A newly released Justice Department video has shed unsettling light on how Jeffrey Epstein viewed himself, capturing the convicted pedophile in his own words during a wide-ranging interview with Steve Bannon.
According to the New York Post, the footage, made public Friday, shows Epstein speaking candidly with the former White House strategist in a rambling, hours-long sitdown that touched on sex, money, power, and morality.
In one of the most jarring moments, Epstein described himself as a “Tier One” sexual predator.
Despite the label, Epstein simultaneously downplayed his conduct, claiming he was at “the lowest” level of perversion while responding to offscreen questions from Bannon.
Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
According to reporting published last summer, Bannon began associating with Epstein after leaving President Donald Trump’s first administration and sought to help rehabilitate Epstein’s public image.
During the interview, Bannon pressed Epstein on whether any of his vast fortune came from illicit sources.
“No, it’s not,” Epstein replied when asked if his wealth involved “dirty money,” later adding that this was true “because I earned it.”
Bannon pushed back.
“You earned it by advising the worst people in the world,” he said, “that do enormous, bad things, and just to make more money.”
“Ethics is always a complicated subject,” Epstein responded, pivoting to a discussion about donating money to polio vaccination efforts in developing countries.
“Instead of asking me whether that money should be given to these children for vaccines, I think you might want to ask their mothers — who receive the vaccine, who know their child now won’t get polio — and ask them if Epstein should have helped these people with their money,” he said.
Bannon then posed a blunt hypothetical.
“What percentage of people do you estimate would say, ‘I don’t care; I want the money for my children’?,” he asked.
“I would say everyone says, ‘I want the money for my children,’” Epstein replied. “I think if you told them the devil himself said, ‘I’m going to exchange some dollars for your child’s life — ‘”
“Do you think you are the devil himself?” Bannon followed up.
“No, but I have a good mirror,” Epstein answered.
It remains unclear exactly when the interview was recorded, though Epstein’s appearance suggests it may have taken place shortly before his July 2019 arrest by federal investigators.
The video was included in a massive release ordered under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by Trump last November.
In total, the administration released roughly 2,000 videos, as well as up to 3.5 million pages of documents and approximately 180,000 images tied to the Epstein investigation.
