From Power Broker to Liability: The Unraveling of Brad Karp After Epstein Revelations (3/26/26)

Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing.

Another checkered flag for the books.

Time to celebrate with Chamba.

Jump in at chambacasino.com.

Let's Chamba.

No purchase necessary, BTW Group.

Boy, we're prohibited by law.

CCNC, 21 Plus, sponsored by Chamba Casino.

Hey, I'm Josh Speagle, host of the podcast,

Lunatic in the newsroom.

If you enjoy journalism that drifts into mild panic,

wild overthinking, and a guaranteed nervous breakdown,

Lunatic in the newsroom is for you.

It's news like you've never heard before.

The only newsroom with a panic button.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, and gasp and horror

as the show spirals completely out of control.

It's not just news.

It's emotionally unstable.

Lunatic in the newsroom.

Listen today.

What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode

of the Epstein Chronicles.

The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein continues

to reach out from the grave and drag people down.

And one of those people that's been dragged below the surface

is hotshot lawyer, Brad Karp,

who was the boss man over at Paul Weiss,

one of the biggest and most prestigious white shoe law firms

in the United States.

And after the Epstein files,

or at least some of them were released,

Brad Karp in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

has come back to Hauntum.

So today, we have a very long article

from the Financial Times talking about the downfall

of Brad Karp and how all of this came into play.

So let's dive in and see what they have for us.

Headline, Apollo, Paul Weiss, and Epstein,

how a star client brought down a big law boss.

This article was authored by Kay Wiggins

and James Fontanella Khan and Susie Ring.

As the American legal system closed in on him

in the final months of his life,

Jeffrey Epstein shared a rye remark with a confidant.

You will smile, but the US attorney is named BJ.

Epstein set in an email to Brad Karp,

one of New York's best paid and most highly regarded lawyers.

Epstein's comment was likely a reference

to US Department of Justice lawyer,

Biong Jin Pak, who represented the government

after its earlier plea deal with Epstein

was ruled illegal.

Yeah, you know the NPA that I'm always rallying about

that the DOJ could end tomorrow

if they wanted to, that one.

They refused to do it though.

They refused to end that NPA

because it gives them protection and it gives them an out.

Well, look, these guys are protected.

We can't go after them.

But if the DOJ meant business, they don't,

they would get rid of the NPA yesterday.

But for that to happen, we'd have to be governed

by people that were actually serious.

Karp did not officially represent Epstein

but was informally supporting him.

Love it, Karp replied, on March 5th, 2019.

Yeah, I love it, man.

I love defending my child molesting buddy, hell of a guy.

Can't wait to go over to Jeffy's house and have some tea.

It was one of more than 30 emails

that Karp sent Epstein in the four months

after the Miami Herald published testimony from women

who said Epstein's sexual abuse

when they were as young as 14 had shattered their lives.

In those emails, Karp called Epstein my friend

and said he'd love to see him.

Again, these people don't care.

Brad Karp, the rest of them.

The only issue they have is being called onto the carpet.

And if you notice, that's the only time

that they even begin to show any kind of remorse

or fake remorse, oh, I'm so sorry,

I should have never associated with them.

I had no idea.

You had every idea you didn't care.

And that goes for guys like Brad Karp too.

Now look, I'm not saying Brad Karp was abusing anybody,

but he was enabling Jeffy Epstein.

And he was certainly helping him out

and you can't even fall back on the defense that,

oh, while I'm a lawyer, this is what I do.

Was he your client?

Did he pay a retainer?

Oh, none of that happened.

Cool, so he was your friend

and you were giving him advice.

Got it.

Karp ran Paul Weiss, one of the U.S.'s biggest

and most prestigious white shoe law firms.

He had just won a coveted attorney of the year, title,

for which he made a speech, saying the firm's lawyers

were committed to doing the right thing.

He praised earlier generations at Paul Weiss,

who saw the law as a noble profession,

not as a commercial enterprise, oh, stop it.

That's all it is to any of you,

which are noble profession as I charge $1,400 an hour.

I wonder how many indigent clients Mr. Karp has.

I'm guessing not too many.

But sure, tell me some more that it's all love of the game.

But a close reading of the hundreds of entries

in the DOJ Epstein files and the conversations

with people with knowledge of the firm

revealed just how far he was willing to go

for his most important client, Apollo Global Management.

Karp's need to please the private capital group

and it's then literally on black and tangled him

in a relationship with Epstein that lasted until months

before the pedophiles death in August of 2019.

And when you have a client like Apollo Global,

that's paying you literally millions of dollars on retainer.

There is nothing you're not gonna do for them.

You're gonna walk the line, right?

And who cares if girls were abused?

Who gives a shit?

I gotta make sure my client's good.

Mr. Karp is made clear that he regrets his interaction

with Epstein, Paul Weiss disagrees with the portrayal

of much of the information specific to our firm.

The law firm told the FTN response to questions

for this article.

Karp declined to comment.

Privately, he has told those close to him

that he was not friends with Epstein

and he was keeping him on side

because black had wanted him to.

I could see that.

I could definitely see that,

but it doesn't make it any better.

You're an adult, dude.

Okay?

Nobody's forcing you to do this.

Leon Black doesn't have that kind of power over you.

You're already richer than God, but sure,

let me bend over backwards for Leon Black and Jeffrey Epstein.

How does that make sense to anybody out there?

And it's another reason why I don't care

about these people and their reputations.

They had the whole last world given to them, all these people.

And they squandered it.

And now you want me to care about their reputation?

Because they got nailed as being a friend of Jeffrey Epstein

and in some cases a lot worse.

Sorry, you got the wrong guy.

A much more concerned about the girls who were abused

and about the rest of us who were stolen from.

I instructed Brad to engage directly with Epstein

on my behalf on various matters,

including fee negotiations,

beginning in 2013 and continuing until 2019.

Black told the FT at all times Brad provided wise

and effective counsel.

It would cost carp the job that he held for 18 years.

There is nothing new in the release documents Apollo said.

It said the law firm's record had conducted a thorough

and independent investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein matter

more than five years ago and had full unfettered access

to all communications and any other material that they requested.

Well, we know that's a bunch of BS.

In that long Leon Black article that we did recently,

we broke it all down.

All the different things that weren't reported,

how record was negligent when it comes to their investigation

and how it was all by design.

Carpe became chair of Paul Weiss in 2008

when it was best known for its elite litigation practice.

By the early 2000s he had realized that if he wanted

the position itself among the top ranks of global law firms,

it needed exposure to private equity,

which was then at the beginning of a decade-long boom.

And the way to get that back then, of course,

Apollo global.

Nobody did it better, right?

Leon Black, Josh Harris, Mark Rowan,

all dudes that were highly thought of at the time.

And guys that were well-positioned

to do exactly what Paul Weiss wanted.

Apollo was Paul Weiss' solution

and the relationship transformed the law firm.

Paul Weiss' gross revenue

surge from $665 million in 2009

to more than $3.25 billion in 2025,

according to a person familiar with the matter.

Carpes pay, surge two, propelling him

into an elite group of lawyers

who made tens of millions of dollars annually.

Apollo paid the firm more than $200 million in a year,

in order of magnitude more in fees than most other clients.

Now, think about that for a minute.

Leon Black, or Apollo, I should say,

paid $200 million to the whole law firm of Paul Weiss.

Now think about how much money that Leon Black

gave to Jeffrey Epstein personally.

And it shows you just how crazy that number is.

Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing.

Victory Lane?

Yeah, it's even better with Chumba by my side.

Race to ChumbaCasino.com, let's Chumba.

No purchase necessary, VTW Group,

voidware prohibited by law, CTSC's, 21 Plus,

sponsored by Chumba Casino.

Hey, I'm Josh Speagle, host of the podcast,

Lunatic in the Newsroom.

If you enjoy journalism that drifts into mild panic,

wild overthinking, and a guaranteed nervous breakdown,

Lunatic in the newsroom is for you.

It's news like you've never heard before.

The only newsroom with a panic button, you'll laugh,

you'll cry, and gasp and horror as the show spirals

completely out of control.

It's not just news, it's emotionally unstable.

Lunatic in the newsroom, listen today.

Hi, this is Alex Cantrowitz.

I'm the host of Big Technology podcast,

a longtime reporter and an on-air contributor to CMBC.

And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out

how artificial intelligence is changing

the business world and our lives.

So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors

from companies building AI tech and outsiders

trying to influence it, asking where this is all going.

They come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon,

and plenty more.

So if you want to be smart with your wallet,

your career choices, and meetings with your colleagues

and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology podcast

or ever you get your podcasts.

Apollo's growing importance to the firm,

provoked criticism from some internally,

who felt Paul Weiss was becoming too heavily exposed

to the private capital group.

Look at that time, nobody ever thought Apollo

was going anywhere.

Everybody thought that Apollo was forever

and look, they still are.

It's not like Apollo's gone, not like they folded,

not like they've been rated and had all their assets seized.

They're still active and they're still one

of the biggest in the game.

And at the time, it had to seem smart

to hit your wagon to Apollo.

Carp took the view that he had to stay very close

to the founders of Apollo to make sure Apollo wouldn't leave,

a person who knows him said.

Staying close to Apollo meant becoming entangled

in Black's complex personal life.

Black is sometimes referred to in the Epstein files

as Mr. Big, the nickname of the Wall Street finance

era character in the TV series Sex in the City.

No idea, never watch that show.

So I have no idea who the reference is referring to,

but we'll roll with it.

Epstein was also involved in having known Black since the 90s.

By 2016, however, the relationship

between the two financiers was in trouble.

Black was fighting with Epstein over how much money

the Apollo founder owed for services

that included trust and estate planning, tax issues,

and philanthropy, and had asked Carp to deal with Epstein

on his behalf.

And for Carp, all he saw was dollar signs, right?

Oh, shit, hell yeah, I'll middleman this.

What's my cut?

How much am I getting?

Over the years, Carp and Epstein

discussed Black's fees at length.

Black ultimately paid Epstein 158 million.

And this is the reason Paul Weiss was cited

for the firm's contact with Epstein,

saying that it was retained by Leon Black

than the CEO of the firm's longtime client Apollo

to negotiate a series of fee disputes

with Jeffrey Epstein that spans several years.

So Carp was eaten at a both sides of the bowl.

Not only was he friendly with Leon Black,

he was friendly with Jeffrey Epstein.

And he helped negotiate this gigantic payout

that Epstein ended up getting.

And if you think that was all for tax advice,

if that was all for estate planning,

you probably believe that there's a such thing

as mermaids and that assasque watch

is about to come out of the forest and kidnap you.

Because that's how ridiculous it is.

But Carp and Epstein discussed other things too.

That included a woman called Guzelgani Eva

and she was a Russian formal model

with whom Black had an extra marital affair

and who by 2015 was seeking money

from the billionaire private equity titan

and threatening to go public about their relationship

according to documents in the DOJ files.

And what was so crazy about this situation

with Leon Black, his wife was super sick

while he was doing this.

And I just can't even imagine,

like when my girlfriend had breast cancer,

the last thing I was thinking about

is stepping out and meeting other women.

Like where are your priorities, dude?

And look, I get it, everybody has needs and shit, right?

Go to the bathroom, handle your business

and be done with it.

But for these people, it's about other things.

It's not just the pleasure, it's not just,

oh, I want to have relations.

It's about power, it's about domination.

And when you're talking about a dude like Leon Black

from what we've heard, sure seems to fit the mold.

When Epstein suggested getting the Manhattan District

attorney involved, Carp made the call.

When Epstein suggested getting Gani Eva's visa revoked,

Carp said, we'll work on this.

When Epstein asked whether Carp and his colleagues

could have Gani Eva arrested,

Carp replied his strong belief is that the answer is yes.

He said this was especially so

because the referral would come from a former senior prosecutor

who, Paul Weiss, had recently hired.

Oh, isn't that great?

Nothing like using your connections with SDNY

or insert district here to arrest people.

All on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein and Leon Black,

these are straight up mafia tactics,

but when they're performed by people like Carp

and Jeffrey Epstein,

it's just considered true business, right?

It was Paul Weiss that hired the private investigation firm

the Ardello and Company on Black's behalf to Surveller

and Carp who asked Epstein in July of 2015

where Gani Eva stayed when she was in New York

and whether he knew her social security number.

Three times in eight days in August of 2015

and again in October,

Black met Gani Eva at an upscale New York restaurant

using Ardello he recorded their conversations.

Carp sent the transcript to Epstein

and one Black told Gani Eva as long as you behave,

I'll pay you 100,000 a month every month

for the next 12 years.

What I'm trying to do for you is also to get a mechanism

and I think my lawyers have one.

Nardello was hired to provide investigative support

and connection with an extortion attempt.

The investigation firm said in the course

of that engagement, no one at Nardello

had any contact or communication with Epstein

nor did the firm know that Mr. Black's counsel

was sharing its work product with him.

I mean, I guess I guess we'll just have to believe that

but kind of hard to believe no.

Seems to me that that's a very large bridge to cross.

Carp later asked a colleague whether Paul Weiss

could help Black with an escrow fund

to make monthly payments to an individual,

the DOJ file show.

They don't say whether the request was related to Gani Eva.

The firm's policy was not to do so, however,

days later, Carp told Epstein,

he had sought reconsideration from city groups

to top executives again without naming Gani Eva

but in the end, they deferred to compliance.

Gani Eva rejected any allegation of extortion

and told the FT nothing about my interactions

with Leon Black was consensual and the truth will come out.

I never sought money from him, she added,

any suggestion that I pursued him, his money

or acted voluntarily is false.

So look at this point, I believe Gani Eva

and I believe that there's more here

than is being led on.

Black made his final payment to Epstein in 2017

according to a report from the law firm Deckert

which investigated Black's Apollo links to the pedophile.

The Deckert report did not mention surveillance,

private investigators or Gani Eva.

The Carp Epstein relationship continued

and that's what I was talking about originally,

the Deckert report garbage.

Anytime you hear about that, just discard it.

The findings were trash.

That same year, the pair exchanged a set of cryptic messages

after Carp was scheduled to visit Epstein's house.

Epstein email Carp to say sorry I spooked you.

I think very low risk, very low if any.

Thanks Carp replied, I really appreciate you always

being straight with me on many, many, many things.

But I had never considered myself that,

really got me thinking I appreciate your friendship.

Epstein reassured Carp, I think that is now a catch all word

for anyone who likes women, so no worries.

It's not clear what the word was.

Carp replied, I worry when I have nothing

to worry about my friend.

Oh, I guess you did have something to worry about.

Didn't you miss your Carp?

Some of the exchanges display an offensive humor

when Epstein apparently questioning

whether an unnamed woman was being truthful

about the signing of a contract asked.

Did she also say she was a virgin?

Carp told Epstein, your feisty tonight.

Carp appears to have been willing to push the boundaries

of confidentiality rules to meet Epstein's request.

In September of 2015, Carp sent Epstein an email

that appeared to contain login details

intended to be used by the law firm.

The email read, user, PYSE, password, Apple 65.

In April of 2018, Epstein asked him

for a copy of a document related to a stock cell.

I'm going to send that to you, Carp replied,

but please don't let him know that I shared it.

It's supposed to be strictly confidential.

Black spokesperson told the FT that Black had instructed Carp

to share the document.

He also said Epstein embellished, exaggerated,

and lied in his communications.

Black wanted Carp to remain in contact with Epstein into 2019

because the feed dispute continued

and because tax and estate matters

and transitioning information can take years.

The spokesman said, yeah, right.

He wanted to stay in contact

because he was being tugged along.

And Epstein had a bunch of dirt on him,

so he had to make sure that the lines of communication

remained open, right?

In his October 2018 speech,

to accept the New York Law Journal's

Attorney of the Year Award,

Carp celebrated Paul Weiss's virtues.

It's such a privilege to lead a law firm

whose professionals are wholly committed,

reflexively committed to doing the right thing,

the courageous thing.

A law firm that's willing to stand up

for the rule of law, Carp said.

The following month, the Miami Herald

published its Epstein investigation.

By then, Black had cut off communications.

The damage was already done.

And even though they tried to hide it,

eventually it was all gonna come out.

And boy, did it.

In the messages that they exchanged after that,

Epstein and Carp offered comfort and advice to each other.

In December, Epstein told Carp in relation

to something unspecified,

hurts that this is taking a physical toll on you,

not worth it.

Carp replied, thanks my friend, I hear you,

it's just an awful, relentless stretch.

Aw, poor guys.

Can you imagine what those girls were going through?

I don't give a damn about Brad Carp or Jeffrey Epstein.

After a US federal judge ruled that Epstein's 2007 plea deal,

which had let him avoid federal charges illegal

in February of 2019, Carp told Epstein,

hope you're staying calm.

Let me know what I can do to help.

Your judgment and friendship Epstein replied,

Carp turned to Epstein for recommendations for a lawyer

when former city group president John Havens was ensnared

in a Florida prostitution crackdown in February of 2019.

Havens told Epstein, I had never met Epstein,

I never spoke with Epstein, and I never asked or knew

that Carp spoke to Epstein.

I got legal references from other people

and did not use the lawyer Carp referred me to.

Charges against Havens were ultimately dropped.

One month later, when Epstein was under renewed threat

of legal action and wanted the firm of private investigators,

it was Carp who recommended Nardello

and the same organization Paul Weiss had previously hired

on Black's behalf.

In 2019, unbeknownst Mr. Nardello,

a firm client recommended that Epstein

contact him about providing assistance

with anticipated civil litigation.

The investigative firm said,

Epstein reached out, but Mr. Nardello declined to help

and they had no further contact.

I'm sure they had no contact,

or was it it was back channel contact.

I'm guessing it was back channel contact.

Hey, it's Bubba Wallace from 2311 Racing.

You know what feels like forever?

Sitting on a plane waiting for takeoff.

Good thing, I've got Jumbo Casino

with daily boost in social casino games on tap.

This is a kind of fun that makes time fly.

Why not turbo charge a downtime?

Play now at jumbacacino.com.

Let's Jumbo.

Sponsored by Jumbo Casino,

no purchase necessary, VGW GroupFord,

where prohibited by law,

21 plus terms and conditions apply.

This is Mike Voilo of Lexicon Valley.

And I'm Bob Garfield.

Are you one of those people who sometimes uses words?

Do you communicate or acquire information

with, you know, language?

Hey, us too.

So join us on Lexicon Valley

to true over the history, culture,

and many mysteries of English.

Plus some ice cracks.

Find us on one of those apps

where people listen to podcasts.

By the time that the DOJ published the Epstein files this year,

Karp had already lost his shine

and parts of New York legal community

because of his capitulation to the Trump administration.

When US President Donald Trump issued

potentially damaging executive orders,

targeting Paul Weiss and others last year,

it was a test of the law firm's identity.

Other firms successfully fought back in court.

Some of Paul Weiss litigators would have liked to do the same.

But it was clear within Paul Weiss

that it was not an Apollo's interest for the firm

to be in conflict with the administration.

Any implication that Apollo in any way,

to in or attempt it to influence our decision-making

with respect to the executive order is completely false.

Paul Weiss said,

does anyone really believe this Karp dude?

Just another scumbag with revisionist history.

Karp agreed to provide $40 million of unpaid work

for Trump back causes.

The order was dropped soon after.

Other large law firms struck similar deals.

You couldn't imagine a greater chilling effect

on the rest of the profession than Karp's deal,

the head of a large law firm set at the time.

The episode prompted speculation about Karp's future.

He weathered it reinforcing his reputation internally

as a stabilizing figure.

But when the DOJ published three million pages

from the Epstein files in late January,

some clients began signaling concerns

about reputational risk from Karp's relationship.

Within days, a small group of partners

started preparing a contingency plan to replace Karp

before agreeing that he should be removed as chair.

He remains a partner, so he had to step down,

but he still works for the firm.

Keep that in mind.

As the drama unfolded,

some partners expressed frustration

that Karp had not stepped aside earlier.

Some believed that he should leave the firm entirely.

Still, some in the firm's litigation business

where Karp made his name,

thought he should not have had to step down as chair at all.

Others viewed his removal as chair

as a proportionate response given that he had not been accused

of breaking the law.

Some partners were told he was being allowed to remain

in the firm out of what one referred to as humanity.

He had worked there for more than 40 years

since his days as a summer associate.

Star dealmaker Scott Barche has since been installed as chair.

He's less close to Apollo than others at the firm

since he advises on public MA,

rather than private equity dealmaking,

and he's less inclined than Karp

to present the firm as a force for good in the world.

He's not named in the Epstein files.

Well, that's a fucking achievement in itself at this point.

If you're in the financial sector

and your name is not in the Epstein files,

I think that's success for you.

And I think the same goes for these law firms, right?

How many of these big shot lawyers are caught up?

Of Karp, one partner said at the time

of his departure as chair,

people used to like him partly because he is charming

and charismatic,

but everyone is so annoyed about this.

Look, I don't doubt it.

Imagine being a partner.

I'd be pissed too.

And when it comes to guys like Karp,

there's going to be many more following suit.

And I think as more comes out and more emails

are gone through and more connections are made,

you're going to see this kind of exodus

from other big shots.

We've already seen Catherine Rummler

end up leaving her post at Goldman Sachs, big time lawyer.

And now we have Mr. Karp as well.

And in my opinion, he most certainly won't be the last.

All right, folks, that's going to do it for this one.

All the information that goes with this episode

can be found in the description box.

Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing.

The rush of racing, nothing beats it,

but Chumba Casino comes close.

Chumba's got fast spins, fun games, daily bonuses,

and all the action you can handle.

Now that's a ride.

Ready to hit the throttle?

Get in the driver's seat and head to chumbacasino.com.

Let's chumba.

Sponsored by Chumba Casino,

no purchase necessary, VGW Group Void

where prohibited by law, 21 plus turns and conditions apply.