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Brad Karp resigned as chairman of Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison after the U.S. Department of Justice released emails describing exchanges between Karp and Jeffrey Epstein, according to a report by the Associated Press. The firm’s chairman said he would remain at Paul Weiss, where he has practiced for 40 years and served as chairman since 2008.
In a statement Wednesday, Paul Weiss did not explicitly mention any connection Karp had with Epstein, whom the firm said it never represented. Karp, however, framed the decision in terms of the impact of the coverage, telling readers that “recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests” of the firm.
The DOJ release followed last week’s publication of what AP described as the largest batch of documents so far from its Epstein investigative files, according to the new law intended to increase transparency about the government’s knowledge in the case. The reporting tied the law’s disclosure effort to Epstein’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with rich and powerful figures.
The fallout has extended beyond the United States, AP reported. In Slovakia, a top official resigned after photos and emails revealed he had met with Epstein after Epstein was released from jail, and in Britain Prime Minister Keir Starmer apologized for appointing an ambassador to Washington who had ties to Epstein.
Among the records cited in the AP report was a July 22, 2015, email exchange in which Karp thanked Epstein for hosting an evening that Karp described as “once in a lifetime” and one he said he would “never forget.” Epstein responded that Karp was “always welcome,” adding that “there are many many nights of unique talents. you will be invited often.”
That same day, Epstein told Karp that he wanted to connect him with Larry Summers, which Epstein described as “funny and warm.” AP reported that Summers, a former U.S. Treasury secretary and Harvard University president, has faced ostracism from organizations after Epstein files made public earlier showed a close relationship with Epstein.
AP also reported that in 2016, Karp reached out to Epstein as he tried to help his son pursue a film career, reaching for connections including Woody Allen. The report said Karp’s son sent follow-up messages to Epstein, though it was not clear from the record whether further connections were made.
In 2018, AP reported, Karp was invited for dinner with Epstein and said he could arrange for a car to be outside to take him back to his office for a video call before rejoining the dinner. The emails included an exchange in which Epstein wrote, “Im easy,” and Karp replied, “I know you are,” according to AP.
The AP report described the messages continuing through the years, including an exchange in February 2019 in which Karp emailed Epstein seeking advice on behalf of John Havens, describing a need for “immediate help” before Havens’s name came out in a Florida massage parlor investigation. AP reported that Epstein also offered help finding a local lawyer for Robert Kraft, and that Karp suggested Kraft needed “the best there is,” adding that both Kraft and Havens were among hundreds of men accused of patronizing massage parlors involved in prostitution.
A month later, AP reported, Karp was reviewing a draft court filing in which Epstein’s lawyers argued that a plea deal in a decade-old Florida federal sex abuse investigation should not be reopened. The AP report said that in a March 3, 2019, email Karp wrote: “The draft motion is in great shape. It’s overwhelmingly persuasive. Truly,” and that he added he particularly liked an argument in the filing about when victims came forward.
Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in that Florida case, served 13 months in jail, paid settlements to victims, and became a registered sex offender, AP reported. AP also said the firm’s name correction was issued later to reflect the full name as Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, rather than a shorter version.
The broader political and legal context also included the DOJ’s disclosures arriving as lawmakers pursued additional scrutiny of the Epstein case. AP said former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to testify before a House committee investigating Epstein after Republicans pushed for criminal contempt of Congress charges, and that the report described relationships between Epstein and high-profile men in the late 1990s and early 2000s while noting that neither Trump nor Clinton had been credibly accused of wrongdoing in their interactions with Epstein.