French prosecutors obtained approximately 4,500 emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s personal Gmail account in 2019 but kept the discovery largely undisclosed for years, French magazine Marianne reported this week.
The revelation has raised questions in France about why authorities did not publicize or pursue the email trove more aggressively during their investigation into Epstein’s alleged network of accomplices.
Investigators discovered the [email protected] account while analyzing computer equipment they had seized from Epstein’s Paris apartment during a probe targeting Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent accused of recruiting young women for Epstein.
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Paris prosecutors documented their discovery in a mutual legal assistance request to US authorities dated July 8, 2020. The request stated that investigators were analyzing Epstein’s Gmail account and examining the thousands of messages it contained.
The messages referenced Brunel, allegations against Epstein, women, and scheduled meetings, the French publication reported.
French authorities opened their investigation in August 2019, weeks after Epstein died, reportedly by suicide, in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting sex trafficking charges. The probe sought to identify possible accomplices who operated in France.
Read: Were the Cameras Wiped After Epstein’s Death?
Police arrested Brunel at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in December 2020 as he attempted to board a flight to Senegal. Prosecutors charged him with rape of minors and sexual harassment. He died by suicide in February 2022 at La Santé Prison while awaiting trial.
The email account appears to have remained largely dormant in French investigative files after Brunel’s death, Marianne reported. French officials have not provided a public explanation for why the emails were not pursued more actively, though a government source told Radio France that authorities are now investigating why the information “was lost” within the system.
The US Department of Justice began releasing millions of pages of Epstein-related documents on January 30 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Those releases have renewed scrutiny of public figures in multiple countries who maintained contact with the convicted sex offender.
French government officials have called for complete transparency in the matter and urged potential victims to contact law enforcement.
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