Vice President JD Vance on Sunday pushed claims linking convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to “the highest levels” of Israeli intelligence, a move that has reopened fractures between nationalist and pro-Israel factions inside the Republican Party.
Vance's remarks, reported by Political Wire, embrace allegations that have circulated in right-wing media for years. No court proceedings or official U.S. government investigations have produced documented evidence of Israeli intelligence involvement in Epstein's crimes.
The claim lands at a sensitive moment for the GOP. Pro-Israel conservatives have spent months pushing back against conspiracy-adjacent commentary from MAGA-aligned figures, and Sunday's statements from the sitting vice president raised the profile of that dispute sharply.
Epstein died in federal custody in August 2019. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner. Calls for additional disclosure of Epstein-related documents have persisted in Congress and on social media across the political spectrum.
The White House had not issued a clarifying or supplementary statement as of Sunday afternoon. Congressional reaction is expected early in the week.