Bannon Text to Epstein: Help Me ‘Take Down’ the Pope

Recently released Justice Department documents reveal that Steve Bannon reached out to Jeffrey Epstein in 2019 while attempting to build resistance against Pope Francis. In one message from June of that year, Bannon declared he would “take down” the pontiff, grouping him with political figures and institutions he opposed, including the Clintons, China’s Xi, and the European Union. The exchanges, reported by CNN, show Bannon seeking Epstein’s backing for a broader nationalist-populist agenda that he believed was hindered by Francis’ outspoken defense of migrants and criticism of nationalist movements.

The records indicate Bannon also considered leveraging the 2019 exposé In the Closet of the Vatican by French journalist Frederic Martel as part of his campaign. After meeting Martel in Paris, Bannon suggested adapting the book into a film and proposed that Epstein serve as executive producer. Martel later told the National Catholic Reporter that Bannon appeared eager, but he declined any arrangement, noting that film rights were already secured by his publisher and expressing concern that Bannon intended to use the project to target Francis. Papal biographer Austen Ivereigh argued that Bannon misunderstood both the book and the pope, suggesting Bannon’s aim was to discredit Francis under the pretense of reforming the Church.

Epstein—who had pleaded guilty in 2008 to child sex offenses and was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges—also made flippant remarks in separate messages. In one exchange with his brother Mark, he joked about inviting the pope for a “massage.” In correspondence with Bannon, he quoted Paradise Lost: “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.” At another point, he wrote that “donalds head would explode if he knew you were now buds with the guy who on monday will decide the nobel peace prize,” according to the Associated Press, which described his grammar as disorganized.

Jesuit priest Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a close Vatican observer, said the correspondence reflects what he characterized as an attempt by Bannon to fuse religious influence with political objectives—an approach he said Francis consistently rejected. Bannon has not publicly responded to the disclosures.

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