In November 2018, Steve Bannon, formerly Donald Trump’s chief strategist, was in the UK preparing for a speech at the Oxford Union.
The event was interrupted by hundreds of protesters, and Bannon, who was due to board a flight that night, told Jeffrey Epstein in an email: “Protesters slowed down speech, don’t think I can make the flight we r enroute to heathrow”.
Epstein replied: “There. Is a gulf air that leaves at 950 with a stop in Bahrain”. Bannon replied: “U r an amazing assistant”.
The messages were published on Wednesday alongside more than 20,000 pages of documents from the estate of Epstein, the late convicted sex offender and disgraced financier.
The release by the House Oversight Committee in Congress includes an iMessage chat in which Bannon’s name is redacted. The BBC has been able to establish his identity by matching the dates, events and places mentioned.
For example, Epstein discusses chartering a plane from Scotland for the redacted user in the chat and praises their “Oxford speech”. Bannon took part in the News Xchange conference in Edinburgh on 14 November and gave a speech at the Oxford Union two days later.
Bannon, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, did not reply to the BBC’s request for comment.
‘I’ll make sure you’re well looked after’
Bannon was one of Trump’s closest advisers in the run-up to the 2016 election and in the early days of his first administration, but resigned from the White House in August 2017.
He has acknowledged he was making a film about Epstein before his death and reportedly has around 15 hours of footage. In a live taping of his podcast earlier this year, he said: “We’re going to release the film, the five-part series, next year – early next year.”
But the newly released documents suggest Bannon’s relationship with Epstein went further than being his biographer, with the convicted paedophile occasionally seeming to act like a personal assistant.
A few days before the exchange in which Epstein appeared to have arranged a charter jet for Bannon, Epstein said: “How does it feel to have the most highly paid travel agent in history?”.
Bannon thanked him: “U r pretty good asst”, to which Epstein replied, “Massages. Not included”.
Discussing a trip to “AD” in another message – presumably meaning Abu Dhabi – Epstein told Bannon: “I’ll make sure you’re well looked after.”
The released messages also show Bannon and Epstein discussing UK politics in 2018.
Earlier that day, after speaking at the Oxford Union, Bannon texted Epstein: “I’ve gotten pulled into the Brexit thing this morning with Nigel, Boris and Rees Mogg.”
Then, in what appears to be a reference to Theresa May, the embattled UK prime minister at the time, he added: “The guys are trying to move on. may today/tomorrow…”
Epstein advised Bannon: “I think staying as long as you can uk. Best- so people get the commitment of your follow-through.”
Shortly after, Epstein asked: “Will Theresa may survive?” Bannon replied: “I don’t see how BUT the guys over here have no balls” and added “Boris, Gove, Rees Mogg, David Davis – somebody has to step up”.
Theresa May was eventually toppled in May 2019 after surviving two votes of no confidence in December 2018.
A spokesman for Reform UK told the BBC: “Nigel Farage has never been in a meeting with Steve Bannon, Jacob Rees Mogg and Boris Johnson.” And there is no evidence that such a meeting took place.
The US House of Representatives will vote next week on whether the Justice Department should release all its files related to its investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
Interest in Epstein’s relationships with powerful figures was renewed this week after the release of more than 20,000 pages of documents from his estate.
Some of those mentioned Trump, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The president was a friend of Epstein’s for years, but says they fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested.