Albert Bryan Jr.

Albert Bryan Jr. (born February 21, 1968) is a U.S. Virgin Islander politician and former businessman who has served since January 7, 2019, as the ninth Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. A Democrat, he previously served as Commissioner of the territory’s Department of Labor and was reelected governor in 2022.

The released documents show that Epstein reached out to Bryan about an unpermitted land clearing, and that Bryan denies any wrongdoing in his correspondence. Reporting on the unsealed files by the Virgin Islands Daily News describes text messages in which Epstein — who faced citations from the territory’s Department of Planning and Natural Resources over unpermitted construction and land clearing on Great St. James — complained to Bryan, and Bryan replied “We got u.” The Daily News reports that Bryan said he would follow up on the complaints and, per the files, asked the official overseeing the case to recuse himself and concede on previous permit requests.

The New Republic, citing the same reporting, states that Epstein contacted Bryan as he faced potential fines, that Bryan said he would intervene with environmental officials, and that the two had been acquainted since at least September 2018; it notes it is unknown whether Bryan actually followed through on the offers. According to both the Virgin Islands Daily News and The New Republic, Bryan testified in a 2023 civil-lawsuit deposition that he had never given Epstein any special treatment. The New Republic adds that, after a remark he made about Epstein’s earlier Florida case drew criticism, Bryan apologized through a spokesperson, calling his language “disrespectful” and saying, “I believe that we should honor and support all victims of human trafficking.”

Is Albert Bryan Jr. in the Epstein files?

Yes. Albert Bryan Jr. appears in the released Epstein files, and reporting on the released documents details 2019 communications in which Epstein contacted him about an unpermitted land-clearing and construction dispute on his islands. Bryan has denied, in 2023 deposition testimony, giving Epstein any special treatment. Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing. People appear in these documents in many contexts — correspondence, flight logs, contact books, scheduling, photographs, or passing references. See the sources above for the specific, documented context and Bryan’s response.

Documents

Primary-source records that reference Albert Bryan Jr. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Bryan testified in 2023 that he never gave Epstein special treatment.

• DOJ Epstein Files (EFTA release) — The 2019 text messages between Bryan and Epstein are part of the Justice Department’s Epstein Files Transparency Act disclosure (the roughly 3.5-million-page release made in January 2026). As reported by CNN’s KFile and the Virgin Islands Daily News, the messages span early 2019 and concern an unpermitted land-clearing and construction dispute on Epstein’s islands; in one exchange Bryan replied “We got u,” and in another, asked whether he could spare 15 minutes, “For u absolutely.”