Michael Wolff urged Epstein to attack Trump for 'political cover' in newly released emails
WASHINGTON, DC: Newly released emails reveal that Jeffrey Epstein’s biographer urged the disgraced financier to publicly criticize President Donald Trump as a way to gain political cover.
The correspondence was disclosed as part of the ongoing investigations into the Epstein network, and the media connection suggests that the biographer sought to distance himself from Trump.
Leaked emails suggest effort to undermine Donald Trump
Amid what the White House calls the selective leaking of Jeffrey Epstein emails, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released tens of thousands of additional pages of documents, including emails between the late financier and prominent reporters.
Many of which included exchanges between Epstein and the magazine writer turned biographer, Michael Wolff.
Wolff repeatedly contacted Epstein, at times discussing his reputation and suggesting that bashing Trump could help improve it.
"NYT called me about you and Trump," Wolff wrote to Epstein in February 2016, according to the documents. "Also, the Hillary campaign is digging deeply. Again, you should consider preempting."
Anti-Trump strategy to boost Epstein's image
A month later, they discussed strategy ahead of the release of James Patterson's 'Filthy Rich,' a true-crime book about Epstein, who was the author's neighbor in Palm Beach.
He suggested to Epstein that "becoming an anti-Trump voice gives you a certain political cover which you decidedly don't have now."
Wolff, who has a history of publicly disparaging Trump, also took a swipe at the bestselling crime novelist.
"Patterson can be counted on to produce a bestseller, and while he isn't regarded as a serious writer, he'll surely be unloading a lot of tabloid copy," the emails continued. "Because this will be tied to the election, the Trump-Clinton angle will amp up the attention 10-fold, in fact, possibly, a hundredfold. Possibly more than anything you've encountered before."
Michael Wolff told Epstein to exploit Trump connection
When Epstein asked how to address his ties with Trump, Wolff appeared to tell him to "let him hang himself."
"If he says he hasn't been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency," another email read. "You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt."
"Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he'll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime," it concluded.
