Camilla Jessen
Fresh claims about Jeffrey Epstein’s past are resurfacing.
Christopher Steele, a former MI6 officer who once ran the service’s Russia desk, said it is “quite likely” that Epstein possessed compromising information about U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking to LBC, Steele said Epstein was “recruited by Russian organised crime” and later operated under Russian control. He pointed to recently released Justice Department documents as evidence of Epstein’s deep ties to Russia.
According to Steele, U.S. sources have long questioned the origins of Epstein’s wealth. He said it did not appear to come from conventional business activities but instead had links to the Soviet Union and later Russia.
Decades-long operation
“I would say this story starts back in the 1970s,” Steele told LBC. “My sources in the United States tell me that the assessment of the US government and intelligence was that Epstein was recruited as early as the 1970s by Russian organized crime figures in New York, and his information and operational methods have been used since then.”
“So this scandal spans several decades,” he added.
The Justice Department last week released millions of documents, including emails and photographs, detailing Epstein’s activities and relationships.
Trump and kompromat
Steele also said he believed Epstein, and later Russian actors connected to him, held “kompromat” on Trump. The Russian term refers to compromising material used for leverage or blackmail.
“I think it’s quite likely, although I suspect some of these files were destroyed,” Steele said.
He questioned why U.S. authorities would have allowed such an operation to continue if it was known to be linked to Russia. “It seems mysterious to me,” he said, adding that “other intelligence services were involved – the Israelis, almost certainly.”
Steele dossier legacy
Steele is best known publicly for his role in compiling the so-called Steele dossier during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
The document alleged Russian interference in the election and contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials.
It also contained unverified claims that Russia held compromising material on Trump, allegations the former president has repeatedly denied.
Sources: LBC, U.S. Department of Justice
