“I regret ever knowing him.” Israel’s former prime minister responds as newly released files outline his long association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he regrets his yearslong association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following the release of new U.S. Justice Department documents detailing their extensive contact.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Barak apologized to those “who feel deeply uncomfortable” about the relationship and acknowledged that his judgment in maintaining ties with Epstein deserved scrutiny. “I am responsible for all my actions and decisions,” he said, adding that there may have been room for “more in-depth judgment” on his part.
Barak has not been accused of participating in or witnessing Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls and faces no allegations of criminal wrongdoing. He said he never observed inappropriate behavior during visits to Epstein’s Manhattan residence or a three-hour trip to his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which he attended with his wife and security personnel.
Although aware of Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor, Barak said he assumed Epstein had “paid his debt to society.” He said he cut off contact in 2019 when renewed investigations revealed the scale of Epstein’s alleged crimes.
Millions of pages of court and investigative documents released by U.S. authorities show Barak and his wife, Nili, maintained regular correspondence with Epstein for years, including after his earlier conviction. The documents reference multiple visits, meetings and logistical exchanges, as well as discussions linking Barak to political strategist Steve Bannon, though Bannon has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Epstein, who had pleaded guilty in 2008, was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and later died by suicide in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial.
Barak, who served as prime minister from 1999 to 2001 and later as defense minister, said more information may emerge but insisted that no illegal conduct on his part would be found. “I promise you that nothing will be discovered, because there is nothing,” he said.
The revelations add Barak to a list of global political and business figures whose past associations with Epstein have come under renewed scrutiny.
