The report's author, Vicky Ward, cites four separate sources, some of which are considered more reliable than others. According to the report, Robert Maxwell - a conduit between the Israeli government and other governments during his life - introduced Epstein to Israeli leaders. Maxwell invested tens of millions of dollars into Israel's economy, serving as a point man for its governments. According to a Washington Post article published after his death, he visited Jerusalem once a month and even considered purchasing the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team.
However, Epstein claimed in a 2002 interview with Ward that he had never met Maxwell. He did, however, have a well-known relationship with his daughter Ghislaine who is currently awaiting trail for charges related to helping Epstein in alleged sex-trafficking of minors.
Epstein did visit Israel in 2008, almost moving permanently to avoid jail time. He decided against it, however, facing 13 months in jail, before being released on July 22, 2009.
According to The Rolling Stone report, Epstein spent the last years of his life bragging to people, including journalists, that he was an advisor to an assortment of foreign leaders - including Israel. The article states he was known as a "hyper-fixer," somebody who can go between different cultures and networks.
Steven Hoffenberg, Epstein's former business associate who Ward conducted an interview with, claimed that Epstein had worked on several projects with Robert Maxwell. Hoffenberg went to jail in 1995 for a Ponzi scheme that he claimed Epstein was a part of.
Hoffenberg also has claimed previously that Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein met through her father. This has been corroborated by an Epstein staffer, according to a Forbes article.
Hoffenberg also claimed that Epstein ran in intelligence circles with a mentor: a British defense contractor who died in 2011 named Douglas Leese. According to Hoffenberg, Leese had introduced Epstein not only to aristocratic Europeans, but to people in the arm's trade as well as Robert Maxwell.
When asked twice in 2002 by Ward, Epstein claimed he never met Leese.
Epstein also claimed he hardly knew Hoffenberg, only consulted him briefly on a couple of deals and was not involved in the prosecution of Hoffenberg. According to The Rolling Stone report, Epstein said things would turn out badly for Ward if she reported the contrary.
Like Epstein himself, Maxwell died in mysterious ways. He died officially of a heart attack in 1991, yet according to former Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky in an interview with Ward, he was killed due to vulnerability because his financial problems. He was buried on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives. Epstein's connections with Maxwell and the claims from various sources, ranging from former arms dealers to former spies, have led many people to believe that Epstein had a history of working for, and possibly spying for, various countries, including Israel.