A new tranche of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein revealed several communications with William J Burns, a career diplomat who would go on to become the central intelligence director under Joe Biden.
The documents describe the planning for meetings between Burns and Epstein, two of which occurred, and show Epstein texting with Burns and recommending that other people in his orbit meet with him. The meetings and correspondence occurred after Epstein had pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges in Florida in 2008, including solicitation of prostitution with a minor under the age of 18.
A spokesperson for Burns told the Guardian that the two men had “no relationship”, and that Burns “did not know anything about him, other than that he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector”. The spokesperson said Burns “deeply regrets ever meeting with him”. Burns has never been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s crimes.
Burns has decades of diplomatic experience under both Republican and Democratic administrations. During his confirmation hearing to become CIA director in 2021, even Trump-partisan senator Lindsey Graham called him an “outstanding choice”.
The first mention of Burns in the Epstein files is dated April 2013, when Epstein emailed an associate, Terje Rød-Larsen, a former Norwegian diplomat, about a meeting: “lets set a meeimg [sic] with Bill burns in wash or ny.” There is no context in the email, or even a subject heading. Rød-Larsen resigned as head of the International Peace Institute in 2020, after revelations that he secured donations from foundations related to Epstein, as well as a personal loan from the financier. He could not be reached for comment.
The following month there was an actual meeting.
Epstein’s assistant emailed the financier on 19 August: “Bill Burns is in a meeting now … his assistant will have him call you once he is out of the meeting.” Burns finally met with Epstein on 21 August at the DC law office of Steptoe, a white-shoe firm, for lunch, as the Wall Street Journal first reported in a story in 2023 about Epstein’s calendar.
Epstein, then a convicted sex offender, had gone to the US Treasury that morning, according to his calendar. There is no hint why. Then at noon that day, he met with Burns.
Burns’s spokesperson said that the subject matter concerned Burns’s efforts for his career post-government. Ten days later, on 1 September, Epstein started to text Burns, following up.
“Bill,” wrote Epstein, “Peter thiel will be with me 13,14 in ny . I think it would be nice for you to meet if convenient for you . There is an apt for you to use if you choose.”
The last time Burns’s name appears in the files is 27 March 2018, in the midst of a multiday text chain between Epstein and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon. Apparently out of the blue, Epstein said: “I suggest you meet Bill Burns.” Burns’s spokesperson said a meeting with Bannon “did not happen”.
There’s a book I love called The Very Best Men by Evan Thomas that shares this thesis. The author is a well-regarded Washington journalist and insider who was given access to the CIA’s archives.
He starts off by playing the title straight, humanizing his main subjects, explaining their ideological motives and justifications, and playing up their esteemed credentials and education. Then he goes into the practical effects of their actions and shows that in practice, they were terrible people who pumped out a steady stream of incompetent gaffes, own-goals, and international crimes.
There’s a very similar vibe to the Epstein files: The shadowy kabbalic figures were, in the cold light of day, grade A morons and it’s a miracle they had any success covering their tracks at all.