Two of the three Republican candidates for Massachusetts Governor are slamming Gov. Maura Healey for her former political consultant’s ties and communications with infamous serial rapist Jeffrey Epstein.

The Herald reported Monday that James P. McGee, a former election consultant and political adviser to Healey since her time as Attorney General, asked Jeffrey Epstein for a consulting job in 2019 to help him navigate through the public relations disaster his legal issues were causing, according to DOJ files released on Epstein.

McGee expressed sympathy for Epstein and the “Negative Media Coverage” he was facing, also bragging about helping several Democratic politicians from across the country get elected into office, including “the 15t Openly Gay (Lesbian) Attorney General in the United States with Maura Healey (MA).”

GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy is calling for an investigation into McGee and the extent of hhis connections to Healey and other elected Democrats in Massachusetts.

“According to these reports, an individual who has claimed credit for getting Governor Healey elected – referring to himself as a ‘senior advisor’ at the time – was in direct communication with Jeffrey Epstein,” Kennealy said. “The implications are alarming. Massachusetts deserves full transparency. There must be a complete investigation into James McGee, his activities, and the extent of his connections to Governor Healey and the Democratic supermajority,” said GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy.

“If nefarious outside influencers, particularly those connected to the Epstein orbit, have been operating in Massachusetts politics, the public deserves to know the full truth. This is about integrity, trust, and accountability. After a revelation of this magnitude, the only responsible path forward is a full, independent investigation into James McGee, his clients, and any ties to Governor Healey,” he said.

Fellow Republican candidate for governor Brian Shortsleeve compared the revelations of McGee in the DOJ files on Epstein to embattled former Healey aide LaMar Cook.

“It’s shocking that one of Maura Healey’s top advisors was soliciting public relations work from a known child sex predator to help him rehab his image. But then again, it was also shocking to learn one of her other top advisors was busted for trafficking cocaine out of the governor’s office,” Shortsleeve told the Herald in a written statement. “These are not random scandals. They are reflections of judgment, and voters deserve to know why this keeps happening in Maura Healey’s inner circle.”

In a statement sent to the Herald, Healey’s reelection committee condemned McGee’s email enabling Epstein, adding that McGee never directly worked with Healey.

“Governor Healey thinks the actions of Jeffrey Epstein and everyone who enabled him are absolutely disgusting and abhorrent. The Healey Committee employed a different member of this individual’s firm more than a decade ago and has no relationship with them now,” said a spokesperson for Healey’s 2026 reelection campaign. “It is unacceptable for anyone to misrepresent their connection with her to try to win the business of a known child sex predator.“

In his 2019 email to Epstein, McGee showed sympathy for the serial rapist while asking him for a consulting job to help navigate through all of the “sordid” media coverage surrounding his criminal exploits.

“I still get all the News Emailed sent up to me here in Boston, so first of all: I am Sorry for all of the Negative Media Coverage, that the Daily News (and other Media Outlets) have decided to throw your way lately. Particularly with the sordid stories coming out of Palm Beach County Today!! (No Irony There, Huh!!). I Hope you are holding up OK!!” McGee wrote, before going on to brag about his role in getting Healey into the AG’s office in 2014.

“That is not to say that I am completely walking away from Politics, I mean after all: I elected the 1st Openly Gay (Lesbian) Attorney General in the United States with Maura Healey (MA), and I continue to be her Senior Political Advisor and she is probably running for Massachusetts Governor in 2022,” said McGee. “I also continue to advise most of the Massachusetts House Leadership Team, including the Chairman of Ways and Means, who sets the $40 Billion Dollar Budget here in Massachusetts, as well as the House Majority Leader, Chairman of Elections, Chairman of Redistricting, etc.. to name a few, so to not stay involved in Politics would just be dumb on my part, so I won’t go that far.”

Reports from the Office of Campaign and Political Finance show expenditures made to McGee’s firm New Grange Consulting Group as far back as 2014. Healey’s campaign would pay McGee’s firm, which he is the President and CEO of, roughly $3,000 per month for consulting services.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue declined to comment.

The DOJ has posted this email exchange example between James P. McGee and Jeffrey Epstein. (DOJ.gov)