Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman, who visited Jeffrey Epstein's infamous Caribbean island and sent gifts to Epstein and his "girls," has contributed millions of dollars to the House and Senate Democratic super PACs flooding the airwaves with ads linking Republicans to the dead sex offender.
Hoffman, the cofounder of LinkedIn, contributed $5 million to the Chuck Schumer-affiliated Senate Majority PAC on September 25, according to campaign finance records. He also contributed $8.5 million to House Majority PAC, aligned with House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.), making Hoffman one of the largest donors to the two groups this election cycle.
The PACs have spent millions of dollars on ads connecting Republican candidates to Epstein, who died in jail in August 2019 after his arrest for trafficking underage girls for sex.
One Senate Majority PAC ad accuses Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Republican candidate for Senate in Iowa, of receiving $90,000 in campaign donations from people named in the so-called Epstein files and of voting against the release of the documents. "The people in the Epstein files have a lot of money," the ad states.
Senate Majority PAC ads in Maine and Kansas likewise accuse Republican senators Susan Collins and Roger Marshall of voting against the release of the Epstein files to "protect child predators" and "protect pedophiles," respectively.
The House Majority PAC has spent $2.3 million on Epstein ads in battleground races in Arizona, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Texas, including a spot aimed at Texas's 15th Congressional District in support of Democratic candidate Bobby Pulido, who has faced scrutiny for helping a bandmate jailed for child molestation. Hoffman contributed $3,500 to Pulido's campaign on October 1, records show.
Liberal fact-checkers have questioned the Democrats' claim. PolitiFact noted that Republican senators, including Collins and Marshall, voted in November alongside the rest of the upper chamber in favor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Republican senators had voted in September against a Schumer-backed amendment that tied the measure to a defense spending bill. PolitiFact determined the Senate Majority PAC had "misleadingly" sought to link Collins and Epstein. Pulido's opponent, Monica De La Cruz, also voted in favor of the act.
Hoffman's massive donations to the PACs could further undercut Democrats' efforts to link the GOP to Epstein, who contributed $22,000 during his lifetime to Schumer's campaigns and affiliated committees.
Hoffman apologized after Epstein's death for helping Epstein repair his public image after he was convicted years earlier for soliciting sex from minors in Florida. Hoffman hosted Epstein at events with other wealthy tech titans, and in 2015, Hoffman offered to "help" Epstein deal with media attention.
Hoffman visited Epstein at his Virgin Islands getaway, Little Saint James, and at his homes in New Mexico and New York City. After visiting Epstein in the Virgin Islands and New York, Hoffman sent Epstein a message about two gifts he had sent: a statue for Little Saint James and "ice cream" for "the girls." A Hoffman representative has claimed "the girls" were two women on Epstein's payroll.
Hoffman has denied any involvement in Epstein's illicit activities and has claimed then that his "last interaction" with Epstein was in 2015. But the Washington Free Beacon found otherwise. Hoffman and Epstein maintained contact through at least 2018. The duo emailed numerous times, had Skype calls, and booked a sushi dinner in California, the Free Beacon reported.
Hoffman acknowledged the interactions and said he was "mistaken."
Epstein had other close ties to Democrats. He struck up a close friendship with former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler soon after she left the administration in 2014. Emails show Epstein showered Ruemmler with gifts, including a $9,400 Hermès handbag and spa trips to the Four Seasons, the Free Beacon reported. Ruemmler, in turn, provided Epstein with advice on how to deal with his legal and PR problems.
The Senate Majority PAC, the House Majority PAC, and Hoffman did not respond to requests for comment.
