Deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein allegedly played a key role in one of the largest known sexual blackmail operations connected to Russian intelligence, according to Daily Mail.
Journalists calculated that newly released documents in the Epstein case contain 1,056 references to Russia and Vladimir Putin, and 9,629 references to Moscow.
Citing intelligence sources, the British outlet reported on February 1 that Epstein’s private social network and parties were instrumental in collecting compromising material on high-profile Western political and business figures.
[…]
The materials obtained were allegedly funneled to Russian intelligence agencies. The report asserts that the operation involved Ghislaine Maxwell—currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking—who had ties to her father, Robert Maxwell, a businessman long suspected of cooperating with the KGB and Mossad in the 1970s.
[…]
The report references declassified US Department of Justice files and emails from Epstein’s archive. One email, dated September 11, 2011, mentions coordination for a possible meeting between Epstein and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. A person identified only as “Igor” was reportedly helping schedule a trip to Russia in mid-September.
Another email, sent in 2014 by Japanese entrepreneur Joi Ito, discusses a potential joint meeting involving Epstein, Putin, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. However, according to a follow-up email, the plan was canceled after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 by Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine. Ito wrote: “Now, after the plane crash, it seems like a bad idea.”
[…]
Messages from Epstein’s files suggest that he claimed he could provide valuable intelligence on then-President Donald Trump ahead of Trump’s 2018 summit with Putin in Helsinki. Daily Mail does not confirm whether such materials were ever delivered or used.
The investigation also highlights Epstein’s apparent long-standing ties to Russian organized crime, which may have facilitated his ability to transport large numbers of women from Russia. Intelligence officials interviewed by Daily Mail believe these relationships were central to his operational capabilities and possibly served as leverage over him.
[…]
You can’t blackmail innocent people. That requires you did something you don’t want getting found out.
Otherwise it’s extortion.
You can absolutely blackmail innocent people. Not all information you don’t want to get shared is illegal.
E.g. If you send someone nudes and they blackmail you with: money or post online, the only one that committed a crime is the blackmailer.
Of course that doesn’t quite apply in this case, but it is dangerous to generalize.
Under US law, blackmail is legally defined as threatening to reveal a criminal act in exchange for goods/services. Extortion is for threatening to reveal sensitive information.
That’s extortion
Sure you can, but why fabricate evidence against someone when you can trick them into making real evidence?
The hard job of fabrication begins if and only if that fails.
The point they were making is that blackmail is only about revealing legal infractions. It’s a legal distinction that most people don’t care about in everyday language.
“Hey so I know you don’t want your std test results being made public so I could use a few bucks…”
That’s not blackmail it’s extortion because…? Last I thought they were cinnamon rolls
Under US law, blackmail is legally defined as threatening to reveal a criminal act in exchange for goods/services. Extortion is for threatening to reveal sensitive information.
TIL! i didn’t know there was a difference, just been going off colloquial definitions. I’ll update my lexicon. Thanks!
that’s what you get sticking to one title your entire life
I didn’t know that until this thread. That other poster made the distinction, so I looked it up.
Yep, but this sorta “revelations” move the attention away from Epstein’s clients, to a degree. More distraction and muddying the waters