Steve Bannon’s name dominates the Epstein files

 

The entire press has been in a frenzy since the Epstein emails dropped — and for good reason. The emails expose power plays and political scheming deeper than anyone imagined. Most of the energy has gone toward searching for Trump's name. And there’s no doubt that our Commander-in-Chief had a close, personal relationship with the professional pedophile. But at Dekleptocracy, we uncovered a story others missed.  As we organized and analyzed thousands of Epstein emails and texts, we were stunned by how often one high-profile MAGA figure kept turning up — hidden in plain sight, yet overlooked by nearly everyone. Steve Bannon. That’s right. Trump’s ex-right-hand-man, infamous fraudster, and ultra-conservative strategist, appeared in Epstein’s texts over 1,200 times — second only to Epstein himself.  Bannon’s presence absolutely dwarfs every other national figure, a fact we meticulously documented as we organized these communications. HELP US UNCOVER MORE The subject of their talks wasn’t young girls on islands. It was political strategy and policymaking. Bannon and Epstein exchanged crony-capitalist gripes and racist commentary.  They complain about Obama, referencing his vacations “with whites over and over,” and say that “Trump made his money in biz as a result of representing them, the poor blacks.” Their talk about tax cuts and economic policy shows an insidious, divisive tone running through their strategic alliances.

Disturbingly, it seems that Jeffrey Epstein held a disproportionate amount of sway over US domestic and foreign policy during the first half of Trump’s first term — before Epstein’s arrest in July 2019, that is. While other news outlets have overlooked these texts, Dekleptocracy dug deeper, and we’re still uncovering what others missed. HELP US KEEP DIGGING Epstein also gave pointers to Bannon about how to smear Obama, urging him to make hay out of the photo of the ex-President water skiing with Richard Branson. Epstein even coached Bannon on talking points for an Economist-hosted forum, responding in detail after Bannon explicitly asked, “What would be the three major points you’d make to the economist event tomorrow?” The messages document Bannon openly strategizing around tax cuts, prepping far-right talking points, and blaming Democrats for financial crises.  They were making behind-the-scenes efforts to coordinate policy and narrative with Epstein’s direct input. He told Bannon that “lehman was caused by pelosi. Because she is a true dope.” Epstein aligned himself with MAGA, writing directly that he’s “not a Democrat” and repeatedly positioned himself as part of the far-right team pushing Trumpist ideology. We’ve known for years that Epstein was a pedophile. But this new information — that Epstein was not only close with Steve Bannon, but was influencing policy behind the scenes — adds yet another disturbing component to this already disturbing story. Dekleptocracy did what no one else could — decoding and organizing nearly 20,000 emails, texts, and unreadable message dumps released by House Republicans in almost anonymous formats.  Dekleptocracy wants to continue doing this sort of deep-dive work in order to bring the public critical information and ensure nothing falls through the cracks as these unwieldy troves of documents are released. You can help support our work with a donation of $10, $25, $50, or any amount, and help us stay on top of stories the mainstream media misses. Independent research like the work we’re doing takes time, money, and resources, and we need support from readers like you to stay independent. Thank you, Kristofer Harrison President, Dekleptocracy Alliance DONATE TODAY           Dekleptocracy Alliance is a Texas based 501(c)(4) following the authoritarians’ money. We’re on a mission to protect democracy and the rule of law by providing critical research, analysis, and solutions to governments, businesses, civil society, and the public. Support our work and keep us independent: DONATE >> Paid for by The Dekleptocracy Alliance, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. Copyright (C) 2025, Dekleptocracy Alliance. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Dekleptocracy Alliance PO Box 6580 2850 South Quincy Arlington VA, 22206-9998