Epstein's creepy world

Some of the emails exchanged between the two go back to 2011, after Epstein's 2008 conviction. There are some pictures of Andrew in a compromising setting, presumably at one of Epstein's mansions. Perhaps the most damning revelation pertains to Peter Mandelson, a former Cabinet Minister who also served as Britain's ambassador to Washington. He was sacked a few months ago due to his friendship with Epstein, who reportedly paid a huge sum of money to him in return for information regarding the fiscal decisions of the British government. He resigned from the Labour Party over his association with Epstein.

- BY ZAHID HUSSAIN

MORE than three million files, related to disgraced financier and convicted pae-dophile Jeffrey Epstein, have recently been released by the US Department of Justice.

The files shed light on the intersection of sex, power and money, primarily in the politics of the US and some Western countries. The list of Epstein's contacts, pertaining to the US, includes two presidents, politicians, business tycoons and intellectuals of all ideological shades.

Although some of the names were already known, the latest files provide new details about Epstein's shady network that extended to many countries, involving top politicians, and even members of royal families. The exchange of lurid messages between Epstein and his high-profile and politically influential contacts exposes the moral and financial corruption entrenched in the political system and among the influential elite of the West.

Some of the files detailing the 'wild parties' at Epstein's various mansions read like passages from the novels of Harold Robbins, featuring wealth, power, and sex. The framed photos, displayed at Epstein's Manhattan mansion, and those found in files, show his relationships with presidents, kings and even a Nobel Prizewinning scientist.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also figures in one of the pictures, and reportedly Fidel Castro and Pope John Paul II do so as well, indicating Epstein's wide circle of contacts among powerful people across the world.

A most shocking disclosure was his apparently close friendship with renowned left-wing thinker and author Noam Chomsky, as detailed in the recently released files. There may be no evidence of personal familiarity beyond social gatherings, yet several questions remain. The files show that Epstein once sought advice from Chomsky over, what he called, the "putrid" media coverage of sex trafficking allegations against him.