Is David stern in the Epstein files
Executive summary
Yes — documents in the newly released Epstein files include a person named David Stern in multiple email fields and message bodies, but the records and contemporary reporting identify him as a US lawyer/businessman or banker associated with Sarah Ferguson and other business correspondence, not the late NBA commissioner; being named in the files is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What the documents actually show: David Stern appears repeatedly in email headers and content
Multiple documents in the Department of Justice tranche and databases compiled from it show “David Stern” in From/To/CC/BCC fields and in the text of emails — including messages about travel, business introductions and forwarded settlement paperwork — establishing that someone by that name communicated with Jeffrey Epstein or was copied into Epstein-related exchanges [1] [5] [4].
2. Which David Stern is in the files: reporting points to a lawyer/banker, not the NBA commissioner
Contemporary news organizations explicitly corrected early misidentifications: the BBC notes the exchange began between Epstein and “a man named David Stern” and later corrected a prior mistaken identification that had conflated him with the former NBA commissioner [3]. The Guardian, Sky News and other outlets describe the individual as a US lawyer and businessman or a banker connected to business matters and to Sarah Ferguson’s communications, and corporate filings show a David Stern linked to Pitch@Palace activity until 2019 — not the NBA executive [2] [4] [6].
3. What the emails suggest about Stern’s role and connections
The content reported includes Stern being introduced to Sarah Ferguson by Epstein and dining at Royal Lodge, Epstein forwarding photographs to Stern, Stern forwarding settlement details tied to Ferguson’s firm, and business-oriented emails about potential deals and travel planning (including a 2016 note about visiting Estonia and emails discussing investment vehicles) — material consistent with a business or legal intermediary role rather than criminal allegations in the documents themselves [2] [7] [5] [6].
4. Corrections, redactions and limits of the record: identity and culpability are not conclusively established in the public tranche
Several reports emphasize limits: email addresses and portions of messages are redacted, the reasons for forwarding are often unclear, and outlets repeatedly remind readers that appearing in the files is not proof of illicit activity [2] [4]. The BBC explicitly corrected earlier reporting that had misidentified the sender as the NBA commissioner and noted parts of the exchange were redacted; other outlets note Stern’s death in 2020, which precludes comment from him [3] [2].
5. Misinformation and how it spread: why some outlets named the NBA’s David Stern
Several web and sports sites ran headlines claiming the deceased NBA commissioner David Stern was the sender of Epstein emails; those pieces cite the presence of the name “David Stern” in the released files but conflated identities without corroborating identifiers, prompting corrections in mainstream outlets — an example of how headline-driven framing and incomplete public records can create misleading narratives around common names in the files [8] [9] [3].
6. Bottom line and open questions for further verification
The public Epstein files do include communications involving a David Stern; mainstream investigative coverage identifies him as a lawyer/businessman/banker associated with Sarah Ferguson and certain deals, not as the former NBA commissioner, and investigators and reporters caution that appearance in the files is circumstantial and not evidence of criminality — however, redactions and sparse metadata in the released tranche mean definitive, independent verification of identity and context for every mention remains incomplete [1] [2] [4] [3].