(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) What did he know, and when did he know it? This has been the question flooding social media after New York Times columnist David Brooks appeared in newly released photos linked to Jeffrey Epstein, just weeks after rebuking calls for the release of the Epstein files.
The photos, released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, show Brooks seated at a dinner or lunch event attended by Epstein.
One of the images showed Google co-founder Sergey Brin seated next to Brooks.
A second photo shows Brooks smiling as he poses, while another is a close-up of Epstein, who is also smiling.
The event appeared to be connected to a 2011 TED Conference, nearly 15 years ago.
A month ago, NYT columnist David Brooks wrote a column decrying the media and political fixation on the Epstein story.
This afternoon, House Democrats released a new tranche of photos of an event that Brooks attended with Epstein. pic.twitter.com/NWY8oRVFWX
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) December 18, 2025
The photos’ release, however, could not have come at a worse time for Brooks.
Just a month ago, he authored a New York Times column blasting Democrats for echoing Republicans’ calls to release the Epstein files.
These files could expose powerful figures tied to the convicted sex offender, who was found dead while in federal custody in 2019.
“The Epstein Story? Count Me Out,” Brooks headlined the piece.
In it, he implied that Democrats were following QAnon’s footsteps by demanding the Epstein files be released.
Brooks lumped President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy, Candace Owens, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Nancy Mace, accusing them of spreading conspiracy theories.
He questioned why Democrats were following suit.
“I can kind of understand why Machiavellian Republicans would spew conspiracy theories. Those theories stoke cynicism, which serves Republican ends,” Brooks wrote, later adding: “What I don’t understand is why some Democrats are hopping on this bandwagon.”
He concluded the piece by predicting that “we will look back on the Epstein moment and ask: ‘What the hell were we thinking?’”
Nowhere in the column did Brooks or the New York Times disclose the potential Epstein ties.
Critics online suggested the column may have been part of a preemptive effort to protect himself from potential scrutiny for having met Epstein before.
However, in remarks to news outlet Semafor, Brooks claimed he “never met” Epstein.
“I attended a Ted Conference in 2011 and was invited to an adjacent dinner,” he said, as quoted by Semafor. “There were about 60 people there if memory serves. Apparently Epstein was also at this dinner. I don’t think we met or exchanged a word.”
He added, “I never heard of Epstein until i read a Miami Herald story about him in 2018. I’ve never had any contact with him by email or any other means.”
