The question is, was Bill Clinton aboard?
/I posted an item yesterday about a yacht skipper’s attempt at cutting corners coming to grief in the murky waters off Greenwich Harbor: A fowl tide brings the chickens home to roost:
Today Reader Desidog has identified the yacht in question and even provided a helpful link to a British publication’s story on the owner, replete with a photo of what appears to be the very yacht in question:
Jes Staley, the yacht and a visit to Epstein’s island
Contact between the men continued after financier was convicted of trafficking in 2008
The world of high finance is not mine, so I had no idea who Jes Staley is (and have no idea, naturally, whether he still owns the Good Ship Lollypop). I looked him up, though, and he does have an interesting resume. Staley had, and continues to have difficulties arising from his close association with the late Mr. Epstein; perhaps that distracted him from his piloting duties?
March 14, 2025:
Why Jes Staley is spilling secrets about Jeffrey Epstein ties — complicating his ‘return’ to banking
Former star banker Jes Staley is 68 years old, but instead of retiring he wants back into the investment business – even as he seeks to repair a reputation ravaged by his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, On The Money has learned.
That’s why the former Barclays CEO is putting himself through the wringer in UK court, testifying in a civil appeal of a ruling by the UK Financial Conduct Authority that he knew nothing about the scale of his old pal Epstein’s dark side – namely charges that he had sex with minors.
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His gut must have been turning more on Wednesday. Taking the stand at a British court known as London’s Upper Tribunal, Staley admitted under oath that he once had sex with one of Epstein’s assistants.
The age of the assistant was not revealed, but consensus among bankers who know Staley is that the disclosure only makes his longshot bid all the more difficult.
“I’m not sure what he’s trying to accomplish,” one former colleague told On The Money. “Who’s going to hire him?”
Staley’s fall is in many ways Shakespearean. He was once one of those “masters of the universe” with a charmed career on Wall Street. He worked at JP Morgan for nearly three decades in a variety of senior roles and was considered a possible successor to CEO Jamie Dimon. With Dimon signaling he has no intention of leaving anytime soon (which is still pretty much the case), he left to join the big UK-based bank, Barclays.
But Staley’s JPM career also had some dark corners. He ran the asset management division and private client group when the bank also counted Epstein, then a high-end wealth manager, as one of its biggest clients for about 15 years. The business relationship then turned into what Staley has called a “profound” friendship that included career advice, frequent visits to Epstein’s home and trips to his private island estate in the Caribbean.
Staley also championed Epstein inside the firm when some risk managers warned that Epstein’s 2008 conviction of having sex with a minor was enough to cut him off.
Staley left JPM and in 2015 ended up as CEO of Barclays, even as the relationship drew more attention. Private lawsuits filed by Epstein’s accusers mounted. Epstein was arrested in 2019 and accused of a massive child sex-trafficking scheme. Facing a life sentence, he was found dead in his jail cell in an apparent suicide.
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But the real fireworks in the case went down on Wednesday, when Staley was asked about his deposition in that JPM lawsuit, and his admission he had sex with one of Epstein’s staff. As Staley put it before UK court: “Oftentimes I would go to Epstein’s apartment and he would be late and she and I got the chance to know each other.” They then had sex, “much to my embarrassment today.” He also stated that Epstein had no knowledge of the affair.
A lawyer for Staley didn’t return a call for comment; a JPM rep had no comment, though On The Money has learned that the bank is so worried about what might come out in the trial that it has a legal officer in the courtroom throughout the proceedings.