JD Vance Embraces Controversial Epstein Conspiracy Theories

US Vice President JD Vance has thrown his weight behind one of the right’s most charged conspiracy theories, openly entertaining claims that Jeffrey Epstein had ties to the “highest levels” of Israeli intelligence.

The remarks came in a sprawling, nearly three-hour appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” where Vance stepped squarely into a fevered corner of conservative politics — and straight into a storm over antisemitism, national security, and America’s relationship with Israel.

Rogan, whose podcast often amplifies fringe theories, set the tone. He told listeners there was a widespread belief that Epstein’s money and his efforts to shape thinking at elite American universities were rooted in links to Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service.

“Most people think he was Mossad,” Rogan said.

Vance did not push back. He leaned in.

“Yeah, Mossad or CIA, or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel or another country,” the vice president replied, before going further. “He clearly had connections to the upper — the highest — levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence.”

Those words, from a sitting vice president, jolted Washington and Jerusalem alike.

Epstein, a convicted sex offender who moved in elite political and financial circles, did have documented ties to a top Israeli leader. But millions of pages of records released by the US government have produced no conclusive evidence that he worked as an agent or asset for Mossad or any other intelligence service — a point Vance himself acknowledged on air.

“I’ve asked, were there like, were there documents connecting Jeffrey Epstein directly to our intelligence agencies or anybody else’s, and the answer is no,” Vance said. “But if that existed, it wouldn’t exist in 2026.”

So Vance admitted there is no proof, then suggested that if proof did exist, it would be hidden anyway. For critics, that was the heart of the problem: a vice president elevating a theory he concedes he cannot substantiate.

The reaction inside his own party was swift and sharp.

Former Representative Peter T. King, a New York Republican and staunch supporter of Israel, accused Vance of playing to the darkest instincts on the right. He called the comments a “dog whistle” to a faction of the GOP that he said “is antisemitic, is anti-Israel, is conspiratorial and is unhinged.”

And King did not let Vance’s office off the hook.

“It’s not like you’re a junior congressman,” King said in an interview. “You’re the vice president of the United States. Unless you know what you’re talking about, unless you have absolute facts to back it up, before you undermine an ally — before you undermine your own intelligence agencies — you better know what you’re talking about.”

The vice president’s office chose confrontation over conciliation. Asked for comment, it provided a statement, attributed to an unnamed White House official, insisting that everything Vance said was true and dismissing critics as acting out of “bad faith, stupidity, or both.” Aides declined to explain or soften his remarks.

From Israel, there was silence — at least initially. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which oversees Mossad, did not immediately respond to questions about Vance’s claims. Netanyahu has previously rejected suggestions that Epstein worked for Israel.

Inside conservative media, though, the episode lit up a familiar fault line: the growing divide between populist, conspiracy-curious figures and traditional right-wing voices who see such rhetoric as a direct threat to conservative principles.

Ben Shapiro, the influential conservative commentator who is Jewish and a strong backer of Israel, said Vance’s performance on Rogan’s show left him “concerned.” On his own program, he blasted the vice president’s commentary as “unworthy of the office” and at odds with what he considers core conservative beliefs.

“Conservatives, generally, are not in favor of baseless conspiracy theorizing,” Shapiro said. “Because that undermines the idea that you have capacity in the world to act.”

The criticism did not stop there. Tablet, an online publication focused on Jewish news and culture, ran a blistering column by journalist Lee Smith under the headline “JD Vance’s Big Crashout.” The piece accused Vance of attacking Jews and spreading “baseless rumors, for which he admits to having zero evidence, about some kind of dark plot involving Jeffrey Epstein.”

Behind the uproar sits Epstein’s long, murky trail of relationships with the powerful, including in Israel.

Epstein maintained a yearslong friendship and business relationship with Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister from the center-left. Vance highlighted that connection on Rogan’s show.

“Epstein seemed to be connected to the elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of center,” he said. “I’ve always found that fascinating.”

Barak has publicly traced his connection to Epstein back to 2002, saying he was introduced by Shimon Peres, another former Israeli prime minister. Barak has acknowledged attending lunches and dinners at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse. He received roughly $2.3 million in payments from a foundation associated with Epstein, and Epstein reportedly invested about $1 million in a limited partnership Barak set up in 2015.

Barak has consistently denied witnessing or taking part in any sexual abuse and has expressed regret over the relationship. “I now deeply regret having any association with him,” he has said.

Those facts — the money, the meetings, the political stature of the players involved — have long fueled speculation about Epstein’s role and motives. But speculation is not evidence, and the official record has yet to confirm any intelligence ties.

That is the line Vance chose to blur on one of the world’s biggest podcasts, from one of the highest offices in American government. His allies on the populist right may see that as fearless truth-telling. His critics, including some of the country’s most prominent conservatives, see something very different: a vice president turning conspiracy into currency at the expense of an ally, his own intelligence services, and the boundaries of responsible power.

The question now is whether this was a one-off provocation — or a preview of how Vance intends to wield the vice presidency in an era when conspiracy theories no longer live on the fringes, but at the center of political power.