Twitter owner Elon Musk slammed a subpoena from the U.S. Virgin Islands on Monday that is demanding that he turn over alleged documents that the government apparently wants to use in its lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase of financially benefiting from Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
The subpoena requested communications between Musk and JPMorgan regarding Epstein and any information on whether Epstein played any role in any of Musk’s companies, CNN reported. It also requested any documents regarding fees paid to Epstein or JPMorgan, or any documents regarding Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. Musk is not being implicated in any wrongdoing, according to the outlet.
The only reported contact that Musk ever had with Epstein happened in 2019, according to a statement from that year that Musk gave to Vanity Fair.
“I don’t recall introducing Epstein to anyone, as I don’t know the guy well enough to do so, Epstein is obviously a creep,” Musk said in-part. “Several years ago, I was at his house in Manhattan for about 30 minutes in the middle of the afternoon with [ex-wife] Talulah [Riley], as she was curious about meeting this strange person for a novel she was writing. We did not see anything inappropriate at all, apart from weird art. He tried repeatedly to get me to visit his island. I declined.”
The Virgin Islands reportedly had difficulty finding Musk to deliver him the subpoena, according to a filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
“The Government contacted Mr. Musk’s counsel via email to ask if he would be authorized to accept service on Mr. Musk’s behalf in this matter but did not receive a response confirming or denying his authority,” the filing said.
Musk mocked the news on Twitter, writing: “This is idiotic on so many levels: 1. That cretin never advised me on anything whatsoever. 2. The notion that I would need or listen to financial advice from a dumb crook is absurd. 3. JPM let Tesla down ten years ago, despite having Tesla’s global commercial banking business, which we then withdrew. I have never forgiven them.”
This is idiotic on so many levels:
1. That cretin never advised me on anything whatsoever.
2. The notion that I would need or listen to financial advice from a dumb crook is absurd.
3. JPM let Tesla down ten years ago, despite having Tesla’s global commercial banking…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2023