ISTANBUL (Turkish Minute) — Thomas Barrack, who is currently the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, was in regular, close contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for years after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea, a CBS News analysis of newly released Justice Department files published on Friday, February 13, found.
The analysis, based on more than 100 texts and email exchanges from documents released as part of the government’s Epstein files, places Barrack among a circle of wealthy and influential figures who maintained social and professional ties with Epstein even as his criminal history was publicly known. CBS News said there is no evidence Barrack participated in or had knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct by Epstein.
Barrack, 78, is a California-born billionaire and founder of Colony Capital, a real estate investment trust. He has been one of President Donald Trump’s closest personal friends and political allies, chaired Trump’s 2017 presidential inauguration and served as a senior adviser to his 2016 campaign. Trump nominated him to serve as US ambassador to Turkey in December 2024. The Senate confirmed him in a 60-36 vote in April 2025. He presented his credentials to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on May 14 and was subsequently appointed special envoy for Syria.
His dual role gives him an unusually direct line to Trump on US-Turkey relations and Syria, where Turkey has major military and political stakes following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
What the documents show
In September 2009, months after Epstein was released from Palm Beach County jail following his guilty plea to soliciting a minor, Barrack wrote to him: “Thinking about u, hope u r good and life is calm again.” The message began what CBS News described as an extended period of regular contact between the two men.
