Senator JD Vance asserted on Joe Rogan's podcast that he believes he is the target of an Israeli-funded influence operation aimed at discrediting his peace initiative concerning Iran. Vance also suggested that the late financier Jeffrey Epstein had connections to "the highest levels" of both American and Israeli intelligence.
During the nearly three-hour interview, Vance pointed to a TIME magazine report that he said detailed payments to American influencers, allegedly funded by elements of the Israeli government, to oppose his stance on Iran. "My response to that is, well, go to hell," Vance stated regarding those he accused of accepting payment to criticize him. Vance, who has stated he has been labeled an anti-Semite, contended that Israel is losing ground in public opinion within the United States and that "figures" within the Israeli government are attempting to manipulate American sentiment to prolong the conflict indefinitely.
The senator then pivoted to the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, stating that the disgraced financier "clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence" and "Israeli intelligence." When Rogan suggested that Epstein was widely believed to be working for Mossad, Vance did not refute the claim, adding it could have been "Mossad or CIA or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel or another country or both."
Vance described himself as a "conspiracy theorist" regarding Epstein's ties to spy agencies, theorizing that any evidence would likely have been destroyed after Epstein's initial arrest in 2006. "What I have seen... is that there just wasn't dispositive evidence. And if that dispositive evidence ever existed, it was probably destroyed after 2006, 2007," Vance told Rogan.
Vance agreed with Rogan that Epstein was likely operating a network to pressure or compromise influential individuals. "I will go to my deathbed believing there's a story there," Vance said, while acknowledging he lacked definitive proof. He conceded that the administration "absolutely screwed up" its management of the Epstein-related files. He attributed some of the missteps in releasing information to Attorney General Pam Bondi, whom he accused of overstating the available evidence.
"I think we should have just dropped everything at the very beginning and, like I was saying, it takes a little time to review the stuff, to find the stuff, to redact things where you have victims and so forth, but we should have just done it as quickly as possible," Vance told Rogan.
Vance also proposed a theory that Epstein used complex tax schemes, potentially devised for early patrons like billionaire Les Wexner, to gain leverage over wealthy individuals. Wexner, the former head of Victoria's Secret, was Epstein's initial major client and entrusted him with managing his personal finances. Wexner has consistently denied any awareness of or participation in Epstein's criminal activities.
Noting what he found to be a peculiar connection between Epstein and the left-leaning faction of the Israeli intelligence community, Vance admitted, "I don't know what that means." He contrasted this with Epstein's cultivation of relationships across the political spectrum in the United States. Vance also suggested that Epstein's alleged activities were likely destroyed after 2006. He agreed with Rogan that the financier was running an operation to pressure or compromise powerful people.
