TRANSKRIPT 🔗
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What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the
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Epstein Chronicles. In this episode we're going to pick up
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where we left off with the Guardian article talking about
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Ben Black. The author of this article is Kate Brown.
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Ben Black attended the Dalton School, a prestigious Upper East
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Side establishment where Epstein briefly taught math and physics in
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the 70s. He graduated in 2002 from alongside many of
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New York's most well-heeled children, and went on to study
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history at the University of Pennsylvania. He later earned a
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dual master's in business and law at Harvard, and a
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master's in taxation from New York University. Harvard. Always with Harvard.
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In 2011, Ben Black and several of his family members
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invested in Environmental Solutions Worldwide, a diesel emissions control company
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where Epstein was a 6% shareholder via his Virgin Island
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shell company, Financial Trust. According to SEC filings, Ben Black
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and Joshua Black, one of his brothers, became directors of
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ESWW that same year, company record shell. Ah, I have
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no doubt that Jeffrey Epstein had nothing to do with it,
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never mind the fact that Leon Black has given Epstein
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hundreds of millions of dollars. But sure, nothing to see here,
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just another coincidence. It's not clear whether Ben Black was
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aware that Epstein... was ESWW's shareholder when he took a
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stake in the entity through his personal trust fund. Though
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his father, Leon, had encouraged Epstein to invest in the
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group a year earlier. Oh, he had no idea. Stop
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with the nonsense, okay? Not that big of a leap.
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His dad knew. His dad encouraged Epstein to invest. Is
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it too much for us to think that Ben Black
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knew too? Two weeks after Leon Black's suggestion, Epstein wired
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$ 1 million to purchase ESWW company debt, augmenting holdings that
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dated back to 2005, according to his Bear Stearns account. Epstein,
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through his company, sold his ESWW shares to the Black
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Family Partners LP, a private partnership that manages some of
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Leon Black's $ 14 billion estate, in November of 2012. All
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these ties bind. And if this was normal circumstances... and
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say that you or I were accused of what Epstein
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was accused of, this would all be Rico. And I know,
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I know, you're tired of hearing it. But guess what?
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I'm tired of living in a reality where it's not
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a Rico case. This is exactly what Rico was built for.
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Lawyers for Leon Black described this as a change in
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investment strategy on behalf of Epstein. Oh, just it's always
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Epstein's fault. Have you noticed that too? All these people
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that get called out All these people that had relationships
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with him. Now they all want to blame Epstein. He
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was evil. He was this. He was that. Well, was
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he evil when you guys were getting rich together? Was
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he evil when he was pressing women that you allegedly assaulted?
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And if he was, then why did you still do
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business with him? Why didn't you rat him out? Why
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didn't you go to the authorities and tell them? I
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know a lot more about Epstein than other people. There
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are some discrepancies in the public timeline documenting Ben Black's
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involvement with ESWW. A Senate ethics disclosure dates his board
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term to June 2021, 10 years after Black's role was
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first listed in SEC filings. A company webpage that listed
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Ben Black on its board of directors between 2015 and
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2023 has been taken down. Oh, I'm sure it has been.
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Gotta cover those tracks. Gotta make sure the cover-up is
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running as smoothly as possible, right? Lawyers for Leon Black
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did not answer questions about Ben Black's role on the
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ESWW board or his tenure there. ESWW did not return
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a request for comment about Black's tenure with the company,
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and I doubt they will. Private company, why would they?
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Ben Black said that he would resign from his position
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at ESWW upon assuming his role at Development Finance Corporation.
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but would continue to own company stock. By his mid-twenties,
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Ben Black had taken a position within the Natural Resources
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Group at his father's firm in New York, but he
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had no idea about Epstein, right? No clue that Epstein
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was a dirtbag. My dad hangs out with him. Must
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be a great guy. Or the flip side of that,
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your dad's a scumbag too. Either or. Records show that
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Black was scheduled to meet Epstein on several occasions after
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the young Scion returned to the city. He was first
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scheduled to meet Epstein as his father's guest in 2012.
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It's not known whether the meeting went ahead. A year later,
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emails between Epstein's staff and a Google administrator reflected that
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Epstein would be joining Ben Black and his girlfriend for
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a private tour of Google's New York headquarters. Leon Black
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and Karinia Shulak, Epstein's longtime Belarusian lover, were also listed
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as part of the six-person tour. The identity of the
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six guests was redacted in Justice Department filings. Oh, what
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an intricate web we weave. All these people are so connected,
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and they all knew Jeffrey Epstein a lot more intimately
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than they ever let on. And now that it's all
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coming to light, they're trying to save face the best
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way they can. But when it comes to these emails,
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they provide receipts, and all the people that denied being
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friendly with Epstein, being partners with him, well, they were
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proven to be liars. Lawyers for Leon Black said that
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Ben Black did not attend the tour of the Google
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headquarters and that a tour did not attend does not
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establish a relationship of any kind, let alone a close one.
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By September 2013, Epstein obtained Ben Black's contact information after
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a family estate planning meeting at which both men were present,
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according to a memo summarizing the meeting. Leon said fine
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to set up meetings with Ben and Josh. Leon Black's assistant,
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emailed Epstein's assistant. It's not clear whether the two men corresponded,
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but Epstein told a friend that he flew to the
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Hamptons to celebrate Ben Black's birthday, his 30th birthday, in
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July of 2014. Lawyers for Leon Black said Epstein did
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not attend a birthday celebration for Benjamin in 2014 or ever. Well,
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somebody's lying. Who is it? And why would Epstein lie
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about going to the party? After reviewing the email in
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which Epstein told a friend that he attended Ben Black's birthday,
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the lawyer later said that they were not aware of
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any email to Leon Black acknowledging any attendance at the
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party and Mr. Black and his son have confirmed that
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Epstein did not attend. Whatever he may have said in emails,
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it's very well known that Epstein was prone to exaggeration, lies,
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and embellishments to try to elevate his importance with others. Oh,
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Epstein was so evil. It's well known. They knew that
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about him, but they didn't know he was diddling people? Okay, sure.
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How can anyone take any of these people serious? That's
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the real question. And honestly, I'm at the point that
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the people that take this kind of shit serious, I
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don't take them serious. Sorry, if your ass is dumb
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enough to be dog walked by these people, at this
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point you deserve everything you get. Two days after Ben
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Black's birthday party, Epstein weighed in on Black's plan to
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buy an $ 11. 5 million townhouse. The transaction was carefully orchestrated
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to minimize tax exposure, emails show. Epstein told Leon Black's
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executive assistant that if Ben had questions after the purchase,
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he could call anytime. People need to understand, that was
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Epstein's biggest role, bundling money. That's what he did. Everything
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else was secondary. Epstein was so useful because he knew
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how to hide money. That's it. That's the whole story.
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And because he was so useful, they looked the other way.
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By the end of 2014, Black's parents had moved into
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a 30-room Italian Renaissance-style mansion one block from Epstein's Upper
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East Side address. Tensions between Leon Black and Epstein ebbed
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and flowed over the years, emails show. Epstein repeatedly admonished
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Black for delaying personal changes in his family's office, Alicia Management,
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and shortchanging his compensation for a formidable advisory task. In
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February 2016, Epstein's assistant asked Ben Black and his brother, Joshua,
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if they would have their portraits painted as a gift
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to their father. The brothers agreed, and met Kyung-No, a
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Korean painter, for a photography session. No told the Guardian
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that he received a scholarship from Epstein to study portraiture
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at the New York Academy of Art. He said the
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scholarship stipulated that he had to paint at least one
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portrait for donors. They sent me the two guys, he recalled.
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I looked their photo. And then I painted it in
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my studio space. After graduating, some guy came and picked
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it up. Well, I don't blame the artist, right? I
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have no qualms with him. His job is to create art.
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That's what he did. And Jeffrey Epstein, we all know
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that he had his fingers deep in the New York
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Academy of Art. And that's another question that I've always had.
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Just how deep did that go? And was the New
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York Academy of Art feeding girls directly into the belly
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of the beast. Because if you listen to what Maria says,
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that's what was happening. He added that he had no
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knowledge of Epstein or the Black family at the time,
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or received any money in exchange for his work. Lawyers
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for Leon Black initially said that neither Benjamin nor his
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brother Joshua had sat for a portrait commissioned by Epstein,
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and that no follow-up email suggested that a portrait had
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been painted. After reviewing a picture of the painting, the
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lawyers additionally said as for the portrait you provided, it
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appears to be painted from a picture. Neither Ben nor
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Josh Black sat for a portrait commissioned by Epstein. Leon
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Black doesn't
have any portrait of Ben and Josh, period.
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So I guess the artist is lying? I'm going to
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believe the artist over Leon Black, sorry. If Epstein appreciated
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the boy's help, his emails didn't convey much respect for
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their financial acumen. You have a bomb of colored string
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that your retarded children have formed, Epstein wrote to Leon
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in a detailed note about their family finances. It has
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to be carefully unwound, and that's what I said earlier.
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And Epstein's own words called Leon Black's kids retarded, and
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Black continued to have a relationship with them? Imagine somebody
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telling you your kid's retarded, I'll show you're retarded because
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you're going to have CTE after I'm done with you.
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But Leon Black, nah, no big deal. I got a
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couple of retarded kids. Ha ha, Jeffrey. On December 31st, 2014,
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Epstein received an email from St. Bart's, a Caribbean destination
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where many of the financier's friends flocked for the holidays. Hello, Jeffrey. Yes,
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last night we met Black's family and Greek boy too.
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He was with a very ugly rude girl, but we
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had a great time with the brothers. Hopefully, we'll meet
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them today. They are very nice. And this is from
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an undisclosed person. On New Year's Day, he received a
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second email. Tonight, dinner with Ben Black and brothers. This
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is a great time and lots of fun here. I
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love it. Well, I wonder who that was. Were they
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girls that were being trafficked, meeting with the Black brothers?
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So it looks to me like they've just been lying
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this whole time. And they're so embarrassed about their relationship
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with Epstein that they'll do whatever they can to try
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and make sure nobody knows about it. But I think
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these emails are damning. And my question is, why is
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Ben Black part of the administration? His email contacts were
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among the young women gathered in St. Barts for New Year's,
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where one person reported that 200 fabulous and more fabulous
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guests had joined the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, then wife
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for a year and bash. Leon and Deborah Black were
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among them. A month later, Epstein received a missive from
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a woman in New York. Hello, Jeffrey. Please help me
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what to answer to Ben Black. He just texted me.
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So how does your schedule look? I have a few ideas,
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but do you have a preference? Well, what does that mean?
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Why does Jeffrey Epstein have anything to do with some
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woman hanging out with Ben Black? Could it be that
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Jeffrey Epstein was not the lone predator that we've heard about? Nah,
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that couldn't be the case, right? Epstein and the woman,
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who identified herself as Cheek, in more than 100 emails,
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discussed Ben's email and his subsequent invitation to dinner. At
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9 a.m. the next morning, Epstein received an email with
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the subject line Ben Black. Hello Jeffrey, last night I
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had a great time with Ben and he kissed me.
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He was behaving like a real gentleman. Cheek references Ben
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Black and his family on at least three separate occasions
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in her correspondence with Epstein. So what role did Epstein
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play here? Was he matchmaking again? And was this one
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of the girls that was trafficked? I got questions. She
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first asked Epstein for help to get in with Leon
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and the family to an exclusive New Year's party after
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he arranged her tickets to St. Bart's. Back in New York,
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Cheek asked Epstein for help responding to Black's text messages
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and then asked whether Ben Black would be joining her
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appointment with his father one month after they had kissed.
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Is Leon B coming tomorrow alone? No BB? Jeffrey, what
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time would you like to see me tomorrow? She wrote,
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It's not known whether the appointment went ahead. Look, I'm
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sure that I'm not the only one that thinks all
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of that needs to be explained. Like, what the hell
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are you people doing and why? The Black family lawyers
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described Ben
Black's relationship to Chick as a single private
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date between two consenting adults. In 2015, Benjamin met a
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woman and they went on a date and he treated
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her nicely, a fact represented in the emails. They said
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in a statement to The Guardian, they also said that
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Ben Black did not know that the woman would email
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Epstein or the content of any emails that may have
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exchanged with Epstein. The lawyers did not comment on records
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linking Ben Black to women in St. Barts. The lawyers
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did not comment on emails referring to Leon Black and Chick.
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Like the other women in Epstein's orbit, Chick appeared to
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defer to Epstein for both personal and financial support. She
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asked for small favors like polishing her resume or purchasing
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a coffee machine, and larger ones, like topping up her
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bank account when it ran dry. Epstein also called on
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Chick for favors and scolded her when she didn't follow through.
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We had planned to go to Paris and I needed
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help on the plane, he wrote after New Year's. Shameful, shameful.
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Amid their conversation, Chick appears to write about Ben Black
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with a similar blend of deference and awe. He is
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so cool and I don't understand what he wants from me,
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she wrote. Oh, I know what he wants. Not that difficult.
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Several DFC staff raised questions about Ben Black's background when
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Trump first elected the Wall Street scion to lead the U.S.
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multi-billion dollar lending arm, according to interviews with nearly a
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dozen former and current employees who spoke to The Guardian
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on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. Oh,
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fear of retribution from Trump? Come on, never. He would
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never do that. Trump's just a great guy. And, you know,
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he allows a lot of criticism from the people around them.
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Black has a limited track record in emerging markets, according
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to public records. His New York-based private equity firm, Fortinbras Enterprises,
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opened an outpost in the UAE in 2024, where
Black
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helped open a branch of his family's office that same year.
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His father, Leon, was the subject of a Senate investigation
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into dealings with Epstein at the time. He's not qualified
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to do this, for sure, a former DFC director said
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of Black. It does make you wonder, you know, why
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is he in that role? Nepotism, that's why. Nothing more
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than Donald Trump throwing his boy Leon Black a bone.
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A White House spokesperson sent an unsolicited email to The
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Guardian defending Black's fitness to lead America's Deal Team, an
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agency that has been rebranded under Trump. And Leon Black's
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lawyers sent a legal letter to The Guardian. It's absurd
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to imply that Benjamin... who has law and business degrees
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from Harvard and a master's in taxation from New York
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University School of Law, is somehow underqualified to run the
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DFC or only got the position based on his father's
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connections to Mr. Trump? How many other people have those
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same qualifications? So what made Ben Black so special? Pretty
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simple question. When the Department of Justice released portions of
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Epstein's correspondence in December 2025, a handful of DFC employees,
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uncover records of their boss in the files, and their
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concerns changed. Initially, people were sharing Epstein's comments in private
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group chats, particularly Epstein's criticism of the black children's financial skills.
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One former staff member said, people were like, Iroll, the
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guy running the world's largest bilateral bank, apparently can't manage money.
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The person said, this is such a joke. A few
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weeks later, staff discovered Chick's email to Epstein describing her
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date with Ben. and the chatter largely stopped. People just
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wanted to put blinders on, a former staff member said,
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summarizing a series of their conversations with current employees. Now
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they said morale is low and people are afraid to
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speak out. Everybody's just looking out for their jobs. Well,
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that's usually what happens. Nobody wants to come forward because
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they know the deal. If they come forward, then Trump
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and his foot soldiers are going to come after you.
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And as we've seen recently, That is not a good
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idea when it comes to your career. So look, let's
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be clear. There's no allegation that Ben Black did anything criminal.
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None at all. The problem is his father is somebody
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that was deeply entrenched and deeply tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
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And considering where the investigation is and that his father
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is a target of the investigation or should be, you
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would think that Ben Black wouldn't be in the administration.
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But unfortunately, in this bizarro reality that we find ourselves in,
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up is down and down is up. And Epstein adjacent, well,
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that's acceptable. All right, folks, that's going to do it
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for this one. All the information that goes with this
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episode can be found in the description box.