Trump insider Tom Barrack kept in regular contact with Jeffrey Epstein for years, files show
CBSN
President Trump's longtime confidant Thomas Barrack, now serving as U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, was in regular, close contact with Jeffrey Epstein for years after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor, a CBS News analysis of over 100 texts and email exchanges from the newly released Justice Department documents shows. In:
President Trump's longtime confidant Thomas Barrack, now serving as U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, was in regular, close contact with Jeffrey Epstein for years after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor, a CBS News analysis of over 100 texts and email exchanges from the newly released Justice Department documents shows.
The correspondence places Barrack, a globe-trotting billionaire, among a circle of wealthy and influential figures who maintained social contact with Epstein even as his criminal history became widely known. Their relationship continued even after Barrack became a prolific fundraiser for Mr. Trump's 2016 campaign, and later, led his inaugural committee and became a frequent presence in the White House.
At times, Epstein appeared to regard Barrack as a potential conduit for passing information to Mr. Trump, though available records show the communication going only in one direction. There's no indication Epstein's communications were passed on to Mr. Trump or that Mr. Trump communicated to Epstein through Barrack.
There's also no evidence to suggest Barrack participated in or had knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct by Epstein. Instead, the messages document continuing personal and professional contact during a period when Epstein was attempting to reestablish himself within elite social and financial circles.
The exchanges include invitations to private residences, introductions to diplomats and investors, and discussions of business opportunities. They also show Epstein repeatedly encouraged Barrack to move communications to encrypted messaging apps, records of which are not part of the government release.
The U.S. women's curling team was surprised to learn that their defeat of Canada on Friday marked an Olympic first. In:
A 10-year-old boy recounted fleeing Thursday morning as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation began near his school bus stop in Lindenwold, New Jersey, saying, "We all were scared." In:
The upstart Italians didn't make it easy on the Americans, and that's everything veteran forward Kelly Pannek could have asked for as the top-seeded U.S. continued its run through the Olympic women's hockey tournament. In:
In a shocking twist at the 2026 Winter Olympics, American figure skater Ilia Malinin didn't make it to the podium on Friday, failing to medal after falling twice during the free skate. Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov took home the gold. In:
Washington — The Department of Homeland Security is all but certain to shut down when the clock strikes midnight, since Congress failed to pass a bill to fund its operations before a stopgap measure lapses at the end of the day Friday. Caitlin Yilek contributed to this report.
An au pair who schemed with her employer-turned-lover to kill his wife and another man received a 10-year sentence on Friday. In:
The January inflation reading offered encouraging signs for consumers and the economy, with the Consumer Price Index coming in below Wall Street expectations and falling to its lowest level in nine months. Edited by Aimee Picchi In:
The head of one of the world's largest port operators has been removed from his position, following revelations from the Jeffrey Epstein files about the extent of his ties to the convicted sex offender. In:
An 18-year-old who acknowledged killing five people in a North Carolina mass shooting when he was 15 was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without parole. The judge rejected arguments that Austin David Thompson deserved the chance for release decades from now. In:
Kyiv — The governments of Russia and Ukraine confirmed Friday that they would participate in a third round of U.S.-mediated peace talks next week, on Feb. 17 and 18 in Geneva. There have already been two rounds of talks under this trilateral format so far this year, held in Abu Dhabi, but next week's session will be the first on European soil, and it will come just days before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth year. In:
After last week's launch of TrumpRx, President Trump described the discounted drug platform as "one of the most transformative health care initiatives of all time." But experts and health care advocates said that limitations with the new service could undermine its value to consumers. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
Vice President JD Vance will sit down with "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil to talk about the economy, foreign policy, the state of the Republican Party and the 2028 race for the White House in a March edition of the CBS News town hall series "Things That Matter." In:
Money famously can't buy you love, but be prepared to pay up for those Valentine's Day flowers or chocolates this year. In: