Sununu says his name being mentioned in the Epstein files is a “fabrication” — critics say that excuse “doesn’t hold water.”
A dump of over 3 million pages of files related to convicted underage sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein last week revealed a number of connections to New Hampshire elites, but perhaps none more potentially troubling than that of Republican US Senate hopeful John Sununu or his father, who has the same name.
The mention, in the newly-released cache of Jeffrey Epstein-related records, comes in the form of a May 29, 2010 email exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and biotech investor Boris Nikolic, in which Epstein flatly tells Nikolic: “you are the most interesting person there.. they should be calling me asking me how to meet you.,, john sununu, has good stories.”
The document does not specify which “John Sununu” — the father or the son now running for Senate — Epstein uses only the name without a middle initial or title.
Reached for comment, Sununu’s campaign said neither John E. Sununu or his father, John H. Sununu, had any relationship with Epstein, and the entire situation was made up.
“This is a complete fabrication by someone proven to be a compulsive liar. Neither John nor his father ever met or communicated in any way with Boris Nikolic or Jeffrey Epstein. John believes Epstein was a despicable human being,” said Sununu spokesman Mike Schrimpf in response to questions about his candidate’s name appearing in the files.
That excuse doesn’t square with some New Hampshire political insiders.
“This doesn’t hold water – why would someone 2 years out of the US Senate at the time be in a ‘fake’ email by Jeffrey Epstein 15 years ago?” wrote Jay Surdukowski, a New Hampshire attorney and Democratic candidate for the Executive Council.
“NH media sleeping on this one — hard.”
The Epstein-files mention lands as Sununu is reintroducing himself to voters in a high-stakes open-seat race triggered by current Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s decision not to seek reelection.
It also arrives as another New Hampshire figure with direct ties to Sununu’s past — the high-profile New Hampshire inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen (best known for creating the Segway Human Transporter) faces intense scrutiny following recent reporting on his relationship with Epstein.
Sununu publicly described Kamen as a former employer. In a 2007 Senate hearing on US competitiveness and basic research, Sununu said he “worked for 4 years in a manufacturing capacity for a gentleman named Dean Kamen,” adding that he believed he was “the most gifted inventor I’ve ever met.”
Reached for comment, Sununu’s campaign pointed the finger at Democrats running for office, saying their recent ties were more relevant than his own.
“John served as Director of Operations for Teletrol Systems from 1993-1996. He hasn’t worked with Kamen for the last 30 years and was never involved with any of his nonprofits. John had no knowledge whatsoever of any relationship between Dean Kamen and Epstein,” TK said.
“Unlike Chris Pappas who celebrated federal funding for Kamen’s ARMI, or Stefany Shaheen who worked for him last week, John never advocated or requested funding for any of Kamen’s ventures.”
In recent weeks, New Hampshire Public Radio and other outlets have reported that newly-released Department of Justice materials depict post-2008 interactions, including emails, phone calls, travel, pointing to a relationship more extensive than Kamen had publicly suggested.
Among the most prominent revelations, NHPR reported that documents include an April 2013 exchange indicating Kamen visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little St. James, including a message described in the report as thanking Epstein for “an incredible visit.” WMUR similarly reported that Department of Justice documents show Kamen was a guest of Epstein, with the island visit central to the coverage.
The reporting has prompted immediate institutional fallout in New Hampshire. NHPR reported that FIRST, the youth robotics nonprofit founded by Kamen, placed him on leave and hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent review. NBC Boston reported the same development, citing NHPR’s reporting. Vermont Public reported that the board of ARMI (Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute), another high-profile Kamen-led effort, said it planned to review Kamen’s ties to Epstein as well.
Sununu is not the only Republican in the state dealing with damaging ties to Kamen.
New Hampshire Public Radio reported in February 2019 that John’s brother, former Gov. Chris Sununu traveled to Dubai with Kamen, and that neither Sununu’s office nor Kamen’s office was willing to provide much detail about their plans while there. NHPR also reported Sununu traveled without staff or other state officials and that the trip was being paid for by the World Government Summit.
InDepthNH reported Sununu later filed a reimbursement report showing an estimated $9,000 in expenses paid by the World Government Summit.
Meanwhile WMUR reported in 2016 that then-US Sen. (now Governor) Kelly Ayotte released a Senate campaign ad titled “One of Us” that ends with inventor and entrepreneur Kamen looking directly into the camera and calling Ayotte “an independent leader fighting for New Hampshire.” Kamen had endorsed her earlier that year and held a fundraiser for her at his home.
Sununu formally launched his Senate campaign in October 2025, seeking the Republican nomination for the seat he held from 2003 to 2009. The contest has drawn national attention as Republicans look to flip the open Democratic seat in a swing state, with Sununu and former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown among the most prominent GOP contenders.
Trump endorsed Sununu on Feb. 1, 2026, backing him in New Hampshire’s Republican U.S. Senate primary over Brown. The encore comes after years in which Sununu had been publicly critical of Trump.
In the newly released Epstein file dump, Trump is mentioned over 38,000 times, often tied to extremely graphic allegations of sexual crimes against minors.Sununu declined to comment on the allegations of sex crimes allegedly committed by Trump alongside Epstein after thanking him for the endorsement.
