DOJ Files Reveal a Willingness to Partner With a Convicted Sex Offender to Attack Pope Francis
Newly released U.S. Department of Justice documents expose a disturbing pattern of conduct by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon: a calculated effort to undermine Pope Francis by courting and collaborating with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction and just before his 2019 arrest for sex trafficking minors.
The files, part of a massive DOJ document release, show that Bannon did not merely cross paths with Epstein. He actively sought Epstein’s assistance, discussing strategy, propaganda, and media projects aimed at damaging the moral authority of the Catholic Church’s leader.
At the center of the correspondence is a blunt, unambiguous declaration from Bannon himself.
“Will take down (Pope) Francis,” Bannon wrote to Epstein in June 2019.
“The Clintons, Xi, Francis, EU – come on brother.”
This was not rhetoric. It was intent.
A Calculated Alliance With a Known Abuser
By 2019, Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal history was public, notorious, and uncontested. He had already pleaded guilty to child sex offenses and was widely known as a serial abuser shielded by wealth and influence.
Yet the DOJ files show Bannon knowingly maintained contact, exchanged ideas, and floated business proposals with Epstein during this period. The timing is damning: the messages occurred just months before Epstein’s rearrest on federal sex trafficking charges.
This was not ignorance. It was a choice.
Weaponizing Faith for Political Ends
Bannon’s hostility toward Pope Francis was ideological. Francis consistently criticized nationalist populism, condemned anti-immigrant policies, and rejected attempts to fuse Christian symbolism with political power. That made him a direct obstacle to Bannon’s “sovereigntist” movement.
According to the documents, Bannon explored turning In the Closet of the Vatican—a controversial 2019 book by journalist Frédéric Martel—into a film. The book examines secrecy and hypocrisy within the Church, particularly around sexuality, but experts have repeatedly warned against conflating sexual orientation with abuse.
Bannon proposed Epstein as an executive producer.
“You are now exec producer of ‘ITCOTV,’” Bannon wrote.
Martel later stated that Bannon appeared intent on instrumentalizing the book as a political weapon against Pope Francis—not to reform the Church, but to embarrass and destabilize it.
Austen Ivereigh, a biographer of Francis, said Bannon fundamentally misjudged both the book and the pope, adding that Bannon believed he could “purify” the Church while, in reality, exploiting scandal narratives for power.
Rome as a Political Battlefield
Bannon’s fixation on Rome was strategic. He opened a Breitbart bureau there, cultivated alliances with European far-right leaders, and backed efforts to establish a nationalist training academy—often described as a “gladiator school”—at an ancient monastery south of Rome.
That project collapsed amid legal challenges, revoked leases, and allegations of misrepresentation. But the documents show Bannon continued pushing his broader campaign, sharing articles with Epstein about building a populist “fortress” in Europe and forwarding Vatican condemnations of nationalist ideology.
Epstein, for his part, responded with cynicism—quoting Paradise Lost:
“Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.”
The symbolism is difficult to ignore.
Vatican Response: A Rejection of Political Corruption of Faith
Senior Vatican figures reacted sharply to the revelations.
Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a close collaborator of Pope Francis, said the messages reveal more than personal animus.
They show, he said, an attempt to weaponize spiritual authority for political power—a temptation Francis consistently rejected.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, once an ally of Bannon, broke with him over the proposed film project, stating plainly that Martel’s book should not be adapted and distancing himself from Bannon-backed institutions.
The Pattern That Emerges
Taken together, the DOJ files paint a clear picture:
A political operative seeking to dismantle a moral counterweight
A willingness to collaborate with a known sexual predator
An effort to turn religious controversy into propaganda
And a disregard for ethical boundaries when power is at stake
This was not a misunderstanding or a casual exchange. It was a deliberate alignment of convenience, where moral credibility was sacrificed for political warfare.
CNN has contacted Bannon’s representatives for comment. As of publication, none has been provided.
Donald Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. The documents discussed here concern Steve Bannon’s conduct alone.
What these files ultimately reveal is not just opposition to a pope—but a stark example of how far some political actors are willing to go, and who they are willing to work with, when ideology eclipses principle.
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