The Benny Show: Mike Benz Blows The Doors off Epstein Files — Who Was Epstein REALLY Working For? ‘Darker Than the CIA…’
Date: February 6, 2026
Host: Benny Johnson
Guest: Mike Benz
Overview
In this episode, Benny Johnson is joined by Mike Benz for a deep dive into the newly-revealed Jeffrey Epstein files. The conversation centers around the true nature of Epstein’s operation, his ties to intelligence agencies, the global web of financial and political powerbrokers he facilitated, and how his activities cannot be fully explained by the child trafficking narrative alone. Benz lays out an intricate architecture connecting US, Israeli, and British intelligence networks, global finance, and the “favor bank” system that underpins corruption at the highest levels.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. International Fallout from Epstein Files
[00:12 - 02:00]
- UK Labour Party and politicians across Finland, Slovenia, and the UK face resignation over Epstein ties.
- Unlike in Europe, no significant US political figures have lost their jobs over Epstein, outside of Bill and Hillary Clinton being called to testify.
- Benny frames the episode as exposing "what Epstein actually created while he lived his heinous years here on earth."
2. Epstein, Intelligence, and the Occult
[02:00 - 06:42]
- Benny recaps Alex Jones’ comments: The Epstein files are “the Rosetta Stone of exposing the occult and Satanists,” a “battle between good and evil.”
- Joe Rogan's skepticism years ago, and how he was convinced:
"He [Alex Jones] was the guy who told me about Epstein's island more than a decade ago, and I thought it was the craziest thing I'd ever heard… But turns out it was true." —Joe Rogan [04:48]
- Discovery of Epstein’s obsession with tunnels, trapdoors beneath his island, corroborated by hundreds of emails and footage.
3. Confirmed Atrocities, Elite Ties, and Intelligence Links
[06:42 - 12:49]
- Benny reads disturbing Epstein emails: references to “murdering, torturing and discarding people,” “two foreign women…buried on the Zorro ranch,” and “loved the torture video.”
- Mentions Epstein’s visible ties to Israel, including an IDF shirt and connections with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
- Reads FBI documents: “Epstein trained as an Israeli spy... at the direction of the Israeli prime minister.”
- Harvard professor Martin Nowak appears in Epstein correspondence discussing torture, “our spy was captured after completing permission.”
- Benz is brought in as “a historian of all things interesting” with a reputation for receipts.
4. How Did Epstein Really Make His Money? The Intelligence Nexus
[12:49 – 24:00]
- Mike Benz breaks it down:
- Media narratives claim Epstein’s wealth came from Bear Stearns, but Benz points out no actual deals are named.
- Explains Bear Stearns’ major transactions at the time were with BCCI ("the CIA's bank"), which laundered money for gun/drug operations in the Middle East (Mujahideen, Iran Contra) and had ties to US intelligence.
- Names established figures who blocked deeper investigation: “Bill Barr wrote the pardons for the six BCCI officials…Bob Mueller was blocking investigation into how deep the CIA role went.” [13:44]
- Epstein’s New York property was seized from Iran, “leased out by the State Department”—unprecedented access.
- Traces Epstein’s rise through the Les Wexner era (Wexner as a Harvard Kennedy Center, CIA-connected donor), implies ongoing intelligence work.
- Connects to clients like Adnan Khashoggi (arms dealer), Ehud Barak, and other Saudi and Israeli figures.
“You can understand the Epstein network as being this kind of joint US–Israeli money and influence network that has all these allied partners in the middle… Epstein as a favor bank, financial fixer for private funds and secret intelligence agencies.” —Mike Benz [24:00]
5. The “Favor Bank” System of Corruption
[24:00 – 36:40]
- Benz likens the inner workings of New York courts (from “Bonfire of the Vanities”) to elite government corruption:
“All career advancement and all decisions…operate through a favor bank system. Jeffrey Epstein represents the over-them side of that equation.”
- Describes how government officials trade favors—epitomized by Epstein’s rolodex, parties and information leaks—for future jobs and riches:
"People do not make decisions on the basis of what's best for this country. They make it on the basis of what's best for the favor bank."
- Highlights specific cases like White House counsel Kathy Rummler, who “leaked even classified information to Epstein” and went on to represent the Rothschild bank after leaving government.
- Claims the protection afforded Epstein was “not solely because of a child sex trafficking ring,” but because he was a strategic linchpin facilitating elite financial, political, and intelligence deals.
6. Epstein’s Web Across Elite Power Circles
[36:42 – 45:30]
- Benny presses for ties to "Obama world": Benz details:
- Kathy Rummler, White House counsel for Obama, in close email touch with Epstein, “tee-heeing” about high-level meetings.
- Rummler is now general counsel at Goldman Sachs, showing direct reward after leaving public office.
- Explains Epstein’s deep access to both Clintons (visited the White House at least 17 times), Ehud Barak (47+ visits to Epstein, business dealings spanning multiple countries).
- Reveals MI6, Mossad, and detailed arms-and-money laundering ties, going back to the 1980s deals involving Adnan Khashoggi—historically tying US, Israeli, and Saudi intelligence communities.
“He had this network of clients and dealmakers where it was justified on US national security interests… and then leveraged it for private deal making. Everyone wanted to do a favor for Epstein—he was the gateway to becoming a made man.” —Mike Benz [44:30]
7. Bitcoin, Crypto, and Money Laundering
[45:33 – 64:53]
- Benny probes the theory that “Epstein started Bitcoin,” citing Epstein’s early crypto discussions with Larry Summers, Rothschilds, and in Treasury meetings.
- Benz clarifies:
“Both Bitcoin and Jeffrey Epstein, the main way to understand them is the money laundering role.” [57:03]
- Maps how crypto—especially stablecoins—provided a new, government-sanctioned playground for money laundering, intelligence operations, sanctions-evading regime change, and more.
- Highlights the US government’s use of stablecoins (via Circle) to fund anti-Maduro Venezuelan factions:
"[Circle] struck a deal with the Biden administration…to use stable coins [to] launder money into Venezuela without the Venezuelan government being able to stop it." [61:00]
- Highlights the US government’s use of stablecoins (via Circle) to fund anti-Maduro Venezuelan factions:
- Concludes: “Crypto is an elite way of money laundering at scale with precision and with far less downside risk…It’s a bull market because the appetite for that kind of money laundering is infinite.”
8. The Dark “Icing” — Rape, Torture, Murder
[64:53 – 70:51]
- Benny bluntly asks: Are the rape, torture, murder allegations just the style of these fixers, or something more?
- Benz responds:
- The lurid abuse was used as part of the dealmaking—girls and parties juiced deals and created dependencies (“favor bank” leverage)—and over time, Epstein “got high on his own supply.”
- Argues the non-sexual, transactional role is the “cake,” and the depravity is “the icing… if that can be further explored, I’m open minded, but researchers really need to do a good job providing credible substantiated leads.”
9. Will Anyone Go to Jail? Next Steps
[70:42 – 73:50]
- Benny: “Is anyone going to go to jail for this in the United States?”
- Benz: Pushes for legislation to declassify CIA-originated Epstein files, similar to what was done for DOJ and JFK assassination files, urging Congress to force the issue in public.
-
“The Epstein Disclosure Act was only for DOJ originated files... Who’s going to want to be on the other side of a CIA declassification?” —Mike Benz [72:40]
- Final call: "CIA files on Epstein is actually where we need to source the true beating heart of all of this." [72:53]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
Joe Rogan on Alex Jones’ Epstein theories:
“He was telling me about all this stuff for 10 years, and 10 years ago, I thought he was insane. And now it turns out he was right. He was right about all of it.” [04:48] -
Mike Benz on CNN and Big Finance:
“BlackRock’s deal making… is determined by who has access to inside information. Whoever can trade on national security secrets before the market can, wins the market.” [22:40] -
On the “favor bank”:
“The highest level government officials in multiple countries going out of their way to keep Epstein informed, to give him private access…” [32:45] -
On Bitcoin’s true use case:
“The main way to understand [Bitcoin and Epstein] is the money laundering role.” [57:03]
“It is being used for that, but it’s being used by governments, intelligence services, corporate espionage firms and this sticky, overworld-underworld Jeffrey Epstein class folks…” [53:00] -
On the criminal depravity:
“...the point is, is I don’t know exactly what’s going on there. There definitely looks like there’s something dark and funky and dystopian and evil. I would be reticent to call that the cake of the Epstein story as opposed to the icing on top…” [68:30]
Important Timestamps
- 00:12 – Introduction, global fallout from Epstein files
- 04:48 – Joe Rogan’s reflection on Alex Jones and Epstein
- 06:42 – The Island: Tunnels and trapdoor obsession evidence
- 12:49 – 24:00 – Mike Benz on Epstein’s financial rise via intelligence operations
- 24:00 – The “Favor Bank” and elite-state grift paradigm
- 36:42 – Tying Epstein’s network to Team Obama and the Clintons
- 45:33 – Early Epstein connections to Bitcoin and crypto
- 57:03 – Benz: “Bitcoin and Epstein…the money laundering role”
- 61:00 – Case study: Circle, stablecoins, and laundering money for Venezuelan regime change
- 65:51 – Elite parties, abuse, and the psychology of dependency
- 70:42 – Will justice ever come? The call for CIA declassification
Tone
- Candid, combative, skeptical of the establishment, and polemic in describing “the favor bank” among elites.
- Benz brings a dry, technical, but passionate method of explaining the labyrinthine connections.
- Benny maintains urgency and incredulity: “This makes so much sense...” and calls for action.
Conclusion
The episode tears down the notion that Jeffrey Epstein’s protection and power was based solely (or even primarily) on sexual blackmail. Instead, Mike Benz lays out a complex, global picture of a favor-trading financial fixer who sat at the intersection of American, Israeli, and British intelligence, global finance, and the darkest activities of statecraft. The story is less about lurid tabloid crime and more about the hidden plumbing of elite politics, money laundering, and how government becomes an ecosystem for private enrichment—fuelled by secrecy, connections, and the “favor bank.”
For anyone seeking not only the who, but the how and why behind the Epstein saga—and the systems that enable such corruption—this episode is essential listening.