Days later, Epstein was flexing his overseas relationships in an email exchange with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, telling him in a July 23, 2018, message that Bannon needed to be physically present in Europe to wield influence on the continent.
“If you are going to play here , you’ll have to spend time, europe by remote doesn’t work,” Epstein wrote.
Epstein told Bannon he could organize one-on-one meetings with foreign leaders but that he would have to stay for several days.
“The fear is that you gin up their hopes and emotions and then abandon them. I think you want to be an insider, not an outsider flying in and out.”
A representative for Bannon declined to comment.
Epstein often relied on his foreign contacts to learn about their views of Trump as he obsessively tracked the new president’s actions. And at other times, he simply showcased his deep connections around the world in emails with other associates.
“Can you belive MBS sent me a TENT carpets and all,” Epstein wrote to billionaire businessman Tom Pritzker in December 2016, referring to Mohammed bin Salman, who is now the Saudi crown prince.
“A tent? Hmmm…” Pritzker wrote back. “I think that is code for ‘I love you’. Or, maybe code for ‘go pound sand’. Better check your [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] urban dictionary.”
Pritzker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A year before he reached out to Jagland for help with the Russians, Jagland asked Epstein to visit him in Strasbourg, France, so Epstein could help him “understand more about Trump and what’s going on in the American society.”