By Freddie Hayward

Copyright newstatesman

Peter Mandelson’s arrival in Washington cocked many Maga eyebrows. Not only was a top New Labour politician taking on a role usually reserved for anonymous civil servants. Here was a man connected to the scandal which most riled the Maga base. In the first few weeks of his tenure, Mandelson’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein gave many Washington insiders reason to think that his time in the imperial capital would fall flat.

And yet, six months in, Mandelson has carved out alliances with key members of the administration, become a reliable feature on the social scene and served as a bridge between No 10 and the White House during the trade negotiations. Trump conspicuously praised him in the Oval Office as the most recent agreement was announced.

The Epstein connection always lurked beneath this success. When the Financial Times asked him about Epstein in February, he said he was “not going to go into this. It’s an FT obsession and frankly you can all fuck off. OK?” Sky News pressed him again after he delivered a speech at the Atlantic Council on the end of hyper-globalisation in May. His answer, like many others who were close to Epstein, is always that he regrets ever knowing the man.

Now new files have reopened the issue. As the embassy is motoring through preparations for negotiations over a technology deal ahead of Trump’s state visit to the UK next week, the House Oversight Committee has published Epstein’s infamous “birthday book”. Organised by Ghislaine Maxwell for his 50th birthday, the book contains messages from his close friends such as Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and, in a message written over ten pages, Peter Mandelson. He called Epstein his “best pal” and signed off with “we love you”. The book was compiled in 2003, three years before Epstein was publicly accused of any wrongdoing. It is riddled with innuendo and sections with messages from his “girlfriends” and “assistants”.

The good news for Mandelson is that he and Trump are cast out in the same boat, indicted in the same book. Trump’s cryptic birthday wish to Epstein – complete with a drawing of a naked woman – has finally been published, even as the White House continue to claim that Trump was not behind the message and his signature was forged. Trump’s own connection with Epstein means Mandelson’s line to the White House will remain intact – even if both have taken a hit with the Maga base. Their fates are now oddly entwined.

Both Mandelson and Trump will want this whole saga to disappear. That looks unlikely: congressional Democrats and some Republicans are pushing for all the files related to Epstein to be released. A resolution to force the Department of Justice to publish the documents is gaining traction on the Hill.

Mandelson, the great survivor, has weathered many controversies before and No 10 has said they stand by their man in Washington. But as he and the White House thrash out agreements and plan the seating plan for the State Visit, the ambient noise in Washington remains one of scandal.

[See also: The Epstein conspiracy has unmasked Trump as a faux-populist]