Journalist Michael Wolff advised Jeffrey Epstein on Strategy Regarding Donald Trump
New York – Author Michael Wolff, known for his access-driven reporting on power and politics, provided advice to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein regarding Donald Trump, according to recently disclosed emails. The correspondence,revealed ahead of the 2024 presidential election,details Wolff’s attempts to persuade Epstein to publicly share data about his relationship with Trump.
Wolff, 72, periodically interviewed Epstein for his 2018 book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, and sought to leverage that connection. He told ABC News he couldn’t recall specifics of the email exchange but confirmed discussions with Epstein centered on prompting him to go public with his views on Trump. In an Instagram post, Wolff described the trump-Epstein relationship as ”central to our time” and expressed disappointment that the release of the email exchanges had “little effect.”
The disclosure of the emails comes as Wolff is embroiled in a legal battle with former First Lady Melania Trump. In October,Wolff filed a lawsuit against her after receiving a letter from her counsel threatening over $US1 billion in damages for alleged defamation. Wolff’s complaint asserts that Mrs.Trump’s claims are intended to “harass, intimidate, punishing or otherwise maliciously inhibiting Mr. Wolff’s free exercise of speech,” and that he believed the lawsuit would allow him to question both Donald and Melania Trump about Epstein.
wolff’s reporting has frequently drawn scrutiny for its methods and accuracy. A 2004 article in The new Republic by Michelle Cottle criticized his work, stating that “the scenes in his columns aren’t recreated so much as created – springing from Wolff’s imagination rather than from actual knowledge of events.” His book Fire and Fury faced numerous fact-checking challenges despite its widespread popularity among Trump’s critics.
In a 2019 interview with The Times, Wolff defended his approach, stating, “As a journalist – or as a writer – my obligation is to come as close to the truth as I possibly can. and that’s not as close to someone else’s truth, but the truth as I see it.”
