Just weeks ahead of the Massachusetts U.S. Senate Democratic primary, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton launched a sharp critique against his opponent, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, attempting to connect him to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Why would you even take a meeting with a lobbyist on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein?” Moulton questioned during an August 3 debate. He asserted that Markey had performed “a favor for one of Epstein’s pals,” though he did not immediately clarify the remark.
Markey swiftly denied the allegations, stating he had never met Epstein and condemning Moulton’s comments as an act of “character assassination.”
Two days later, Moulton doubled down with an Instagram slideshow featuring a graphic of Markey alongside two men, one of whom was Epstein. The opening slide declared, “Senator Ed Markey’s role in the Epstein Files,” adding, “DOJ Epstein files reveal Senator Ed Markey was part of Epstein lobbying effort.”
Epstein pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges involving minors in 2008 and died by suicide in a Manhattan correctional facility in 2019 while facing federal charges for sex trafficking dozens of underage girls.
Because this is an explosive and highly damaging accusation, a closer examination of the facts is necessary.
Epstein documents point to a lobbyist contacting Markey for Karim Wade
Moulton’s social media post references a 2015 Justice Department document regarding Karim Wade.
Wade is the son of former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. In 2015, Karim Wade was imprisoned in Senegal on corruption charges. Records indicate that Epstein offered to finance U.S. lobbying efforts aimed at securing Wade’s release.
According to a December 2015 email, Bob Crowe, a partner at the Nelson Mullins lobbying firm, reached out to the State Department regarding Wade. A colleague of Crowe wrote in an email to a Wade supporter, “We are engaging Congress and had an initial briefing with Senator Ed Markey, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Africa.”
Crowe was copied on the message and forwarded it to Epstein, government files show.
However, the email contains no proof that Markey was aware of Epstein’s financial backing. Nor does it specify how the briefing occurred—whether through an in-person meeting, a phone call, or a staff-level message. Nelson Mullins did not respond to inquiries for clarification.
Ultimately, Wade was released by the Senegalese government in June 2016. Shortly before his release, Crowe emailed Epstein to say, “I was told by the congressional delegation that they put pressure on (Senegal President) Macky Sall and they are going to release (Wade).”
That message did not name the members of the delegation or detail the nature of any political pressure applied.
Markey denies receiving a briefing on the matter
The federal government made millions of pages of Epstein-related documents public in 2025, which is how these emails came to light.
Appearing in the Epstein records does not automatically imply wrongdoing, as numerous politicians are mentioned across the files. Markey himself had previously urged President Donald Trump to release the documents in 2025.
During an August 5, 2026, interview on WGBH Boston Public Radio, Markey was asked about the effort to free Wade.
“I was not briefed on that case,” Markey maintained. “I never had a briefing.”
When asked if the 2015 email claiming otherwise was inaccurate, Markey’s campaign spokesperson, Jonathan Ng, stated via email, “Neither Sen. Markey nor his staff were briefed by any lobbyists nor had any meetings related to Jeffrey Epstein and the case of Karim Wade.”
When prompted for proof that Markey knew of Epstein’s involvement, Moulton’s campaign spokesperson, Taylor Hebble, clarified, “Nowhere in our post do we claim that Markey knew that Epstein was involved in Wade’s case.”
Context behind the sources cited in Moulton’s post
While Moulton’s post displayed the logos of several news organizations, none of them—PolitiFact, Al Jazeera, or the Miami Herald—supported his claims.
- PolitiFact reported on the debate alongside WCVB-TV and fact-checked Moulton’s statements.
- The Miami Herald investigated Epstein’s influence-peddling in Africa, noting payments to a Senegalese lawyer and Nelson Mullins, but made no mention of Markey.
- Al Jazeera reported on Wade’s release following a presidential pardon without referencing Markey or Epstein.
The post also referenced a 2016 press release concerning an official congressional trip Markey led to Senegal to discuss security, which did not mention Wade or Epstein.
Our conclusion
Moulton’s claim that DOJ records prove Markey participated in an “Epstein lobbying effort” stretches the reality of the documents.
While the phrasing suggests official government investigations into Markey, the files are simply a large trove of unverified emails containing both significant and trivial details. Furthermore, linking the term “Epstein lobbying” to the case creates a misleading impression given Epstein’s notorious crimes.
Although a 2015 email indicates a lobbyist mentioned briefing Markey about a Senegalese corruption case, there is no direct proof the meeting happened, and Markey firmly denies it. Most importantly, the records contain no indication that Markey was aware of Epstein’s financial connection to the lobbying.
Because Moulton’s statement dramatically twists the facts to imply a sinister connection, the claim is rated **Mostly False**.
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