'Trashy ruminations of a convicted criminal': MEA rubbishes reference to PM Modi's 2017 Israel visit in Epstein files

NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Saturday refuted the claims made on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in 2017 in the newly released documents on late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The ministry, in a statement, dubbed the references as "trashy ruminations of a convicted criminal", saying that the claims must be "dismissed with the utmost contempt." "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," the ministry said."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," the ministry added.This comes after the US department of justice on Friday released a major batch of investigative material linked to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, making public more than three million pages of records along with over 2,000 videos and around 180,000 images.Announcing the disclosures at a news conference, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the release fulfils a transparency mandate passed by Congress last year."Today's release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act," Blanche said.Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges. He had earlier served 13 months in custody in Florida following a controversial plea deal in 2008.