Expert flags 'deeply untoward' Trump connection buried in latest Epstein files release
The latest batch of Jeffrey Epstein files released last week revealed a "deeply untoward" connection between President Donald Trump and a wealthy investor, one expert has said.
Russ Baker, founder and editor-in-chief of WhoWhatWhy, wrote in a new Substack essay on Sunday that Trump appears to be currying favors for Leon Black, the disgraced co-founder of Apollo Global Management, who resigned from the firm in 2021 when his ties to Epstein, a convicted sex criminal, were receiving increased scrutiny. He noted Trump's appointment of Black's son, Benjamin, to lead the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and the subsequent reactions to that move, as evidence that something other than a simple quid pro quo is at play.
"This may be the understatement of the year: Something deeply untoward appears to be hidden just beneath the surface of recently released documents as they relate to certain people," Baker wrote.
After Trump appointed Benjamin Black to his position, the elder Black purchased a significant sum of the debt Elon Musk incurred when he purchased Twitter in 2022, Baker noted.
The Trump administration has also moved to prevent Democrats like Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) from retrieving federal reports that could further link Black to Epstein's nefarious activities. Black was accused of raping underage girls in two separate lawsuits, Baker noted, but the law firms representing both women subsequently withdrew from the cases.
Baker added that Black paid Epstein in the neighborhood of $170 million for alleged real estate and tax consulting services, which Wyden is investigating to see if that sum was for legitimate professional services or not. However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stalled turning over the reports Wyden needs for his investigation, Baker wrote.
"With Epstein dead, Black is one of the few people who might know more than anyone else alive about things Trump would not want made public," Baker wrote. "Which could potentially explain what Trump wants in return for his many favors to Black: specifically, Black’s continued silence."