Crucial peace process figure called Epstein friendship a 'blessing'

George Mitchell, photographed in Belfast in 2023, was the chair of peace talks that culminated in the Good Friday Agreement in 1998

The former US senator who played a critical role in Northern Ireland's peace process once described his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a "blessing", according to a handwritten letter in what has been described as Epstein's "birthday book".

George Mitchell's letter was released on Tuesday by a US congressional panel as part of a copy of the book alleged to have been given to Epstein in 2003 to celebrate his 50th birthday.

In a statement to BBC News NI, Senator Mitchell said the letter was written in 2003, several years before Epstein's prosecution in Florida.

The statement added: "The senator stands by his prior statements regarding Epstein."

"During the time he knew Epstein, he had no knowledge of Epstein's actions involving underage girls," the statement said.

"He first learned of those actions through published reports of Epstein's prosecution in Florida. He never had any contact with Mr. Epstein again."

In 2019, Mitchell was accused of having sex with one of Epstein's victims. He denied the allegations, telling the BBC in 2024: "The allegation contained in the released documents is false. I have never met, spoken with or had any contact with [the alleged victim]."

Mitchell was the chair of peace talks that culminated in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which brought an end to the conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.

Epstein, a well-connected financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead by suicide in 2019 while awaiting a trial on sex trafficking charges.

The 238-page book contains messages and photos from a host of well-known people, including President Donald Trump, who denies writing the letter with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying on Tuesday: "The president did not write this letter, he did not sign this letter, and that's why the president's external legal team is pursuing litigation against the Wall Street Journal."

What does the letter say?

In the letter alleged to be from Mitchell, he says that the beginning of a new year is "an appropriate time to count our blessings".

"Among mine is your friendship," it continues.

The letter goes on to describe how the pair met "by chance" at an airport in Washington and how Mitchell was "grateful" for their friendship and hoped for "many more years" of it.

It then congratulates Epstein on reaching "a critical milestone".

"I hope you will intensify your activities in the widest possible range of issues, especially in the field of science, where you've already done so much."

The letter ends with a post-script, acknowledging that Epstein shares a birthday with Mitchell's wife Heather.

"As you know, Heather shares your birthday, confirming my belief that a lot of great people were born on January 20!"

What was released and why now?

The House Oversight Committee last month issued a legal summons for the executors of Epstein's estate to produce a number of documents, including the alleged birthday book.

On Monday, the committee released the book as well as Epstein's will, entries from his contact books containing addresses from 1990 to 2019, and a non-prosecution agreement signed by him.

The book contains notes purportedly from a host of well-known individuals, including US President Donald Trump, former US President Bill Clinton and Lord Peter Mandelson.

Trump has denied ever writing the birthday note and Clinton's office has not responded to BBC request for comment.

Lord Mandelson described the publication of his letter as "very embarrassing" but added that they were written "over 20 years ago".

He said he felt "a tremendous sense of regret" over his friendship with Epstein and a "tremendous sense of sympathy" for his victims adding he felt "profoundly upset that I was taken in" by a "charismatic criminal liar".

Who is George Mitchell?

George Mitchell (C) visited Northern Ireland in 2023 to mark the 25-year anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, where he had a gala dinner with (L-R) former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, then-British PM Rishi Sunak, former US president Bill Clinton and former-PM Tony Blair

George Mitchell was a former majority leader in the US senate.

He won admiration from across the political divide in Northern Ireland for his work to boost the peace process, chairing the Stormont peace talks during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Following the failure to set up devolved power, Senator Mitchell acted as a facilitator to implement an inclusive power-sharing executive and the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons.

After a final 36 hours of non-stop negotiations, he led the main parties to agree to the Good Friday agreement on 10 April 1998, a political deal designed to bring an end to 30 years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland.

This article was updated on 11 September to include a statement from Senator George Mitchell.