Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had a long-standing relationship with Albert Bryan Jr, the governor of the US Virgin Islands, newly released documents show.
The files include text messages exchanged between Epstein and Bryan Jr in the months before his arrest in 2019.
The text messages from May 2019, reviewed by CNN, show that Epstein sought and received assistance from the governor in a legal dispute over construction projects on his private islands.
Epstein was in trouble because he had carried out construction work on one of his private islands without approval, breaching the rules. Authorities were considering fining him and had also ordered him to stop the construction immediately. So, he turned to Albert Bryan Jr, the Democratic governor of the US Virgin Islands, for assistance.
The governor assured him that he would handle the situation and said he had also asked the territory's top environmental official to temporarily pause the enforcement until they speak further about the issue.
Epstein also raised concerns with Bryan about growing negative media coverage linked to construction work on his private islands.
In text messages, Epstein complained that a local official, identified in the messages as "JP", was "going after me in the press," despite what he claimed was prior approval from the US Army Corps of Engineers. "Army Corps told us ok. This is very wrong. Accusing me of illegality," he wrote.
Bryan responded, saying he asked the commissioner overseeing the matter to recuse himself from the case. "I asked him to recuse himself," he said.
In another exchange, Bryan said he had met with an individual whose name was redacted in the documents. According to Bryan's message, officials claimed certain road work and ramp installations had never been properly permitted.
Epstein defended the construction, stating that docks were built during hurricane repairs and that the Army Corps of Engineers had advised leaving them in place until permanent structures could be completed. Bryan replied, "We got you," appearing to reassure Epstein.
Epstein later said he had been told that the official wanted more than $80,000 in remediation costs.
The messages also show that Bryan and Epstein were planning to meet privately. "I'm in town all week- can also meet on stx. Can you spare 15 minutes?" Epstein wrote in April 2019. "For u absolutely," replied Bryan.
In a separate message, he also mentioned that US President Donald Trump had "dinner next door to me last night at my op zone neighbour."
