Was it a blackmail operation?

Epstein surrounded himself with powerful men and young women, in homes he controlled. When agents searched his New York townhouse in 2019, they reported finding a safe holding CDs with handwritten labels such as “Young [Name] + [Name],” along with cash and diamonds. He had sought leverage over Bill Gates, he discussed blackmail in emails with a Russian official, and he seemed protected for decades. To people across the spectrum, a kompromat operation explains the deal, the friends and the money better than anything else. [1][2][3][4]

In 2017 Epstein emailed Gates seeking reimbursement for the coding-school tuition he had paid for Mila Antonova, a Russian bridge player with whom Gates had an affair years earlier. A Gates spokesperson said in 2023 that Epstein “unsuccessfully tried to leverage a past relationship to threaten Gates.” In 2026 Gates told House investigators he believed Epstein had contemplated blackmail. Gates denies any wrongdoing beyond meeting Epstein, which he calls a mistake. [1][2][3][4]

The July 2025 memo said investigators found “no credible evidence” that Epstein blackmailed prominent people, and the FBI director later said there was no credible information he trafficked girls to others. No library of tapes of famous men has been produced in any trial, lawsuit or the 2026 release. [1][2]

That conclusion has limits. The Justice Department withheld images it classified as child abuse material, much of the evidence from 2005 to 2008 was never gathered, and investigators’ notes are still being fought over in court. The labeled CDs were in government hands; what was on them has not been made public. [1][3]