ICYMI: Granite Staters Call on John Sununu to Come Clean About Any Ties He Has to Jeffrey Epstein After He Lied About His Visit to Doha, Qatar

ICYMI: Granite Staters Call on John Sununu to Come Clean About Any Ties He Has to Jeffrey Epstein After He Lied About His Visit to Doha, Qatar

In Case You Missed It, New Hampshire leaders held a press conference yesterday calling on John Sununu to come clean about any ties he may have to Jeffrey Epstein or his associates, following reporting from the Washington Post that Sununu was caught in a lie about whether he had visited Doha, Qatar — the location referenced in a Jeffrey Epstein email exchange that included “john sununu, has good stories.”

Watch here and read the transcript below for more about why John Sununu needs to be more transparent with Granite Staters over his name being in the Epstein files. 

Former Congresswoman Annie Kuster

• Wanted to follow up on a story from last Thursday in the Washington Post — really a bombshell — revealing that John Sununu has not been fully honest with voters here in New Hampshire about the details surrounding the reference in the Epstein files that include his name. 
   
• The story goes that when sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein mentioned John Sununu’s name, it turns out he was responding to an associate of his, named Boris Nikolic, who was asking for advice on who he should meet with during the upcoming World Economic Forum summit in Doha, Qatar. 
   
• And Epstein, as the now infamous quote goes, told Nikolic “john sununu, has good stories.” Now a few months ago, back in March, John Sununu was asked on camera if he’d ever been to Doha, Qatar. And he answered, “No.” 
   
• Now, I just looked it up, because I was curious myself. It is a roughly 20-hour flight to Doha. 
   
• And we now know that John Sununu was telling an egregious lie. 
   
• This is not a flight that you might forget, because not only has he been to Doha, he was there, in fact, in May of 2010 when he attended the very same World Economic Forum summit that Nikolic and Jeffrey Epstein were discussing . 
   
• That fact only emerged after the Washington Post uncovered a photo proudly showing John Sununu at the event, because, it turns out, that up until that photo, he had never publicly disclosed his attendance. 
   
• Now what’s curious about this story is not only was John Sununu in Doha in 2010, he also took a trip to Doha in 2001. Again, I remind you, a 20-hour flight — not something that you would forget. 
   
• Running for office anywhere, but most especially here in New Hampshire, requires candidates to be open, honest, and have face-to-face conversations with voters across the state. 
   
• John Sununu should not be given a free pass because of his last name or a seat he held close to two decades ago. 
   
• There are less than two months to go before the Granite State voters head to the polls in this critical primary that could determine the future of our country and the balance of power in the United States Senate. 
   
• And it’s time for John Sununu to look Granite State voters in the eye and come clean about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, why Jeffrey Epstein would think he had such great stories, and what the circumstances are of his relationship with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. 

State Representative Mary Hakken-Phillips

• So far this cycle, voters across New Hampshire have been getting acquainted with John Sununu’s disastrous record. 
   
• When he was last in office, Sununu voted to serve corporate special interests like Big Pharma, Big Oil, and Wall Street, selling Granite Staters out to some of the most powerful and wealthy individuals in our society. 
   
• And since he lost re-election in 2008, Sununu’s wealth has grown by as much as $35 million as he cashed in on the connections that he made in various industries.  
   
• Testimony from victims and others who knew him, as well as the release of his own emails, show Jeffrey Epstein made a concerted effort to entrench himself with well-connected and influential people, including politicians, business leaders, and celebrities. 
   
• The convicted sex offender often used World Economic Forum events to navigate these elite groups by setting up meetings, making introductions, and trading favors. 
   
• Epstein’s ties to prominent figures spanned the globe, creating an extensive network that’s sometimes referred to as the Epstein class or the Epstein elites. 
   
• So far, in his campaign, Sununu has taken nearly $70,000 in campaign contributions and donations from some of these so-called Epstein elite, including billionaires Charles Schwab, Marc Rowan, Stephen Schwarzmann, and John Paulson. 
   
• For instance, in 2019, just ten days before Epstein was arrested, Charles Schwab’s namesake company wired over $27 million to a realtor to help purchase a palace for Epstein in Morocco. This is a nation that did not have an extradition treaty with the United States. 
   
• John Paulson, meanwhile, appears in Epstein’s “little black book,” and his Super PAC spent $250,000 trying to defeat Congressman Thomas Massie, a leading figure in the fight to release the Epstein files. 
   
• Their donations are helping power Sununu’s campaign to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars while Sununu continues to evade accountability. 
   
• Instead of downplaying the issue, Sununu should be fully disclosing any and all connections he has to Jeffrey Epstein or those in his network. 
   
• Granite Staters deserve to hear the whole truth from Sununu, not another lie. 
   
• It is imperative that John Sununu comes clean on the issue now.  

Former Senator Donna Soucy

• You know, having his name mentioned in an email sent by Jeffrey Epstein is concerning enough as it is, but even more alarming is that John Sununu wasn’t completely forthright with Granite Staters when this news first broke. 
   
• This batch of Epstein files was released back in January, yet it’s taken nearly six months for the fact that Sununu attended the event in Qatar to even come out. 
   
• That’s a critical piece of information that Sununu should’ve been open and honest about from the outset when the Epstein files email first surfaced back in January.
   
• Then in March, after Sununu lied on camera about visiting Qatar, he should’ve come out and corrected himself instead of going quiet and waiting for people to stop paying attention. 
   
• Throughout this whole ordeal, Sununu’s behavior has been dishonest and disappointing. It’s the complete opposite of what Granite Staters want and expect from their elected officials. 
   
• It’s not just us, as Democrats, who are pointing this out, by the way. Sununu’s Republican primary opponent Scott Brown has also criticized him. 
   
• For months, Brown has asked for Sununu to be forthcoming with Granite Staters about the facts. 
   
• Just after last week’s Washington Post story, Brown called Sununu out for lying, and noted that Sununu had months and months to correct the record before he got caught in his own lie. 
   
• Yesterday morning, Brown even doubled down on the radio. 
   
• John Sununu just can’t go back in time, but he can come clean now. 
   
• So, he ought to apologize for downplaying such a serious issue and completely violating the trust of the voters by answering them truthfully:
   
• Did he ever meet or communicate with Boris Nikolic, in Doha or elsewhere? 
   
• What is the extent of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and those who are close to Epstein? 
   
• And, lastly, after he kept quiet for months, why should voters trust a single word that comes out of his mouth?