William Burns

William Joseph Burns (born 1956) is an American career diplomat. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from March 2021 to January 2025 and as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State from 2011 to 2014, after a Foreign Service career that included postings as U.S. Ambassador to Jordan (1998–2001) and to Russia (2005–2008) and as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (2008–2011).

According to The Wall Street Journal’s 2023 reporting, as summarized by The Daily Beast, scheduling and calendar documents in Epstein’s records showed three meetings arranged with Jeffrey Epstein in 2014, while Burns was Deputy Secretary of State. The Daily Beast’s account of the WSJ reporting describes a lunch scheduled in August 2014 at a Washington law firm office and two evening appointments scheduled in September 2014 at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, and states that after one meeting Epstein planned for his driver to take Burns to the airport.

The Daily Beast reported a statement from a CIA spokesperson that Burns “did not know anything about [Epstein], other than that he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector and offered general advice on transition to the private sector,” and that “they had no relationship.” Reporting on the matter adds that the CIA denied Burns had any knowledge of Epstein’s personal life, that Burns recalled meeting Epstein briefly through a mutual friend in Washington while denying the other scheduled meetings, and that he said he regretted the meetings.

Is William Burns in the Epstein files?

Yes. According to The Wall Street Journal’s 2023 reporting, as summarized by The Daily Beast, scheduling documents associated with Jeffrey Epstein listed three meetings arranged with William Burns in 2014, when Burns was U.S. Deputy Secretary of State. A CIA spokesperson said Burns had no relationship with Epstein and knew him only as someone introduced as a financial-services expert, and reporting on the matter indicates that Burns said he regretted the meetings. The reporting noted it could not confirm that all the scheduled meetings actually took place. Appearing in scheduling documents or being named in materials connected to the Epstein files is not, by itself, evidence of any crime or wrongdoing.

Documents

Primary-source records that reference William Burns. Appearing in scheduling documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; a CIA spokesperson said Burns had no relationship with Epstein, and Burns has not been charged with any crime.

• DOJ Epstein Files (full EFTA release portal) — As reported by The Wall Street Journal (2023) and The Daily Beast, scheduling and calendar documents associated with Epstein listed three 2014 meetings with Burns — a lunch in August 2014 and two evening appointments in September 2014 at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse — while Burns was Deputy Secretary of State. The reporting could not confirm that all the scheduled meetings took place, and a CIA spokesperson said Burns and Epstein “had no relationship.”