Media Enquiry - The Guardian - Re: Jeffrey Epstein

Dear Mr Epstein,

I write further to an email sent to you earlier this month, concerning an article we are preparing for publication in which you may be mentioned.

We have not received a response from you. If you wish to respond, please do so as soon as possible and no later than 18:00 on Monday 2nd February 2015.

For your convenience, please see the original letter below.

Yours faithfully,

David Pegg
The Guardian

Dear Mr Epstein,

We are writing because a US media organisation, in concert with ourselves at the Guardian newspaper in London, is currently conducting a detailed survey of Swiss bank accounts, past and present.

It is not illegal to have Swiss accounts. But as you may know, it is a topic of considerable public debate, and several governments have been investigating the owners of such accounts.

There are a number of ways such accounts and also offshore trusts have been used to avoid inheritance tax, UK domestic tax, or tax imposed by other countries. Such accounts have also been used to launder money.

We have seen records held in the US identifying you among those who have held accounts. These accounts contained assets of up to USD 3.5m, and include:

1) You may therefore have been a person evading or avoiding tax, or laundering money.

We will be particularly concerned with these questions:

2) Why you had Swiss accounts.

3) How much back tax you have settled with the tax authorities following their investigation of your affairs.

Additionally, from public records and from material we have seen we note that:

4) In 2008 you pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution and procuring minors for prostitution. You were sentenced to 18 months in prison.

5) Your above accounts were also linked with Mr Leslie Wexner.

6) You are known to be or have previously been closely associated with Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Kevin Spacey.

7) You have made substantial contributions to the Clintons' philanthropic causes. Tax reform campaigners have previously been critical of those who engage in public life or the political process while avoiding or evading tax. Hilary Clinton herself, speaking in 2012, noted the importance of elites paying a substantial share of tax: "One of the issues that I have been preaching about around the world is collecting taxes in an equitable manner — especially from the elites in every country."

It is intended shortly to publish the results of our survey in both the US and the UK.

As responsible journalists acting in the public interest, we would first like to give you the opportunity to comment.

If we do not hear from you by 18:00 on Monday 12th January 2015 (preferably by email to _________________, we shall proceed on the basis that you do not wish to comment on or amend our information.

But we have approached you in a straightforward fashion and hope you will take this opportunity to respond if you wish. Your substantive responses to each of our numbered points will be carefully considered and published if appropriate.

(For the avoidance of doubt, we do not normally regard any generalised assertion of "inaccuracies" as a substantive response; nor any generalised statement that the holders acted on advice. Neither will we regard as substantive any comment that only refers to the present state of affairs and not to the past.)

We are, of course, happy to discuss directly any concerns you may have.

We would be most grateful if you would acknowledge receipt of this letter. This will save us from chasing.

Yours faithfully,

David Pegg
The Guardian

Dear Mr Weinberg,

I hope this email finds you well. I am a journalist at The Guardian newspaper in London.

We are preparing for publication an article in which we may mention Mr Jeffrey Epstein, who is your client.

We have sent Mr Epstein an email concerning this article and made a number of attempts to contact him, to which he has not responded.

Please see the email in question below. Should Mr Epstein wish to respond, please ensure that we receive his response by no later than 18:00 on Monday 2nd February 2015.

I would be grateful if you could acknowledge receipt of this email.

Yours faithfully,

David Pegg
The Guardian

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