"I Didn't Seek Meetings": Hardeep Puri To NDTV On "Epstein Files" Attack

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri today continued his counter-attack on Rahul Gandhi over the Congress MP's "Epstein Files" comments in parliament yesterday.

In an interview with NDTV's Padmaja Joshi today, Puri denied any wrongdoing in the matter and called the allegations baseless. He said he never sought a meeting; on the contrary, Jeffrey Epstein was the one who asked for a meeting.

"I didn't seek the meetings. They were set up. I didn't seek that meeting. He [Epstein] is somebody who set up the meeting... Instead of picking innocuous parts, read the email," the Union minister said.

Puri's latest barbs came a day after he attacked Rahul Gandhi over the "Epstein Files" comment. He had described the Rae Bareli MP's comments as "elements of buffoonery" and having "entertainment value".

"... He [Epstein] was inquiring whether the meeting had taken place. I told him the meeting would take place this afternoon..." Puri said.

The Union minister denied any knowledge of what had been going on in Epstein's island. "All this came out much later in 2017," he said, referring to Epstein Files.

"I have not been on the island, not stepped on that aircraft. This aircraft had an interesting name, I read in the email somewhere, but more than that, I cut my contacts with the IPI. By the way, the president of the IPI who introduced us, was later sacked by the board," Puri said, referring to the International Peace Institute.

Puri summarised his response to the Epstein Files missile fired by Rahul Gandhi with the claim that his primary interaction at that time was with LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, and that he had invited the internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist to India.

"Just three-four references (to his name) out of three million emails... I met Epstein on a few occasions as part of a delegation (and) exchanged just one email. Our interactions had nothing to do (with the crimes he is accused of)," Puri said, "We talked about 'Make in India'."

"I had no interest in Epstein's activities. For them, I was not the 'right person'," Puri said yesterday, adding Epstein had called him "two-faced" and that Rahul Gandhi should read the emails.

Epstein Files Disclosures

Last month the US Department of Justice released a vast new tranche of records from its files on Epstein, resuming disclosures under a law designed to shed light on what the government knew about his sexual abuse of young girls and interactions with wealthy and influential figures.

Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche said more than three million pages of documents were being released in the latest disclosure, alongside more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

The files, published on the department's website, include material that officials said had been withheld from an initial release in December.

The disclosures are mandated under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, enacted after months of political and public pressure. The law requires the government to open its files relating not only to Epstein but also to his longtime associate and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Epstein died in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after he was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges, in a death ruled a suicide.