Amidst a trove of nearly 3 million pages of Justice Department records, a brief email exchange has come to light, revealing discussions between disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon regarding Powell’s potential termination from his position. The email, dated in 2018, carries the subject line “Re: Trump discusses firing Fed chief after recent rate hikes: report,” indicating Epstein and Bannon were contemplating changes within the Trump administration.
Epstein initiated the conversation by expressing strong support for firing Powell, whom President Trump had appointed just a year earlier. In his words, “Should have been done months ago. Too old!!!” The timing was striking, as this exchange occurred shortly after then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis’s unexpected resignation. Epstein, with a dismissive tone, remarked that foreign policy issues were secondary to leadership changes at the Federal Reserve.
In a follow-up email, Epstein emphasized, “It’s much more important to fire Powell than Syria or Mattis,” and even suggested that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the President’s daughter and son-in-law respectively, should also be removed from their roles within the administration.
When Bannon inquired whether either Powell or then-Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin could be fired, Epstein clarified that he believed Mnuchin should stay, stating, “No, President Mnuchin is fine.” This back-and-forth further highlighted Trump’s longstanding dissatisfaction with Powell, a situation the President has been gearing up to address for years.
