Emails between former Windows boss Steven Sinofsky and Jeffrey Epstein, published by the Justice department on Friday, appear to show that Sinofsky constantly sought Epstein's advice as he negotiated his surprise exit from Microsoft in November 2012, forwarding emails to him in nearly real time as talks progressed. Sinofsky also appears to have paid Epstein for his help at the end of the process, and turned to him for assistance finding a new job with Apple or Samsung, according to the emails.
The trigger was the Surface RT, Microsoft's first real attempt to muscle into Apple's hardware turf. By November 2012, Sinofsky was warning internally that it was going sideways fast. In an email to CEO Steve Ballmer and COO Kevin Turner, he said the device was "about to catastrophically fail in a very public way," with sales tracking at roughly one-tenth of even the lowest expectations.