Vance says Epstein had ties to top Israeli, US intelligence figures but admits he has no proof

“Until the day I die, I will believe there is a story there, but I can’t prove it,” Vance said.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

US Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Jeffrey Epstein had clear connections to senior figures in Israeli and American intelligence but acknowledged he could not prove the late sex offender worked for Mossad, the CIA or another intelligence agency.

Speaking on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Vance also conceded that the Trump administration mishandled the release of documents related to Epstein and rejected suggestions that President Donald Trump had been blackmailed.

“He clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence,” Vance said.

When Rogan said “most people think he was a Mossad guy,” Vance replied: “Yeah. Mossad or CIA or some other deep state entity, in America, Israel or another country — or some combination of them.”

Vance said authorities collected about 6 million documents, including roughly 3 million connected to Epstein’s estate.

He argued that the original 2007-2008 investigation was too narrowly focused and failed to examine whether a broader network existed.

“Until the day I die, I will believe there is a story there, but I can’t prove it,” Vance said.

Vance said former Attorney General Pam Bondi “overstated what we had and what we didn’t have” and acknowledged failures in the administration’s handling of the files.

“If people want to say that we botched the release of the Epstein files — we’re guilty,” he said. “We botched it, especially the communications.”

Vance also claimed Epstein had stronger connections to Israel’s political left than its right, though he said he did not know the significance of those relationships.

The vice president separately accused figures in Israel of conducting a “discreet and well-funded campaign” in the United States to derail the agreement with Iran, while stressing that only parts of the Israeli establishment opposed the negotiations.

“Israel is an ally, like France or Britain,” Vance said, adding that he wanted “a normal relationship with a normal country, based on shared interests.”

On Iran, Vance ruled out deploying 150,000 US troops to replace the government, saying any effort by Iranians to change their regime was their responsibility.

“We are not in that business anymore,” he said.