JD Vance Embraces Epstein-Mossad Conspiracy Claims
US Vice President JD Vance leaned hard into one of the American right’s most toxic conspiracy currents this week, publicly entertaining claims that Jeffrey Epstein had links to the “highest levels” of Israeli intelligence.
He did it not in an offhand remark, but across a sprawling, nearly three-hour appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” one of the most influential platforms in conservative media.
Rogan floated the idea first, saying there was a widespread belief that Epstein’s money and his push to shape thinking at American universities came from ties to Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service.
“Most people think he was Mossad,” Rogan said.
Vance did not push back.
“Yeah, Mossad or CIA, or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel or another country,” he replied, before going even further. “He clearly had connections to the upper — the highest — levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence.”
The vice president’s words instantly placed him at the center of a long-simmering fight inside his own party: how far Republicans are willing to go in embracing conspiracy theories that brush up against, or cross into, antisemitism.
Conspiracy talk from the vice president’s chair
The claims around Epstein and Mossad have circulated for years on the fringes of the right. They’ve been amplified by prominent conservative voices, among them Tucker Carlson, a close ally of Vance. Now they’ve been echoed by a man who holds one of the two highest offices in the United States.
The problem for Vance is evidence. The U.S. government has released millions of files related to Epstein. None has provided conclusive proof that he worked as an agent or asset for Mossad or any other intelligence service.
Vance conceded as much on Rogan’s show.
“I’ve asked, were there like, were there documents connecting Jeffrey Epstein directly to our intelligence agencies or anybody else’s, and the answer is no,” he said. “But if that existed, it wouldn’t exist in 2026.”
The suggestion was clear: the absence of proof might itself be proof of a cover-up.
That leap — from documented fact to insinuation — is precisely what alarms some Republicans who want their party to draw a line against such rhetoric, especially when it involves Israel and Jews.
Accusations of a “dog whistle”
Former Representative Peter T. King, a New York Republican and staunch supporter of Israel, did not mince words. He said Vance’s remarks functioned as a “dog whistle” to a faction of the GOP that he described as “antisemitic, is anti-Israel, is conspiratorial and is unhinged.”
And King stressed the weight of the office Vance holds.
“It’s not like you’re a junior congressman,” he said in an interview. “You’re the vice president of the United States. Unless you know what you’re talking about, unless you have absolute facts to back it up, before you undermine an ally — before you undermine your own intelligence agencies — you better know what you’re talking about.”
The backlash did not prompt any walk-back from Vance’s team. Asked for comment, his office issued a statement attributed to an unnamed White House official insisting that everything the vice president had said was true, adding that to suggest otherwise was “in bad faith, stupidity, or both.” Aides declined to clarify or soften his comments.
From Jerusalem, there was silence. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which oversees Mossad, did not immediately respond to questions about Vance’s claims. Netanyahu has previously rejected the idea that Epstein worked for Israel.
Conservative unease
Inside the conservative movement, the episode landed awkwardly. Many on the right have demanded that Vance speak more forcefully against antisemitism and show clearer support for Israel, particularly since the war in Gaza reshaped the political landscape.
His performance with Rogan only sharpened those concerns.
Ben Shapiro, the influential conservative commentator, who is Jewish and an outspoken backer of Israel, said Vance’s appearance left him “concerned.” On his own show, Shapiro called the vice president’s commentary “unworthy of the office” and said it cut against what conservatism is supposed to stand for.
“Conservatives, generally, are not in favor of baseless conspiracy theorizing,” Shapiro said, “because that undermines the idea that you have capacity in the world to act.”
The Jewish-focused outlet Tablet went further. In a column titled “JD Vance’s Big Crashout,” journalist Lee Smith wrote that the vice president had “attacked Jews and spread baseless rumors, for which he admits to having zero evidence, about some kind of dark plot involving Jeffrey Epstein.”
The criticism underscored a growing divide: a wing of the right increasingly comfortable with sweeping, evidence-light narratives, and another that fears those stories corrode institutions, alienate allies, and fuel bigotry.
Epstein, Israel and the record
The Epstein-Israel connection is not invented from whole cloth. Epstein, who moved for years in elite political and financial circles around the world, had a lengthy friendship and business relationship with Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister from the center-left.
“Epstein seemed to be connected to the elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of center,” Vance told Rogan. “I’ve always found that fascinating.”
Barak has previously detailed how he met Epstein. He has said Shimon Peres, another former Israeli prime minister, introduced them in 2002. Barak attended lunches and dinners at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse. He also received roughly $2.3 million in payments from a foundation linked to Epstein, and Epstein reportedly invested about $1 million in a limited partnership Barak set up in 2015.
Barak has consistently denied witnessing or participating in any sexual abuse and has publicly expressed remorse over the relationship. “I now deeply regret having any association with him,” he has said.
Those facts, though, fall far short of proving an espionage plot. They show Epstein’s reach, not his employer.
A test of boundaries
What Vance has done is elevate a narrative that lives in the gray area between documented ties and unproven allegations, and he has done so from a platform that carries the weight of the vice presidency.
For some on the right, that’s a welcome sign that their suspicions are finally being aired at the highest levels of power. For others, it’s a dangerous flirtation with conspiracies that risk staining both America’s intelligence services and one of its closest allies.
The question now is whether this was a one-off provocation on a friendly podcast — or a preview of how far the vice president is willing to go in reshaping the boundaries of mainstream conservative discourse.
