Steve Bannon under pressure to release his own Epstein videotapes
In 2021, the New York Post ran an online trailer for an upcoming documentary about Jeffrey Epstein that was produced by former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon. In the video, Bannon is on camera questioning Epstein about “all of the depravity you’ve done against young women,” among other things.
But that documentary never came out. Now, Jeffrey Epstein’s brother, Mark, is asking for Bannon to show him the unseen footage.
“Let me see the videotapes,” he told NBC News on Friday. “He’s my brother.”
Mark Epstein said that Bannon, the MAGA media personality, worked with his brother, then a convicted sex offender, after the Miami Herald in 2018 chronicled victims’ details of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. The two men filmed together before Epstein’s arrest by federal authorities in the summer of 2019.
“He told me he has like 15 or 16 hours of videotape of Jeff. He was trying to help Jeff rehabilitate his reputation,” Mark Epstein said of Bannon. He said his meeting and conversation with Bannon took place in New York City after his brother’s death in prison — in either 2019 or 2020.
“They spent a lot of time together,” Mark Epstein told NBC News.
In the trailer for “The Monsters: Epstein’s Life Among the Global Elite,” published by the New York Post, Jeffrey Epstein said he was a “firm believer and supporter” of the Time’s Up organization, which worked to combat sexual harassment. Bannon — who has a background as a Hollywood producer and a documentary filmmaker — is also seen asking Epstein whether he owns two islands, “the islands of Doctor Moreau,” to which Epstein replies, “Correct.”
Bannon acknowledged the footage during a live taping of his podcast on July 12 and said he intends to release at least parts of its contents “early next year.”
“We’re going to release the film, the five-part series, next year — early next year,” Bannon said in response to a question about the documentary’s future.
“You’re going to have to name names, and you’re going to have to understand how the elites of the world but also the intelligence services are inextricably linked in the Epstein story,” he added. “That’s the key.”
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro this week criticized Bannon for not releasing the footage.
“So, release the Epstein tapes, Steve,” Shapiro said. “I mean, like, seriously. More transparency is gooder. How about that? It seems like it makes sense to me.” [Continue reading…]