Ex-CIA Officer Claims Jeffrey Epstein Filmed Major US Politicians Allegedly 'Doing Terrible Things' to Children

In a resurfaced 2017 interview, former CIA officer Robert David Steele made the extraordinary claim that Epstein had compromising footage of major American politicians allegedly engaging in horrific acts involving children.

Steele offered no evidence publicly proving the sweeping allegation, but his comments have gained renewed attention while the US government remains under pressure to release and explain more of the Epstein files.

Steele Made the Explosive Epstein Recording Claim

Steele made the allegation during an interview with Brendon D. Murphy and Amy Devlin of Global Freedom Movement on 17 April 2017. When Murphy put to him that Epstein had footage of every major US politician doing something terrible, probably to a child, Steele did not reject the premise.

Instead, he responded: 'I speculate that that has been his assignment.'

Steele then appeared to qualify the claim, saying he did not believe Epstein had recorded everybody but claimed the financier had 'certainly gotten ten or fifteen percent, easily'. He went even further, alleging that between 20 and 25 of the 100 US senators were paedophiles.

Those statements were allegations and speculation, not established findings. No public evidence has demonstrated that Epstein possessed recordings of every major US politician, nor that the specific politicians Steele referred to had committed crimes against children.

Steele himself was a former CIA clandestine operations officer who later worked in Marine Corps intelligence. He died in 2021, meaning the resurfaced comments cannot be clarified by him today.

Epstein's Network

Epstein was a convicted sex offender who was later federally charged with sex trafficking of minors. His connections stretched across politics, finance, academia and high society, giving him access to people who wielded enormous influence.

Steele's theory was that Epstein's operation may have been more than sexual exploitation, suggesting compromising material could have been gathered to exert influence over powerful figures. Yet the public record does not establish that such a systematic blackmail operation existed on the scale Steele described.

Epstein Files Hidden Records

The controversy has gained another dramatic backdrop in 2026, with a federal court battle over the government's handling of Epstein-related records.

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the Justice Department to release additional records or explain why certain material should remain redacted after journalist Katie Phang challenged the department's compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Sullivan's June ruling said the law requires the Attorney General, with limited exceptions, to make unclassified Epstein-related records publicly available.

The dispute has since intensified, with Sullivan pressing government lawyers over compliance with his orders. During a recent hearing, Justice Department official Andrew Block said information would be 'forthcoming', prompting Sullivan's sharp response: 'Christmas is forthcoming.'

Steele's explosive statement should not be confused with evidence that proves it. His 2017 interview establishes that he made the allegation. It does not establish that the alleged recordings existed or identify politicians who were supposedly filmed.

As courts continue pressing the government over withheld and redacted material, those questions are likely to remain at the centre of public interest. The strongest way to resolve extraordinary allegations is not through speculation, but through verifiable records and evidence.