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Jeffrey Epstein said he had dirt on the rich and famous

When James B. Stewart of the NYT visited Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in August 2018, he expected to talk business. Instead, he got a glimpse into the life of the disgraced financier who killed himself last weekend.

The meeting was supposed to be about Tesla. Mr. Stewart had heard a rumor that Mr. Epstein was advising Elon Musk in the wake of his take-the-company-private Twitter debacle. Mr. Epstein “avoided specifics” on the company, but did say that everyone at Tesla would deny having talked to him because he was “radioactive.” Tesla has said it had no involvement with Mr. Epstein.

But Mr. Epstein openly talked about young women and secrets he claimed to hold about the rich and powerful.

• Mr. Epstein “said that criminalizing sex with teenage girls was a cultural aberration and that at times in history it was perfectly acceptable,” Mr. Stewart writes.