Newly released documents have detailed how convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein attempted to leverage his relationship with the former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, to rehabilitate his public image after his 2008 conviction for soliciting underage girls.
Emails disclosed by the US justice department show that Epstein and his publicist Mike Sitrick devised a plan to persuade Ferguson to release a statement declaring that Epstein was 'not a pedo' after she publicly distanced herself from him in a 2011 interview with the Daily Telegraph. In that interview, Ferguson deeply regretted her association with Epstein and said she would repay the £15,000 he had paid off her debts.
Epstein's confidence that Ferguson could be turned around appeared to stem from their close relationship. In the months following his conviction, Ferguson had described Epstein as the 'brother I always wished for', and she continued to associate with him. The files show Sitrick suggested turning up the heat on Ferguson, including threatening her with a defamation lawsuit, if she did not comply with 'gentle persuasion'.
Ferguson did not issue a public retraction, but privately she emailed Epstein the following month, humbly apologising for her Telegraph comments and calling him her 'supreme friend'. The documents also reveal Epstein's frustration that he could not depend on Ferguson to act as he wished, while Sitrick emphasised that her retraction was critical for Epstein's reputation.
