On September 14, 2016, less than two months before the presidential election, Richard Kahn sent Jeffrey Epstein an email with the subject line "trump making a nice move .." The message contained no commentary, just a detailed table of polling data showing Donald Trump gaining ground against Hillary Clinton in key states.
The EFTA00818213.PDF document preserves this email in the FBI's Epstein files, adding to the archive of communications between Epstein and his longtime accountant. What makes this message notable is not what it reveals about the relationship between the two men, but what it suggests about Epstein's interests in the weeks before his former social acquaintance potentially became president.
The Numbers Game
Kahn's email contained polling results from multiple sources dated September 14, 2016. The data showed Trump leading in several battleground states. In Ohio, a Bloomberg poll had Trump ahead 44 to 39 percent in a four-way race. In Maine's second congressional district, Trump led 47 to 37 percent. A Trafalgar Group poll showed Trump up by 12 points in Kansas.
The national picture was mixed. A LA Times/USC tracking poll showed Trump with a five-point lead, while a Reuters/Ipsos poll had the race tied at 39 percent each. President Obama's approval rating sat at 48 percent approval, 48 percent disapproval. The generic congressional ballot favored Democrats by just two points.
These numbers came during a crucial period in the campaign. Trump had recently begun his more disciplined phase, reading from teleprompters and staying on message. The polls Kahn forwarded showed this strategy potentially working.
The Accountant's Role
Richard Kahn managed Epstein's financial affairs for years. His name appears throughout the Epstein document archive in connection with money transfers, tax matters, and routine business communications. This email represents a different kind of interaction, more casual and personal.
The subject line suggests Kahn thought Epstein would find the polling data interesting. He offered no analysis, no prediction, no political commentary. Just the numbers and the observation that Trump was making a move.
The email went to Epstein's [email protected] address, an account that appears in multiple documents in the archive. Kahn used his own email address to send it, not a corporate or encrypted channel.
The Trump Connection
Epstein and Trump moved in the same social circles in the 1990s and early 2000s. They attended parties together in Palm Beach and New York. Trump called Epstein a "terrific guy" in a 2002 New York Magazine profile, adding that Epstein "likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."
By 2016, the relationship had cooled. Trump's campaign told reporters that the two men had a falling out and hadn't spoken in years. Court documents later revealed that a Trump-owned business had barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago, though the timing of this ban remains disputed.
Whether Kahn knew about this estrangement when he sent the email is unclear. The message contains no reference to any personal connection between Epstein and Trump. It reads like the kind of political update someone might send to a client or friend who follows electoral politics.
Reading the Archive
This document entered the FBI's evidence collection as part of the investigation into Epstein's activities. It has been viewed 167 times on the EpsteinScan archive, a modest number compared to flight logs or victim testimony.
The email contains no criminal content. No discussion of illegal activity. No coordination or conspiracy. Just polling data anyone could access on RealClearPolitics or similar aggregator sites.
But its presence in the archive matters because it shows the breadth of material investigators collected. Not just evidence of crimes, but the full texture of Epstein's life. His business relationships. His interests. The information people thought he wanted to see.
The document also reveals something about how Kahn and Epstein communicated. Short subject lines. Minimal text. Shared understanding that didn't require explanation. Kahn didn't need to say why he was sending the polls or what Epstein should think about them. The numbers spoke for themselves.
The Bigger Picture
Epstein cultivated relationships with powerful people across multiple domains: science, finance, academia, and politics. His political connections spanned parties and ideologies. He donated to Democrats and Republicans. He hosted politicians and policy makers at his homes.
This email arrived during a consequential election. The polls Kahn forwarded suggested a possible Trump victory, though Clinton remained the favorite in most forecasting models. Within eight weeks, Trump would win the electoral college while losing the popular vote.
The document doesn't tell us what Epstein thought about the election or whether he had preferences in the outcome. It shows only that someone close to him thought he'd be interested in Trump's polling surge.
That interest, documented and preserved, now sits in an FBI file alongside thousands of other communications. A small piece of a larger puzzle that investigators assembled as they worked to understand the scope of Epstein's activities and connections.