On the morning of 1 October 2009, Epstein wrote to Seckel: ‘regarding cold fusion. i killed pons years ago.’ When Seckel pressed him for details — ‘How did you kill him?’ — Epstein replied with specifics, writing that ‘the origidnal senate funding came out of congress, and wayne owens senator from utah , i was there an argues against, it, had ot meet with the head of the mormon church.’

The target of Epstein’s claimed intervention was Stanley Pons, the University of Utah electrochemist who, alongside Martin Fleischmann, announced in March 1989 that they had achieved nuclear fusion at room temperature. The announcement generated global headlines and the prospect of virtually limitless clean energy. Within months, mainstream physics institutions moved to discredit the findings, funding was withdrawn, and Pons eventually relocated to a French laboratory funded by Toyota.

Wayne Owens, the figure Epstein names, was a Democratic congressman representing Utah’s 2nd district from 1987 to 1993 — Epstein refers to him as a ‘senator,’ though Owens served in the House. The congressional dimension of the cold fusion controversy is documented: the University of Utah sought $25 million (approximately £18.8 million) from Congress to fund further research, and the state legislature had separately appropriated $5 million (approximately £3.75 million). Brigham Young University, governed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was also entangled in the dispute through physicist Steven Jones, who had been conducting parallel cold fusion research. Epstein’s reference to meeting the head of the Mormon Church aligns with BYU’s institutional role in the congressional funding fight.