HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026631: Jeffrey Epstein’s 2016 “Contacts” Email
On October 30, 2016, Jeffrey Epstein sent himself an email titled “contacts.” The one page House Oversight record, HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026631, contains names and shorthand spanning science, politics, law, entertainment, and international contacts. Near the end, it changes into apparent personal reminders. A DOJ copy at EFTA00813112 shows the earlier message forwarded to Epstein’s account on November 1. Neither copy explains why each entry was written or whether a person on the list was contacted. media-cdn.rollcall.com
Snapshot
| Field | What the records show |
|---|---|
| Main evidence ID | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026631 |
| DOJ counterpart | EFTA00813112 and EFTA00813113, a two page forwarded copy |
| Original message date shown | October 30, 2016, 4:40:14 p.m. on the House rendering |
| DOJ forward date shown | November 1, 2016 |
| Subject | “contacts” |
| Sender and recipient | Epstein’s account to Epstein’s account |
| Format | Names, partial names, abbreviations, and apparent personal notes |
| Related records | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029622, a separate June 2019 email; EFTA01624023, a separate photographed handwritten page |
| Core limit | A name on this email does not establish a conversation, meeting, trip, agreement, or wrongdoing. |
Important Points and Key Takeaways
- Epstein sent the October 30 message to himself. The released page does not show delivery of the list to any of the named people.
- The body mixes apparent names with uncertain strings and, later, apparent health and property reminders. “Contacts” is the subject, but the contents are broader than a conventional address book.
- The DOJ copy shows a November 1 forward of the earlier message. It is another preserved appearance of the underlying list, with a different email wrapper and some text extraction differences.
- A 2019 email titled “list for bannon steve” repeats many names but adds others and changes their order. The two emails are distinct documents.
- The list includes “mandelbrot.” If that means mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, who died in 2010, the 2016 email cannot be treated as a list consisting only of living people available to contact.
What the Two Released Copies Show
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026631 displays the October 30 message, its “contacts” subject, an “Importance: High” line, and a one page body. Epstein’s account appears as both sender and recipient. The body has inconsistent commas, spaces, and spelling. It gives no key for interpreting the entries.
EFTA00813112 begins a two page DOJ copy. Its outer message is titled “Fwd: contacts,” dated November 1, 2016. Within it is the October 30 email. The forwarded rendering includes a trailing “rothschild” after the difficult “loen terjge” sequence that is absent from the House page’s extracted text. Researchers should check the page images before quoting an uncertain string as an exact transcription. EFTA00813113 is the continuation page, largely occupied by the footer.
Neither rendering tells us whether Epstein composed the list in one sitting, copied an older note, or intended it for someone else. “Importance: High” is an email header value. It does not identify any particular name as urgent.
Working Index of Names and Fragments
This chart reorganizes the email for searching. The original is a running sequence, not a set of labeled categories. A short string is not a verified full identity. Apparent spelling errors remain close to their printed form, and adjacent words may represent separate entries.
| Working group | Entries or fragments in the email | How to read them |
|---|---|---|
| Science and technology | Edelman; Set; Martin; Tata; Susskind; Strominger; Rynolds; Kosslyn; Krause; Gardner; Bill; Thiel; Hoffman; Sinofsky; Nathan; Feigenbaum; Ramachandrain; Demsaio; Christakis; Dennet; Sheldrake; Fewick; Gellman; West; Kaufman; Seligman; Kurzweill; Ben Goertzel; Gould; Saks; Mandelbrot; Hopkins | Several adjacent names lack punctuation. “Set” could be “Seth,” and “Martin” could be Martin Nowak, but those full names are not written here. “Nathan Feigenbaum” may be two people rather than one full name. |
| Public and political names | Mitchell; Kerry; Clinton; Richardosn; Mapp; Leahy; Spitzer; Shcumer; Pruseven; Waheed; Mandelson; Ehud; Lang; Churkin; Sergey; Jagland; Andrew; Woody; Blaine; Boris; Larry Summers; Pastrana; Cas Gtro | Some are only given names or misspelled surnames. “Cas Gtro” is unresolved. This group also includes apparent entertainment names. |
| Legal and advisory run | Dersh; Reummler; Marty; Roy; Ken; Jay; Lilly; Jack; Rhinehart; Chet; Tonja; Lefcourt; Moscowitz; Bradk | Several match short forms of Epstein’s lawyers. Others remain unidentified. “Bradk” appears near the end of the email, rather than in the middle of this run. |
| International names and short forms | Hamad; Jabor; Karim; Outarra; Mohmaaed; Raafat; Sultan; Loen; Terjge; Rothschild in the DOJ forwarded rendering | Spellings and word breaks are uncertain. The House copy’s extracted text does not show the final word after “terjge.” |
| Other initials and reminders | AK; Chad; Pinto; Isj or lsj; Bbj; Ana; Brice | These might refer to people, places, or Epstein’s own shorthand. The letters around “lsj” are especially vulnerable to machine reading errors. |
| Apparent personal notes | Smell; mental fit; lipid; Crestor; Dick; prostatitis; back protein; diet; exercise | These are cautious readings of garbled phrases, not a diagnosis or a reliable medical history. |
The index leaves “Saks,” “Fewick,” “Rhinehart,” “Chet,” “Tonja,” and other short entries unresolved. Matching a surname to someone Epstein knew would create false certainty without another record. The original email controls for exact order and spelling. media-cdn.rollcall.com
The Legal Run and the Stronger Identifications
The 2016 email puts “dersh,” “reummler,” “marty,” “roy,” “ken,” “jay,” “lilly,” and “jack” in a tight sequence, followed by more short names and “lefcourt.” A December 2007 letter preserved at EFTA00213048 identifies Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Starr, Jay Lefkowitz, Lilly Ann Sanchez, Roy Black, Jack Goldberger, and Gerald Lefcourt among Epstein’s lawyers. Martin Weinberg is also documented as Epstein counsel in other records. The grouping supports the likely identities below; the 2007 letter independently establishes the attorneys’ roles. media-cdn.rollcall.com
| Email entry | Likely identity | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Dersh | Alan Dershowitz | Strong shorthand match in a legal run. |
| Reummler | Kathryn “Kathy” Ruemmler | Strong surname match. This does not place her on the 2007 defense team. |
| Marty | Martin Weinberg | Plausible given his legal role; “Marty” alone is not unique. |
| Roy | Roy Black | Strong contextual match. |
| Ken | Kenneth Starr | Strong contextual match. |
| Jay | Jay Lefkowitz | Strong contextual match. |
| Lilly | Lilly Ann Sanchez | Strong contextual match. |
| Jack | Jack Goldberger | Strong contextual match. |
| Lefcourt | Gerald Lefcourt | Strong surname and legal context match. |
| Bradk | Possibly Brad Karp | Plausible, but abbreviated and written elsewhere in the message. |
“Rhinehart,” “Chet,” “Tonja,” and “Moscowitz” need individual research. Being near lawyers on this list does not establish that each was an attorney or represented Epstein.
A Name From an Earlier Era
The email includes “mandelbrot” among science names. Yale’s memorial to Benoit Mandelbrot records that the mathematician died in October 2010, six years before the email. He is a compelling identification for that distinctive surname in this context, although the email gives no first name. Yale News
If that identification is correct, the list includes someone who could not have been a living contact in 2016. It might preserve an older network, notable names, or copied material. The document does not establish which explanation is right.
How It Relates to the 2019 Bannon Titled List
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029622 is a separate June 30, 2019 email from Epstein’s account to his own account titled “list for bannon steve.” It overlaps with the 2016 list on Susskind, Hoffman, Sinofsky, Sheldrake, Seligman, Saks, Mandelbrot, Mitchell, Churkin, Jagland, Ruemmler, and “dersh,” among others. It also contains new entries and different spellings and groupings. media-cdn.rollcall.com
The 2019 subject supplies context for that later email. The 2016 email does not mention Bannon. Neither released page proves that Bannon received either list or that one email was copied directly from the other.
How It Relates to the Handwritten Page
EFTA01624023 is a separate photograph of handwritten names and places on Epstein stationery. Tentative readings include some words also present in the typed emails, but shadows and small writing limit certainty. The photograph does not establish its date or who wrote on it.
The 2016 email provides candidate spellings to check against a clearer image. It is not a verified transcription of the sheet. The overlap cannot establish when the sheet was written, why it was written, or whether the typed email came from it.
What the Evidence Establishes
The House record establishes that a “contacts” email existed in Epstein’s account on October 30, 2016. The DOJ copy preserves a November 1 forward of the earlier text. Together they document Epstein’s collection of names and reminders, including a recognizable run of legal names.
They do not establish that Epstein contacted every named person in 2016, that every string denotes a distinct living person, that everyone listed knew one another, or that anyone named participated in Epstein’s crimes. A dated message, calendar entry, travel record, or testimony is needed to make a more specific claim about a particular relationship.
Questions for Sleuths
- Is an earlier draft of the 2016 contacts list preserved elsewhere?
- Do the original page images settle the differing “rothschild” ending in the DOJ and House renderings?
- Which ambiguous fragments can be matched to dated correspondence without forcing a full name onto a short string?
- Were the personal reminders composed with the names or copied into the same email from another note?
- Is there a dated record linking the email to the handwritten page EFTA01624023?
Sources
- HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026631: October 30, 2016 “contacts” email. Primary House rendering.
- EFTA00813112 and EFTA00813113: DOJ forwarded copy. Two page copy headed “Fwd: contacts,” dated November 1, 2016.
- EFTA00213048: December 2007 Acosta letter to Kenneth Starr. Names several defense attorneys relevant to the shorthand.
- HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029622: June 30, 2019 “list for bannon steve” email. Distinct later list.
- EFTA01624023: photographed handwritten page. Distinct handwritten record.
- Yale News: memorial to Benoit Mandelbrot. Establishes his 2010 death date.