Raquel Gonzales Embang

Jeffrey Epstein was asked if his money was dirty. He said no, because he had earned it. Then Steve Bannon asked him a question that produced one of the most chilling answers in the newly released footage: “Do you think you’re the devil himself?” Epstein smiled. “No, but I do have a good mirror.” The exchange came from a lengthy interview filmed around 2019, reportedly intended for a documentary about Epstein and his connections to the global elite. The footage later became public through the US Department of Justice’s release of Epstein-related records. But the most revealing part wasn’t the joke. It was how Epstein tried to defend the money behind his lifestyle. Bannon asked him directly: “Is your money dirty money?” “No, it’s not,” Epstein replied. When Bannon pressed him on why, Epstein’s answer was simple: he had earned it. Bannon challenged that explanation, pointing out that Epstein had made money advising wealthy and powerful people, some of whom pursued their own interests at enormous cost to others. Epstein didn’t accept the premise that this made his fortune dirty. Instead, he shifted the conversation toward philanthropy. He brought up money he said he had donated to help fund polio vaccinations in Pakistan and India. His argument was essentially this: if his money helped save children from disease, should the people receiving that help reject it because of who provided the funds? It was a calculated moral argument. Rather than staying focused on his own conduct, Epstein asked the audience to consider the good that money could accomplish. Then the conversation turned to his status as a sex offender. Bannon asked what kind of sexual predator he was. Epstein described himself as “Tier 1,” which he characterized as the lowest level. Bannon followed up with a blunt question: “But a criminal?” “Yes,” Epstein answered. And then came the devil question. Bannon asked whether Epstein thought he was the devil himself. Epstein delivered the line about having a “good mirror,” briefly treating the question like a joke. But when Bannon continued, Epstein said the devil scared him. The exchange is disturbing not because it proves anything supernatural about Epstein, but because of the contrast: he could acknowledge being a criminal while still defending his fortune and redirecting the discussion toward the charitable uses of his money. That distinction matters. Money can fund useful projects without erasing the conduct of the person who provided it. And a person’s ability to make money legally does not automatically settle the moral questions surrounding how they earned it, whom they served, or what they did. Epstein’s answer was designed to make the question about money sound simple. The interview itself showed how quickly the conversation became anything but simple. If someone uses their wealth to fund good causes, does that change how we should judge the person who earned it or can philanthropy become a way to distract from the truth?