Report: Former prime minister Ehud Barak stayed in Epstein apartment during multiple US visits

Former prime minister Ehud Barak stayed on multiple occasions in a New York apartment owned by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Haaretz reports, citing correspondence published by the US Justice Department last week.

According to the Hebrew news report, the messages indicate that Barak and his wife, Nili Priel Barak, stayed in the apartment between 2015 and 2019, after Epstein’s conviction on charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor, which resulted in a 13-month prison sentence.

In internal correspondence, Epstein’s staff at times referred to the unit as “Ehud’s apartment,” Haaretz reports.

Emails also reportedly show that Priel Barak was in frequent contact with Epstein and his employees regarding visits, maintenance and security arrangements, and that the couple stayed in the apartment for extended periods on several occasions.

Haaretz notes that the building housed several guest apartments used by Epstein and others, with a portion of them referred to by staff as “the girls’ apartments.” A 2022 report by The Guardian alleged that the New York financier housed models in the building for years, some as young as 13.

However, the documents do not indicate any contact between the girls and the Baraks.

Barak’s office confirmed to Haaretz that the couple had stayed in an apartment owned by Epstein “from time to time” during visits to the United States as private citizens, adding that Barak regrets his association with the financier.