New Epstein Details Rattle Washington, Hollywood and Beyond
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Casey Wasserman, the entertainment mogul, are among those facing blowback amid the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew here. There’s more fallout from the Epstein files, with pressure growing on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Casey Wasserman, the entertainment mogul, among others.
We also take a look at the web of venture capitalists backing SpaceX (and xAI and X). And we’ve got an exclusive on how some companies are using prediction markets to hedge their business risks, and the implications of that.
More Epstein files fallout
The Justice Department’s release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, continues to rock the halls of power. (Adding to the fire was Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, refusing on Monday to answer questions before the House Oversight Committee.)
The latest Epstein revelations have sent shock waves through Hollywood, Washington, Europe and the Middle East, and even briefly jolted Britain’s gilt and foreign exchange markets.
Among those facing blowback over the latest revelations:
Howard Lutnick: More prominent Republican and Democrat lawmakers have called on the commerce secretary to resign over new details showing that he had more extensive ties to Epstein than he had previously let on.
“Lutnick has no business being our commerce secretary, and he should resign immediately,” Senator Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, said in a statement released on Monday. Representative James Comer of Kentucky, a Republican and the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, didn’t rule out issuing a subpoena to compel Lutnick to testify before Congress.
Casey Wasserman. Pressure on the longtime sports and entertainment mogul has ramped up since decades-old flirtatious messages between him and Maxwell emerged. On Monday, Chappell Roan, the Grammy-winning pop star, said she had cut ties with Wasserman’s talent agency, while other artists have pushed him to leave. A group of music agents at the firm have demanded Wasserman’s resignation, The Wrap reported, citing unnamed sources.
Wasserman also remains under pressure to step down from LA28, the Los Angeles Olympic organizing committee, though he appears to have the support of the International Olympic Committee.
Keir Starmer. The British prime minister appeared to have staved off a mutiny by members of the Labour Party on Monday over his appointing Peter Mandelson, a senior British politician who had ties to Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to the U.S.
Two aides to Starmer have resigned in recent days, including his chief of staff. Many political observers remain pessimistic about Starmer’s political survival: The odds on Kalshi, a prediction market, suggest he has a 65 percent chance of losing his job by Sept. 1.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem. Ties between the powerful Emirati businessman and Epstein emerged late last year in a previous Justice Department release. But details from the latest release added more context, including efforts to broker deals for each other and crude discussions of women.
More revelations could yet emerge. A small, bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday reviewed unredacted versions of the Justice Department’s Epstein files. Some of them criticized some of the department’s redactions; two of them — Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, and Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California — threatened to reveal the names of six men in particular.