Speaker 1: Today's biggest news from The Australian. I'm Claire Harvey with
Speaker 1: the Front's afternoon headlines. The latest dump of US Department
Speaker 1: of Justice files on the disgraced financier and convicted pedophile
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein has posed difficult questions for powerful people and
Speaker 1: organizations around the world. Now his connections to the State
Speaker 1: of Israel and its famed external intelligence agency Mossad are
Speaker 1: being picked over by journalists analyzing the files. Epstein was
Speaker 1: born into a middle class Jewish family in New York,
Speaker 1: and after starting his career as a teacher, stumbled into
Speaker 1: investment banking and rose rapidly through the high testosterone world
Speaker 1: of finance. He then set about using his access to
Speaker 1: wealthy individuals to build an incredible network. From movie directors
Speaker 1: to politicians and Middle Eastern Saiks to British royals. Epstein
Speaker 1: knew everyone and spent his time providing advice and finding
Speaker 1: investment opportunities for his friends and clients. He also kept
Speaker 1: meticulous records, photographs, emails, and handwritten documents about his contacts,
Speaker 1: and it's those records that have been released by American
Speaker 1: authorities on the orders of President Donald Trump over recent months.
Speaker 1: They've already resulted in the fall from grace of a
Speaker 1: British Prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and a Duchess Sarah Ferguson,
Speaker 1: who are now exiled from the royal family. Microsoft founder
Speaker 1: Bill Gates has apologized forever spending time with Epstein and
Speaker 1: denied any knowledge of his criminal offending. Bill and Hillary
Speaker 1: Clinton have said they want to give evidence to a
Speaker 1: congressional committee to explain the images where Bill Clinton is
Speaker 1: in a jacuzi and at parties with Epstein. And One
Speaker 1: of the best known names in the files is Deepak Chopra,
Speaker 1: an Indian author who became famous in the nineteen eighties
Speaker 1: for his wellness books. The emails show Chopra inviting Epstein
Speaker 1: to come to Israel, where he had a speaking in
Speaker 1: gay Relax and have fun with interesting people. Chopra wrote,
Speaker 1: according to the files, if you want use a fake name,
Speaker 1: bring your girls. It will be fun to have you love.
Speaker 1: Epstein declined the invitation, but asked Chopra to find him
Speaker 1: acute Israeli blonde matter over mind. Chopra responded that Israeli
Speaker 1: women were militant, aggressive and v sexy. The files also
Speaker 1: include FBI reports relating to Epstein, including one note from
Speaker 1: October twenty twenty, after Epstein had served a prison sentence
Speaker 1: for child prostitution offenses, where a source told investigators they
Speaker 1: believed Epstein was a co opted Mossad agent. The informant
Speaker 1: told the FBI, according to the notes, that Mossad had
Speaker 1: trained Epstein as a spy. The files also contained communications
Speaker 1: between Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ahud Barak, who
Speaker 1: is from Israel's Labor Party. The pair gossip about former
Speaker 1: UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and discuss issues like Russian
Speaker 1: migration into Israel. A twenty eighteen email shows Epstein asking
Speaker 1: Barak to make clear that I don't work for Mossad
Speaker 1: with a smiley face emoji. Current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya,
Speaker 1: who a political enemy of Ahood Barak, says the pair's
Speaker 1: unusual close relationship proves that Epstein was not an Israeli spy. Netanya,
Speaker 1: who said on X stuck on his election loss from
Speaker 1: over two decades ago. Barak has for years obsessively attempted
Speaker 1: to undermine Israeli democracy by working with the anti Zionist
Speaker 1: radical left. In failed attempts to overthrow the elected Israeli government.
Speaker 1: Deepak Chopra says he was never involved in any criminal
Speaker 1: or exploitative conduct. You can check out all our coverage
Speaker 1: of the Epstein files right now at the Australian dot
Speaker 1: com dot a U and come back to the front
Speaker 1: first thing in the morning for a look at why
Speaker 1: everything's suddenly changed in the Asia Pacific. Japan is ending
Speaker 1: eight decades of pacifism with a new Prime minister who
Speaker 1: wants to arm it to the chief and is standing
Speaker 1: up to China. That's right here, Tuesday morning.