On Friday afternoon, the Department of Justice released the latest batch of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and communications, and while everyone was more than willing to see the names of various celebrities and prominent political figures, few expected a direct connection between Epstein and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
As Kraft’s team continues to prepare for the championship game against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 on February 8, the 84-year-old American businessman finds himself embroiled in a potentially legacy-shattering scandal that appears to stem from his 2019 misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution charge.
In an email exchange between Epstein and prominent criminal defense attorney Jack Goldberg, Goldberg wrote, “Look, Kraft has been arrested. Local news should be taken away from us.” Epstein simply responded, “Yeah. I’m trying to get him to hire you.” The exchange was dated February 22, 2019, and just six days later, on the 28th, ESPN reported that the Patriots owner had hired Goldberg as one of his attorneys.
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The history between Epstein and Goldberg is that defense attorneys helped the late sex trafficker reach a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami in 2008 to end an investigation into Epstein’s sexual abuse of more than 40 victims. Unfortunately, however, this doesn’t appear to be the only instance where Kraft appears to be following Epstein’s advice.
In another text message, Goldberg, who was saved as “Jake” on Epstein’s phone, updated Epstein on the ongoing formation of Kraft’s legal team.
“A lot of people gave him advice, but after the call he called back and said he wanted me and my Quinn Emanuel guys to handle it. Another guy who tried to be subtle was Dan Conley. I don’t know anything about him, but having a guy from Boston come over and try to overpower these front-line assistants would be a huge mistake, and Kraft got it.”
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Days later, in early March 2019, Kraft hired William “Bill” Burck, co-managing partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s Washington, D.C., office to assist him with his then-ongoing legal troubles, Yahoo Finance and Law.com reported. Still, what’s really concerning is Epstein’s response to Goldberg’s text, which simply said “you need to understand Kraft’s past issues that may have exposed them.”
Even worse for the NFL, it turns out Kraft isn’t the only owner mentioned in the 3 million records released. Steve Tisch of the New York Giants, David Tepper of the Carolina Panthers, Josh Harris of the Washington Commanders, and several other players were mentioned in the latest release.
With their biggest event of the year quickly approaching, it’s safe to say that this bombshell couldn’t have come at a worse time for the league, which now has to spend a celebratory media week explaining these various issues.
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