Matthew Rimsky (32:32)
Exactly. That's what I. Yeah, that's a great distinction. Right. So anyway, just two things, and I think that this is sort of going to be open on my desktop for the rest of the year and bit by bit I'll try to figure things out. But two things that really stand out so far with regard to our beat and that give a little bit of insight into how the Epstein class operates are that first of all, first of all, the extent to which Epstein played a kind of cult leaderish, pseudo therapeutic role in the lives of the powerful and what that says about his charisma and the neediness of that whole lot. And then secondly, coming back to Attia and longevity, I'll get to this at the end. Why Epstein seems like a peak client for longevity treatments and wellness products and the longevity protocols that, as Dr. Gunter points out, are tinged with eugenics, like, not to mention meditation tips from Deepak Chopra. And that's another episode. Maybe next week. So Atiya at one point says to Epstein that he goes into withdrawal if he doesn't see him. Now, I've had some very close friends and I can't imagine describing my fondness for them in those terms like it would make sense in speaking to a lover or about a lover or to a drug dealer. Occasionally I've run into people who are so charismatic that they just hold court wherever they go. Like everyone wants to be around them at the cafe and you might say, oh, I need my fix of so and so or whatever. Now, in that email, he is writing to Epstein's assistant, Leslie Groff. And maybe it's meant to be a jokey way to describe for her that he's really into her boss. And so maybe she'll keep that in mind when juggling the schedule of conference calls and private yoga and traffic sex massages afternoon. But then there's a more haunting comment that comes from Baron Peter Mandelson, who's not in the wellness sphere, but I think the emotions involved here are really salient. He's the senior British New labor figure who acted as one of Tony Blair's austerity officers. He's been an mp, an EU trade commissioner. Later on he was business secretary. And then I think now he still is a life peer in the House of Lords, although he might have resigned recently, I think, and. And as best pal to Jeffrey Epstein, as he described himself in the early 2000s, they had a close and constant relationship. Now, that was before the acosta deal in 2008. And I would just for listeners who are still kind of foggy on the timeline here, keep 2008 in mind. Because in every discussion of how people are interacting with Epstein, that's really the dividing line. Before and after. After their potential awareness of him being convicted of child sex trafficking after 2008, everybody should have known what this guy was up to. Now, after that, emails in which Epstein helps Mandelson network and gives him political advice in which they chat, fiscal policy also show poorly explained financial transfers and benefits. Now, we don't know if they're payments, if they're gifts or they're financial assistance, but the money is coming from Epstein during periods when Mandelson held senior public roles. Now, the Brits are about to investigate him, actually, because they're worried he was passing Epstein insider training info or state secrets. Mandelson has denied anything like that. And he says he doesn't recall any improper payments of like, $75,000 at a time from Epstein. So the Met police have launched a criminal probe, but he hasn't been charged. Now, the comment that Mandelson makes, this is all preamble to this is, you are the only person who knows everything about me. Don't go away. Now, this is in May of 2009, when Epstein is under house arrest in Florida. And here's the thing about the files, just another bit of guidance for anybody who wants to go and look at this stuff and why this dump of documents is going to catch fire with speculation and baking, just like the Q drops, there is so much missing information, like, beyond the redactions, many of which are just enraging after the DOJ announces that the case is dead. But in Mandelson's case, this plaintive, evocative tribute could refer to anything. It could refer to his being gay. It could refer to them participating in illegal sex, or, you know, as we'll come up in a bit, it could refer to confiding in Epstein his desire for the Prime Minister, which was always unlikely, but they spoke about it. Now, the statement that he makes, you know, you know everything about me, comes in a thread of seven emails over three days in which it appears that Mandelson and Epstein are discussing whether Mandelson should wait for an unnamed person in London. And Epstein is saying he should come to New York, maybe for the same meeting. And then there are brief exchanges, arranging a phone call. It appears that between the sixth and the seventh email, which is where Mandelson makes his plea. Don't go away. Epstein has secured Mandelson's phone number. And then there's about two hours between that email and the don't go away email. And so it appears to me that you are the only person who knows everything about me. Comes after a phone call, maybe a long one. And of course, we're never going to hear any of that right now. Whatever that statement is referring to, it is intimate, way beyond financier and minister. And it lines up with the extensive reporting from Julie Brown and others about the constant role of empathetic ear that Epstein played often, often offering therapeutic advice or even romantic tips. He played confidant to post White House Clinton to Les Wexner. He advised Bannon on public scrutiny and reputation, probably not on wardrobe, though. And he offered supportive listening for Woody Allen and life change advice for Ehud Barak, who was transitioning out of the Knesset. Now, six months later, Epstein is emailing with Mandelson about the possibility of his succeeding Gordon Brown as Labor leader in pm. And there's a famous email in which Epstein is giving him very direct advice in a way that any government would see as meddling. But I want to point out something else. Quote, this is Epstein writing, my advice is to take a breath and deal with it up front. Tell Gordon the whole truth. And he goes on to talk about how his position is untenable. You in capital letters are super strong. Tell the truth. And then a few months later, Mandelson writes back, he cannot take the truth. He needs five years of therapy, which is a little interesting, as in, you know, well, if he had someone as caregiving as you to talk to, maybe, you know, he could work this out now, a little later, Epstein says in his thread, quote, let's not dwell on him. I am only interested in how this plays out for you. So the prior reporting, as I said, emphasizes this high, highly personalized and sometimes intimate pseudo therapeutic caregiving attention. And so one thing that's become clear for me is that the emotional and effective bonds in the network, with all the focus turned towards the center, are really, really strong. And we're familiar with this from cult structures where the center or the top is endlessly mystified, but everyone wants to get close to it. And the leader is able to flip between playing the therapist with a mark to abusing women and girls.
