THE SILENCE OF POWER

HOW BIBI’S OFFICE HELPED SHIELD BARAK FROM AN EPSTEIN SEX-TRAFFICKING STORY

In March 2011, the Daily Mail published a striking series of exposés on Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking network. Among the revelations were Virginia Giuffre’s accusations that Epstein had trafficked her to Britain’s Prince Andrew, son of Queen Elizabeth. Yet according to emails and documents obtained by The (b)(7)(D), similar allegations involving then–Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak were never reported—after the Israeli government intervened to respond on Barak’s behalf. Involvement in that response extended to the highest levels of government, including Netanyahu’s top aide and close confidant Ron Dermer.

Although the allegations reached the Prime Minister’s office, Netanyahu—politically indebted to Barak—kept him in place as Defense Minister for two more years. The accusations would not surface publicly until nine years later, when a court filing revealed that Giuffre had also named Barak among those to whom Epstein had trafficked her.

Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl, hitting shelves Tuesday, for the first time, details her accusations against someone she describes as “a former Prime Minister.” Court documents filed in 2020 state that Giuffre alleged Epstein sex-trafficked her to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who held the office from 1999 to 2001. Barak has strenuously and consistently denied having sex with Giuffre or having any personal knowledge of sexual misconduct involving Epstein.

The intervention of the Israeli government and the involvement of the Prime Minister’s office occurred weeks after Barak had departed the Labor Party and created a new faction of former Labor legislators whose support allowed Netanyahu to remain in power.

“A WELL-KNOWN PRIME MINISTER”

Newly published reviews of Ms. Giuffre’s memoir provide the first public recitation of her claims that Epstein trafficked her for sex to a well-known Prime Minister. These claims echo her statements in a January 2016 deposition, where she stated that she had told the FBI that Epstein had sexually trafficked her to a “prominent prime minister.” Although she provided the names of the prominent politicians to the FBI and repeated them in a deposition, a standing court order has kept the politicians’ names redacted for the last nine years.

Ehud Barak’s path to being a prime minister began in service to the state in the Israeli Defense Forces. After leading a stunning commando raid in 1974 on a hijacked jet parked at Tel Aviv’s airport that freed 89 of 90 hostages, he rose through the ranks, eventually serving as IDF Chief of Staff from 1991 to 1995. After leaving the military, Labor Party Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin appointed him Minister of the Interior. Barak became Foreign Minister later in 1995 and won a seat in the Knesset in 1996 as a member of the Labor Party.

In 1997, he became leader of the Labor Party, and in 1999 defeated then-Prime Minister Netanyahu to become Prime Minister. Ariel Sharon unseated Barak in the 2001 election. Barak then resigned from the Knesset.

According to her memoir, Giuffre met the “prominent Prime Minister” in 2002. Although the politician is not named in the book, in a June 2020 court filing by Alan Dershowitz stated that Giuffre had identified Ehud Barak as one of the men to whom Epstein trafficked her to. Dershowitz’s filing also noted that Giuffre had accused other men, including Prince Andrew and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.

After Dershowitz’s court filing, Barak’s name quickly surfaced in public. In a tweet, Miami Herald journalist Julie K. Brown cited Dershowitz’s lawyers as confirming to her that Giuffre claimed Epstein had trafficked her to Barak.

Ms. Giuffre’s memoir alleges that the man she refers to as the “Prime Minister” was violent with her during their first encounter. She claims she begged Epstein not to send her back to see him. According to the memoir, a later encounter on a plane was less violent. Barak has consistently and repeatedly denied knowing Giuffre or ever having sex with her.

“THE DIRTIEST AND UGLIEST MANEUVER”

Giuffre alleges her association with Epstein began in the early 2000s, around the time Barak entered the business world. In June 2007, however, Barak reentered politics, winning the race to become leader of the Labor Party, which was then part of a coalition government with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Kadima party. Days later, Olmert appointed him Minister of Defense.

In 2008, Olmert, dogged by corruption allegations, pledged to resign and not seek re-election. Newly-elected Kadima leader, Tzipi Livni entered negotiations to form a new government. Although Barak and the Labor Party agreed to join the proposed coalition, Livni’s efforts ultimately failed and new elections were called.

In February 2009, Livni’s Kadima won 28 seats to 27 for Netanyahu’s Likud Party. However, Israeli President Shimon Peres gave Netanyahu the mandate to form a government. Barak—despite opposition from some Labor members—agreed to form a coalition with Netanyahu. The Labor leader also remained in his post as Defense Minister.

By late 2010, much of the Labor Party was eager to exit Netanyahu’s coalition government, frustrated by Netanyahu’s lack of initiative in negotiations with Palestinian leaders. In response to a proposal before Labor’s steering committee to move up internal leadership elections, Barak wrote a scathing letter attacking the plan. It marked the beginning of a rupture between Barak and the party he led.

In early 2011, Barak, along with four allied Labor members, left the Labor Party and formed a new party, Independence, which remained in coalition with Netanyahu’s Likud Party. Kadima leader Tzipi Livni described the move as the “dirtiest and ugliest maneuver” in the history of Israeli politics. Barak stayed on as Defense Minister. Although Labor exited Netanyahu’s coalition, Barak had secured the Prime Minister’s majority. Netanyahu would remain Israeli Prime Minister for 12 more years, becoming the longest-serving leader in the Israeli history.

“NONE OF THE EVENTS YOU ALLEGED IN YOUR QUESTIONS EVER HAPPENED”

Scarcely two months into the new political alignment between Netanyahu and Barak, danger to the new configuration emerged in the form of an explosive series of stories in Britain’s Daily Mail, and its sister paper, the Mail on Sunday. The reports were based on revelations sourced to Giuffre and obtained by American reporter Sharon Churcher who was working for the twin papers. Churcher had flown to Australia to interview Giuffre. There, the 27-year-old recounted her alleged trysts with British royal Prince Andrew and handed Churcher the now-infamous photo of her with the Prince.

That photo appeared in the February 27, 2011 edition of the Mail on Sunday. But emails and documents obtained by The (b)(7)(D) suggest Churcher was looking into allegations about other men as well as Prince Andrew. In early March, the Israeli government geared up to respond to questions about serious allegations regarding Barak and Epstein, posed by the Mail on Sunday’s legendary foreign correspondent Matthew Kalman.

In a March 4, 2011 email, published here by The (b)(7)(D) for the first time, then-Senior Aide to the Prime Minister, Ron Dermer, provided the Ministry of Defense’s spokesperson with a attached document containing a response to the Daily Mail’s allegations. The document, sent from one of Dermer’s personal email accounts, would be partially quoted in the Daily Mail on March 7. Dermer’s email cc’d one of Barak’s personal accounts.

The statement in Dermer’s email denied the allegations, asserting that none of the events described in Kalman’s questions had ever occurred. It included a pointed threat that Barak would sue the Daily Mail for defamation in London:

Dermer—often referred to as “Bibi’s Brain” and described as Netanyahu’s “alter-ego” —has long been a close fixture in the Prime Minster’s inner circle. A recent profile in The Wall Street Journal called Dermer Netanyahu’s “closest confidant” noting the fact that Netanyahu “trusts few people.” The Journal also emphasized that Dermer, now 54 and serving as Minister of Strategic Affairs, “has never had a falling-out” with Netanyahu.

Barak has repeatedly called on the American-born Dermer to help with English, including in 2015 when he asked him to review an op-ed advocating for Russian leadership in resolving the Syrian Civil War. Barak began drafting the op-ed days after he received a $1 million payment for a consulting contract from close Putin associate and oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Jeffrey Epstein also provided strategic guidance to Barak in his dealings with Vekselberg.

On March 7, the Daily Mail published their next scoop under Churcher’s byline: “Teenage Girl Recruited by Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.” The story detailed the accusations about Prince Andrew. It also reported that George Mitchell and Ehud Barak were acquaintances of Epstein’s. Mitchell, the paper noted, had not responded to a request for comment. But the Daily Mail quoted Israeli Defense Minister Barak’s spokesperson as saying: “Mr Barak did attend several small functions in Mr Epstein’s home in New York that were usually attended by leading businessman, university presidents, Nobel Prize Laureates and prominent public figures.” The paper quoted language in the document sent by Dermer to Barak and the Ministry of Defense’s spokesperson—typos and all.

That same day, Barak’s long-time aide Dana Zaidman emailed the Minister with links to two Daily Mail stories, including the March 7 story that mentioned Barak. The Daily Mail did not revisit Barak’s connection to Epstein in print until July 2019, more than eight years after its initial coverage. The email, first reported by Straight Arrow News, showed that no trace of the claims addressed in the Dermer document appeared in the paper.

“I AM A REPORTER WITH THE DAILY MIRROR NEWSPAPER IN LONDON”

Despite his top aide Ron Dermer’s awareness of the sex-trafficking allegations surrounding Barak, Netanyahu made no move to remove him in the remaining two years of his tenure as Defense Minister. Barak announced his retirement from politics in late 2012. His last day as Minister of Defense was March 19, 2013.

But the 2011 incident would not be the last time Barak had to respond to reporters about Epstein. In early 2015, Barak received an email from Nick Sommerlad, Investigations Editor at the UK’s Daily Mirror. Sommerlad wrote “I have been made aware of allegations made by Virginia Roberts that she was ordered by Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with you when she was 17 years old.” He added that Roberts was alleging that she had been paid by Epstein and the events occurred at Epstein’s Little St. James island around 2001.

According to emails obtained by The (b)(7)(D), Barak initially emailed his lawyers proposed language to respond to Sommerlad’s questions. After internal review, he sent Sommerlad the final draft of his denial directly.

In an email obtained by The (b)(7)(D), Sommerlad responded to Barak “We ran your statement in today’s paper but did not name you.” The article quoted Barak as an anonymous Prime Minister: “One of those friends of Epstein accused of sleeping with Roberts is a foreign Prime Minister who we are not naming.” Barak’s reply again denied any misconduct with Giuffre: “The scandalous allegations you cite are entirely groundless. I don’t know Ms. Virginia Roberts and I didn’t have any sexual relations with her.” The Mirror added more of Barak’s denial: “I do know Jeffery Epstein. I was never aware Mr. Epstein, to quote you, ‘was paying underage girls for sex’.”

The 2015 Daily Mirror story marked the second known instance that press accusations regarding Barak and Epstein were put to the former Prime Minister—though this time the paper for the first time linked Virginia Giuffre to those claims.

Although the Office of Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer were able to find Dermer’s email that included the statement in the name of the Spokesperson of the Israeli Minister of Defense, they declined to comment on the record. Lisa Bloom, an attorney who previously represented Giuffre, declined to comment, citing her litigation schedule. A second former attorney for Virginia Giuffre did not respond to a request for comment. An attempt to reach a third former attorney who represented Giuffre was unsuccessful.