Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri (left) and Elon Musk
Credit: PTI Photo
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the bill to release the controversial Epstein files.
This comes after lawmakers in both the House and Senate ordered the Justice Department to make the files related to convicted sex offender, Jeffery Epstein.
The House approved the passing of bill with 427-1 vote, while the Senate fast-tracked it unanimously. Trump took a U-turn from his earlier stance, urging the Congress to disclose the records amid public pressure.
Over 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate have been released. According to a list by BBC, the files include high-profile names, including Trump, his former advisor Steve Bannon, former royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, brother of King Charles and pop star Michael Jackson.
Though many personalities are mentioned in the files through Epstein's emails, several of them are not accused of wreongdoing.
Recently, Union Oil and Gas Minister Hardeep Puri has also allegedly been in contact with Epstein on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and Climate Summit on September 19, 2014. It was, however, dismissed by the BJP as “bogus claims” and “random name-dropping”.
At the time, Puri was India’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations after serving in several senior positions in Delhi, Colombo and Geneva, and retired from the UNPR post in New York in February, 2013.
Puri declined to comment on the matter or on whether he had known Epstein in any capacity.
Famous personalities named in Epstein Files
Donald Trump – US President
Bill Clinton – Former US President
Larry Summers – Former Treasury Secretary & Harvard President
Robert F Kennedy Jr – US Health Secretary
Former Prince Andrew, Duke of York – Brother of King Charles III
Sarah Ferguson – Duchess of York
Michael Wolff – Journalist, columnist and author
Peggy Siegal – Publicist
Noam Chomsky – Linguist and professor
Alan Dershowitz – Lawyer
Glenn Dubin – Hedge fund manager
Eva Andersson-Dubin – Former Miss Sweden, Glenn Dubin's wife
Les Wexner – Founder of L Brands
Abigail Wexner – Wife of Les Wexner
Kathryn Ruemmler – Former White House Counsel
Elon Musk – Billionaire entrepreneur
Peter Thiel – Billionaire investor
Tom Pritzker – Tycoon and philanthropist
Jean-Luc Brunel – Former modelling agent
Frederic Fekkai – Celebrity hairstylist
Alexandra Fekkai – Son of Frederic Fekkai
Michael Jackson – Pop star
Leonardo DiCaprio - Actor
Mick Jagger – frontman of Rolling Stones
Courtney Love – Singer
Naomi Campbell – Model
Chris Tucker – Actor/Comedian
Marla Maples – Trump's former wife
Tiffany Trump – Daughter of Donald Trump & Marla Maples