TRANSCRIPT 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.190 --> 00:00:02.910
What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the
2
00:00:02.990 --> 00:00:06.009
Epstein Chronicles. In this episode we're going to pick up
3
00:00:06.049 --> 00:00:09.710
where we left off with the Guardian article talking about
4
00:00:09.750 --> 00:00:14.960
Ben Black. The author of this article is Kate Brown.
5
00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:20.399
Ben Black attended the Dalton School, a prestigious Upper East
6
00:00:20.420 --> 00:00:24.649
Side establishment where Epstein briefly taught math and physics in
7
00:00:24.670 --> 00:00:29.359
the 70s. He graduated in 2002 from alongside many of
8
00:00:29.420 --> 00:00:32.530
New York's most well-heeled children, and went on to study
9
00:00:32.570 --> 00:00:36.530
history at the University of Pennsylvania. He later earned a
10
00:00:36.549 --> 00:00:39.710
dual master's in business and law at Harvard, and a
11
00:00:39.750 --> 00:00:45.750
master's in taxation from New York University. Harvard. Always with Harvard.
12
00:00:47.210 --> 00:00:50.070
In 2011, Ben Black and several of his family members
13
00:00:50.409 --> 00:00:55.439
invested in Environmental Solutions Worldwide, a diesel emissions control company
14
00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:59.170
where Epstein was a 6% shareholder via his Virgin Island
15
00:00:59.189 --> 00:01:04.230
shell company, Financial Trust. According to SEC filings, Ben Black
16
00:01:04.269 --> 00:01:07.510
and Joshua Black, one of his brothers, became directors of
17
00:01:07.569 --> 00:01:11.620
ESWW that same year, company record shell. Ah, I have
18
00:01:11.659 --> 00:01:14.150
no doubt that Jeffrey Epstein had nothing to do with it,
19
00:01:14.519 --> 00:01:16.640
never mind the fact that Leon Black has given Epstein
20
00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:20.620
hundreds of millions of dollars. But sure, nothing to see here,
21
00:01:20.900 --> 00:01:25.040
just another coincidence. It's not clear whether Ben Black was
22
00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:29.640
aware that Epstein... was ESWW's shareholder when he took a
23
00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:32.920
stake in the entity through his personal trust fund. Though
24
00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:35.959
his father, Leon, had encouraged Epstein to invest in the
25
00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:40.200
group a year earlier. Oh, he had no idea. Stop
26
00:01:40.219 --> 00:01:42.780
with the nonsense, okay? Not that big of a leap.
27
00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:47.650
His dad knew. His dad encouraged Epstein to invest. Is
28
00:01:47.730 --> 00:01:49.590
it too much for us to think that Ben Black
29
00:01:49.609 --> 00:01:55.760
knew too? Two weeks after Leon Black's suggestion, Epstein wired
30
00:01:55.760 --> 00:02:00.299
$ 1 million to purchase ESWW company debt, augmenting holdings that
31
00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:05.870
dated back to 2005, according to his Bear Stearns account. Epstein,
32
00:02:05.890 --> 00:02:09.370
through his company, sold his ESWW shares to the Black
33
00:02:09.409 --> 00:02:13.009
Family Partners LP, a private partnership that manages some of
34
00:02:13.050 --> 00:02:18.819
Leon Black's $ 14 billion estate, in November of 2012. All
35
00:02:18.860 --> 00:02:23.479
these ties bind. And if this was normal circumstances... and
36
00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:25.520
say that you or I were accused of what Epstein
37
00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:29.159
was accused of, this would all be Rico. And I know,
38
00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:32.099
I know, you're tired of hearing it. But guess what?
39
00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:35.919
I'm tired of living in a reality where it's not
40
00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:39.139
a Rico case. This is exactly what Rico was built for.
41
00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:44.650
Lawyers for Leon Black described this as a change in
42
00:02:44.710 --> 00:02:48.310
investment strategy on behalf of Epstein. Oh, just it's always
43
00:02:48.389 --> 00:02:51.110
Epstein's fault. Have you noticed that too? All these people
44
00:02:51.150 --> 00:02:53.580
that get called out All these people that had relationships
45
00:02:53.620 --> 00:02:56.280
with him. Now they all want to blame Epstein. He
46
00:02:56.300 --> 00:02:58.680
was evil. He was this. He was that. Well, was
47
00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:01.860
he evil when you guys were getting rich together? Was
48
00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:05.400
he evil when he was pressing women that you allegedly assaulted?
49
00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:08.900
And if he was, then why did you still do
50
00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:12.379
business with him? Why didn't you rat him out? Why
51
00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:14.539
didn't you go to the authorities and tell them? I
52
00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:17.250
know a lot more about Epstein than other people. There
53
00:03:17.289 --> 00:03:20.430
are some discrepancies in the public timeline documenting Ben Black's
54
00:03:20.629 --> 00:03:25.849
involvement with ESWW. A Senate ethics disclosure dates his board
55
00:03:25.889 --> 00:03:30.009
term to June 2021, 10 years after Black's role was
56
00:03:30.060 --> 00:03:34.479
first listed in SEC filings. A company webpage that listed
57
00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:39.319
Ben Black on its board of directors between 2015 and
58
00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:42.159
2023 has been taken down. Oh, I'm sure it has been.
59
00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:45.969
Gotta cover those tracks. Gotta make sure the cover-up is
60
00:03:46.030 --> 00:03:50.139
running as smoothly as possible, right? Lawyers for Leon Black
61
00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:53.300
did not answer questions about Ben Black's role on the
62
00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:58.240
ESWW board or his tenure there. ESWW did not return
63
00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:01.039
a request for comment about Black's tenure with the company,
64
00:04:01.580 --> 00:04:05.270
and I doubt they will. Private company, why would they?
65
00:04:06.650 --> 00:04:09.310
Ben Black said that he would resign from his position
66
00:04:09.689 --> 00:04:14.289
at ESWW upon assuming his role at Development Finance Corporation.
67
00:04:14.860
Load full transcript
--> 00:04:18.839
but would continue to own company stock. By his mid-twenties,
68
00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:22.149
Ben Black had taken a position within the Natural Resources
69
00:04:22.189 --> 00:04:25.389
Group at his father's firm in New York, but he
70
00:04:25.410 --> 00:04:28.290
had no idea about Epstein, right? No clue that Epstein
71
00:04:28.509 --> 00:04:31.639
was a dirtbag. My dad hangs out with him. Must
72
00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:34.639
be a great guy. Or the flip side of that,
73
00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:40.139
your dad's a scumbag too. Either or. Records show that
74
00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:43.060
Black was scheduled to meet Epstein on several occasions after
75
00:04:43.079 --> 00:04:45.769
the young Scion returned to the city. He was first
76
00:04:45.790 --> 00:04:50.069
scheduled to meet Epstein as his father's guest in 2012.
77
00:04:50.069 --> 00:04:54.209
It's not known whether the meeting went ahead. A year later,
78
00:04:54.610 --> 00:04:58.579
emails between Epstein's staff and a Google administrator reflected that
79
00:04:58.660 --> 00:05:01.420
Epstein would be joining Ben Black and his girlfriend for
80
00:05:01.459 --> 00:05:05.540
a private tour of Google's New York headquarters. Leon Black
81
00:05:05.579 --> 00:05:10.040
and Karinia Shulak, Epstein's longtime Belarusian lover, were also listed
82
00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:13.399
as part of the six-person tour. The identity of the
83
00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:17.639
six guests was redacted in Justice Department filings. Oh, what
84
00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:21.829
an intricate web we weave. All these people are so connected,
85
00:05:22.529 --> 00:05:24.670
and they all knew Jeffrey Epstein a lot more intimately
86
00:05:25.050 --> 00:05:27.029
than they ever let on. And now that it's all
87
00:05:27.069 --> 00:05:30.269
coming to light, they're trying to save face the best
88
00:05:30.310 --> 00:05:32.730
way they can. But when it comes to these emails,
89
00:05:33.050 --> 00:05:35.829
they provide receipts, and all the people that denied being
90
00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:39.750
friendly with Epstein, being partners with him, well, they were
91
00:05:39.769 --> 00:05:43.750
proven to be liars. Lawyers for Leon Black said that
92
00:05:43.790 --> 00:05:46.050
Ben Black did not attend the tour of the Google
93
00:05:46.089 --> 00:05:49.050
headquarters and that a tour did not attend does not
94
00:05:49.089 --> 00:05:52.709
establish a relationship of any kind, let alone a close one.
95
00:05:53.029 --> 00:05:58.120
By September 2013, Epstein obtained Ben Black's contact information after
96
00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:01.259
a family estate planning meeting at which both men were present,
97
00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:05.779
according to a memo summarizing the meeting. Leon said fine
98
00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:08.939
to set up meetings with Ben and Josh. Leon Black's assistant,
99
00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:13.730
emailed Epstein's assistant. It's not clear whether the two men corresponded,
100
00:06:14.029 --> 00:06:16.050
but Epstein told a friend that he flew to the
101
00:06:16.089 --> 00:06:20.430
Hamptons to celebrate Ben Black's birthday, his 30th birthday, in
102
00:06:20.449 --> 00:06:24.769
July of 2014. Lawyers for Leon Black said Epstein did
103
00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:30.540
not attend a birthday celebration for Benjamin in 2014 or ever. Well,
104
00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:33.699
somebody's lying. Who is it? And why would Epstein lie
105
00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:37.209
about going to the party? After reviewing the email in
106
00:06:37.250 --> 00:06:40.540
which Epstein told a friend that he attended Ben Black's birthday,
107
00:06:40.939 --> 00:06:43.360
the lawyer later said that they were not aware of
108
00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:47.060
any email to Leon Black acknowledging any attendance at the
109
00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:49.990
party and Mr. Black and his son have confirmed that
110
00:06:50.060 --> 00:06:53.589
Epstein did not attend. Whatever he may have said in emails,
111
00:06:54.589 --> 00:06:58.329
it's very well known that Epstein was prone to exaggeration, lies,
112
00:06:58.670 --> 00:07:02.889
and embellishments to try to elevate his importance with others. Oh,
113
00:07:02.949 --> 00:07:05.910
Epstein was so evil. It's well known. They knew that
114
00:07:05.949 --> 00:07:09.069
about him, but they didn't know he was diddling people? Okay, sure.
115
00:07:10.189 --> 00:07:12.910
How can anyone take any of these people serious? That's
116
00:07:12.949 --> 00:07:16.009
the real question. And honestly, I'm at the point that
117
00:07:16.050 --> 00:07:18.490
the people that take this kind of shit serious, I
118
00:07:18.509 --> 00:07:22.069
don't take them serious. Sorry, if your ass is dumb
119
00:07:22.110 --> 00:07:24.970
enough to be dog walked by these people, at this
120
00:07:25.029 --> 00:07:28.050
point you deserve everything you get. Two days after Ben
121
00:07:28.069 --> 00:07:31.149
Black's birthday party, Epstein weighed in on Black's plan to
122
00:07:31.170 --> 00:07:36.329
buy an $ 11. 5 million townhouse. The transaction was carefully orchestrated
123
00:07:36.389 --> 00:07:40.370
to minimize tax exposure, emails show. Epstein told Leon Black's
124
00:07:40.410 --> 00:07:44.149
executive assistant that if Ben had questions after the purchase,
125
00:07:44.670 --> 00:07:48.420
he could call anytime. People need to understand, that was
126
00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:53.040
Epstein's biggest role, bundling money. That's what he did. Everything
127
00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:56.579
else was secondary. Epstein was so useful because he knew
128
00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:59.300
how to hide money. That's it. That's the whole story.
129
00:07:59.579 --> 00:08:01.730
And because he was so useful, they looked the other way.
130
00:08:05.379 --> 00:08:08.860
By the end of 2014, Black's parents had moved into
131
00:08:08.899 --> 00:08:13.120
a 30-room Italian Renaissance-style mansion one block from Epstein's Upper
132
00:08:13.180 --> 00:08:17.170
East Side address. Tensions between Leon Black and Epstein ebbed
133
00:08:17.230 --> 00:08:21.649
and flowed over the years, emails show. Epstein repeatedly admonished
134
00:08:21.689 --> 00:08:26.230
Black for delaying personal changes in his family's office, Alicia Management,
135
00:08:26.850 --> 00:08:31.879
and shortchanging his compensation for a formidable advisory task. In
136
00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:36.830
February 2016, Epstein's assistant asked Ben Black and his brother, Joshua,
137
00:08:37.289 --> 00:08:39.289
if they would have their portraits painted as a gift
138
00:08:39.309 --> 00:08:43.669
to their father. The brothers agreed, and met Kyung-No, a
139
00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:47.379
Korean painter, for a photography session. No told the Guardian
140
00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:50.779
that he received a scholarship from Epstein to study portraiture
141
00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:53.440
at the New York Academy of Art. He said the
142
00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:56.460
scholarship stipulated that he had to paint at least one
143
00:08:56.500 --> 00:08:59.940
portrait for donors. They sent me the two guys, he recalled.
144
00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:02.889
I looked their photo. And then I painted it in
145
00:09:02.929 --> 00:09:06.750
my studio space. After graduating, some guy came and picked
146
00:09:06.769 --> 00:09:09.610
it up. Well, I don't blame the artist, right? I
147
00:09:09.629 --> 00:09:13.629
have no qualms with him. His job is to create art.
148
00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:17.830
That's what he did. And Jeffrey Epstein, we all know
149
00:09:18.269 --> 00:09:21.090
that he had his fingers deep in the New York
150
00:09:21.129 --> 00:09:24.740
Academy of Art. And that's another question that I've always had.
151
00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:28.259
Just how deep did that go? And was the New
152
00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:31.629
York Academy of Art feeding girls directly into the belly
153
00:09:31.649 --> 00:09:34.610
of the beast. Because if you listen to what Maria says,
154
00:09:35.149 --> 00:09:38.129
that's what was happening. He added that he had no
155
00:09:38.169 --> 00:09:40.919
knowledge of Epstein or the Black family at the time,
156
00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:45.019
or received any money in exchange for his work. Lawyers
157
00:09:45.059 --> 00:09:48.059
for Leon Black initially said that neither Benjamin nor his
158
00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:51.539
brother Joshua had sat for a portrait commissioned by Epstein,
159
00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:55.159
and that no follow-up email suggested that a portrait had
160
00:09:55.179 --> 00:09:58.539
been painted. After reviewing a picture of the painting, the
161
00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:02.039
lawyers additionally said as for the portrait you provided, it
162
00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:05.179
appears to be painted from a picture. Neither Ben nor
163
00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:08.899
Josh Black sat for a portrait commissioned by Epstein. Leon
164
00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:11.570
Black doesn't
have any portrait of Ben and Josh, period.
165
00:10:12.269 --> 00:10:14.710
So I guess the artist is lying? I'm going to
166
00:10:14.730 --> 00:10:18.809
believe the artist over Leon Black, sorry. If Epstein appreciated
167
00:10:18.850 --> 00:10:22.409
the boy's help, his emails didn't convey much respect for
168
00:10:22.429 --> 00:10:25.779
their financial acumen. You have a bomb of colored string
169
00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:29.120
that your retarded children have formed, Epstein wrote to Leon
170
00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.840
in a detailed note about their family finances. It has
171
00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:35.580
to be carefully unwound, and that's what I said earlier.
172
00:10:36.659 --> 00:10:40.190
And Epstein's own words called Leon Black's kids retarded, and
173
00:10:40.230 --> 00:10:43.850
Black continued to have a relationship with them? Imagine somebody
174
00:10:43.889 --> 00:10:48.070
telling you your kid's retarded, I'll show you're retarded because
175
00:10:48.090 --> 00:10:49.950
you're going to have CTE after I'm done with you.
176
00:10:50.190 --> 00:10:52.450
But Leon Black, nah, no big deal. I got a
177
00:10:52.450 --> 00:10:58.980
couple of retarded kids. Ha ha, Jeffrey. On December 31st, 2014,
178
00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:02.320
Epstein received an email from St. Bart's, a Caribbean destination
179
00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:07.360
where many of the financier's friends flocked for the holidays. Hello, Jeffrey. Yes,
180
00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:10.450
last night we met Black's family and Greek boy too.
181
00:11:11.210 --> 00:11:14.590
He was with a very ugly rude girl, but we
182
00:11:14.629 --> 00:11:17.509
had a great time with the brothers. Hopefully, we'll meet
183
00:11:17.549 --> 00:11:21.070
them today. They are very nice. And this is from
184
00:11:21.149 --> 00:11:24.639
an undisclosed person. On New Year's Day, he received a
185
00:11:24.659 --> 00:11:28.200
second email. Tonight, dinner with Ben Black and brothers. This
186
00:11:28.259 --> 00:11:30.480
is a great time and lots of fun here. I
187
00:11:30.539 --> 00:11:34.490
love it. Well, I wonder who that was. Were they
188
00:11:34.750 --> 00:11:37.149
girls that were being trafficked, meeting with the Black brothers?
189
00:11:37.889 --> 00:11:40.409
So it looks to me like they've just been lying
190
00:11:40.730 --> 00:11:44.000
this whole time. And they're so embarrassed about their relationship
191
00:11:44.019 --> 00:11:46.870
with Epstein that they'll do whatever they can to try
192
00:11:46.889 --> 00:11:49.409
and make sure nobody knows about it. But I think
193
00:11:49.450 --> 00:11:53.529
these emails are damning. And my question is, why is
194
00:11:53.570 --> 00:11:58.590
Ben Black part of the administration? His email contacts were
195
00:11:58.629 --> 00:12:01.370
among the young women gathered in St. Barts for New Year's,
196
00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:05.519
where one person reported that 200 fabulous and more fabulous
197
00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:10.460
guests had joined the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, then wife
198
00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:14.669
for a year and bash. Leon and Deborah Black were
199
00:12:14.710 --> 00:12:17.850
among them. A month later, Epstein received a missive from
200
00:12:17.889 --> 00:12:21.240
a woman in New York. Hello, Jeffrey. Please help me
201
00:12:21.289 --> 00:12:23.820
what to answer to Ben Black. He just texted me.
202
00:12:24.139 --> 00:12:26.980
So how does your schedule look? I have a few ideas,
203
00:12:27.059 --> 00:12:30.200
but do you have a preference? Well, what does that mean?
204
00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.620
Why does Jeffrey Epstein have anything to do with some
205
00:12:33.659 --> 00:12:37.509
woman hanging out with Ben Black? Could it be that
206
00:12:37.549 --> 00:12:41.250
Jeffrey Epstein was not the lone predator that we've heard about? Nah,
207
00:12:41.309 --> 00:12:46.710
that couldn't be the case, right? Epstein and the woman,
208
00:12:46.950 --> 00:12:50.789
who identified herself as Cheek, in more than 100 emails,
209
00:12:51.029 --> 00:12:54.769
discussed Ben's email and his subsequent invitation to dinner. At
210
00:12:54.769 --> 00:12:57.710
9 a.m. the next morning, Epstein received an email with
211
00:12:57.730 --> 00:13:01.110
the subject line Ben Black. Hello Jeffrey, last night I
212
00:13:01.149 --> 00:13:02.970
had a great time with Ben and he kissed me.
213
00:13:03.889 --> 00:13:08.379
He was behaving like a real gentleman. Cheek references Ben
214
00:13:08.409 --> 00:13:10.980
Black and his family on at least three separate occasions
215
00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:14.860
in her correspondence with Epstein. So what role did Epstein
216
00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:18.980
play here? Was he matchmaking again? And was this one
217
00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:22.919
of the girls that was trafficked? I got questions. She
218
00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:25.740
first asked Epstein for help to get in with Leon
219
00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:28.899
and the family to an exclusive New Year's party after
220
00:13:28.950 --> 00:13:32.129
he arranged her tickets to St. Bart's. Back in New York,
221
00:13:32.690 --> 00:13:36.049
Cheek asked Epstein for help responding to Black's text messages
222
00:13:36.570 --> 00:13:38.889
and then asked whether Ben Black would be joining her
223
00:13:38.929 --> 00:13:42.269
appointment with his father one month after they had kissed.
224
00:13:42.929 --> 00:13:46.580
Is Leon B coming tomorrow alone? No BB? Jeffrey, what
225
00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:48.750
time would you like to see me tomorrow? She wrote,
226
00:13:49.330 --> 00:13:52.110
It's not known whether the appointment went ahead. Look, I'm
227
00:13:52.149 --> 00:13:54.070
sure that I'm not the only one that thinks all
228
00:13:54.090 --> 00:13:57.710
of that needs to be explained. Like, what the hell
229
00:13:57.730 --> 00:14:02.090
are you people doing and why? The Black family lawyers
230
00:14:02.129 --> 00:14:05.470
described Ben
Black's relationship to Chick as a single private
231
00:14:05.490 --> 00:14:09.980
date between two consenting adults. In 2015, Benjamin met a
232
00:14:10.019 --> 00:14:12.480
woman and they went on a date and he treated
233
00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:17.039
her nicely, a fact represented in the emails. They said
234
00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:19.379
in a statement to The Guardian, they also said that
235
00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:21.700
Ben Black did not know that the woman would email
236
00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:25.019
Epstein or the content of any emails that may have
237
00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:29.259
exchanged with Epstein. The lawyers did not comment on records
238
00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:33.179
linking Ben Black to women in St. Barts. The lawyers
239
00:14:33.490 --> 00:14:36.470
did not comment on emails referring to Leon Black and Chick.
240
00:14:37.090 --> 00:14:39.870
Like the other women in Epstein's orbit, Chick appeared to
241
00:14:39.889 --> 00:14:43.990
defer to Epstein for both personal and financial support. She
242
00:14:44.070 --> 00:14:47.470
asked for small favors like polishing her resume or purchasing
243
00:14:47.509 --> 00:14:50.590
a coffee machine, and larger ones, like topping up her
244
00:14:50.629 --> 00:14:54.289
bank account when it ran dry. Epstein also called on
245
00:14:54.340 --> 00:14:57.340
Chick for favors and scolded her when she didn't follow through.
246
00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:00.220
We had planned to go to Paris and I needed
247
00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:03.480
help on the plane, he wrote after New Year's. Shameful, shameful.
248
00:15:06.379 --> 00:15:09.279
Amid their conversation, Chick appears to write about Ben Black
249
00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:12.980
with a similar blend of deference and awe. He is
250
00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:15.639
so cool and I don't understand what he wants from me,
251
00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:20.779
she wrote. Oh, I know what he wants. Not that difficult.
252
00:15:21.460 --> 00:15:25.100
Several DFC staff raised questions about Ben Black's background when
253
00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:28.580
Trump first elected the Wall Street scion to lead the U.S.
254
00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:32.360
multi-billion dollar lending arm, according to interviews with nearly a
255
00:15:32.419 --> 00:15:35.779
dozen former and current employees who spoke to The Guardian
256
00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:39.879
on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. Oh,
257
00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:43.460
fear of retribution from Trump? Come on, never. He would
258
00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:47.730
never do that. Trump's just a great guy. And, you know,
259
00:15:48.529 --> 00:15:51.230
he allows a lot of criticism from the people around them.
260
00:15:53.389 --> 00:15:56.809
Black has a limited track record in emerging markets, according
261
00:15:56.830 --> 00:16:01.970
to public records. His New York-based private equity firm, Fortinbras Enterprises,
262
00:16:02.129 --> 00:16:06.220
opened an outpost in the UAE in 2024, where
Black
263
00:16:06.250 --> 00:16:09.080
helped open a branch of his family's office that same year.
264
00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.059
His father, Leon, was the subject of a Senate investigation
265
00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:17.429
into dealings with Epstein at the time. He's not qualified
266
00:16:17.470 --> 00:16:20.620
to do this, for sure, a former DFC director said
267
00:16:20.649 --> 00:16:23.360
of Black. It does make you wonder, you know, why
268
00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:27.220
is he in that role? Nepotism, that's why. Nothing more
269
00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:29.480
than Donald Trump throwing his boy Leon Black a bone.
270
00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:33.879
A White House spokesperson sent an unsolicited email to The
271
00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.779
Guardian defending Black's fitness to lead America's Deal Team, an
272
00:16:37.860 --> 00:16:42.019
agency that has been rebranded under Trump. And Leon Black's
273
00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:44.679
lawyers sent a legal letter to The Guardian. It's absurd
274
00:16:44.710 --> 00:16:47.720
to imply that Benjamin... who has law and business degrees
275
00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:51.080
from Harvard and a master's in taxation from New York
276
00:16:51.139 --> 00:16:54.779
University School of Law, is somehow underqualified to run the
277
00:16:54.830 --> 00:16:58.070
DFC or only got the position based on his father's
278
00:16:58.110 --> 00:17:01.549
connections to Mr. Trump? How many other people have those
279
00:17:01.570 --> 00:17:06.109
same qualifications? So what made Ben Black so special? Pretty
280
00:17:06.150 --> 00:17:09.509
simple question. When the Department of Justice released portions of
281
00:17:09.589 --> 00:17:14.309
Epstein's correspondence in December 2025, a handful of DFC employees,
282
00:17:14.730 --> 00:17:18.069
uncover records of their boss in the files, and their
283
00:17:18.089 --> 00:17:22.380
concerns changed. Initially, people were sharing Epstein's comments in private
284
00:17:22.390 --> 00:17:27.660
group chats, particularly Epstein's criticism of the black children's financial skills.
285
00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:31.259
One former staff member said, people were like, Iroll, the
286
00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:35.380
guy running the world's largest bilateral bank, apparently can't manage money.
287
00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:39.109
The person said, this is such a joke. A few
288
00:17:39.130 --> 00:17:42.849
weeks later, staff discovered Chick's email to Epstein describing her
289
00:17:42.869 --> 00:17:47.839
date with Ben. and the chatter largely stopped. People just
290
00:17:47.880 --> 00:17:50.539
wanted to put blinders on, a former staff member said,
291
00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:54.859
summarizing a series of their conversations with current employees. Now
292
00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:57.500
they said morale is low and people are afraid to
293
00:17:57.539 --> 00:18:01.660
speak out. Everybody's just looking out for their jobs. Well,
294
00:18:01.859 --> 00:18:04.859
that's usually what happens. Nobody wants to come forward because
295
00:18:04.900 --> 00:18:08.160
they know the deal. If they come forward, then Trump
296
00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:10.599
and his foot soldiers are going to come after you.
297
00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:14.029
And as we've seen recently, That is not a good
298
00:18:14.089 --> 00:18:16.329
idea when it comes to your career. So look, let's
299
00:18:16.369 --> 00:18:20.009
be clear. There's no allegation that Ben Black did anything criminal.
300
00:18:20.549 --> 00:18:23.650
None at all. The problem is his father is somebody
301
00:18:23.690 --> 00:18:27.109
that was deeply entrenched and deeply tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
302
00:18:27.609 --> 00:18:30.710
And considering where the investigation is and that his father
303
00:18:30.750 --> 00:18:34.269
is a target of the investigation or should be, you
304
00:18:34.289 --> 00:18:37.029
would think that Ben Black wouldn't be in the administration.
305
00:18:37.329 --> 00:18:40.950
But unfortunately, in this bizarro reality that we find ourselves in,
306
00:18:41.450 --> 00:18:45.519
up is down and down is up. And Epstein adjacent, well,
307
00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:48.680
that's acceptable. All right, folks, that's going to do it
308
00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.309
for this one. All the information that goes with this
309
00:18:51.349 --> 00:18:53.849
episode can be found in the description box.