JD Vance's Controversial Epstein-Mossad Remarks on Joe Rogan

JD Vance didn’t stumble into this one. He walked straight toward it.

On a sprawling, nearly three-hour appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the US vice president openly entertained one of the right’s most radioactive conspiracy theories: that Jeffrey Epstein was tied to the “highest levels” of Israeli intelligence.

Rogan, whose show often amplifies fringe ideas, set the stage. He told listeners there was a “widespread perception” that Epstein’s money and influence in elite American universities came from links to Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service.

“Most people think he was Mossad,” Rogan said.

Vance didn’t pull 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.”

For a sitting vice president, it was a striking embrace of a theory long circulated on the conspiratorial right, one that has repeatedly drawn accusations of antisemitism and has been disavowed by Israeli officials.

Vance concedes no proof — but keeps the door open

The millions of pages of files released by the US government about Epstein have not produced evidence that he worked as an agent or asset for Mossad or any other intelligence service. Vance himself acknowledged that.

“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.

Then he added a twist that kept the insinuation alive.

“But if that existed, it wouldn’t exist in 2026.”

No proof. No documents. Yet the suggestion that evidence would have been scrubbed allowed the vice president to nod to the conspiracy while admitting there is nothing to back it up.

Inside the GOP, anger and alarm

The reaction inside his own party was swift and sharp.

Peter T. King, the former Republican congressman from New York and a staunch supporter of Israel, heard more than idle speculation in Vance’s remarks.

He called them a “dog whistle” to a faction of the GOP that he said “is antisemitic, is anti-Israel, is conspiratorial and is unhinged.”

King did not mince words about the stakes.

“It’s not like you’re a junior congressman,” he said, stressing Vance’s role. “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.”

From conservative media, the criticism cut just as deep.

Ben Shapiro, one of the most prominent conservative voices in the country, Jewish and fiercely pro-Israel, said Vance’s performance on Rogan’s show left him “concerned.”

On his own program, Shapiro went further, branding the vice president’s commentary “unworthy of the office” and a betrayal of what he sees as a core conservative instinct.

“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.”

Tablet, an online publication focused on Jewish news and culture, ran a blistering column by journalist Lee Smith under the headline “JD Vance’s Big Crashout.” Smith accused the vice president of attacking Jews and spreading “baseless rumors” about a dark plot involving Epstein — rumors Vance himself admitted he has “zero evidence” to support.

The White House doubles down

Vance’s office showed no sign of retreat.

Asked to respond, his team released a statement attributed to an unnamed White House official insisting that everything the vice president said was true. To suggest otherwise, the statement declared, was “in bad faith, stupidity, or both.”

Aides declined to clarify or soften his remarks.

The Israeli government, for now, has stayed quiet. The prime minister’s office, which oversees Mossad, did not immediately respond to questions about Vance’s comments. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously rejected the idea that Epstein worked for Israel.

The Epstein–Barak connection

Part of what fuels the speculation Vance tapped into is Epstein’s real, documented connection to a major Israeli figure: Ehud Barak, the former prime minister and a leading voice on Israel’s center-left.

Epstein, who spent years cultivating relationships with powerful people around the world, had a long friendship and business relationship with Barak. Vance seized on that.

“Epstein seemed to be connected to the elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of center,” he told Rogan. “I’ve always found that fascinating.”

Barak has said that Shimon Peres, another former Israeli prime minister, first introduced him to Epstein in 2002. Barak attended lunches and dinners at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse. He received roughly $2.3 million in payments from a foundation associated with Epstein, and Epstein reportedly invested about $1 million in a limited partnership Barak set up in 2015.

Barak has repeatedly said he neither saw nor participated in any sexual abuse and has publicly expressed remorse for the relationship.

“I now deeply regret having any association with him,” he has said.

A familiar tension for Vance

Inside the Republican Party, Vance’s latest foray into conspiratorial territory hits a raw nerve.

Some Republicans have been pressing him to take a tougher public line against antisemitism and to show more unambiguous support for Israel at a time of regional volatility and domestic polarization. Instead, his comments on one of the world’s most listened-to podcasts have intensified concerns about where he stands.

The vice president has long aligned himself with figures such as Tucker Carlson, who has also promoted theories about Epstein and intelligence agencies. Those alliances have helped cement Vance’s image as a tribune of the populist right. They now threaten to complicate his standing as a national leader expected to speak with precision on foreign allies and security services.

On Rogan’s show, Vance chose not to close the door on one of the internet’s most enduring and toxic narratives. The question now is whether his party will let that door stay open.