(NewsNation) — Newly obtained records show extensive travels and passport requests of financier Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced businessman with a notorious history.
Over 50 pages from Epstein’s passport files were secured by ABC News through a public records request to the U.S. Department of State, spanning from the early 1980s to 2019.
The documents indicate Epstein’s efforts to maintain flexibility for international travel, citing safety and business reasons. State Department policies allowed certain frequent travelers to carry a second passport, addressing concerns about conflicting visa stamps.
At the height of its notoriety, Epstein’s private jet, the “Lolita Express,” flew Epstein and his VIP friends, often with a bevy of underage girls, to keep them company in sordid and illegal ways.
Now, the plane that has been grounded since 2016 sits rotting, rusting and partially dismantled on a tarmac in coastal Georgia, set to be scrapped.
Epstein’s Multiple Passports
In a June 2011 letter, Epstein urgently requested a second U.S. passport, citing frequent international trips with multiple destinations and the need for simultaneous visas. Epstein identified himself as the president of an international financial consulting firm that planned business trips to France, Sierra Leone, Mali and Gabon.
This request came three years after Epstein’s guilty plea in Florida for solicitation of an underage girl, leading to his lifetime registration as a sex offender, according to ABC News.
Epstein’s passport records reveal a pattern of reporting lost or stolen passports, with destinations ranging from Europe to the Middle East. The earliest application, dating back to April 1983, was to replace a lost passport before a trip to London. In the mid-1980s, Epstein reported two more instances of lost or stolen passports, one left in a London taxi and another stolen while dining in a restaurant.
His 1993 passport application depicted a graying Epstein with an improved financial status, listing an address on East 69th in New York City. The records also show Epstein’s connections to Ehud Barak, former prime minister of Israel, and instances where he applied for a second passport to avoid conflicting visa stamps when traveling to Israel and certain Arab states, according to ABC News.
Epstein’s International Travels
Epstein’s travel records expose his trips to Africa and the Middle East, raising questions about the nature of these visits. The documents, obtained by ABC News, reveal Epstein’s connections to Israel and certain Arab states, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Notably, his request for a second passport was often motivated by a desire to avoid conflicting visa stamps during travel.
The financier, who maintained connections with influential figures such as Barak, faced scrutiny for his alleged ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. His international travel, documented extensively, continued despite his status as a registered sex offender, according to ABC News.
Epstein’s Arrest
It wasn’t until the passage of the “International Megan’s Law” in 2016 that the government could revoke the passports of sex offenders. Epstein’s 2016 passport, valid for ten years, was revoked, along with a second passport valid until 2020. His final passport, issued in March 2019, is documented in the State Department files.
The records also reveal that the United States Marshals Service was investigating Epstein’s international travels, suspecting that he may have failed to report all of them. Epstein’s arrest in July 2019 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey marked the beginning of a federal indictment on charges of conspiracy and child sex trafficking.
Upon searching Epstein’s New York home, FBI agents discovered a safe containing 48 loose diamonds and $70,000 in cash along with three U.S. passports and one Austrian passport with Epstein’s photo but a different name and an address in Saudi Arabia.
Epstein’s defense attorneys claimed the foreign passport was given to him for personal protection during Middle East travels in the 1980s. This, coupled with his history of international travel, led a judge to deny bail, citing Epstein as a flight risk. Three weeks later, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell, ruled a suicide by hanging. Following Epstein’s death, the Marshals Service investigation into his travel was terminated.
NewsNation’s Tyler Wornell contributed to this report.