USA18 July, 20262 min read
JD Vance Says Jeffrey Epstein Had Connections To American And Israeli Intelligence On Joe Rogan
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Vance claimed Epstein had ties to American intelligence. Vance claimed Epstein had ties to Israeli intelligence.
Vance on Epstein ties
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had connections to “the highest levels of American intelligence” and “the highest levels of Israeli intelligence” during a three-hour appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience.
Vance told Rogan that when asked about speculation involving Israel’s Mossad, he replied, “Yeah, Mossad or CIA or some other deep state.”
The remarks were framed by the South African Jewish Report as a notable embrace by a Trump administration official of theories about Epstein’s ties to Israeli intelligence, while it said “No evidence supports the claim.”
The same interview also included Vance’s claim that Epstein’s alleged Israeli connections were linked to “elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of center,” and he said he did not know what that meant.
Rogan interview reactions
In the South African Jewish Report account of the interview, Vance told Rogan that Epstein had “connections” to Israeli intelligence and also said Israelis behind attacks on his efforts to broker a ceasefire with Iran should “go to hell.” The South African Jewish Report also cited Naftali Bennett, Israel’s former prime minister, saying he last year “publicly denied allegations that Epstein worked for Israel or its intelligence agency.”
Muslim Mirror reported that Vance acknowledged missteps by the Trump administration in handling the release of Epstein-related documents and said, “We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files.” Muslim Mirror further reported that Vance rejected suggestions of deliberate concealment, insisting the errors stemmed from poor messaging rather than an attempt to hide information.
Iran diplomacy and fallout
The South African Jewish Report said Vance’s remarks came as he defended negotiating with Iran and described his “deal with Iran” as being in abeyance, while it added that President Donald Trump resumed the war against Iran this week.
AzerNews reported that Vance acknowledged officials mishandled public communication on the Epstein case, saying, “We did mishandle it, especially the communications of it,” and he argued the administration should have “just dropped everything at the very beginning.”
In the same AzerNews account, Vance denied there had been any deliberate cover-up and attributed the controversy to poor communication and “exaggerated public expectations regarding the release of the Epstein files.”
Muslim Mirror also tied the Epstein discussion to Vance’s defense of former Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying Vance told Rogan, “I know Pam. I like Pam. I don’t think there was anything malicious going on,” while admitting she overstated the material available.