'Rahul Gandhi Made An Ass Of Himself': Hardeep Puri On Epstein Files Charge

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri called Congress MP Rahul Gandhi an "ass" Thursday as he defended himself against attacks from the opposition leader over mention of his name in the Epstein Files, and allegations that those mentions had compromised India's trade agreement with the US.

Speaking to NDTV this afternoon, Hardeep Puri claimed he had "a sense of unease" when he met the disgraced American financier and convicted child sex offender, on work-related topics.

"I didn't seek meetings (with Epstein) … they were set up (for me)," he explained.

"Two meetings are not guilt by association. I come out smelling of roses from this.. wasn't even part of the government then," he said, and criticised Rahul Gandhi for "making a mountain out of a molehill".

On claims the Epstein link affected the trade deal, Hardeep Puri said, "Mr Rahul Gandhi, if he reads it (the agreement) he will come to the conclusion that this is in the works… and by the way, for a country like India, which has 50 per cent of its GDP in the external sector, trade deals are absolutely crucial."

"…. and this is the framework of an interim agreement. So for him to suggest that because of some file somewhere 'India surrendered, PM surrendered'… Mr Rahul Gandhi is a young, not-so-young politician who doesn't read himself, who needs better advisors. And, if he had read it (the framework) he would perhaps have taken measures not to make an absolute ass of himself."

On Wednesday Rahul Gandhi, after his speech in the Lok Sabha, in which he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "sold out Bharat Mata", said he had verified information Hardeep Puri and businessman Anil Ambani were named in US Department of Justice files on Jeffrey Epstein.

RECAP | "Why Is Anil Ambani Not In Jail?" Rahul Gandhi's Epstein Files Charge

Gandhi argued that Puri's name in these files had forced Prime Minister Modi into a disadvantageous (for India) trade and tariff agreement with the United States.

"There is direct pressure on PM Modi. Without any pressure no Prime Minister of India would ever compromise on matters concerning the country's farmers, data, energy security, and defence. No one would do this unless there is heavy pressure and a very (strong) chokehold."

Puri hit back immediately, telling Parliament and reporters outside that he only met Epstein on a handful of occasions and never in private. "I had no interest in Epstein's activities. For them, I was not the 'right person'," he also said, adding Epstein had called him "two-faced".

READ | "Epstein Called Me Two-Faced": Hardeep Puri On Rahul Gandhi Charge

Meanwhile, on January 31, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed references to Prime Minister Modi's 2017 visit to Israel in an email reportely part of the recently released tranche of Epstein files. He called it the "trashy ruminations" of a convicted criminal.

"We have seen reports of an email message from the so-called Epstein files that has a reference to the Prime Minister and his visit to Israel. Beyond the fact of the Prime Minister's official visit to Israel in July 2017, the rest of the allusions in the email are little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal, which deserve to be dismissed with the utmost contempt," Jaiswal said at a briefing.

Last month the US Department of Justice released a vast new tranche of records from its files on Epstein, resuming disclosures under a law designed to shed light on what the government knew about his sexual abuse of young girls and interactions with wealthy and influential figures.

Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche said more than three million pages of documents were being released in the latest disclosure, alongside more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

The disclosures are mandated under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, enacted after months of political and public pressure. The law requires the government to open its files relating not only to Epstein but also to his longtime associate and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Jeffry Epstein died in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after he was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges, in a death ruled a suicide.