New Hampshire Business Mogul’s Ties to Epstein Create Political Ripples
A New Hampshire entrepreneur, deeply woven into the political fabric of both major parties, has surfaced in the controversial Epstein files, stirring up a political tempest that threatens to engulf the state’s most prominent political families.
Recent documents released by the Department of Justice reveal that Dean Kamen, the innovative mind behind the Segway and a host of other inventions, maintained a connection with Jeffrey Epstein long after Epstein’s guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008. Emails show that Kamen visited Epstein’s notorious Caribbean island in 2013. While Kamen has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing, he did not respond to inquiries from his companies on Monday.
The newly released materials indicate a far more intricate relationship between Kamen and Epstein than previously understood, prompting Kamen’s organizations to initiate investigations into these ties. This scrutiny also extends to New Hampshire politicians who have interacted with Kamen, accepted campaign contributions from him, or aided his organizations in securing millions in federal funding.
This includes members of the Shaheen and Sununu families, the most prominent political dynasties in the state’s Democratic and Republican parties. Both families have candidates vying for Congress this year: House candidate Stefany Shaheen, daughter of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and former Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.), who is seeking to reclaim his Senate seat.
As a result, they now find themselves under fire from lower-polling rivals leveraging the Epstein connection as a campaign weapon. “Wherever Epstein’s name resurfaces, it becomes a campaign issue,” noted GOP strategist Ryan Williams, who has collaborated with Sununu and his father. “Politicians in New Hampshire who have associated with Kamen or accepted his contributions will have to face the music.”
Kamen is a fixture in New Hampshire—a local celebrity, albeit an eccentric one—within a state that lacks prominent figures yet plays a crucial role in the presidential nomination process. Known for his groundbreaking inventions, including the first portable insulin pump and a wheelchair capable of climbing stairs, he has also been credited with transforming Manchester’s former mill district into a tech hub. He garnered praise as a “hero” for facilitating the delivery of 91,000 pounds of personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic when such supplies were in high demand.
Over the last 40 years, Kamen has donated approximately $90,000 to political candidates and committees across the spectrum, with contributions exceeding $7,000 each to Sununu, Sen. Shaheen, and Kelly Ayotte, the former senator currently running for governor. Notably, Kamen has not made any federal contributions this election cycle, according to federal reports.
His connections to political heavyweights have been well-documented, hosting a variety of high-profile politicians at his Bedford residence and businesses, including Ayotte and even former President George W. Bush. He accompanied Chris Sununu, the current governor and younger brother of former Sen. John Sununu, to Dubai in 2019 for the World Government Summit. Chris Sununu, now leading Airlines for America, did not return requests for comment.
However, these once-celebrated connections have morphed into a political liability as subsequent document releases revealed more profound ties between Kamen and Epstein. Photos released in December depicted Kamen socializing with Epstein in a tropical setting, even riding a Segway alongside Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s convicted accomplice in sex trafficking. Further documents from January 30 revealed Kamen planned to visit Epstein’s island in 2013, with assistants discussing logistics that included “which flight Dean prefers the girls to be on.” In a follow-up, Kamen thanked Epstein for hosting him at what he called a “magical place.”
Kamen has not addressed inquiries regarding his links to Epstein, including whether he visited Little Saint James. Previously, he described his interactions with Epstein as “limited” and claimed he was unaware of Epstein’s “horrific actions” until they were reported in the news. He told The Boston Globe that Epstein attempted to engage him in international development projects, but he quickly realized that Epstein’s motives were purely self-serving, leading him to terminate further meetings. Following the release of the latest documents, Kamen recused himself from board activities in several companies while they engage outside law firms to conduct independent investigations.
Williams remarked, “This Epstein incident is the first genuine blemish on Kamen’s reputation in the state, and it’s a hot-button issue right now.”
Epstein Files as a Political Club
Stefany Shaheen, who aims for New Hampshire’s open House seat and previously served as chief strategy officer for Kamen’s Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI), is now under heightened scrutiny regarding her association with Kamen. She has shared various photos of herself and Kamen on social media, including one taken during a flight to Washington for an American Society of Mechanical Engineers meeting, where Kamen delivered a speech.
Calls for her to publicly condemn Kamen are coming from two of her Democratic primary challengers. One of them, Christian Urrutia, has also accused her of potentially assisting Kamen in crafting his statements regarding the documents, a claim she has firmly denied.
Urrutia expressed, “There’s a compelling issue of transparency here. Should we want our Congress members and senators to maintain these kinds of relationships?” He also questioned why Sen. Shaheen failed to disclose her daughter’s association with ARMI when secured a $1.2 million earmark for the institute in 2023.
In response, state Rep. Brian Cole, a Republican candidate for the seat, has called for Shaheen to withdraw from the race, stating, “Until Stefany Shaheen provides honest answers regarding her relationship with Dean Kamen and ARMI, her candidacy should come to an end.”
Sununu, seeking to regain the Senate seat he lost to Shaheen’s mother in 2008, has also come under scrutiny due to a possible reference to him in a 2010 email from Epstein to Boris Nikolic, a former advisor to Bill Gates. The email mentioned that “John Sununu has good stories,” yet failed to clarify the context or identity, leaving ambiguity about whether it referred to the senator or his father, former governor John H. Sununu.
Furthermore, the younger Sununu was previously a director of operations at Teletrol Systems, one of Kamen’s companies, in the 1990s before his political career took off. His primary opponent, former Sen. Scott Brown, has seized upon the email as an opportunity to criticize the Sununu family’s “insider” connections, striving to gain momentum in a race where the Republican establishment and the sitting president have rallied behind Sununu. Brown stated on a local podcast that Sununu “needs to fully explain” the email reference and has emphasized that voters “shouldn’t have to speculate about which of their representatives are involved or what ‘stories’ are being referenced in federal documents.”
Both the Shaheen and Sununu campaigns are attempting to downplay criticisms from their adversaries. In her statement, Shaheen insisted she “never advised Dean Kamen on these matters” and that her knowledge of his and Epstein’s relationship is limited to what has been publicly disclosed. Her spokesperson described the criticisms as “desperate political attacks—absolute fabrications that ignore the fundamental facts.”
Both Shaheens have expressed their support for independent investigations into Kamen. Sen. Shaheen stated that Kamen “was right to step back” from his organizations and deemed it appropriate for them to conduct independent reviews to fully understand his connection to Epstein and take necessary actions based on the findings.
Stefany Shaheen currently leads the Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s blue-leaning 1st Congressional District, a position attributed largely to her family name. A University of New Hampshire poll from January indicates she holds 33 percent support, with no other candidate surpassing 10 percent, and 39 percent of likely primary voters remaining undecided.
Sununu, in the Republican primary, is ahead of Brown by 23 percentage points, with 26 percent of GOP primary voters undecided. Both candidates are trailing Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas in hypothetical general election matchups.
Mike Schrimpf, a spokesperson for Sununu’s campaign, clarified that “John had no knowledge whatsoever of any relationship between Dean Kamen and Epstein” and firmly denounced Epstein as a “despicable human being.” He further stated that neither Sununu nor his father “have ever met or communicated in any way with Boris Nikolic, Jeffrey Epstein, or Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Schrimpf also criticized Shaheen and Pappas—who previously celebrated federal funding for ARMI before the Kamen scandal erupted—over their connections to Kamen: “Unlike Chris Pappas, who praised 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 the governor’s race, Democrats are gearing up to challenge Ayotte regarding Kamen’s past campaign contributions and his role in an advertisement for her 2016 Senate reelection campaign. As of now, Ayotte has not faced a serious opponent in her bid for a second term. Representatives for the governor did not respond to requests for comment.
