Law&Crime Sidebar - 6 Epstein Conspiracy Theories Exposed in Files Release

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

Did the massive new release of the Jeffrey Epstein Files prove gossip and rumors right? Or are there still more questions? Law&Crime's Jesse Weber dives into explosive new details about high-profile figures like Peter Attia, Steve Tisch, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Prince Andrew.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code SIDEBAR at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/sidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There have been a lot of theories surrounding Jeffrey Epstein over the years, and with this new massive files release, we are tackling whether or not they prove them right or whether we still need answers. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Now, I'm going to say, as I'm covering these stories, I am constantly reminded about the danger out there. And you know what one danger is that strangers can find and use anything about your private life? Yeah, your name, your phone number, your address.

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You just create an account. Incogny's going to do the rest. Plus, their new Unlimited Plans custom removals feature lets you submit specific links that their privacy experts will personally investigate and remove. So if you care about staying safe, take your privacy. back with Incogni. Go to incogni.com slash sidebar and use code sidebar for 60% off an annual plan. For as long as I can remember, the name Jeffrey Epstein, there have always been theories surrounding him, the notorious convicted pedophile and accused child sex trafficker. But now,

in the wake of millions of pages of documents being released as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the DOJ to turn over essentially all the Epstein investigation materials in its possession. Now we have to ask, was there any truth to those theories? Because let me tell you, this document dump, it provides new clues, new context, new connections, and I'm going to say we got a lot more details. So from everything to whether Epstein was murdered, to whether people were exposed, to even Pizza Gate, you remember that one? I'm going to tackle those theories and see if an evaluation in the materials actually proves them right or adds support. So I want to start with the idea, this is the big one, that the Epstein files are going to name names, right? Going to spill

secrets. I mean, yeah. Now, to be clear, I'm not saying that what was released would be enough evidence to actually prosecute somebody for a state or federal crime, let alone make the accusation that somebody was involved in criminal activity or knew about what Epstein and his associate claim Maxwell were up to. I can't say that. And just because someone is mentioned in the files doesn't mean they committed a crime or knew about it, but I will tell you, you want to talk about exposing? You want to talk about secrets? My gosh, was this embarrassing? Yeah, it exposed people in a whole new way. Can we start with Peter Attia? This was a bombshell. So Attia, the anti-aging influencer, you probably seen him a lot on social media, recently appointed contributor at CBS

News. He was mentioned almost 2,000 times in the newly released files, specifically emails between him and Epstein from 2015 to 2018. And I'm not going to lie, they're bad. Atia wrote in one email to Epstein in February of 2016 that a woman's private part is, quote, low carb and adding still awaiting results on gluten content, though. How about this email dated June 24, 2015 with the subject line, got a fresh shipment where Atia seemingly writes, the biggest problem with becoming friends with you, the life you lead is so outrageous and yet I can't tell a soul. It's kind of chilling when you think about Epstein and the fact that he was brought up on federal sex trafficking. trafficking charges, accused of abusing minors for years. Now, I will be clear, Attia wrote in a long response on X, which reads in part, reading that exchange now is very embarrassing, and I will not

defend it. I'm ashamed of myself for everything about this. At the time, I understood this exchange as juvenile, not a reference to anything dark or harmful. He also added that he didn't participate in any criminal activity, that he never was on his plane, never on his island, never present in any sex parties. Right now, at the time of this recording, he has stepped down from his role, as chief science officer at the snack bar company, David Protein. There was also reporting that a 60-minute segment that he was featured on has reportedly been pulled, but at the time of this recording, no word yet on the future of his association with CVS.

How about New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch exchanging emails with Epstein about women? You have one where Tish allegedly talks about a, quote, Ukrainian girl who he called, quote, a very sweet girl. Epstein replying, she has a, quote, a 10-ebb is a character. and that he would get, quote, all info on her. Now, Tish wrote that he was, quote, curious to know about her and asked Epstein if she's a pro or civilian. I think we can take a guess what that means.

And Epstein actually replied that he doesn't, quote, like records of these conversations. Now, Tish apparently asked Epstein in another email about a different woman, is she fun? With Epstein replying, she is a civilian but Russian and rarely tells the full truth but fun. I got to say this one's pretty striking regarding Tish meeting up with a woman. Epstein writes to him, you did very well. She is a little freaked by the age difference, but go slow. In another email, Tish appeared to be emailing with a woman that Epstein had seemingly introduced him to, with him writing to her, Jeffrey Epstein is very excited about you and I meeting each other.

I like that idea. Do you? And apparently there were other emails where Tish allegedly invited Epstein to a Giants game and Epstein inviting Tish to his private island. Now Tish has responded to this, for example. said in a statement to CBS News. We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women. And in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments. I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all now know, he was a terrible

person and someone I deeply regret associating with. But there's more. Like how about this photo of director Brett Ratner sitting on a couch hugging a woman sitting next to Jeffrey Epstein? Her face has been redacted out. Ratner, though, came out, said that this was his fiancé from 20 years ago. He reportedly told the Wall Street Journal back in 2023 that he didn't even know Epstein, had him. What about this? Former NASCAR driver Brian Vickers apparently forwarded an email to Epstein in 2012 about a sexually explicit male fairy tale. How about in 2019 where he apparently sent a video with the subject line, thought you would like this with the message, happy Valentine's buddy. By the way, at one point in time, Vickers ex-wife was accused of coordinating Epstein's meet up with

young girls, although she has claimed that she herself was a victim in all of this. How about when Epstein seems to joke about being accused of going to a pedophile convention when he said that he was visiting Paris with director Woody Allen? Yeah, so writing in a 2012 email, this is Epstein replying to someone, someone who wrote him lay pedophile convention. Epstein writes, I think pedophile is the plural. Lots of emails with Merritt, the Crown Princess of Norway, hopefully I'm saying that correctly. This was as recently, by the way, as 2014, the reason that matters, actually see,

contradicts a previous statement from the royal palace that said she had cut off ties with Epstein in 2011. On January 31st, she wrote a statement in part, I must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein's background more thoroughly and for not realizing sooner what kind of person he was. How about this? The Prime Minister of Slovakia accepted the resignation of his national security advisor Miroslav Lajak over the weekend after emails came out between him and Epstein talking about women. Then you got this. And one email from 2013, apparently a businessman from the United Arab Emirates, Sultan bin Suleim, the CEO of D.P. World, writes that Moldavian is not as attractive as the picture. The Ukrainian is very beautiful.

And while we've known his name before, there are more unsettling allegations surrounding Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Yep, came out as part of the release. It was revealed that back in 2013, Epstein allegedly claimed that Gates was looking to get medication to treat an STD because of having sex with Russian girls. Key word Russian. We'll get back to that. Yeah, apparently Epstein had penned this draft email on behalf of a Gates advisor who wanted to maybe leave the bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. So Epstein seemingly wrote, in this guy's voice, in my role as his right hand, I had been asked on multiple occasions and in hindsight wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate to the ethically

unsound and had been repeatedly asked to do other things that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal. From helping Bill to get drugs in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls to facilitating his illicit trists with married women to being asked to provide Adderall for bridge tournaments, I feel I owe it to my friends and future colleagues to admit a moral failure. So there was a spokesperson for Bill Gates who rejected the allegations saying these claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. Here's something interesting. On Tuesday, NPR's Wildcar podcast, they aired a preview of an interview that they did. with Melinda Gates, so this is Bill Gates' ex-wife, the two divorced in 2021, and that interview,

which airs in full on Thursday, apparently includes Melinda's response to her ex being mentioned so many times in the Epstein files. Quote, for me, it's personally hard whenever those details come up, right? Because it brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage. Whatever questions remain there of what? I can't even begin to know all of it. Those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me. I'm able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, my God, how did that happen to those girls? At least for me, I've been able to move on in my life, and I hope there's some justice for those now women. And by the way, Bill Gates did a recent interview, I believe, with Australian

media, where he said, I never went to the island. I never met any women. And so the more that comes out, the more clear it'll be that although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior. Okay, moving forward, Elon Musk, okay, 2012, 2013, there are emails that show the two were messaging and trying to arrange for the Tesla founder to visit Epstein's island. So Elon Musk comes up in this new document dump. So for example, there's this exchange. We'll be in the BVI St. Bart's area over the holidays. Is there a good time to visit? And then a response from JEE vacation responds, I will send heli for you, seemingly helicopter. Actually, I could fly back early on the third. We will be in St. Bart's. When should we head to your island on the

second? Did we need to organize Elon to your island on January 2nd? And By the way, Musk appeared to ask Epstein in one email, What day, night will be the wildest party on your island? Now, it doesn't appear that that ever happened, that he visited it. And by the way, Musk has previously tweeted that Epstein was a creep, that he tried repeatedly to get him to his island, that he always declined. And Musk also responded more recently on X that no one pushed harder than me to have the Epstein files released. And I'm glad that has finally happened.

I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island or fly on his Lolita Express, the private jet. He was, quote, well aware that some email correspondence with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name. So, okay, that's just the sampling of those mentioned, goes to the idea of the theory. Names are going to be exposed. How about this? There was another theory that came out. And that was whether President Donald Trump was going to be mentioned in the Epstein files. After all, remember one? Okay, Elon Musk famously posted on X back in June of last year. Time to drop the really big bomb. At real Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. Turns out he is. Yeah. So this one's true. Now, to be clear, let's be clear about this, the president

is mentioned. One of the reasons that a lot of people suspected this was, you know, was there a delay in getting the files out? There was that memo from the DOJ and FBI that said we looked through everything. There's nobody else that needs to be investigated. There's no client list. There was a whole push to get the files out. There's been arguments that the president has kind of been distracting away from it. So is his name mentioned? Is he mentioned in it? Well, look, he is in it. But I got to be clear about what this is. So one of the documents, this is the big one, one of the documents that came out was this list. It was a list compiled seemingly by the FBI of unverified tips that came in from the FBI's National Threat Operations Center. And apparently this was sent over to the child exploitation and human trafficking task force.

Now, again, these were tips that apparently couldn't be corroborated, some of its secondhand information. And in fact, this was what the DOJ said on this, quote, This production may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the act. Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalistic claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false. And if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already. Now, we do want to warn you these allegations and these tips are very disturbing, but I'll give you an example. quote, redacted, reported an unidentified female friend who was forced to perform oral sex on

President Trump approximately 35 years ago in New Jersey. The friend told Alexis that she was approximately 13, 14 years old when this occurred and the friend allegedly bit President Trump while performing the friend was allegedly hit in the face after she laughed about biting President Trump. The friend said she was also abused by Epstein. And the log states that this tip again was sent to the Washington office to conduct an interview. The next tip reads, redacted reported she was a friend, redacted who was a personal assistant to Epstein in Florida from 1986 until 1991 or 1992. This friend shared names of the guests at Epstein's parties to include Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. And by the way, the call log indicates that there are two voicemails that were left

of the complainant. There was never a response. How about this one? Online complainant reported she was a victim and witnessed to a sex trafficking ring at the Trump golf course in California between 1995 and 1996. Complaintant reported Galane Maxwell as the madam and broker for sex parties, clients of whom included Epstein, Robin Leach, remember him from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and Donald Trump. And then there's this one. The guests were older men and included Elon Musk, Don Jr. Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump were there. Attorney Alan Dershowitz was also there with Attorney Bob Shapiro. We were taken in rooms, forced to give to Donald Trump, forced to allow I was 13 years old when Donald J. Trump rape me. Gleine Maxwell was also present. So again, mentioned,

We don't know if any of that's true. All right. Now we go to this big one. This is a big Jeffrey Epstein theory, okay? Arguably the biggest theory. Epstein didn't die from his own hand, but he was murdered. Okay? This is a big one.

Remember, he was found dead in his federal jail cell on August 10th, 2019 as he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking of minor charges. Now, there has long been speculation that he was murdered. So let me be clear. The new release, all these files, as far as we could see, doesn't disprove that. Doesn't prove that he was murdered. However, we did find something that is not going to quiet that narrative. According to an FBI record, Epstein was possibly about to cooperate with the feds right before

he died, that on July 29, 2019, his lawyers and the federal prosecutors in this case, in very general terms, discuss the possibility of a resolution of the case and the possibility of the defendant's cooperation, cooperation's key. Defense counsel did not make a specific proposal, and they did not indicate what the nature of Epstein's cooperation might be, if any. But it was suggested that defense counsel contact SDNY if Epstein was prepared to accept responsibility for his conduct and or they had a specific proposal for a resolution of this case. Okay, so maybe he was going to work out a deal and then he dies, right? That looks suspicious. This is a guy who had connections to the rich

and powerful, potentially had a lot of information. Strange, he just dies, right? However, assuming this is true, there was no way he was going to walk away, Scott Free. No way. Even if he provided information about others, highly unlikely, he was just going to escape, okay, that he was just going to be let free. I can guarantee you he would have seen prison time. So if he believed that his options were limited and he wasn't going to walk, maybe he became desperate. I mean, as we reported on another sidebar, Epstein apparently had a secret girlfriend who he had reportedly planned to leave the bulk of his massive fortune and properties to when he died. Karina Shuliac spoke to him on the phone for 20 minutes the night before he was found. So some will say, yeah, maybe supports the idea that he did this to himself.

He's closing out his affairs. He's saying goodbye. Others could say, hey, he knew he was in danger. Maybe he knew he was about to be killed. And I'll also note that the Guardian claims that in these documents, there appear to be a conversation between investigators regarding Epstein's death, with one suggesting that Epstein's last communication didn't look like a note that someone would leave if they were about to harm themselves.

This is also per reporting by the Associated Press. And apparently it's been reported that the documents explain that the jail used boxes and sheets to make it look like Epstein's body. And then they loaded it into a white van belonging to the chief medical examiner that this was a way to trick the media that was gathered all outside the facility after his death when in actuality, his real body was apparently in a black car and no one really saw it leave. So you have that too, apparently in the files. Okay. Brings me to another big theory that Epstein was so powerful, he was so. so connected that he had such a meteoric rise to fortune in the 80s and the 90s, was it too convenient? Was he really getting assistance? Was he an asset? Was he a foreign agent? Was he a Russian

spy, for example? Now, this one's a little tricky, okay? While there's nothing on the face of it to directly prove that, his connections to Moscow and his massive interest in Vladimir Putin, it is on full display in this recent release, because Putin is named almost a thousand times in the latest document release and there are almost 10,000 references to Moscow. There are communications regarding Epstein inquiring about a Russian visa, how he wanted to reinvent the Russian financial system. There was an exchange where Epstein helped Russia's former UN ambassador understand Donald Trump or how Epstein. And another email said that Russians foreign minister could, quote, get insight on talking to me. There was a lot of back and forth about Epstein meeting Putin or attempts to

meet him. You had one email from September 11, 2011, where someone writes about Epstein meeting with Putin, when he goes to Russia, and it says, quote, spoke with Igor. He said, last time you were in Palm Beach, you told him you had an appointment with Putin on September 16th and that he could go ahead and book his ticket to Russia to arrive a few days before you. In an email to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehudu Barak, Epstein writes, Putin asked that I meet him in St. Petersburg at the same time as his economic conference, I told him no. If he wants to meet, he will need to set aside real time and privacy.

Let's see what happens. There's a 2014 email from a Japanese entrepreneur that says, hey, Jeffrey. I wasn't able to convince LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to change his schedule to go to to meet Putin with you. Now, the New York Post reported that U.S. security officials claim Epstein had ties with Russian organized crime. So the question becomes, was he providing information to Russian officials? Was he creating a blackmail honey trap system to benefit Russia, you know, try to compromise people? Obviously, we don't know for sure, but he did apparently have this obsession in a way with Putin and Russia. And this is only fueled, by the way, by Epstein's connection

to Galane Maxwell, whose father, Robert Maxwell, allegedly, was a Soviet asset in the 70s and reportedly laundered money from Russia to the West with Epstein's help. You know, there's an email where Epstein writes, Robert Maxwell threatened Mossad. He told them that unless they gave him 400 million pounds to save his crumbling empire, he would expose all he had done for them. And by the way, to put a note on this, the New York Post is reporting that Polish authorities are now looking into whether or not Jeffrey Epstein had a real link, a real connection, to Russian intelligence. You had Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said during a government meeting

this week, quote, more and more and more leads, more and more and more information and more commentary on the global press all relate to the suspicion that this unprecedented pedophilia scandal was co-organized by Russian intelligence services. I don't need to tell you how serious the increasingly likely possibility that Russian intelligence services co-organize this operation is for the security of the Polish state. This can only mean that they also possess compromising materials against many leaders still active today. And so the Polish leader indicated that they're going to put a team together to look into this. And of course, this is all fueled and motivated by Epstein's connections that he had,

which brings me to another big thought. The question that came up, would former Prince Andrew, right, Andrew Mountbatten, Windsor, okay, formerly Prince Andrew, before he was stripped of his titles, could he be further exposed? A known former associate friend of Epstein, even though he's never been criminally charged, even though he was, again, stripped of his royal titles. Well, I'll tell you what, there definitely was a lot of him in there. Like how Andrew allegedly invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace after Epstein's release from

house arrest on Florida solicitation of prostitution charges, including with a minor, this is back in 2010. You had this email where Epstein said he wanted to set Andrew up with a 26-year-old, yes, Russian woman, who he describes as clever and beautiful. In one exchange, Epstein said he was in London, asked for private times, with the then Duke of York, Andrew replied, we could have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy.

Two days later, he followed up by saying, delighted for you to come here to BP, Buckingham Palace, come with whomever, and I'll be free from 1600-ish. And I will say undoubtedly, the most disturbing revelation in this document release regarding Andrew

is a photo of him on the floor, on all fours, over a female who is lying down. Okay. Now, this wasn't even an Epstein theory per se, as far as I can tell, but it was a major conspiracy theory that now people are saying is tied to Jeffrey Epstein in the wake of this document release. What am I talking about? Pizza gate. Remember this? Bottom line of it was

there was a theory that spread online that there was this wild child pedophilia ring that was operating out of a Washington, D.C. pizzeria that involved the highest levels of the Democratic establishment. Started back in 2016. Now, to be clear, there is no evidence. this, okay? But why am I talking about it? Well, there are a lot of references to pizza in the Epstein files. Now, in one hand, the context of it would suggest maybe they're really talking about food. Others believe coded language for something else. For example, in April 26, 2016, in response to Epstein writing in an email, quote, she looks pregnant. Someone responded, you mean radiating a soft glow with the look of bliss and excitement? Yeah, that's the pizza.

There's another message that says, so the final form will be molded dough that you put pizza sauce and cheese on. I don't know, got to mention that one. Now, this next one goes, I would say, under the banner of secrets exposed, right? Unfound secrets are going to come out, right? The theory that the Epstein files will expose everything. Got to say, this one was a doozy. There are references in the document release to Epstein possibly fathering a secret child. Okay?

This exchange between Epstein and former Prince Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who, by the way, apparently told Epstein once, according to the materials, that he was the, quote, brother I have always wished for. So there's this message, apparently from Ferguson to Epstein. Don't know if you're still on this BBM, but heard from the Duke that you've had a baby boy. Even though you never kept in touch, I am still here with love, friendship, and congratulations on your baby boy, Sarah XX. How about this one? You have disappeared. I did not even know. you were having a baby. It was so crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew, and that really hurt me deeply, more than you will know. Look, I don't know if this is true, but the boy would be around 15 years old today. And you couple that, also I have to mention this, with a diary entry from someone, maybe an apparent victim. The handwriting is kind of difficult to decipher, but she writes about feeling like a, quote, human incubator. It says that Epstein talked about creating a, quote, superior gene pool. But look, those are sort of, some of the conspiracy theories that came out. We were referenced, exposed, added context to

from this file's release. We will continue to see what happens next in the Jeffrey Epstein, Galane Maxwell saga. Who knows, your guess is as good as mine. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can also follow us on NBC's Peacock. We've got episodes out there too. If you want to follow me, X Instagram, my News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. See you next time, everybody.