Newly released messages show Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein discussed using a Kovel agreement — an arrangement that can extend attorney-client privilege to non-lawyers — to potentially shield Bannon's filmed interviews. Bannon has said he recorded roughly 15 hours of footage but has released almost none; Mark Epstein later said Bannon told him the tapes were protected by privilege. The committee-obtained exchanges outline a plan tying the recordings to Epstein attorney Darren Indyke, though it remains unclear whether a formal Kovel letter was ever signed.
Newly Released Messages Show Bannon and Epstein Discussed Using Kovel Agreement To Shield Documentary Footage
Jeffrey Epstein and Steve Bannon were in constant communication about a media project they were working on together in the months before the pedophile's death.Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images; Shannon Finney/Getty Images for Semafor
Newly disclosed emails and text messages released by the House Oversight Committee show Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein discussed using a Kovel agreement — an uncommon legal mechanism that can, in certain circumstances, extend attorney-client privilege to non-lawyers — to potentially shield footage Bannon filmed of Epstein.
What The Messages Say
The records, obtained after the committee subpoenaed materials from Epstein's estate, include exchanges in which Epstein suggested folding Bannon into a legal structure tied to Epstein's longtime attorney, Darren Indyke. Epstein wrote that Indyke would cover filming costs and have "final control" of the recordings as his work product, while Bannon could receive any financial upside from distribution.
"We need to talk about kovel. Letter and black bag. As in a kovel agreement re accounting and finance. Legal privleged." — Jeffrey Epstein (text message)
Background And Scope
Bannon has said he filmed roughly 15 hours of interviews with Epstein more than six years ago; fewer than 30 seconds of that material have been publicly released. Mark Epstein, Jeffrey's brother, told Business Insider that Bannon later claimed the tapes were protected as "witness preparation" and covered by attorney-client privilege.
A mirror selfie Jeffrey Epstein took of himself and Steve Bannon was included in a cache of photos from Epstein's estate released by the House Oversight Committee.House Oversight Committee
Timeline
The messages show communications between Bannon and Epstein as early as February 2018 and continuing through at least Epstein's arrest in July 2019. During that period Epstein faced renewed civil suits and a revived criminal inquiry by Manhattan prosecutors.
How A Kovel Agreement Works
A Kovel agreement is used when an attorney needs non-lawyers with specialized skills to assist legal work. By formally putting the consultant on the legal team, courts may treat their work as privileged attorney-client communications. Bruce Green, a legal ethics professor at Fordham Law School, explained the rationale: "I don't want someone to say, 'You waive the privilege by disclosing that to a third party.' So I make the accountant part of my team the way my paralegal is part of the team."
Limitations And Legal Scrutiny
Courts scrutinize Kovel arrangements, especially when PR or media professionals are involved, because judges evaluate whether the non-lawyer is truly assisting legal work or merely helping manage the client’s public image. Green cautioned that "half the time or more, when the client hires a PR person and uses the lawyer to try to create a Kovel theory, it doesn't work."
The House Oversight Committee released multiple photos of a meeting between Jeffrey Epstein and Steve Bannon that appears to have taken place in Epstein's Manhattan mansion.House Oversight Committee
Claims, Participants, And Unanswered Questions
The messages suggest Bannon planned a project that would highlight Epstein’s views on politics, finance and science and potentially feature prominent figures. Epstein wrote that the goal was "to himanize the monster," and Bannon discussed a narrative of redemption. The texts mention potential participants including Noam Chomsky and James Watson.
It remains unclear whether a formal Kovel letter was ever signed. As co-executor of Epstein's estate, Darren Indyke has authority to waive attorney-client privilege for the deceased, but Daniel Weiner, who represents Indyke and fellow co-executor Richard Kahn, declined to comment on whether a Kovel agreement was executed.
Why This Matters
The exchanges illuminate a strategy that could have been used to place sensitive material out of public reach and show the extent to which Epstein and Bannon coordinated messaging around the financier's public image. They do not, however, definitively prove a Kovel agreement was finalized or that privilege was legally established over the footage.
Bottom Line
The released communications provide a plausible explanation for why Bannon's claimed hours of footage have not been broadly released: Epstein and Bannon discussed legal structures that, if properly implemented and accepted by a court, might have placed those materials under attorney-client protection. But key facts — including whether a valid Kovel agreement was signed — remain unresolved.
