what thirty eight thousand times? And
Speaker 1: when I tell you that the fish stinks from the head,
Speaker 1: this is what I mean. A personal spokesperson for Ben
Speaker 1: Black said Ben Black had no personal or a professional
Speaker 1: relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. I guess it was just Ron
Speaker 1: wyden Son. But sent wants to go after widen Son.
Speaker 1: Has he said anything about Ben Black? And look, again,
Speaker 1: I'm not saying that he shouldn't go after Ron. Whd
Speaker 1: and son. He should, but he should have the same
Speaker 1: kind of vigor when it comes to Leon Black's kid.
Speaker 1: And that's the problem with everything that's going on right now.
Speaker 1: Nobody wants to hold their own side accountable. Everybody wants
Speaker 1: to have that gotcha moment for the other side without
Speaker 1: cleaning their own house. And if you have a disgusting
Speaker 1: ass yard, don't you dare pop your head over the
Speaker 1: wall and tell me to pull my weeds, because I
Speaker 1: promise you you're not going to get the reaction that
Speaker 1: you're hoping for. And I think the same holds true here.
Speaker 1: You have one side saying, well, what about Ron Wyden's kid?
Speaker 1: Then you have Leon Black over here, and the other
Speaker 1: side wants to point that out. Meanwhile the rest of
Speaker 1: us are like, all of you are corrupt and none
Speaker 1: of you are helping. Trump created the DFC with bipartisan
Speaker 1: support during his first term and appointed Jared Kushner's former
Speaker 1: college roommate Adam Bohler to transform the lending agency into
Speaker 1: a tool to counter China and pursue more direct private investment.
Speaker 1: And look, the concept of it's great. The problem is
Speaker 1: the guy that's leading the department, Well, one of Jeffrey
Speaker 1: Epstein's buddy sons. And not only that, but allegedly had
Speaker 1: his own relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. So it's not even
Speaker 1: like a sinse of the father type of deal. This
Speaker 1: dude had his own ties to Epstein, at least according
Speaker 1: to the emails. It's not clear exactly what led Trump
Speaker 1: to appoint Ben Black to the DFC post, particularly given
Speaker 1: that public record suggests an experience in international development and finance.
Speaker 1: OH White House spokesperson told The Guardian Black had a
Speaker 1: lead experience for the role. And again, just remember that
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein called Leon Black's kids retarded, and I know
Speaker 1: people don't like that word, but that's what he said.
Speaker 1: So that's the guy we want in charge of international
Speaker 1: finance for US. I'm gonna need to see his whole
Speaker 1: ass resume. In January twenty twenty five, then Black called
Speaker 1: the Pallanteer co founder Joe Lonsdell co authored an essay
Speaker 1: calling for a pro market approach the foreign aid. They
Speaker 1: specifically cited the missteps of the Biden administration and the
Speaker 1: promise of investing in Greenland, a Danish outpost that Trump
Speaker 1: has said he would like to control. OH Yeah, we're
Speaker 1: gonna get that. We're gonna have Cuba Venezuela, Canada fifty
Speaker 1: first state. How can anyone take this dude serious? Like
Speaker 1: at this point, with all the nonsense, how could you
Speaker 1: take anything that that man says seriously? Where those Amelia
Speaker 1: Earhart files? How about all those alien files? How about
Speaker 1: the JFK files? Oh what about the Epstein files. I
Speaker 1: don't know about you, folks, but I can't take all
Speaker 1: this transparency. I'm going to overdose on it. Three weeks
Speaker 1: after its publication, the President appointed Black now forty one,
Speaker 1: to take charge of the US largest overseas investing arm.
Speaker 1: Now age doesn't really matter. If the guy's qualified. He's qualified, right,
Speaker 1: I don't care. But my problem is I doubt he's qualified.
Speaker 1: You want to talk about nepotism. Here it is. Ben
Speaker 1: Black grew up amid the upper echelons of New York financiers,
Speaker 1: real estate moguls, and artificionados. His mother, Deborah Black, worked
Speaker 1: as a Broadway producer, garnering Tentoni awards for her work.
Speaker 1: And keep in mind that Leon Black was cheating on
Speaker 1: her with Guzelle Ganieva at least and probably other women
Speaker 1: for years, even when his wife was sick. What kind
Speaker 1: of scumbag does that. Leon partnered with Deborah's brother to
Speaker 1: found Apollo Global Management nineteen ninety, and the CEO led
Speaker 1: it to become one of the five largest private equity
Speaker 1: and credit managers in the world, with near lee one
Speaker 1: trillion under management. And I'm sure they got that far
Speaker 1: and square. I'm sure nobody got stepped on, nobody was destroyed,
Speaker 1: nobody had their life ruined. Leon Black and Trump were
Speaker 1: fellow travelers in the wild world of the nineties finance.
Speaker 1: The two vulture capitalists once vied for this real estate
Speaker 1: contracts in Boca Rautan and traveled to Moscow on business
Speaker 1: in ninety six, where Leon Black later told senate investigators
Speaker 1: that he and the president might have been in a
Speaker 1: strip club together. Oh well, might have been. Huh they were,
Speaker 1: And look, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: sit here and play mister amish. If you want to
Speaker 1: go to the strip club, go to the strip club,
Speaker 1: but don't try and present yourself as some kind of
Speaker 1: god fearing great guy, because we know that's not true.
Speaker 1: And I'm so sick of it. The main stop on
Speaker 1: Trump's ninety six tour was Ducot Place, according to the
Speaker 1: Moscow Times, where Trump once hoped to build Europe's first
Speaker 1: Trump Tower. Leon Black went on the fund the development
Speaker 1: of the luxury office complex after the trip. Now, no
Speaker 1: connections here. Leon Black's not somebody that Donald Trump is
Speaker 1: trying to cover up for, not at all. They didn't
Speaker 1: even know each other. Stop it. Don't you know that
Speaker 1: this is a hoax and that you should move on.
Speaker 1: Lawyers for Leon Black said in illegal letter that Black
Speaker 1: had no current ties to Russia, never did any business
Speaker 1: with Trump. That they have known each other socially, mostly
Speaker 1: as co residents of New York City, and the fact
Speaker 1: that they were in Moscow at the same time thirty
Speaker 1: years ago has no news value in the year twenty
Speaker 1: twenty six. But it does, especially when you look at
Speaker 1: this through the lens of a cover up. Is Leon
Speaker 1: Black one of the people that Trump's trying to cover
Speaker 1: up for? In my opinion probably Black was also Epstein's
Speaker 1: top paying client by a wide margin for years. He
Speaker 1: paid Epstein to advise him on tax having strategy, and
Speaker 1: purchasing art, and acted as an intermediary in his affairs
Speaker 1: with women and how the hell does Leon Black expect
Speaker 1: anybody to take him serious when he says he has
Speaker 1: no ties to Russia? We already know you do. We
Speaker 1: know that Jeffrey Epstein reached out to somebody and grew
Speaker 1: or connected to grew to try and get people pressed,
Speaker 1: to try to get people intimidated. But sure, Leon Black
Speaker 1: has no idea what's going on over in Russia. Well,
Speaker 1: he can't even find it on a map. A Senate
Speaker 1: Finance Committee investigation found that Black paid the convicted sex
Speaker 1: offender one hundred and seventy million, which Black said was
Speaker 1: for legitimate estate and tax planning services. Epstein helped them
Speaker 1: send about twenty million to women, The New York Times found,
Speaker 1: but Epstein had nothing to do with anything like that.
Speaker 1: Just a lone wolf, just a guy that wanted to
Speaker 1: diddle some people, right, mister President, isn't that what you
Speaker 1: told us? I guess all of this is just made up.
Speaker 1: Three women have sued Lyon Black for alleged sexual abuse.
Speaker 1: Two of the suits have been dismissed and one remains pending.
Speaker 1: Lawyers for Leon Black said in a statement to the
Speaker 1: Guardian that misconduct allegations raised against Black were false, and
Speaker 1: that subsequent events have established with certainty that mister Black's
Speaker 1: account was truthful and his accusers' claims were not. Well,
Speaker 1: that's not true. We still have a case pending, So
Speaker 1: what are you even talking about. I think it would
Speaker 1: be a good idea to see what happens with that
Speaker 1: case before anybody is out here trying to exonerate Leon Black.
Speaker 1: Leon Black has never been charged with any crime in
Speaker 1: relation to the allegations. A separate independent inquiry commissioned by
Speaker 1: Apollo Management to investigate its founder alleged ties to Epstein's
Speaker 1: sex trafficking network in twenty twenty one found no evidence
Speaker 1: that Epstein ever introduced Black or offered to introduce Black
Speaker 1: to any underage women. Well, that investigation was a bunch
Speaker 1: of bs, absolute nonsense, nothing more than a whitewash, just
Speaker 1: like the rest of these internal investigations we always hear about.
Speaker 1: Have any of these internal investigations ever found anything that
Speaker 1: was damning, anything that sent people to prison? You all
Speaker 1: know the answer to that. All right, folks, We're gonna
Speaker 1: wrap up episode one right here, and in the next
Speaker 1: episode we're gonna pick up where we left off. All
Speaker 1: the information that goes with this episode can be found
Speaker 1: in the description box. What's up, everyone, and welcome to
Speaker 1: another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're
Speaker 1: going to pick up where he left off with the
Speaker 1: Guardian article talking about Ben Black. The author of this
Speaker 1: article is Kate Brown. Ben Black attended the Dalton School,
Speaker 1: a prestigious Upper east Side establishment where Epstein briefly taught
Speaker 1: math and physics in the seventies. He graduated in two
Speaker 1: thousand and two alongside many of New York's most well
Speaker 1: healed children, and went on to study history at the
Speaker 1: University of Pennsylvania. He later earned a dual master's in
Speaker 1: business and law at Harvard and a master's in taxation
Speaker 1: from New York University Harvard always with Harvard. In twenty eleven,
Speaker 1: Ben Black and several of his family members invested in
Speaker 1: Environmental Solutions Worldwide, a diesel emissions control company where Epstein
Speaker 1: was a six percent shareholder VIA's Virgini Island shell company
Speaker 1: Financial Trust. According to SEC filings, Ben Black and Joshua Black,
Speaker 1: one of his brothers, became directors of ESWW that same year.
Speaker 1: Company record show AH, I have no doubt that Jeffrey
Speaker 1: Epstein had nothing to do with it. Never mind the
Speaker 1: fact that Leon Black has given Epstein hundreds of millions
Speaker 1: of dollars. But sure, nothing to see here, just another coincidence.
Speaker 1: It's not clear whether Ben Black was aware that Epstein
Speaker 1: was ESWW shareholder when he took a stake in the
Speaker 1: entity through his personal trust fund, though his father, Leon
Speaker 1: had encouraged Epstein to invest in the group a year earlier. Oh,
Speaker 1: he had no idea. Stop with the nonsense. Okay, not
Speaker 1: that big of elite. His dad knew his dad encouraged
Speaker 1: Epstein to invest. Is it too much for us to
Speaker 1: think that Ben Black knew too? Two weeks after Leon
Speaker 1: black suggestion, Epstein wired one million to purchase ESWW company
Speaker 1: debt augmenting holdings that dated back to two thousand and five.
Speaker 1: According to his barristern's account. Epstein, through his company, sold
Speaker 1: his ESWW shares to the Black Family Partner's LP, a
Speaker 1: private partnership that manages some of Leon Black's fourteen billion
Speaker 1: dollar estate in November of twenty twelve. All these ties
Speaker 1: blind and if this was normal circumstances, and say that
Speaker 1: you or I were accused of what Epstein was accused of,
Speaker 1: this will all be rico And I know I know
Speaker 1: you're tired of hearing it, but guess what, I'm tired
Speaker 1: of living in a reality where it's not a Rico case.
Speaker 1: This is exactly what Rico was built for. Lawyers for
Speaker 1: Leon Black described this as a change an investment strategy
Speaker 1: on behalf of Epstein. Oh, just it's always Epstein's fault.
Speaker 1: Have you noticed that too? All these people that get
Speaker 1: called out, all these people that had relationships with them,
Speaker 1: now they all want to blame Epstein. He was evil,
Speaker 1: he was this, He was that? Well? Was he when
Speaker 1: you guys were getting riched together? Was he evil when
Speaker 1: he was pressing women that you allegedly assaulted? And if
Speaker 1: he was, then why'd you still do business with him?
Speaker 1: Why didn't you write him out? Why didn't you go
Speaker 1: to the authorities and tell them. I know a lot
Speaker 1: more about Epstein than other people. There are some discrepancies
Speaker 1: in the public timeline documenting Ben Black's involvement with ESWW.
Speaker 1: A Senate Ethics disclosure dates his board term to June
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, ten years after Black's role was first
Speaker 1: listed in SEC filings. A company web page that listed
Speaker 1: Ben Black on its board of directors between twenty fifteen
Speaker 1: and twenty twenty three has been taken down. Oh, I'm
Speaker 1: sure it has been. Got to cover those tracks, got
Speaker 1: to make sure the cover up is running as smoothly
Speaker 1: as possible. Right. Lawyers for Leon Black did not answer
Speaker 1: questions about Ben Black's role on the ESWW board or
Speaker 1: his tenure there. ESWW did not return a request for
Speaker 1: comment about Black's tenure with the company, and I doubt
Speaker 1: they will private company. Why would they? Ben Black said
Speaker 1: that he would resign from his position at ESWW upon
Speaker 1: assuming his role at Development Finance Corporation, but would continue
Speaker 1: to own company stock. By his mid twenties, Ben Black
Speaker 1: had taken a position within the natural resources group at
Speaker 1: his father's firm in New York. But he had no
Speaker 1: idea about Epstein, right, no clue that Epstein was a
Speaker 1: dirt bag. My dad hangs out with him, must be
Speaker 1: a great guy, or the flip side of that, your
Speaker 1: dad's scumbag too, either or Records show that Black was
Speaker 1: scheduled to meet Epstein on several occasions after the young
Speaker 1: scion returned to the city. He was first scheduled to
Speaker 1: meet Epstein as his father's guest in twenty twelve. It's
Speaker 1: not known whether the meeting went ahead. A year later,
Speaker 1: emails between Epstein's staff and a Google administrator reflected that
Speaker 1: Epstein would be joining Ben Black and his girlfriend for
Speaker 1: a private tour of Google's New York headquarters. Leon Black
Speaker 1: and Crinny Ashuliac, Epstein's longtime Belarussian lover, were also listed
Speaker 1: as part of the six person tour. The identity of
Speaker 1: the six guest was redacted in Justice Department filings. Oh
Speaker 1: what an intricate web we weave. All these people are
Speaker 1: so connected, and they all knew Jeffrey Epstein a lot
Speaker 1: more intimately than they ever let on. And now that
Speaker 1: it's all coming to light, they're trying to say face
Speaker 1: the best way they can. But when it comes to
Speaker 1: these emails, they provide receipts, and all the people that
Speaker 1: denied being friendly with Epstein being partners with them, well
Speaker 1: they were proven to be liars. Lawyers for Leon Black
Speaker 1: said that Ben Black did not attend the tour of
Speaker 1: the Google headquarters, and that a tour did not attend
Speaker 1: does not establish a relationship of any kind, let alone
Speaker 1: a close one. By September twenty thirteen, Epstein obtained Ben
Speaker 1: Black's contact information after a family escape planning meeting at
Speaker 1: which both men were present. According to a memo summarizing
Speaker 1: the meeting, Leon said fine to set up meetings with
Speaker 1: Ben and Josh. Leon Black's assistant emailed Epstein's assistant. It's
Speaker 1: not clear whether the two men corresponded, but Epstein told
Speaker 1: a friend that he flew to the Hamptons to celebrate
Speaker 1: Ben Black's birthday his thirtieth birthday in July of twenty fourteen.
Speaker 1: Lawyers for Leon Black said Epstein did not attend a
Speaker 1: birthday celebration for Benjamin in twenty fourteen. Wherever, well, somebody's lying,
Speaker 1: who is it? And why would Epstein lie about going
Speaker 1: to the party. After reviewing the email in which Epstein
Speaker 1: told a friend that he attended Ben Black's birthday, the
Speaker 1: lawyer later said that they were not aware of any
Speaker 1: email to Leon Black acknowledging any attendants at the party,
Speaker 1: and mister Black and his son have confirmed that Epstein
Speaker 1: did not attend. Whatever he may have said in emails,
Speaker 1: It's very well known that Epstein was prone to exaggeration, lies,
Speaker 1: and inishments to try to elevate his importance with others. Oh,
Speaker 1: Epstein was so evil, it's well known. They knew that
Speaker 1: about him, but they didn't know he was diddling people. Okay, sure,
Speaker 1: How can anyone take any of these people serious? That's
Speaker 1: the real question. And honestly, I'm at the point that
Speaker 1: the people that take this kind of shit serious, I
Speaker 1: don't take them serious. Sorry. If your ass is dumb
Speaker 1: enough to be dog walked by these people at this point,
Speaker 1: you deserve everything you get. Two days after Ben Black's
Speaker 1: birthday party, Epstein weighed in on Black's planned to buy
Speaker 1: and eleven and a half million dollars townhouse. The transaction
Speaker 1: was carefully orchestrated to minimize tax exposure. Email show Epstein
Speaker 1: totally on Black's executive assistant that if Ben had questions
Speaker 1: after the purchase, he could call any time. People need
Speaker 1: to understand. That was Epstein's biggest role, bundling money. That's
Speaker 1: what he did. Everything else was secondary. Epstein was so
Speaker 1: useful because he knew how to hide money. That's it.
Speaker 1: That's the whole story. And because he was so useful,
Speaker 1: they looked the other way. By the end of twenty fourteen,
Speaker 1: Black's parents had moved into a thirty room Italian Renaissance
Speaker 1: style mansion one block from Epstein's upper east side address.
Speaker 1: Tensions between Leon Black and Epstein Ebbden flowed over the years.
Speaker 1: Email show Epstein repeatedly admonished Black for delaying personal changes
Speaker 1: in his family's office Elyssa management, and short changing his
Speaker 1: compensation for a formidable advisory task. In February twenty sixteen,
Speaker 1: Epstein's assistant asked Ben Black and his brother Joshua if
Speaker 1: they would have their portraits painted as a gift to
Speaker 1: their father. The brothers agreed and met Keong No, a
Speaker 1: Korean painter, for a photography session. No told The Guardian
Speaker 1: that he received a scholarship from Epstein to study portraiture
Speaker 1: at the New York Academy of Art. He said the
Speaker 1: scholarship stipulated that he had to paint at least one
Speaker 1: portrait for donors. They sent me the two guys, he recalled.
Speaker 1: I looked their photo and then I painted it in
Speaker 1: my studio space. After graduating, some guy came and picked
Speaker 1: it up. Well, I don't blame the artist, right, I
Speaker 1: have no qualms with him. His job is to create
Speaker 1: art and that's what he did. And Jeffrey Epstein, we
Speaker 1: all know that he had his fingers deep in the
Speaker 1: New York Academy of Art. And that's another question that
Speaker 1: I've always had, just how deep did that go? And
Speaker 1: was the New York Academy of Art feeding girls directly
Speaker 1: into the belly of the beast, because if you listen
Speaker 1: to what Maria says, that's what was happening. He added
Speaker 1: that he had no knowledge of Epstein or the Black
Speaker 1: family at the time or received any money in exchange
Speaker 1: for his work. Lawyers for Leon Black initially said that
Speaker 1: neither Benjamin nor his brother Joshua had sat for a
Speaker 1: portrait commissioned by Epstein, and that no follow up eml
Speaker 1: suggested that a portrait had been painted. After reviewing a
Speaker 1: picture of the painting, the lawyers additionally said, as for
Speaker 1: the portrait you provided, it appears to be painted from
Speaker 1: a picture. Neither Ben nor josh Black sat for a
Speaker 1: portrait commissioned by Epstein. Leon Black doesn't have any portrait
Speaker 1: of Ben and josh period, So I guess the artist
Speaker 1: is lying. I'm gonna believe the artist over Leon Black. Sorry.
Speaker 1: If Epstein appreciated the boys help, his emails didn't convey
Speaker 1: much respect for their financial acumen. You have a bomb
Speaker 1: of colored string that your retarded children have formed, Epstein
Speaker 1: wrote to Leon in a detailed note about their family finances.
Speaker 1: It has to be carefully unwound. And that's what I
Speaker 1: said earlier. In Epstein's own words, called Leon Black's kids retarded,
Speaker 1: and Black continued to have a relationship with them. Imagine
Speaker 1: somebody telling you your kids are retarded. I'll show you
Speaker 1: retarded because you're gonna have CTE after I'm done with you.
Speaker 1: But Leon Black, Nah, no big deal. I got a
Speaker 1: couple retarded kids, haha, Jeffrey. On December thirty one, twenty fourteen,
Speaker 1: Epstein received an email from Saint Bart's, a Caribbean destination
Speaker 1: where many of the financier's friends flocked for the holidays.
Speaker 1: Hello Jeffrey, Yes, last night we met Black's family and
Speaker 1: Greek boy too. He was with a very ugly, rude girl.
Speaker 1: But we had a great time with the brothers. Hopefully
Speaker 1: we'll meet them today. They are very nice and this
Speaker 1: is from an undisclosed person. On New Year's Day, he
Speaker 1: received a second email. Tonight dinner with Ben Black and brothers.
Speaker 1: This is a great time and lots of fun here.
Speaker 1: I love it well. I wonder who that was. Were
Speaker 1: they girls that were being trafficked meeting with the Black brothers.
Speaker 1: So it looks to me like they've just been lying
Speaker 1: this whole time, and they're so embarrassed about their relationship
Speaker 1: with Epstein that they'll do whatever they can to try
Speaker 1: and make sure nobody knows about it. But I think
Speaker 1: these emails are damning, and my question is why is
Speaker 1: Ben Black part of the administration. His email contacts were
Speaker 1: among the young women gathered in St. Bart's for New
Speaker 1: Year's where one person reported that two hundred fabulous and
Speaker 1: more fabulous guests had joined the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich,
Speaker 1: then wife for a year. Abash Leon and Deborah Black
Speaker 1: were among them. A month later, Epstein received a missive
Speaker 1: from a woman in New York. Hello, Jeffrey, please help
Speaker 1: me what to answer to Ben Black? He just texted me, So,
Speaker 1: how does your schedule look? I have a few ideas,
Speaker 1: but do you have a preference? Well? What does that mean?
Speaker 1: Why does Jeffrey Epstein have anything to do with some
Speaker 1: woman hanging out with Ben Black? Could it be that
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein was not the lone predator that we've heard about. Nah,
Speaker 1: that couldn't be the case, right, Epstein, and the woman
Speaker 1: who identified herself as Cheek in more than one hundred emails,
Speaker 1: discussed Ben's email and his subsequent invitation to dinner. At
Speaker 1: nine am the next morning, Epstein received an email with
Speaker 1: the subject line Ben Black, Hello Jeffrey. Last night I
Speaker 1: had a great time with Ben and he kissed me.
Speaker 1: He was behaving like a real gentleman. Chick references Ben
Speaker 1: Black and his family on at least three separate occasions
Speaker 1: in her correspondence with Epstein. So what role did Epstein
Speaker 1: play here? Was he matchmaking again? And was this one
Speaker 1: of the girls that was trafficked? I got questions? She
Speaker 1: first asked Epstein for help to get in with Leon
Speaker 1: and the family to an exclusive New Year's party. After
Speaker 1: he arranged her tickets to Saint Bart's back in New York.
Speaker 1: Cheek asked Epstein for help responding to blacks text messages,
Speaker 1: and then asked whether Ben Black would be joining her
Speaker 1: appointment with his father one month after they had kissed.
Speaker 1: Is Leon Bee coming tomorrow alone? No? Bb, Jeffrey, what
Speaker 1: time would you like to see me tomorrow? She wrote?
Speaker 1: It's not known whether the appointment went ahead. Look, I'm
Speaker 1: sure that I'm not the only one that thinks all
Speaker 1: of that needs to be explained, like what the hell
Speaker 1: are you people doing and what The Black family lawyers
Speaker 1: describe Ben Black's relationship to Chick as a single private
Speaker 1: date between two consenting adults. In twenty fifteen. Benjamin met
Speaker 1: a woman and they went on a date and he
Speaker 1: treated her nicely, a fact represented in the emails, they
Speaker 1: said in a statement to the Guardian. They also said
Speaker 1: that Ben Black did not know that the woman would
Speaker 1: email Epstein or the content of any emails that may
Speaker 1: have exchanged with Epstein. The lawyers did not comment on
Speaker 1: records linking Ben Black to women in Saint Bart's The
Speaker 1: lawyers did not comment on emails referring to Leon Black
Speaker 1: and Chick. Like the other women in Epstein's orbit, Chick
Speaker 1: appeared to defer to Epstein for both personal and financial support.
Speaker 1: She asked for small favors like polishing a resume or
Speaker 1: purchasing a coffee machine, and larger ones like topping up
Speaker 1: her bank account when I ran dry. Epstein also called
Speaker 1: on Chick for favors and scolded her when she didn't
Speaker 1: follow through. We had planned to go to Paris and
Speaker 1: I needed help on the plane, he wrote after New
Speaker 1: Year's shameful, shameful. Amid their conversation, Chick appears to write
Speaker 1: about Ben Black with a similar blend of deference and awe,
Speaker 1: he is so cool and I don't understand what he
Speaker 1: wants from me, she wrote, Oh, I know what he wants.
Speaker 1: Not that difficult. Several DFC staff raised questions about Ben
Speaker 1: Black's background when Trump first elected the Wall Street scion
Speaker 1: to lead the US multi billion dollar lending arm, according
Speaker 1: to interviews with nearly a dozen former and current employees
Speaker 1: who spoke to The Guardian on the condition of anonymity
Speaker 1: for fear of retribution. Oh, fear of retribution from Trump?
Speaker 1: Come on, never, he would never do that. Trump's just
Speaker 1: a great guy, and you know he allows a lot
Speaker 1: of criticism from the people around them. Black has a
Speaker 1: limited track record in emerging markets. According to public records,
Speaker 1: his New York base private equity firm Fortinbras's Enterprises opened
Speaker 1: an outpost in the UAE in twenty twenty four, where
Speaker 1: Black helped open a branch of his family's office. That
Speaker 1: same year, his father, Leon was a subject of a
Speaker 1: Senate investigation into dealings with Epstein at the time. He's
Speaker 1: not qualified to do this for sure, a former DFC
Speaker 1: director said of Black, it does make you wonder, you know,
Speaker 1: why is he in that role? Nepotism. That's why nothing
Speaker 1: more than Donald Trump thrown as boy Leon Black a bone.
Speaker 1: A White House spokesperson sent an unsolicited email to the
Speaker 1: Guardian defending Black's fitness to lead America's Deal Team, an
Speaker 1: agency that has been rebranded under Trump, and Leon Black's
Speaker 1: lawyers sent a legal letter to the Guardian. It's absurd
Speaker 1: to imply that Benjamin, who has law and business degrees
Speaker 1: from Harvard and a master's in taxation from New York
Speaker 1: University School of Law, is somehow underqualified to run the
Speaker 1: DFC or only got the position based on his father's connections.
Speaker 1: Mister Trump, how many other people have those same qualifications?
Speaker 1: So what may bend Black so special? Pretty simple question.
Speaker 1: When the Department of Justice released portions of Epstein's correspondence
Speaker 1: in December twenty twenty five, a handful of DFC employees
Speaker 1: uncover records of their boss and the files and their
Speaker 1: concerns changed. Initially, people were sharing Epstein's comments and private
Speaker 1: group chats, particularly Epstein's criticism of the Black children's financial skills.
Speaker 1: One former staff member said, people were like eye roll.
Speaker 1: The guy running the world's largest bilateral bank apparently can't
Speaker 1: manage money. The person said, this is such a joke.
Speaker 1: A few weeks later, staff discovered chicks email to Epstein
Speaker 1: describing her date with Ben and the chatter largely stopped.
Speaker 1: People just wanted to put blinders on, a former staff
Speaker 1: member said, summarizing a series of their conversations with current employees. Now,
Speaker 1: they said, morale is low and people are afraid to
Speaker 1: speak out. Every buddies just looking out for their jobs. Well,
Speaker 1: that's usually what happens. Nobody wants to come forward because
Speaker 1: they know the deal. If they come forward, then Trump
Speaker 1: and his foot soldiers are going to come after you,
Speaker 1: and as we've seen recently, that is not a good
Speaker 1: ideal when it comes to your career. So look, let's
Speaker 1: be clear. There's no allegation that Ben Black did anything criminal,
Speaker 1: none at all. The problem is his father is somebody
Speaker 1: that was deeply entrenched and deeply tied to Jeffrey Epstein,
Speaker 1: and considering where the investigation is and that his father
Speaker 1: is a target of the investigation or should be, you
Speaker 1: would think that Ben Black wouldn't be in the administration.
Speaker 1: But unfortunately, in this bizarro reality that we find ourselves in,
Speaker 1: up is down and down is up and Epstein adjacent. Well,
Speaker 1: that's acceptable, all right, folks. That's gonna do it for
Speaker 1: this one. All the information that goes with this episode
Speaker 1: can be found in the description box.