JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon will soon have to turn over his written talking points—prepared for interviews with the media—about Jeffrey Epstein’s nearly 15-year relationship with the financial giant, The Daily Beast has learned.
This week, a judge overseeing a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General against JPMorgan ruled the banking honcho’s interview notes must be produced in discovery by July 7, according to a source familiar with the matter.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff granted the USVI’s request to obtain “written guidance” that was prepared for Dimon by JPMorgan’s communications experts. The materials would touch on advice given to Dimon on how to answer questions related to Epstein’s ties to the bank.
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Rakoff declined, however, to permit the government of the Caribbean territory to see internal drafts of Dimon’s prepared statements.
Dimon has claimed he didn’t know Epstein and never knew that the convicted sex offender and trafficker of young women and girls was a client of JPMorgan—despite internal documents showing that bank employees raised red flags as early as 2006.
In April of this year, Dimon sat for an interview with CNN and was asked about the claims in the USVI’s lawsuit—that the bank provided Epstein with the financial infrastructure necessary to operate his sex ring and facilitated his payments to his victims.
In response, Dimon said JPMorgan has “some of the best lawyers in the world—compliance, out of the DOJ, out of SEC important divisions who review all of these things and make decisions at the time based on what they know, as best as they know.”
Asked if JPMorgan should have taken swift action after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting an underage girl in 2008, Dimon responded, “Hindsight is a fabulous gift.”
Dimon gave another interview to Bloomberg TV this month, saying he was “so sad that we had any relation to this man whatsoever.”
He again said JPMorgan had “top lawyers evaluating this, from the SEC enforcement, the DOJ, and you know, obviously had we known then what we know today, we would have done things differently.”
“But it’s very unfortunate, and I have deep respect for these women,” Dimon added. “That doesn’t mean we’re liable for the action of an individual. But I do have deep respect for them. My heart goes out to them.”
Dimon was questioned under oath last month as part of the litigation.
He testified that he was unaware of internal arguments centered around keeping Epstein as a client. As early as 2007, emails released in court filings reveal, JPMorgan employees circulated news reports about Epstein’s abuse of underage girls and flagged his cash withdrawals.
And JPMorgan’s general counsel Stephen Cutler warned in 2011, “This is not an honorable person in any way. He should not be a client.”
“I don’t recall knowing anything about Jeffrey Epstein until the stories broke sometime in 2019,” Dimon said in his deposition, adding that he “had never even heard of the guy.”
This month, JPMorgan settled a related class-action lawsuit filed by an Epstein victim known as Jane Doe for $290 million.
As part of the litigation, Doe accused JPMorgan executive Jes Staley of sexual assault. The bank is also suing Staley, arguing he should be liable for damages in her case. Staley has previously denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein.
In a 2020 interview, Staley claimed his bond with Epstein “tapered off quite significantly” after he left JPMorgan for Barclays bank in 2013. “Obviously I thought I knew him well and I didn’t,” Staley said at the time. “For sure, with hindsight with what we know now, I deeply regret having any relationship with Jeffrey.”
The pair of lawsuits have unmasked new details about Staley’s creepy friendship with Epstein—including emails where they referred cryptically to Disney princesses and ‘white wine’—and Epstein’s ties with high-powered people around the world.
Staley has reportedly argued in confidential legal filings that he discussed Epstein’s arrest and guilty plea with Dimon in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Staley also claims he communicated with Dimon about Epstein multiple times through 2012.
