This photo from files released by the US Department of Justice shows Steve Bannon (left) and Jeffrey Epstein.

Steve Bannon, the right-wing strategist who served as chief White House adviser during US President Donald Trump`s first term, plotted with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to "take down" Pope Francis, according to recently released US Justice Department files.

Messages exchanged between the two in 2019 show Bannon telling Epstein he would "take down (Pope) Francis" as he sought to advance his nationalist-populist agenda after leaving the White House.

At the time, Bannon was a vocal critic of the late pontiff, accusing him of siding with "globalist elites" and opposing what he described as a "sovereigntist" political movement gaining traction in parts of Europe.

The correspondence suggests Bannon viewed Francis as a significant obstacle to that vision.

"Will take down (Pope) Francis," Bannon wrote to Epstein in June 2019. "The Clintons, Xi, Francis, EU - come on, brother."

According to the files, Bannon also floated the idea of turning the 2019 book In the Closet of the Vatican, by French journalist Frédéric Martel, into a film and suggested Epstein could serve as executive producer.

"You are now exec producer of ‘ITCOTV` (In the Closet of the Vatican)," Bannon wrote.

Martel later said he rejected any such proposal and believed Bannon intended to use the book to undermine the pope.

The files, made public as part of a broader document release last month by the DOJ, show Epstein exchanging articles and commentary with Bannon related to criticism of the Vatican and the pontiff.

On April 1, 2019, Epstein emailed himself "In the Closet of the Vatican," and later sent Bannon an article titled "Pope Francis or Steve Bannon? Catholics must choose," to which Bannon replied: "easy choice."

Vatican officials and biographers of Pope Francis said the messages suggest an attempt to weaponize internal Church controversies for political ends.

The late pope had repeatedly warned against fusing political power with religious authority.

In exchanges with Bannon, Epstein also raised the possibility of filming philosopher and public intellectual Noam Chomsky, with whom he maintained a close relationship.

According to the US Justice Department files, Chomsky maintained "regular contact" with Epstein. In late February 2019, Epstein spoke to an associate that he had gotten advice from Chomsky on how to navigate "the horrible way you are being treated in the press and public."

"The best way to proceed is to ignore it," Chomsky wrote, according to text signed under his first name that Epstein sent to a lawyer and publicist.

Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and was later arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges, had associations with prominent political and business figures, including President Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak.

Epstein died in 2019 while in federal custody awaiting trial; his death was officially ruled a suicide.

On January 30, the US Department of Justice released more than three million pages of files linked to its long-running investigation into Epstein, sending shockwaves across media, politics, academia, finance, and even Hollywood, forcing prominent figures to account for their ties to Epstein.

The revelations have raised questions about the extent of coordination among influential figures whose dealings have yet to result in broader legal consequences.