A newly disclosed 2009 email contained in the latest tranche of Jeffrey Epstein-related files makes reference to filmmaker Mira Nair, the mother of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in the context of a post-screening gathering hosted at Ghislaine Maxwell’s Manhattan residence.
The email, sent by well-known publicist Peggy Siegal to Epstein and dated October 21, 2009, describes Siegal leaving an afterparty held at Maxwell’s townhouse following an event connected to Nair’s film Amelia. In the early-morning message, Siegal wrote that she had just departed the gathering, noting that the event was organised after a film-related function.
According to the email, the afterparty was attended by several prominent figures, including former US President Bill Clinton, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Mira Nair herself. Siegal also commented briefly on the reception of Amelia, suggesting that the film had not been particularly well received, before moving on to mention other professional engagements and industry events she was planning to attend.
The reference appears among hundreds of thousands of documents made public as part of the US Justice Department’s most recent release linked to Epstein’s activities, associations and communications with influential figures across politics, business and the arts. The disclosure forms part of a broader effort to shed light on Epstein’s network and the social circles he moved in prior to his arrest.
Amelia, directed by Nair, was a biographical drama released in 2009, starring Hilary Swank as pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart and Richard Gere as her husband and publisher, George Putnam.
The Justice Department said the latest disclosure includes more than three million pages of records, along with thousands of videos and images, released after an extensive review process aimed at ensuring transparency while protecting victims’ identities. Officials noted that the documents were made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed following sustained public pressure for greater clarity on the government’s handling of the Epstein case and his ties to powerful individuals.
Authorities have stressed that the presence of names in the documents does not imply wrongdoing, but the scale of the release has once again fuelled public scrutiny and debate around Epstein’s extensive social and professional connections. Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, while Ghislaine Maxwell was later convicted for her role in facilitating his crimes.
