New York Times columnist David Brooks appeared in newly surfaced photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate on Thursday, just weeks after he bashed Democrats for releasing information related to the disgraced financier’s crimes.
Brooks, who has been a columnist at the newspaper for 22 years, was seen talking at a table with Google co-founder Sergey Brin in the photos released by House Democrats Thursday. In another image, he appears by himself and smiles widely into the camera.
The photos come after Brooks last month penned an op-ed titled “The Epstein Story? Count Me Out.” in which he critcized House Democrats for releasing information related to the sex offender.
He went as far as to compare the Democrats interested in the Epstein files to those who subscribe to the QAnon conspiracy.
“If I were a Democratic politician (this role-playing is kind of fun) I’d add that America can’t get itself back on track if the culture is awash in distrust, cynicism, catastrophizing lies and conspiracymongering. No governing majority will ever form if we’re locked in a permanent class war,” Brooks wrote in the column.
The Daily Beast reached out to Brooks and the Times for comment.
The New York Times told Semafor in a statement that “As a journalist, David Brooks regularly attends events to speak with noted and important business leaders to inform his columns, which is exactly what happened at this 2011 event. Mr. Brooks had no contact with him before or after this single attendance at a widely-attended dinner.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
