Trump appointee leading $205bn US agency had personal ties to Epstein, emails show

Trump appointed Ben Black to lead the US’s largest overseas investment arm. Illustration: Guardian Design/Bloomberg/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Trump appointed Ben Black to lead the US’s largest overseas investment arm. Illustration: Guardian Design/Bloomberg/Getty Images Trump appointee leading $205bn US agency had personal ties to Epstein, emails show Ben Black’s lawyers deny relationship with disgraced financier, but DoJ records reveal years of interactions Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Ben Black, the head of a little-known government investment agency funded by billions of dollars from US taxpayers, had personal and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein , according to emails and business filings released by the Department of Justice. His father, Leon Black, had once been the disgraced financier’s highest paying client – calling on the convicted sex offender for tax advice and to orchestrate payments to women, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg . A Guardian review of more than 5,000 records from Epstein’s private correspondence found that Ben Black invested in the same company as the financier in 2011 and that the two men had a relationship for several years afterwards. Epstein told a friend that he attended Ben Black’s 30th birthday , advised him on the purchase of an $11.5m townhouse and helped one woman compose messages to him. She wrote to Epstein to say that she and Black had kissed the following day. Now Black holds a Senate-confirmed position overseeing the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Trump administration’s largest overseas investment arm. The agency was previously confined to work in low-income countries, but Congress recently cleared it to invest in high-income countries and tripled its lending cap to $205bn, greatly expanding Black’s influence over taxpayer funds. View image in fullscreen Ben Black at a panel discussion during the Milken Institute global conference in Beverly Hills, California, on 3 May 2022. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Donald Trump has appointed at least three other men to federal office with known ties to Epstein. Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, testified recently to a House oversight probe after admitting that he traveled to Epstein’s private island . He has never been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein or otherwise. Lutnick sits on DFC’s board of directors , where he and Ben Black join six other presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed members in reviewing and approving the agency’s overseas investments. The scope of Ben Black’s personal connection to Epstein has not been previously reported. Black has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection to Epstein or any other matter. The DFC did not respond to a request for comment. Lawyers for Leon Black responded to questions on behalf of both Leon and his son. And a White House spokesperson sent the Guardian an unsolicited defense of Blacks’ fitness for his job. A personal spokespers