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Tom Barrack, now US ambassador to Turkey, kept in contact with Epstein for years: report
17.02.202
By Turkish Minute
Source:https://www.turkishminute.com/2026/02/17/tom-barrack-now-us-ambassador-to-turkey-kept-in-contact-with-epstein-for-years-report/
Thomas Barrack, who is currently the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, was in regular, close contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for years after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea, a CBS News analysis of newly released Justice Department files published on Friday found.
The analysis, based on more than 100 texts and email exchanges from documents released as part of the government’s Epstein files, places Barrack among a circle of wealthy and influential figures who maintained social and professional ties with Epstein even as his criminal history was publicly known. CBS News said there is no evidence Barrack participated in or had knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct by Epstein.
Barrack, 78, is a California-born billionaire and founder of Colony Capital, a real estate investment trust. He has been one of President Donald Trump’s closest personal friends and political allies, chaired Trump’s 2017 presidential inauguration and served as a senior adviser to his 2016 campaign. Trump nominated him to serve as US ambassador to Turkey in December 2024. The Senate confirmed him in a 60-36 vote in April 2025. He presented his credentials to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on May 14 and was subsequently appointed special envoy for Syria.
His dual role gives him an unusually direct line to Trump on US-Turkey relations and Syria, where Turkey has major military and political stakes following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
What the documents show
In September 2009, months after Epstein was released from Palm Beach County jail following his guilty plea to soliciting a minor, Barrack wrote to him: “Thinking about u, hope u r good and life is calm again.” The message began what CBS News described as an extended period of regular contact between the two men.
Over the following years, the documents show Epstein facilitating introductions between Barrack and prominent figures including Palantir CEO Peter Thiel, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Vitaly Churkin, then Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations. Epstein’s calendar for August 29, 2016 — weeks after Barrack delivered a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention boosting Trump — includes a notation for “Lunch w/Ehud Barak, Tom Barrack and Vitaly Churkin.”
In April 2016, with Barrack deeply involved in the Trump campaign, Epstein forwarded him an email about a civil lawsuit filed by a woman using the pseudonym “Katie Johnson,” who alleged that Epstein and Trump raped her in 1994. Epstein described the claim as “nuts but i thought you guys should know.” The lawsuit was withdrawn. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
The documents also show Epstein asking Barrack to send photos of him with a child — ‘send photos of you and child. —make me smile’ — though it is unclear who the child was. CBS News described the child as Barrack’s newborn baby, but the reference was ambiguous.
Epstein repeatedly encouraged Barrack to move their communications to encrypted messaging apps including Signal, the records of which were not included in the government files release. One text exchange in August 2016, while Barrack was in Turkey, shows Barrack agreeing to download Signal after Epstein invited him to dinner with filmmaker Woody Allen.
The day after a scheduled lunch meeting of Barrack, Epstein, Barak and Churkin, Epstein purchased approximately $1 million in stock in Colony Capital, Barrack’s publicly traded company.
On the day after Trump won the 2016 election, a senior Saudi official texted Epstein to ask about the protocol for King Salman calling Trump to congratulate him. Epstein replied: “TOM barrack is your point person.”
Earlier legal scrutiny
In 2021 federal prosecutors charged Barrack with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates during the first Trump administration and making false statements to federal investigators. A jury acquitted him on all counts in November 2022.
The UAE charges centered on allegations that Barrack used his access to Trump to advance Emirati policy goals while seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from Gulf sovereign wealth funds. The Epstein files add new detail to the network of Gulf royals, Russian diplomats and Israeli politicians with whom Barrack interacted during the same period.
CBS News said it reached out to Barrack, Trump, Thiel, Barak and businesswoman Nicole Junkermann for comment and had received no responses as of publication. The US Embassy in Ankara did not respond to a request for comment.
Epstein died in a Manhattan federal detention facility in August 2019. A medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. He faced federal sex trafficking charges at the time of his death, which he denied before his arrest.
17.02.202
By Turkish Minute
Source:https://www.turkishminute.com/2026/02/17/tom-
Thomas Barrack, who is currently the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, was in regular, close contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for years after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea, a CBS News analysis of newly released Justice Department files published on Friday found.
The analysis, based on more than 100 texts and email exchanges from documents released as part of the government’s Epstein files, places Barrack among a circle of wealthy and influential figures who maintained social and professional ties with Epstein even as his criminal history was publicly known. CBS News said there is no evidence Barrack participated in or had knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct by Epstein.
Barrack, 78, is a California-
His dual role gives him an unusually direct line to Trump on US-
What the documents show
In September 2009, months after Epstein was released from Palm Beach County jail following his guilty plea to soliciting a minor, Barrack wrote to him: “Thinking about u, hope u r good and life is calm again.” The message began what CBS News described as an extended period of regular contact between the two men.
Over the following years, the documents show Epstein facilitating introductions between Barrack and prominent figures including Palantir CEO Peter Thiel, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Vitaly Churkin, then Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations. Epstein’s calendar for August 29, 2016 — weeks after Barrack delivered a prime-
In April 2016, with Barrack deeply involved in the Trump campaign, Epstein forwarded him an email about a civil lawsuit filed by a woman using the pseudonym “Katie Johnson,” who alleged that Epstein and Trump raped her in 1994. Epstein described the claim as “nuts but i thought you guys should know.” The lawsuit was withdrawn. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
The documents also show Epstein asking Barrack to send photos of him with a child — ‘send photos of you and child. —make me smile’ — though it is unclear who the child was. CBS News described the child as Barrack’s newborn baby, but the reference was ambiguous.
Epstein repeatedly encouraged Barrack to move their communications to encrypted messaging apps including Signal, the records of which were not included in the government files release. One text exchange in August 2016, while Barrack was in Turkey, shows Barrack agreeing to download Signal after Epstein invited him to dinner with filmmaker Woody Allen.
The day after a scheduled lunch meeting of Barrack, Epstein, Barak and Churkin, Epstein purchased approximately $1 million in stock in Colony Capital, Barrack’s publicly traded company.
On the day after Trump won the 2016 election, a senior Saudi official texted Epstein to ask about the protocol for King Salman calling Trump to congratulate him. Epstein replied: “TOM barrack is your point person.”
Earlier legal scrutiny
In 2021 federal prosecutors charged Barrack with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates during the first Trump administration and making false statements to federal investigators. A jury acquitted him on all counts in November 2022.
The UAE charges centered on allegations that Barrack used his access to Trump to advance Emirati policy goals while seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from Gulf sovereign wealth funds. The Epstein files add new detail to the network of Gulf royals, Russian diplomats and Israeli politicians with whom Barrack interacted during the same period.
CBS News said it reached out to Barrack, Trump, Thiel, Barak and businesswoman Nicole Junkermann for comment and had received no responses as of publication. The US Embassy in Ankara did not respond to a request for comment.
Epstein died in a Manhattan federal detention facility in August 2019. A medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. He faced federal sex trafficking charges at the time of his death, which he denied before his arrest.