Newly released emails show that former White House press secretary Joe Lockhart declined a request from disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein for public relations help in 2015, as Epstein faced growing scrutiny over sex-trafficking allegations.
The emails, made public by the US Justice Department and the House Oversight Committee, reveal that Epstein sought advice on how to handle mounting negative media coverage tied to court filings accusing him of running a sex-trafficking operation.
Lockhart said he ultimately refused the request.
"Mr. Epstein called me seeking consulting help. I declined the offer," Lockhart said in an email response to The Post after the documents surfaced, NT reported.
He added that he did not know who had recommended him to Epstein until the records became public.
The introduction came from former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, who suggested Lockhart as a crisis communications expert.
In an email dated Jan. 25, 2015, Epstein asked Summers about speaking with the longtime Democratic strategist, mistakenly spelling his name as "lockhard."
Summers replied that Lockhart was "capable and experienced" and noted his work as press secretary for former President Bill Clinton during the intense media scrutiny surrounding the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.
Soon after, Summers sent a brief email connecting the two men. Epstein followed up the next day, writing to Lockhart: "Larry Summers suggested we speak. I understand you are short on time; ten minutes at your convenience would be appreciated."
Jeffrey Epstein tapped Bill Clinton's ex-press secretary Joe Lockhart for PR advice - mistakenly calling him 'lockhard,' docs show https://t.co/iyqZVcjhA5 pic.twitter.com/1J6BNuKH0i
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Emails Reveal Jeffrey Epstein Sought Advice
Lockhart responded by asking if Epstein wanted to call the next day and requested the best phone number.
The two agreed to speak by phone at 10 a.m., though Lockhart now says he never took on any work for Epstein.
At the time, Epstein was under renewed public pressure after court filings by accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre alleged that he operated a sex-trafficking network involving powerful figures.
According to NY Post, in the emails, Epstein complained that the press coverage was "still an onslaught but so preposterous that it becomes more easily seen as a farce."
Lockhart, who served as Clinton's press secretary from 1998 to 2000, later held communications roles with companies and organizations including Facebook and the National Football League.
After leaving government, he also co-founded the Washington-based public affairs firm Glover Park Group.
In a 2019 interview with CNN shortly after Epstein's arrest, Lockhart said he had never met the financier and insisted Epstein was not part of the former president's social circle.
"I know most of the Clinton circle, Jeffrey Epstein's not part of it," Lockhart said at the time.
Epstein, who had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor, died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Originally published on vcpost.com
