MAGA Candidate Faces Fresh Heat Over Epstein Pen Pal Cash
A Republican Senate candidate who fought to block the release of the Epstein files has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from billionaires whose names appear in the records, the Daily Beast has learned.
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Rep. Ashley Hinson, now running in a tight Senate race to represent Iowa, accepted donations from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Blackwater CEO Stephen Schwarzman, and private capital billionaire Marc Rowan, among others, all of whom were named in the Epstein files dozens—and some even hundreds—of times.
The Trump-endorsed candidate and her PACs accepted nearly $90,000 from these donors over three campaigns. This includes $30,500 during the period in which she helped delay the release of the files, according to campaign finance records from the Federal Election Commission reviewed by the Beast.
Nearly $22,000 was accepted by Hinson’s current Senate campaign, nearly $29,000 to her two congressional campaigns, and over $35,000 to two PACs sponsored by Hinson: Fight On PAC and the Ashley Hinson Victory Committee.
Schwarzman, a Blackstone co-founder whose net worth exceeds $42 billion, was mentioned in the Epstein files 23 times, including one email in which the sex offender described him as “.”
Hinson, 43, accepted $7,000 from the private equity CEO on Sept. 10, just days after Rep. Thomas Massie officially brought forth the discharge petition that would ultimately compel the Epstein Files’ release. He donated a total of $26,500 to her campaigns and PACs. Schwarzman did not email Epstein directly and faces no accusations of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, whose net worth exceeds $7 billion, also donated $7,000 to Hinson’s campaign on Sept. 25. Rowan’s name appeared in the Epstein files 389 times, and he preserved a documented relationship with the sex offender long after his first conviction in 2008, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Lutnick, whose name appeared in the Epstein files at least 141 times, including a photo of him with Epstein on his private island, donated over $12,000 to her congressional campaigns in 2021 and 2023.
President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, who is worth over $7 billion, testified before the House Oversight Committee in May regarding his ties to the sex trafficker and denied any wrongdoing. Lutnick had previously said he had cut off all contact with Epstein in 2005, but was photographed at Little St. James in 2012 and shared overlapping investments with him in a now-shuttered company called AdFin in 2014.
Hinson declined to sign Massie’s discharge petition to force a vote on the Epstein files, leaving it one signature short for two months until newly sworn-in Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva provided the final signature in November.
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The Iowa congresswoman said at the time that Massie was “approaching this in the wrong way,” arguing that his petition handed over leverage to the Democrats, according to The Gazette.
Hinson and her fellow Iowa Republicans—Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Zach Nunn, and Randy Feenstra—declined to sign the discharge petition, yet all four ultimately voted for the bill when it came before the House on Nov. 18.
Other Hinson donors who were named in the Epstein files include private equity billionaire Henry Kravis, whose name appeared 55 times in the files, including one where Epstein said he was someone “looking for investments”; real estate billionaire John Catsimatidis, whose name appeared 70 times in the files and appeared in Epstein’s “Little Black Book”; and billionaire executive Howard Lorber, whom in one , Epstein associate David Mitchell said he would call him to “ask him if that’s ok with JEE.” None of the men, however, corresponded with Epstein, according to the files.
Kravis has not publicly addressed his connections to Epstein, but does not face any accusations of misconduct.
Catsimatidis explained to Business Insider that he met Epstein through a friend and received a three-foot bottle of champagne from him. “That was the last time I saw him. He called me once or twice, I don’t know what about,” he told the outlet.
Lorber has not publicly addressed his connections to Epstein, though he is a defendant in a lawsuit against the convicted sex traffickers Oren, Alon, and Tal Alexander. Epstein also said in one from 2011 that he “likes” Lorber.
The revelations drew criticism from Iowa Democrats, who accused Hinson of putting wealthy donors ahead of her constituents.
“Ashley Hinson is proving she’ll do anything to enrich herself and her wealthy donors at the expense of Iowans, including accepting nearly one hundred thousand dollars from billionaires linked to Jeffrey Epstein,” Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Drew Myers told the Daily Beast. “She’s firmly on the side of the Epstein class and fought harder to prevent the release of the Epstein files than she has for the Iowans who are struggling from rising prices at the gas pump and grocery store.”
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The Daily Beast reached out to Hinson for comment.
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