Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has said he will sue the UK tabloid the "Daily Mail" for defamation after it published pictures of him yesterday entering and leaving the New York home of disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein in January 2016. Epstein is accused of child sex trafficking and has pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a minor.
The pictures of Barak were first published by the Daily Mail in 2016 in which Barak was described as an unidentified man because his face was covered as he entered Epstein's Manhattan home. The Daily Mail has now republished the photos as well as some of him leaving Epstein's home without the face covering, accompanied by a body guard.
The Daily Mail has implied that Barak covered his face because of the covert nature of his visit, but Barak insists that as a Middle Easterner he finds it cold in New York in January.
Barak, 77, who hopes to return to the Knesset, is running in the September 17 elections as Chairman of the newly formed Israel Democratic party. He says he is working towards breaking off his business relationship with Epstein.
He told the "Daily Beast" "I met him more than ten times. I never participated in his parties and never met him when he was with young women or minors."
Barak is angry about the sordid insinuations in the Daily Mail article. He is shown entering and leaving Epstein's home an hour later. Also in the article are pictures of young women who entered Epstein's home on the same day with no clear indication of any timeline.
Israel's Democratic party said, "The Daily Mail has previously published several false articles of this kind both about Barak and other people. Other newspapers which dealt with these articles could not find any evidence for these lies. Barak will act immediately through his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against the Daily Mail.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 17, 2019
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