Epstein Data Wiki

Chuck Schumer

Properties2
tagsperson, politician, us-senate, new-york, campaign-finance
aliasesCharles Ellis Schumer, Charles E. Schumer, Chuck Schumer, Sen. Chuck Schumer

15 min read

Chuck Schumer
Chuck Schumer, official Senate portrait. U.S. Senate Photographic Studio via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
BornNovember 23, 1950, Brooklyn, New York1
OfficesU.S. House of Representatives, New York, January 3, 1981 to January 3, 1999; U.S. Senator from New York since 19991
Caucus leadershipMinority leader 2017–2021 and from 2025; majority leader 2021–20251
Contributions from Epstein$1,000 (March 1992), $2,000 (May 1995), $2,000 (February 1997)234
January 2018Epstein was asked to help arrange a meeting between Schumer and the Virgin Islands delegate to Congress, and relayed the request to a former White House counsel567
July 2019Reported to have said he would give $7,000 in Epstein contributions to charity8

Charles Ellis “Chuck” Schumer (born November 23, 1950) is a United States Senator from New York.1 He served nine terms in the House of Representatives from January 1981 to January 1999, was elected to the Senate in 1998, and has led the Senate Democratic caucus since 2017.1 Federal Election Commission filings record five contributions of $1,000 each from Jeffrey Epstein to Schumer’s campaign committees between March 1992 and February 1997, and after Epstein’s arrest in July 2019 CNBC reported that Schumer said he would give $7,000 in contributions from Epstein to charity.23948 In May 2016 Epstein asked Kathryn Ruemmler, a former White House counsel, “have you asked people to put out feelers to schumer re USA”; she replied, “God, no.”1011 In January 2018 the Virgin Islands attorney Erika Kellerhals asked Epstein to help arrange a meeting between Schumer and the territory’s delegate to Congress, Stacey Plaskett, and Epstein passed the request to Ruemmler, who again answered that she had no relationship with Schumer.567 A full-text search of the released production for “Schumer” returns 402 pages across 269 documents; restricted to messages actually sent to Epstein and dated before that January 2018 exchange, at least eight are identifiable, none written by Schumer and none describing contact between him and Epstein.1213141516171819 Press reports and Federal Bureau of Investigation news briefings in the released files record public statements by Schumer about the federal handling of the case from July 2019, and a 2025 effort by Senate Democrats, including Schumer, to compel release of the government’s Epstein files.20212223

Contributions from Epstein, 1992 to 1997

Federal Election Commission itemised receipts record five contributions of $1,000 each from “Jeffrey E. Epstein,” of 457 Madison Avenue, New York, to committees supporting Schumer’s candidacies; the employer is recorded as “J. Epstein & Co.” in 1992 and as “J. Epstein & Co., Inc” in 1995 and 1997.2394

DateCommittee as filedAmountDesignation
March 25, 1992Re-Elect Congressman Chuck Schumer$1,000Primary2
May 9, 1995Friends of Schumer$1,000General3
May 9, 1995Friends of Schumer$1,000Primary9
February 18, 1997Friends of Schumer$1,000General4
February 18, 1997Friends of Schumer$1,000Primary4

The 1992 filing gives Epstein’s occupation as “President” of J. Epstein & Co. and records his year-to-date aggregate as $1,000; the 1995 and 1997 filings each record a year-to-date aggregate of $2,000.234 The two February 1997 contributions are itemised a second time, as memo entries, on a Schedule A filed by the Schumer ‘98 committee.24

Earlier mentions in Epstein’s correspondence

A full-text search of the released production, scoped to the text_content column and run without a result limit, for the string “Schumer” returns 402 pages across 269 documents; searches for “Chuck Schumer,” “Sen. Schumer” and “Senator Schumer” each return subsets of the same set. Most of these are unrelated to Epstein’s own correspondence: press clippings, political-news digests forwarded among many recipients, and government records that happen to name the senator. At least two are false matches entirely: the text layer renders a Massachusetts financial adviser surnamed Scharmer as “Schumer” on one page, and a forwarded joke names the comedian Amy Schumer on another. Restricted to messages actually addressed to Epstein and dated before the January 2018 exchange described below, at least eight are identifiable, including the two already documented on this page. None was written by Schumer, and none describes contact between him and Epstein, a conclusion the larger set makes only more solid, not less.

The earliest is from August 14, 2011: replying to Epstein’s one-line “how was last night,” Andrew L. Farkas recounted a party’s guest list, “Milkin, bloomberg, kravis, perlman, schumer, corzine, marron, tisch, roth, ross (Steve and wilbur), mack, blankfein, fuld, weymouth, lefrak, solow, you name ‘em,” adding that “Elton John performed for 1.5 hrs.”14

Three bulk messages from the same political consultancy, each addressed to “Jeffrey,” publicized the same October 2, 2012 fundraising reception for Senate candidate Martin Heinrich within an eleven-day span. The first, on September 18, ran under the subject line “Schumer Senate Candidate Reception.”15 The second, on September 25, subject “Karl is coming,” said “Our Senator Chuck Schumer is leading the charge by hosting an event in NYC for Martin.”16 The third, on September 28, is the one already cited above, inviting the recipient to the same reception at a private residence: “Senator Schumer is hosting a small fundraiser that night, Oct. 2. Your support would be critical.”12 All three describe Schumer only as the reception’s host, not as a correspondent, and none was answered by Epstein in the production.

On November 11, 2012 a mass mailing captioned “Greg Brown’s Weekend Reading and Other Things” reached Epstein among other undisclosed recipients, quoting a Washington Post report on the alternative minimum tax: “‘The fact that Republicans are willing to risk not doing an AMT patch…shows to what extreme they’re willing to go to protect the wealthy few,’ said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).”17

On February 15, 2013 at 7:16 pm Jes Staley emailed Epstein a single line: “I have dinner w Schumer tonight.”13

A May 5, 2017 message to Epstein, copied to an account for Stacey Plaskett and signed “Stacey,” mentions “meeting Schumer the week of May 16”; Epstein’s reply three days later is captioned “Re: Follow up to our call.”19

On April 21, 2017 the New York Times financial reporter Landon Thomas Jr. wrote to Epstein: “I don’t know why Trump does not reach out to Schumer — two outer borough guys who know each other and can talk to each other.”18

May 2016: an approach through an intermediary

Twenty months before the January 2018 exchange below, Epstein had already tried to reach Schumer through Kathryn Ruemmler and been turned down flat. At 10:35 am on May 7, 2016 Epstein emailed her: “have you asked people to put out feelers to schumer re USA”; the message does not further identify what “USA” refers to.10 At 1:25 pm the same day Ruemmler replied: “God, no.”11 No later message in the production returns to the subject until the January 2018 sequence.

January 2018: a request to arrange a meeting

Shortly after midnight on January 24, 2018 the Virgin Islands attorney Erika A. Kellerhals, of Kellerhals Ferguson Kroblin PLLC in St. Thomas, emailed Epstein under the subject line “Schumer”: “We have to help Stacey get a meeting with Schumer. Any thoughts?”5 Kellerhals had been appointed a trustee of Epstein’s Virgin Islands foundation, and its treasurer and secretary, in March 2012.25 Epstein replied (11:01 am by his own copy of the message, though Kellerhals’s later reply quotes it as sent “at 7:00 AM”; the production does not reconcile the two times): “should not be a problem need to know the reason and subject.”2627 Kellerhals wrote again at 11:40 am: “She has been unable to confirm a meeting wi[t]h him. He is driving the disaster relief bill and has only been talking abo[u]t PUerto RICO and not the VI. She’s concerned we will be ignored.”26

At 11:43 am Epstein emailed Ruemmler: “schumer is driving the puerto rico . virgin islands relief bill. the VI congressional rep Stacey plaskett , h[a]s not been able to get a meeting. confirmed with him. ca[n] you help?”6 Ruemmler replied at 1:01 pm: “I do not have any relations[h]ip with him, but let me see whether I can get to his COS.”7

Al Jazeera, reporting the exchange on February 5, 2026, wrote that the approach was made as Delegate Stacey Plaskett sought relief for the Virgin Islands after the 2017 hurricanes, that it was not clear whether a meeting took place, and that “there is no public record of Schumer meeting or directly communicating with Epstein.”28 It reported that Schumer, Plaskett and Kellerhals did not respond to requests for comment.28

After Epstein’s arrest, 2019

CNBC reported that Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on an indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.8 CNBC reported on July 11, 2019 that “On Wednesday Sen. Chuck Schumer, D.-N.Y., said he would donate $7,000 in contributions from Epstein to charity. Stacey Plaskett, Democratic U.S. Virgin Islands congresswoman, has also decided to give her Epstein contributions to two different charities.”8

Three figures from this period do not reconcile, and the filings do not explain the gap: Epstein’s five recorded contributions to Schumer’s committees total $5,000; Schumer pledged to give $7,000 to charity; and Friends of Schumer’s quarterly report for that period records four disbursements dated July 10, 2019, each of $6,000 (a total of $24,000) to Crime Victims Assistance Center of Binghamton, the John Jay College Foundation, Safe Horizon and Sanctuary for Families, each described only as “donation.”29 The same committee’s disbursements two weeks later, on July 25, 2019, include four more payments described only as “donation,” to Friends of Recovery, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Christopher’s Reason and the Justin Veatch Fund; an undescribed “donation” line is this committee’s general practice in its FEC filings, not a feature of the Epstein-linked disbursements specifically.30

The Washington Post’s Daily 202 newsletter of July 10, 2019, collected in the released files, reported that “Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi called on Acosta to step down, as did most of the 2020 Democratic candidates. Congressional Republicans supported Acosta, saying issues about the plea deal were vetted at his confirmation hearing in 2017. Acosta’s critics said he was not fit to lead an agency that has oversight over human trafficking offenses,” referring to Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, who as United States Attorney approved the 2007 non-prosecution agreement.2031

After Epstein’s death in federal custody, an FBI public affairs news briefing of August 13, 2019 carried a Spectrum News Capital Region report of the previous day under the heading “Schumer Has ‘A Lot Of Faith’ In FBI Leadership In Probe Of Epstein’s Death.”21 The item quotes Schumer, speaking at a press conference near Albany: “I have a lot of faith in Christopher Wray, who is the director of the FBI,” and “They are doing a thorough investigation. All I would say is they should turn over every stone and get to the bottom of everything without any interference. Wray assures us that will happen.”21

Demands for release of the files, 2025

An FBI daily news briefing of July 31, 2025 summarised a Fox News report of July 30 stating that “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called on the FBI to conduct a counterintelligence threat assessment on the Jeffrey Epstein files to determine potential national security risks,” and that Schumer wanted the assessment “to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by foreign intelligence agencies.”22 The same briefing summarised an ABC News report of July 30 that Senate Democrats were “using a little-known law to force the Justice Department to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein,” a law that “requires federal agencies to provide information if at least five committee members request it,” which all seven Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee had invoked, seeking release by August 15.22

An FBI daily news briefing of August 18, 2025 summarised a Fox News report of August 15 that Schumer “is threatening to sue the Trump administration for withholding Jeffrey Epstein files.”23 According to that summary, Schumer and Senate Democrats “invoked a 1928 law to compel the Trump administration to release the files, with a deadline that has now passed,” the Justice Department and White House had not complied, and Schumer accused them of “breaking the law to hide the files” and warned “that he will take them to court if necessary.”23

Coverage

Footnotes

  1. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, “SCHUMER, Charles Ellis (Chuck).” https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=S000148 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Re-Elect Congressman Chuck Schumer, Schedule A, itemized receipts, line 11A, page 9. Federal Election Commission filing image. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/312/92014463312/92014463312_000011.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Friends of Schumer, Schedule A, itemized receipts, line 11(a)(i), page 8, entry F. Federal Election Commission filing image. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/887/95015782887/95015782887_000010.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. Friends of Schumer, Schedule A, itemized receipts, line 11(a)(i), page 14, entries D and E. Federal Election Commission filing image. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/359/97032284359/97032284359_000016.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  5. Erika Kellerhals to Jeffrey Epstein, January 24, 2018, 12:25 am, subject “Schumer.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02639022 p.1. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Jeffrey Epstein to Kathy Ruemmler, January 24, 2018, 11:43 am. Quoted-printable artefacts resolved; restored characters bracketed. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02637456 p.1. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. Kathy Ruemmler to Jeffrey Epstein, January 24, 2018, 1:01 pm, quoting Epstein’s message. Quoted-printable artefacts resolved; restored characters bracketed. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02612358 p.1. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  8. Brian Schwartz, CNBC, July 11, 2019, “Jeffrey Epstein used $46 million charitable donation to keep alive his ties with billionaire Les Wexner,” as circulated by email the same day. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00026723 pp.1–2. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  9. Friends of Schumer, Schedule A, itemized receipts, line 11(a)(i), page 9, entry A. Federal Election Commission filing image. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/887/95015782887/95015782887_000011.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  10. Jeffrey Epstein to Kathy Ruemmler, May 7, 2016, 10:35 am. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02463808 p.1. ↩ ↩2

  11. Kathy Ruemmler to Jeffrey Epstein, May 7, 2016, 1:25 pm, quoting Epstein’s message. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02464043 p.1. ↩ ↩2

  12. Bulk email to Jeffrey Epstein, September 28, 2012, subject “Have you seen my good friend Martin?”, sent by a consultancy on a subscriber list: its page 2 carries the list footer, “You are subscribed to this mailing list”, and an unsubscribe link. Page 1 is not cited here. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00403793 p.2. ↩ ↩2

  13. Jes Staley to Jeffrey Epstein, February 15, 2013, and Epstein’s reply of February 16, 2013. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01905326 p.1. ↩ ↩2

  14. Andrew L. Farkas to Jeffrey Epstein, August 14, 2011, 8:29 pm, replying to Epstein’s message of that afternoon. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02372063 p.1. ↩ ↩2

  15. Bulk email to Jeffrey Epstein, September 18, 2012, subject “Schumer Senate Candidate Reception,” sent by the same consultancy as the September 25 and September 28, 2012 emails cited elsewhere in this section. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00404907 p.1. ↩ ↩2

  16. Bulk email to Jeffrey Epstein, September 25, 2012, subject “Karl is coming,” sent by the same consultancy as the September 18 and September 28, 2012 emails cited elsewhere in this section. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00404120 p.1. ↩ ↩2

  17. Mass mailing to Jeffrey Epstein among undisclosed recipients, “Greg Brown’s Weekend Reading and Other Things,” November 11, 2012, reproducing a Washington Post report on the alternative minimum tax debate. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01182099 p.8. ↩ ↩2

  18. Landon Thomas Jr. to Jeffrey Epstein, April 21, 2017, 5:10 pm. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01048779 p.1. ↩ ↩2

  19. Message to Jeffrey Epstein, cc Stacey Plaskett, May 5, 2017, subject “Follow up to our call,” signed “Stacey.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02651141 p.1. Epstein’s reply of May 8, 2017 is captioned “Re: Follow up to our call.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01046752 p.1. ↩ ↩2

  20. The Washington Post, “The Daily 202,” newsletter of July 10, 2019, in a compilation of press coverage. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00042963 pp.67, 81. ↩ ↩2

  21. FBI Public Affairs, Director’s AM News Briefing, August 13, 2019, quoting Spectrum News Capital Region (NY) of August 12, 2019. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00161043 p.2. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  22. FBI Daily News Briefing, July 31, 2025, summarising Fox News of July 30, 2025 and ABC News of July 30, 2025. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01655304 p.3. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  23. FBI Daily News Briefing, August 18, 2025, summarising Fox News of August 15, 2025. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00163595 p.6. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  24. Schumer ‘98, Schedule A, itemized receipts, page 23, entries C and D, each dated 2/18/97 and marked “Memo.” Federal Election Commission filing image. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/535/20020161535/20020161535_000025.pdf ↩

  25. Consent of Sole Trustee in Lieu of Meeting and Unanimous Consent in Lieu of Meeting, The J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc. (a/k/a Enhanced Education), dated as of March 1, 2012. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00311096 pp.4–5. ↩

  26. Erika Kellerhals to Jeffrey Epstein, January 24, 2018, 11:40 am, subject “Re: Schumer,” quoting Epstein’s reply as sent “at 7:00 AM.” Quoted-printable artefacts in the produced copy (stray ”=” characters) are resolved; characters restored in the quotation are bracketed. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02637419 p.1. ↩ ↩2

  27. Jeffrey Epstein to Erika Kellerhals, January 24, 2018, 11:01 am, subject “Re: Schumer.” This copy’s header carries the 11:01 am timestamp and renders the reply’s first word without damage. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02639275 p.1. ↩

  28. Erin Hale, “Epstein’s help sought in bid to meet Chuck Schumer, files reveal,” Al Jazeera, February 5, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/5/epsteins-help-sought-in-bid-to-meet-chuck-schumer-files-reveal ↩ ↩2

  29. Friends of Schumer, 2019 October quarterly report, itemized disbursements of July 10, 2019. Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00346312&min_date=07%2F10%2F2019&max_date=07%2F10%2F2019 ↩

  30. Friends of Schumer, 2019 October quarterly report, itemized disbursements of July 25, 2019. Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00346312&min_date=07%2F25%2F2019&max_date=07%2F25%2F2019 ↩

  31. Non-Prosecution Agreement, September 24, 2007, executed on the authority of R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. https://epstein-data.com/DOJ-OGR-00000290 ↩

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