The tranche of records shows how Epstein managed to build an extensive network of wealthy and influential figures in Silicon Valley. Many of them, including Thiel, continued to interact with Epstein after his guilty plea in 2008 to soliciting prostitution and soliciting minors for prostitution.
The new files show that Thiel arranged to meet with Epstein several times between 2014 and 2017. “What are you going to do on Friday?” Thiel wrote to Epstein on April 5, 2016. “Should we try for lunch?” Most of the communication between two individuals in the data dump relates to schedules of meals, calls and meetings with each other. Thiel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WIRED.
One piece of correspondence stands out as being particularly bizarre. On February 3, 2016, Alissa Bekins, Thiel’s former chief of staff and senior executive assistant, sent an email with the subject line “Meeting – February 4 – 9:30 am – Peter Thiel Dietary Restrictions – Confidential.” The initial recipient of the email has been redacted, but it was later forwarded directly to Epstein.
The content of the message has also been redacted in at least one version of the email chain uploaded by the Justice Department on Friday. However, two other files of the same set of messages have less information redacted.
In an email, Bekins listed about two dozen approved types of sushi and animal proteins, 14 approved vegetables and 0 approved fruits for Thiel to eat. “Fresh herbs” and olive oil were allowed; However, ketchup, mayonnaise and soy sauce should be avoided. Only one actual meal was clearly outlined: “greens/salad with egg whites or some type of protein,” such as steak, which Beckins included “if they have breakfast.” It is unclear whether the February 4 meeting ultimately took place; Other emails indicate that Thiel was stuck in traffic on his way to meet Epstein that day.
According to a recording of an undated conversation between Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, which was also part of the files released by the DOJ on Friday, Epstein told Barak he was hoping to meet with Thiel next week. He said he was familiar with Thiel’s company Palantir, but he pronounced it “Palantier” out loud to Barack. Epstein speculated that Thiel might put Barack on Palantir’s board, although there is no evidence of this.
“I’ve never met Peter Thiel, and everyone says he jumps around and acts really weird, like he’s on drugs,” Epstein said, referring to Thiel at one point in the audio recording. The former prime minister agreed with Epstein’s assessment.
According to The New York Times, in 2015 and 2016, Epstein put $40 million into two funds managed by Valar Ventures, one of Thiel’s investment firms. According to files released by the DOJ, Epstein and Thiel continued to communicate and were discussing meeting each other as recently as January 2019. Epstein committed suicide in his prison cell in August of that year.
Below are Thiel’s dietary restrictions as outlined in the February 2016 email. (The following list has been slightly reformatted for clarity.)
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