Jeffrey Epstein 'repeatedly' contacted the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and British intelligence services volunteering to work for them, a former CIA officer has claimed, raising fresh questions about the convicted sex offender's connections to the world of espionage.
John Kiriakou, a former CIA counterterrorism officer who spent 14 years at the agency before becoming a whistleblower, made the allegations in a widely shared interview with former mob boss Michael Franzese on 25 March. Citing the latest Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice in January 2026, Kiriakou said Epstein had approached the CIA and FBI offering his services, and had done the same with Britain's MI5 and MI6.
'Access Agent' Who Targeted the World's Most Powerful People
Kiriakou described Epstein not as a traditional spy but as an 'access agent' likely recruited by Israel's intelligence service, Mossad. The role, he explained, involved getting close to powerful figures and extracting information through social proximity.
'You're not going to recruit Bill Clinton, or Bill Gates, or Prince Andrew,' Kiriakou told Franzese. Those people 'don't need money,' he said, so an intelligence service would instead hire someone who could 'wine them and dine them, make them comfortable, have them drop their guard.'
A 2020 FBI informant memo released as part of the DOJ documents supports his theory. A confidential human source described Epstein as a 'co-opted Mossad Agent' who was 'close to the former Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, and trained as a spy under him.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied the claims in February, writing on X that Barak's ties to Epstein don't suggest state espionage.
Epstein Demanded a Private Sit-Down With Putin
The released documents confirm Epstein spent years pursuing Russian intelligence contacts and trying to secure a one-on-one meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Putin's name appears more than 1,000 times across the released files.
Kiriakou said the Russians offered Epstein a meeting with Putin and two national security aides, but Epstein refused because it wasn't private enough. Emails in the documents back this up. In a 2013 message to Barak, Epstein claimed he turned down a meeting with Putin at a St Petersburg economic conference because it lacked 'real time and privacy.'
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Putin never met Epstein, and no evidence in the files confirms such a meeting took place.
Millions of Files Remain Sealed
The DOJ released roughly 3.5 million pages of Epstein documents in January 2026, but the agency has said the release is effectively complete. Kiriakou, however, claimed millions more pages remain withheld. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi testified before the House Oversight Committee on 29 May, acknowledging 'redaction errors' and saying Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche had led the review.
The committee subpoenaed Bondi in March after bipartisan frustration, with five Republicans joining Democrats in a 24-19 vote. Trump fired Bondi in April before she could fully comply.
Kiriakou told Franzese there is 'something there that is embarrassing, that is humiliating, that is possibly dangerous, that they just don't want us to know about.'
What Intelligence Agencies Knew and When
If Epstein served as an intelligence asset, it raises a question about whether agencies knew of his crimes and looked the other way. The released documents have already triggered investigations in Poland, Norway, and the UK, where former minister Peter Mandelson and Prince Andrew face legal proceedings tied to Epstein.
Kiriakou's allegations remain unverified. The CIA has refused to confirm or deny whether records on Epstein exist, calling the information 'currently and properly classified.' Representative Nancy Mace demanded full disclosure in February, but the agency hasn't complied.
With millions of files still sealed and congressional investigations intensifying, the full picture of Epstein's intelligence ties may remain out of public reach for years.
