Jean-Luc Brunel was prepared to tell prosecutors what he knew about Epstein’s sex trafficking and was negotiating with lawyers secretly in 2016, new files have revealed.
Emails reveal that Brunel was discussing a date to speak with federal prosecutors in New York in exchange for immunity.
But he backed out and went into hiding following Epstein’s arrest in 2019.
Bruno was found dead, hanging in his cell in prison in February 2022 at La Sante, one of France’s toughest jails.
He was originally indicted and placed in pre-trial detention in December 2020 for the ‘rape of a minor over 15 years old’ and harassing two other women.
Brunel committed suicide because he was ‘crushed’ by the allegations against him, his defence lawyers said in a joint statement at the time.
The newly-released files do not make clear what caused Brunel to change his mind about testifying against Epstein.
However the decision came after Epstein learned that federal prosecutors were looking to negotiate with him.
“One of Epstein’s bfs, Jean Luc Brunel, has helped get girls. He is wanting to cooperate,” a handwritten note made by federal prosecutors in February 2016 reads.
“Brunel is afraid of being prosecuted,” the prosecutor noted.
It also said he had ‘photographic evidence’ and ‘doesn’t want to implicate himself’.
On May 3, 2016, Epstein emailed Kathy Ruemmler, an attorney he corresponded with regularly, telling her Brunel was planning to visit the US Attorney’s Office the following week and that one of Brunel’s friends “had asked for 3 million dollars so that Jean Luc would not go in”, the Justice Department files show.
When asked about the emails, Jennifer Connely, a spokeswoman for Ms Ruemmler, told the Wall Street Journal it “was another instance of Epstein attempting to engage Ms Ruemmler on a matter about which she had no knowledge, and she appropriately directed him to his legal counsel.”
Brunel was named alongside Ghislaine Maxwell when Epstein was finally arrested in 2019.
Documents show he travelled on Epstein’s private jet, visited his island and the pair exchanged hundreds of emails.
“He found in Jean-Luc a like-minded predator with whom he could conspire on a daily basis to recruit and control the lives of countless young women,” said Brad Edwards, a lawyer who represented more than 200 Epstein victims.
When Epstein was found dead in 2019, Brunel went into hiding while French authorities launched an investigation and raided his home and offices. He was arrested in December 2020 as he attempted to board a plane to Senegal.
Paris prosecutors have opened two new investigations into potential sex crimes and financial wrongdoing linked to Epstein.
They want victims to come forward, and will base the prosecutions on the Department of Justice files and new complaints from victims.
One investigation will focus on sex abuse crimes, the other on financial wrongdoing.
They also said they would be re-opening investigations into Brunel in the light of new evidence.
A French probe was closed in 2022 after he was found dead in priso
