“It was his way of trying to talk his way around it.”
In other words Epstein and Trump uses the same talking points to avoid truth to power. It will be revealing to read the list of people in Epstein's social life. We know the people on Trump's list, they are in jail or waiting to be indicted and jailed.
18
WHY in the video is it reported that Epstein made his $ as from his Hedge Fund firm?
No client list, no record of income. He may claim he made his income this way but I think not.
Hmmm... how else could he have amassed his fortune?
Doesn't take much of an imagination.
31
Does anyone else have the bad feeling that there's much, much more to this that current revelations? As in, how did he really amass so much wealth? And who were his clients for whatever illicit activities he used to become so wealthy?
50
I’ll start my comment with two words ... billionaire pervert.I am incredulous that none of his political contacts had a clue about his predilection for kids and 14 or 15 years old is a child btw. It’s all about the money. They turned a blind eye because they were hoping to get donations.
Bill Clinton is kind of a gross offender himself and Clinton’s reputation preceded him before the presidency while the governor of Arkansas. Only in comparison to the odious dt does Clinton look pretty good.
The cozying up to Epstein is now over. Suddenly,on both sides of the aisle,the politicos all have sustained memory lapses.
I’m disgusted by the complete lack of character and moral fiber of most people governing the US. Time for a revolution before it’s too late.
35
I wonder what Epstein's lawyers gave to Acosta--or sent to Acosta's hotel room- to get such a sweet 'lil deal for their client.
18
We have a new Congress. they have kept a number of issues on the table including the environment, immigration and the associated abuse of children, Saudi killing in Turkey and a number of issues. This Epstein criminality is a wonderful opportunity for our Reps to dig deeply. Some of them should know that their group in Congress and Senate also have histories of woman and student abuse. Let us dig as far as we can, expose Epstein's fellow maggots and let the chips fall where they may. It is about time that we apply preventive measures to this behavior which some believe to be an illness. We have another opportunity to identify a nest of vermin. Let's do it! Schedule hearings.
24
It's hard to imagine a more boring person or story.
4
Why no mention of a Epstein’s huge donations to Harvard University, including a $6.5 million gift that Harvard refused to return (and still has not returned) when the allegations against him surfaced in 2006?
Harvard (among many other institutions and individuals) is not looking good here. If I were a bright, ambitious high school student, I’d look elsewhere for college.
27
While the Epstein child rape case is a most egregious and high-profile such case, let's use it as a backdrop to discuss toxic masculinity.
It is simplistic and a disservice to all of society to only focus on the worst examples of male abuse of women.
The wide continuum of abusive behaviors ALL spring from the same place - rooted in thinking women are lesser, less deserving, less capable, lesser humans. It manifests as disrespect and toxic masculinity. And is propped up by patriarchy.
If we ignore the nuanced end of the abuse continuum, we have not addressed what is a problem for almost every single woman I've ever met - the constant, low grade abuses women experience every day in ALL settings. The kinds of abuses that wear a woman down gradually, so slowly, she may not even be aware of it; that can have an equally lasting negative impact; that represent the additional emotional labor that we must navigate every day to stay sane. So many men have no clue the damage they have done.
If we allow "innocuous" sexist remarks by boys and men......
If we think "boys will be boys"........
If we think it's ok to badger a girl for sex.......
If we sexually harass a woman...........
If we treat boys and girls differently, or hold them to different standards........
Women and girls will not be truly free from male tyranny until these "less" toxic and discriminating behaviors are ALSO addressed and eliminated.
And NYT - child porn and child abuse are the proper terms here.
31
The term sex-trafficking is thrown around much too easily these days. I have always associated it with physical or mental coercion. I have not read anything about Mr. Epstein that suggests he ever forced anyone to do anything, unless you choose to interpret the lure of financial payment as coercion. One of your responders noted wisely that underage sex statutes vary among the states and that these laws have often been changed to reflect the mores of the times. And I agree that associating Mr. Clinton’s and Mr. Trump’s name with Epstein simply reflects the Times’ sly movement toward the National Enquirer type of material.
6
@Joe Gagen According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (backed in part by the U.S. DHHS), "Force, fraud, or coercion need not be present if the individual engaging in commercial sex is under 18 years of age."
Based on the accusations (especially the part about Epstein paying underage girls to recruit other underage girls), I'd say the term sex-trafficking is appropriate. The fact that you don't associate the two personally disturbs me.
58
There is no way Epstein is a billionaire. He’s probably never been a hedge fund manager. If he traded equities, there would be filings with the SEC about his holdings. If he traded debt, prime brokers would know his name. I suspect he made his money by providing young women to rich, old sexual predators like himself.
55
@Anthony Effinger
And blackmailing some of them
34
I get it. I don’t have to be indoctrinated into believing by getting information 5 different ways, over and over. You remind me of my mother. I would “turn her off” because she offended me with her repeated, incessant instructions, and I went off ignoring her or worse.
@Caridad perez - No one is forcing you to read this.
24
The super rich certainly are not held to the same standards as the common man. Let's hope evils like these continue to be exposed and rooted out. Not only are the lives of the girls and their families destroyed, but our entire society is contaminated.
18
@Chris
...and apparently 1970s rock stars are definitely not held to the same standards as the (current) super-rich.
10
I would suspect after his lawyers fees and fines are paid, his assets seized and auctioned off he'll just be referred to as a pervert. If it's true what they say happens to child molestors in prisons he's got some big worries to contemplate.
23
It strikes me that a man who seeks out and has sex with minors is not likely to brag about his "conquests" to even his closest friends let alone to casual acquaintances. The fact that Epstein's path has at times crossed those of President Clinton as well as that of Trump's is irrelevant.
7
It all sounds like a movie. How did he get away with all this for so long and where on earth is his money from? There is a lot more to this story. Keep digging NYT!
39
Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday was on the Jan 20 Solar Eclipse. The Saturn/Jupiter conjunction next year triggering the Zero Point of Aquarius signals a new post-patriarchal era beginning with the epic fall of the sex servicer of the Plutocrats.
7
No mention of Dalton headmaster Donald Barr, father of AG William Barr, hiring Epstein to teach High School math even though he had dropped out of college and had no degree. No?
60
This and other stories are weak, repeating one another. I want to hear more names of people who attended his sex parties, quotes from the victims (without their real names of course), names and quotes from the female and male traffickers, and quotes from parents of the young girls, some of whom must of known or been suspicious about what their girls had been pulled into. Some of girls must of told their parents eventually. Also, the story still leaves out the Katie Johnson video story about Trump raping her when she was 13. She brought a lawsuit against Epstein and Trump. Stop with fluff stories, NYT.
77
The victims were more often runaways. Epstein’s “girlfriend”, G Maxwell, daughter of the guy who lost his company’s pension funds, is connected, according to the published stories, in the purveying of girls.
The real question is this: How did this guy earn billions of dollars after he worked as a math teacher at a girl’s school for Attorney General Barr’s father? That’s where we are now.
42
@Bakari
Here Here!!!!
5
This might be a good time for the NYT to do an in-depth report of the history and evolution of Pedophilia. Starting out in antiquity, we find such interesting words like “gymnasium” which literally means the naked truth and not sports arena like 99.99% of Americans think it does. There’s alot we don’t know.
Since we are now modernizing in the west regarding LGBTQ persons rights to be the persons they were born as and not some cookie-cutter prescription, we should force ourselves to also look into people born as pedophiles and answer this single question: Why is pedophilia somthing we cannot bend on, unlike the LGBTQ segment?
Answer: Because the child has rights. We know this.
Who can be a pedophile? Anyone!
Your Parent, your family member, your coach, your teacher, your religious leader, your local politician and so on...and the danger is, some rich and powerful people, who assist in making the laws, are also sometimes pedophiles.
I don’t see placing pedophiles into prison and throwing away the key as a long term solution, especially if these people are born that way, but they shouldn’t have access to children under the age of 18 because that is the typical age we deem humans as adults and children under the age of 18 have rights which we are supposed to protect!
This is a complicated issue and up to now we have failed miserably and we keep on failing because we are not as advanced in knowledge as we thought we were. We're only really good at hiding it at high levels!
9
@William Perrigo - People can be born with all kinds of addictive personalities but they still know right from wrong. If an alcoholic drives drunk they are still subject to criminal prosecution.
18
The age of consent, 18 in Florida and 17 in New York, presents legal peril for Epstein, who is apparently a hebephile.
But the professed horror at his behavior is a reflection of our ahistorical culture and of rapidly changing sexual mores.
In 1880, the age of consent was 7 in Delaware, 10 in Vermont and many other states and even now remains at 16 across much of the country.
What he allegedly did is criminal, now. A few short years ago it wasn't. Homosexuality was criminal in many jurisdictions until recently; oral sex; miscegenation, and on and on. Our sense of sexual correctness changes constantly, and we're always sure we've finally gotten it right.
5
@John Briggs "A few short years ago?" Get off it! Neither you nor Epstein was alive when the age of consent was 7 or 10. And it's the age of CONSENT, not rape, not vitiated consent, not prostitution, and not preying on young women by hiring them to give "massages" and then taking their clothing, demanding they disrobe, manipulating them into disrobing in fear or under the influence of something, or setting them up to be beaten and raped by a sick friend.
Often those low ages of consent were for the contracting of girls into marriage as part of certain religions, and the new husband agreed not to violate the girl until she came of age--admittedly not what we consider right or just, but a historical practice still employed in certain religions and regions of the world today. But don't try it here in the U.S.--we recognize the rights of children to grow-up unmolested and the rights or girls and women to choose their own partners. Regardless of men's sexual drives. In other words, keep it in your pants. It's not a few short years, it's closer to a century and a half.
As for homosexuality and oral sex, those are all between consenting adults, and it required the Supreme Court ordering certain men to get out of the bedrooms of other people for these practices actually to not get you put in prison...and the attitude of many on the right toward the right of privacy may get people put back in prison yet.
17
Aa a mother of two tweens that is disgusting to think what he was doing was not a crime....they used to stone people too...we evolve.@John Briggs
12
Like Epstein's accomplices, it also seems his pilot of + 20 years has avoided scrutiny (captbigdawg on Instagram)...many of the victims were allegedly transported by aircraft between his residences in NYC, New Mexico, Florida and USVI.
22
There have been many claims, including pics from aircraft logs, of Clinton flying between a dozen and two dozen times, sometimes without his Secret Service detail. Just a rehash of his uninvestigated press release here.
Wonder if Victoria's Secret models were involved with Epstein.
4
@ClearedtoLand
26 times according to Pilot Logs FAA demands. 5 times he blew off his Secret Service. I have seen them.
4
@Duncan - Where did you see them?
5
This article is almost praising Epstein. Start with the handsome face in the video. Regretting that such a handsome guy could be so perverted. But it doesn't matter. What matters is that he handsome!
10
Completely agree! Please stop plastering his smug face in every article.
8
It's the rotten judicial system of the US. Who in any other civilized country has ever heard that one can make "deals" with a court.
11
@pierre
I dare say that "deals" with a court occur in all countries. Civilization has nothing to do with it. It is one of the privileges of being rich and famous. I'm not being cynical - I'm just being realistic. That doesn't mean such deals are "right" it simply means that such deals occur and societies should take precautions to prevent such deals whenever and wherever they are made.
2
@pierre because Pierre, it is about money and embarrassment. Epstein knows too much. Judges are guilty of so much silliness as well. As Mick said, "every cop is a criminal. Enjoy France. And thanks for reading the Times.
7
I think where and how he obtained vast wealth needs to be explored. This might explain the protection racket that seems to have protected him. Why is it that everyone around Trump seems to be to put it nicely a criminal of some shape.
30
According to an article in Mother Jones, this is a very common behavior among wealthy men. My question to the NYT is "Why are there not more articles about such happenings?" Is this due to the influence of such men? Clearly the interest, as shown by reader comments in the Epstein story shows that this has struck a chord.
16
And Robert Kraft sitting with trump at dinner for Emir of Qatar in Washington, DC on Monday, July 8th. Seems there’s a pattern here of white billionaires being involved in sex slavery schemes.
Who are the federal lawyers that worked with Acosta to minimize Epstein’s sentence in 2007?
The participants feign surprise at the alleged crimes of Kraft and Epstein. This hypocrisy is blatant. Trump supports it.
We should honor Ms. Julie K. Brown and her videographer,
Ms. Emily Michot for their tenacity in reporting of Epstein for The Miami Herald.
44
@-tkf Well two of them seem to be AG William Barr and his Assistant AG!
5
@-tkf The Lawyers for Epstein were from a firm that William Barr was working for.
8
I have mentioned this previously but I wish when media introduces Mr.E they say, Mr.Epstein, known pedophile , and child abuser has been accused ......
He is introduced as a billionaire always, as if that is most important. Ask parents if that is the important factor. Take for example other criminals being reported. Mr. Johnson, who lives in a rundown community, has no apparent wealth , is accused of... These descriptions set him up high, and his cohorts also. And I could care who they are. If they are guilty they all need to be charged. Any denomination, political affiliation, family they should be held accountable.
24
I am confused as to how a registered sex offender with a criminal record for soliciting prostitution from minors was able to travel internationally. How was he able to gain entry to the EU?
This is a man who has gotten away with his depravity for a long time. The first time I heard about him was 25 years when I was in the UK, where the newspapers there expressed outrage that Prince Andrew was friends with him. It is clear that he believed he was above the law. It is also clear WHY he felt that. Freedom build on the lives of the young girls (some as young as 14) that he destroyed.
38
Please, so many women have been abused. They say one in three. I say ask the women close to you and have the courage to listen to their answers. Almost all women have had some situation where they have been exploited sexually or maybe even many situations. It's about time this came to light. It's so rampant. It's business as usual EVERYWHERE.
14
Fantastic that the Miami Herald and were investigating this story.
Some journalists, editors and media need to keep up.
18
Hopefully this investigation extends beyond Jeffrey Epstein. I would find it hard to believe that the head of his security team or his household staff were not aware of what was happening.
22
It is sad to think of our "president" being correct that if you're rich, you get away with this. From the state of our legal/correctional system, this is probably one of the very few things he is correct about.
13
He ran a ring selling minors to rich guys, so imagine the stories he can tell about the crimes of his various clients and associates. Lots of privileged men are in deep fear now.
30
The world is a complicated place and evil sometime lurks in powerful places. I am thankful that the dark corners in which Epstein operated are finally being exposed to the light, and hope that by punishing him and others who participated in his crimes, the girls abused by him will be able to regain some trust in the world and even find peace. It is very important to finish the work, put him behind bars, and get his accomplices there as well.
16
FYI, not mentioned in this article: The Dalton School is not just a high school, it has grades K-12. Looks like Epstein was putting himself in the presence of teens, tweens, and young children even before he got rich.
35
@Ver S
How did he get that job with no college degree?
23
@Ted George Donald Barr, AG William Barr's father, was Headmaster at Dalton and inexplicably hired him.
9
@Ted George Ask Attorney General Barr's father - he's the one who hired him.
11
One thing nobody is mentioning is: where are the prosecutions in Paris? He's now been prosecuted twice in the USA, and it's clear he spends maybe half his time in Europe. Where is the reporting over there? Where is the police work? Do they not care about underage French and European girls as much as we care about our girls here? He sure doesn't seem like a guy who would only offend in the US and stop once he gets to Europe.
29
@Ver S
Actually, no, they don't care as much over there. Consider Roman Polanski, who has been protected for decades by France, Switzerland, Poland, etc.
Then consider Domique Strauss-Kahn, not involved with underaged, but very much like Harvey Weinstein.
8
So the question I have is - where is the tipping point for our 'justice' system? When does it get bad enough that vigilantism starts sounding more reasonable than what's in place?
23
@S Hey memo to You: No One else looks at the story this way. There is No invitation to whatever you’re thinking about that is present ‘between the lines’ here. None.
3
our judicial system is for sale to the highest bidder.... or at least to those with verifiable billions. the rest of us? maybe we get a fair trial or maybe we don't.... justice is not blind at any level. when I have been involved with our legal system? if I had a $400 dollar an hour lawyer from a good firm? I did well. other times? not so much.
16
our judicial system is for sale to the highest bidder.... or at least to those with verifiable billions. the rest of us? maybe we get a fair trial or maybe we don't.... justice is not blind at any level. when I have been involved with our legal system? if I had a $400 dollar an hour lawyer from a good firm? I did well. other times? not so much.
6
@coale johnson
What is your solution then? If you want to get the best results, you hire the best. Considering our legal system is designed as an adversarial one, in which one side argues against the other, you hire more "intelligent, crafty, etc.." lawyers the better show you have of prevailing.
Not everyone is equally intelligent, nor shares the exact same opinions as you. The sooner you come to terms with that basic fact, the happier you will be.
There's a reason why cheaper lawyers are generally cheap, they were the less-apt students in law school. Cant magically increase someone's IQ.
I totally understand why Jeffrey Epstein wanted to avoid the spotlight.
If I was doing the things he’s accused of doing, I’d want to be doing them in a place where nobody could see me either.
25
Criminals who are a danger to society don’t get to choose to hide.
3
Trump has been co-accused with Epstein of raping a 13-year old girl and the charges were dropped when the girl’s life and her family’s were threatened (Stormy Daniels, anyone?).
To Evangelicals, this makes Trump the lamb of God and the fount of all holiness.
Just ask Roy Moore.
Keep ‘Merica Great!
106
I'd like to see more reporting on why so many - so many - wealthy men engage in deviant behavior. A few years back, I think it was Showtime that had a weird movie with Gerard Depardieu based on the Dominique Strauss-Kahn alleged assault of the hotel maid in NYC - a story of sex addiction and a complete disregard for the female half of humanity. Why do so many of these men suffer from the same addiction? What is it about success that translates to Now I Can Do Whatever I Want to Anyone I Want?
It seems like many of them enjoy (I won't say suffer from) a massive personality disorder. Why do we idolize these rich sleazes?
Are we really supposed to believe bill clinton and trump didn't do the same disgusting things all their disgusting friends are getting in trouble for these days? I for one don't believe their denials. "Not my type" - give me a break.
88
@DesertFlowerLV A sense of entitlement? The fact that they perceive their $, wealth and power as elevating them above the law? We have seen this story before, and sadly, it will happen again..nothing new here.
8
@DesertFlowerLV I don't believe them either. in fact when they said that bill flew on his plane a bunch of times? I thought "oh yeah, the mile high club".... and I admit there is no proof for my suspicions. however, in my own experience as a once hard charging kinda' guy? all of that focus on my own success warped me..... I never did anything like what bill did or what jeffery and trump are accused of but still I became a stranger to my family and lived in a very unreal world. these guys took it to an entire other level and were far, far more "successful" than me..... thank god I did not continues down that path.
6
@DesertFlowerLV I don't believe them either. in fact when they said that bill flew on his plane a bunch of times? I thought "oh yeah, the mile high club".... and I admit there is no proof for my suspicions. however, in my own experience as a once hard charging kinda' guy? all of that focus on my own success warped me..... I never did anything like what bill did or what jeffery and trump are accused of but still I became a stranger to my family and lived in a very unreal world. these guys took it to an entire other level and were far, far more "successful" than me..... thank god I did not continues down that path.
1
President Trump socialised with Epstein, knowing that he liked "young" girls. Sec of Labour Acosta negotiated a deal to give Epstein a slap on the wrist, in spite of knowing that he molested young girls. Attorney Gen Bill Barr worked for a law firm that represented Epstein. Ken Starr lobbied the Justice department to go soft on Epstein.Alan Dershowitz wrote a public letter trashing the investigative reporting by the Miami Herald reporter.
Sometimes you wonder what has happened to the moral fibre of the American elite.
123
@AM Don't forget...Epstein was also pals with Tricky Bill...
5
Epstein is to Kavanaugh
as
Ghislaine Maxwell (or Epstein's other female procurers) is to Amy Chua
See
Seems the same principle, albeit at a different (legal) level.
Sorry, Eli, I had to say it. Patterns don't lie.
9
Epstein is a Billionaire Financier. But where did all his money come from? Nobody knows for sure. He is only known for one client long ago.
28
"For years, Jeffrey Epstein lived a luxurious life, socializing with celebrities, jetting off to Europe, California or the Caribbean, where he owned a private island."
Why does this story open with this rather than something like, "Jeffrey Epstein, who is alleged to have masterminded a child trafficking ring and molested a large number of underage girls, has been arrested."
Why open with a description of his opulent lifestyle? If the person who did this had been Jeffrey Epstein from Topeka, KS who lived in a 1700 sq foot house and who took a fishing trip to the Gulf of Mexico every year I doubt the story would have opened the same way.
115
@yvaker B/c your sentence is convoluted. The main point of the sentence, that he has been arrested, is blocked by an interfering clause: "who his alleged ... underage girls". It's just too convoluted to convey the message of Epstein's arrest clearly.
agreed. makes me sick that somehow the writer feels it somehow matters that we learn about his possessions.
15
The Times writers need to get more accurate with their reporting. Epstein was bringing young girls to his locations for rape, not for sex. Sex with an underage child who is too young to give consent to sex is rape. Calling these rapes "sex" trivializes and normalizes the crime. Penetrating a minor is rape. By definition.
280
Interesting. In my neighborhood nobody has empathy with sex offenders. No one wants a registered sex offender in their neighborhood. Apparently, NYC is way more forgiving to have a sex offender in their hood. what about the children?
32
New Yorkers tend to mind their own business. It’s the only way you can have so many people from so many different backgrounds living together in such a densely populated area
7
@christina r garcia There are very few children in the70s west of Third Ave on the Upper East side. Lots of older folks, pied a terres for many who live out of town or overseas, and the ones with kids have nannies and manservants who mind them and walk the dogs.,
6
@christina r garcia Epstein's townhouse is anonymous. Noone would know he lived there.
3
Acosta must go. And as for trump: what did he know, and when did he know it. Just another instance of trump placing the interests of sexual abusers and their enablers above the rights of victims. Did trump participate in similar activity with Epstein? Did Bill Clinton? Did Prince Andrew? These questions should be asked, and answers demanded.
43
@Michael Arch
Robert Kraft, currently charged with solicitation of prostitution sits at a place of honor at trump’s dignitaries dinner while the ambassador from England is rudely disinvited for his candid assessment of trump’s abilities. I think we see trump’s interests...
11
@Michael Arch
First of all, Acosta was confirmed by the Senate 60-38, and his involvement with the Epstein case was questioned by both Rs and Ds during his hearings. Spread the blame around, not just on Trump cause Orange Man bad.
Second, what other instance do you have for your claim? The instance I suspect you are referring to, known as the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings spectacle, was political posturing at best. We really need to demand that Congress actually do its job and pass legislation. Particularly legislation that both supports actual credible allegations (a 34 year old claim, right before Midterm Elections, and in the 11th hour of Kavanaughs hearings, with no corroborating witnesses or evidence is far from that), and severely punishes individuals who make false accusations for political or financial gain.
2
Let justice prevail for the victims and pray he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law regardless of his status and what is he worth money wise.
28
Gather 'round, NYT reporters and editors and readers, as we enhance our vocabulary with terms that will or should pop up a lot as the Epstein catastrophe rolls into view. These girls are not women, but neither are they strictly children.
EPHEBOPHILIA: a sexual preference for mid- to older teenagers. In ancient Greece, an ephebos had reached puberty.
HEBEPHILIA: a sexual preference for younger teens, approximately ages 11-14. The Greek goddess Hebe was the protector of youth; the term also referred to the developmental period just before puberty.
A sexual preference for even younger children is covered by the now-well-known term PEDOPHILIA, a sexual preference for prepubescent children.
Yep, these predilections are coomon enough to have names--he isn't alone--although the extent of their legality varies.
When Epstein's attorneys argue that these encounters were consensual just because the girls weren't dragged screaming into his homes, the age of consent will be a topic of interest.
39
@Greater Metropolitan Area. The word “predator” works for all three.
105
@Greater Metropolitan Area This strikes me as a strange take. I'm not interested in why Epstein was attracted to his victims. I do know that they were involved unwillingly and were traumatized by the experience. I do know that he seems to have targeted young, troubled or impoverished girls who couldn't fight back.
There are plenty of adult women who have a slender physical build that is similar to that of developing children. A multi-millionaire would certainly have access to those women. The choice to pick on poor girls, orphans, runaways who are 13 years old, as Epstein did, and to force them into unwanted sex by lying to them, is presumably because he enjoyed the extreme power differential and the fact that they would be too helpless, frightened, and immature to fight back. Look at someone like Harvey Weinstein, or Bill Cosby, both of whom had plenty of access to women who were willing to sleep with them, but still wanted to take by force. For some people, the cruelty is the point. That's certainly the case with people who rape and permanently traumatize young girls.
16
@Greater Metropolitan Area Sorry, this is 2019 USA not ancient Greece. The laws are clear about age of consent and it is NOT 11 nor is it 14. It is 17-18 depending on the state. Additionally, people grew up faster back then: they died younger, married younger, and generally children were expected to work at younger ages. These days, society does not operate that way and people under 18 are considered children.
Also, there is some leeway made for differencs in age: i.e. a 15 year old having sex with an 18 year old is not the same as a 15 year old and 50 year old which Epstein was.
7
He wasn't a true Gatsby figure since Fitzgerald made clear that Jay Gatsby made his money from bootlegging. We have no such clarity with Epstein, just speculation about his investment advisory but only a single named big client.
What we do know, from his victims, is that he ran a very extensive sex trafficking ring. We know from his sweetheart deal, and the people involved, that he had a lot of political pull. We also know from the record who his big shot pals were.
Putting all this together, the most reasonable hypothesis is that sex trafficking was his true business, and that he was likely a high end blackmailer. If that proves true there's no telling how extensive this scandal could get.
95
@Duncan
He is like Gatsby in that he came from humble beginnings, was charming, intelligent, and mysterious. And probably criminal.
By the way, Gatsby made his real money selling fake bonds. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald predicted the crash of 1929.
9
The old but always relevant term "sin-sick soul" comes to mind when reading about Mr. Epstein.
15
Always beware of people proclaiming their middle class roots, as if that has any bearing on their current allegiances. "Middle Class Joe" Biden has made $15 million since leaving office. Goldman Sachs' Llloyd Blankfein's father was a postal worker. Epstein's father was a Parks Department employee. How many of them would you say are Presidential material?
9
@stan continople, why the swipe at Biden? What does he have to do with either of the others?
8
@SandraH.
Well since Clinton, not only has he made hundreds of millions of dollars since leaving office, but also is credibly alleged to have been part of Epstein Lolita Express (26 times he appears on the Flight Manifesto, 5 times without secret service detail), the term "Presidential material" does not mean much, now does it?
As a female of a certain age, the flow of stories about abuse of women and girls with @MeToo and this account - among others - triggers memories. My aren't as horrible as some. But think about why so many have had these awful experiences.
What men should know (there are many supportive men here, but many doubters) is most girls thought their experiences were unique - now we can see that other women suffered a range of abuses, and kept them secret. The explosion of speaking out circa 1971 didn't stop the abuse. Many decent men are in denial about buddies and associates who were the perpetrators, and who joke about attractions to young women. Try to grasp our visceral reactions: sue denim quoted Christine Blasey Ford: "indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter."
Epstein does have a compulsion. He has a lot of company out there - the internet is a wonderland for pedophiles, who convince one another they are normal.
Some asked how he could have gotten his start in "finance" and pedophilia. He has lightening quick intelligence, and charm: an expert on how to manipulate others. It works with grownups as well as children.
I once met a guy hired as a stockbroker while he teaching tennis to a brokerage firm owner's children. His sole qualifier was charm, and a gift for selling,i.e. for inducing clients to trust him with their money.
There remain a host of connections to be explored. What most strikes me is that the 1% "ARE different from you and me." They have power.
44
@cheryl i am ‘almost’ wagering the Epstein was a ‘male-madam’. That is, he procured these victims for others in his circle etc. That is why i also suspect that his ‘client johns’ will team together to protect him. Lets hope that fails.
15
@cheryl
I agree with you about the prevalence of sexual assault, and the hiding behind humor. One correction: you mention perpetrators, “who joke about attractions to young women.” Puberty does not make a young woman, not in America. They were children.
Epstein was a salesman, and his black book says he remembered who bought. Did he get his fortune by blackmail, or by getting management of money because he gave men a special reason to invest with him? A terrific guy. Is anyone going to ask Trump why they had their “falling out” 15 years ago?
4
@cheryl
In the context of these children, Epstein didn't seem to have power. He simply had a couple of hundred bucks to offer and the "charm" to hang out with creepy older men these teenagers wouldn't otherwise consider companions.
It's different from the MeToo movement where people's jobs and advancement opportunities were on the line. None of these teenagers thought they were primed to get a real job with Epstein's investment firm. One was even upset that Epstein stopped inviting her over when she turned 18, and was therefore "old".
2
Why didn't the FBI simultaneously raid his home on his private island in the USVI for more evidence? There have been various accounts by victims/witnesses in the case that they have seen photos of unclothed, underage girls openly displayed there.
28
This was a raid conducted on n behalf of the Southern District of NY, which does not have jurisdiction in the USVI, but you make a good point. There should be a larger FBI investigation because it clearly involves more than one jurisdiction, including other countries.
6
You would never see a profile piece written like this about one of his victims, would you?
We’ll probably never know where they went to school or what their lives were like before they had the misfortune of getting sucked into this monster’s world.
Perhaps his victims, especially the new accusers who will be coming forward in court, are silenced for legal reasons or perhaps they just want to get on with the lives that he has tried to ruined, but more articles are still being written about the rich white guy, and his glitzy lifestyle, than the vulnerable young women he took advantage of.
And as sad as it is, we’re reading them. What does that say about us as a society?
The Miami Herald reporters who did not quit should be commended for their perseverance in trying to uncover the truth and expose the corruption that is barely even trying to hide in plain sight anymore.
It would be my hope that with these fresh charges, justice is finally served in some small way for the survivors and that this also marks a turning point in how our media, the public and our justice system reacts and chooses where to put the focus.
40
One word comes to mind, ‘hypocrisy’
“...In addition to Alan Dershowitz, attorney Kenneth Starr — yes, that Ken Starr — also defended Epstein in 2007 and reportedly played a “significant part” in helping to secure his plea agreement, according to Dershowitz. Also according to Dershowitz, the lawyer who investigated the Monica Lewinsky scandal was recruited to help Epstein because “Starr had experience in investigating sex investigations. He had experience as the solicitor general and as a judge. He had all the bases covered,” he told the Daily Beast in 2015. Along with Dershowitz, Starr was also listed as a recipient of emails from Florida prosecutors discussing withholding the terms of the plea agreement from Epstein’s alleged victims.”
www.rollingstone.com
43
@MavilaO
"Money doesn't talk, it swears"
It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) Dylan
11
@MavilaO Ken Starr should be tried for malpractice by the states.
2
Please don’t call this man “enigma”. He is just plain evil.
84
@anonymous Thank you! even among pesos there is a pecking order ...the absurdity and inequity of our system
4
William Faulkner peering into the soul of America, decades before the birth of Epstein, in Absalom Absalom gave words for today's Americans which are perhaps almost adequate:
“... created by of and for the darkness ... an interlude of ... fatal insatiation, of passionate and inexorable hunger of the flesh ...”
23
Perhaps far less Faulkner, and far less Fitzgerald—but more Nabokov
6
Question: why are they prosecuting him for offenses occurring so long ago? May we infer that there are no credible similar allegations against him since he served his sentence in Florida?
3
@Gibbs Kinderman Sexual abuse, victimization of children and abuse of power over children has no statue of limitations in many states.
37
@Nnaiden, it's the trafficking charges. Those have no statute of limitations.
8
"How about leading with his mug shot instead of a publicity shot?"
This is one of the many reasons why I keep asking myself if I really want to subscribe to NYT.
How about honesty NYT?
48
Let's not make the same mistakes we made in the #metoo movement and condemn every man who winked at a woman! Just because a name is in his address book does not mean that person participated in Epstein's lifestyle with young girls. AND, there were a lot of legal-eagles involved in the original decision and I want to know who they all where. NYT....please published those names and their participation level. As for Trump's comments in 2002, there is nothing nefarious about them. Let's be sensible...Trump is not going to vilify Epstein when asked about him...he's going to make a tactful comment and move on. Same with all Epstein's friends and acquaintances. You're naive to think otherwise. The same was true of Weinstein and the Obama's friendship, etc.
6
@J. G. Smith
Wait, did you just say "tactful" when describing Trump?
24
@J. G. Smith, sorry, but I think there's already evidence that Trump is guilty of assaulting women, regardless of his connections to Epstein. I doubt he sees anything wrong with what Epstein did--that's why he joked about Epstein loving women "on the young side." ( I don't think everyone in Epstein's address book is guilty, nor do I think the #MeToo movement condemned every man who winked at a woman.)
I suspect the reason Barr withdrew his recusal from this prosecution is that he wants to insulate Trump.
3
Epstein must have some dirt on other high profile participants in this nasty business. Plea deal in exchange for disclosures? Who is sweating now?
34
@Global Strategist - absolutely no plea deal for this piece of dirt. Prosecute him to the fullest extent of he law and fully investigate every single one of his cronies and associates. Determine where his wealth came from because that’s likely very dirty money too. And if the law needs help then enlist the investigative journalists that did such a great job. In those journalist we can trust. Thank God for the journalists in this sordid tale.
23
As for the caption under the photo, Who Is Jeffrey Epstein? The Financier Embroiled in an Underage Sex Scandal, add one word between Sex Scandal.
Or two if you have the room. CHILD Sex ABUSE Scandal.
There. That’s better.
48
@Louise Miller, thank you. Writers keep referring to his victims as women. They were children, and he wasn't having sex with them. He was raping them.
2
You failed to mention that despite being hired by Bear Stearns as a money manager - and then supposedly going on to start his own money management firm - he has no brokers license, which begs the question, was it really money that he was managing?
96
I think it's clear that Epstein cultivated relationships that would ultimately protect him from prosecution -- either by giving politicians money for their campaigns, or giving wealthy people free plane rides, or by gaining blackmail material by getting his friends to commit the same crimes he was.
We can speculate about how he compromised various people -- money, sex, bribes. But what's clear is that he was skilled at doing so, and he did it for a long time very successfully. Let's hope that justice is finally done.
35
I have limited faith in our judicial system getting to the bottom of this. Thank you, New York Times. It is now your responsibility to take it all the way!
24
All those girls, all those big houses, all those free plane rides . . . Either the man’s got a huge need or a lot of friends who need it too. This will be interesting to see where and to who else it leads too.
29
@John Doe, William Barr is on the case to ensure that it leads nowhere.
3
So this is the tv series “True Detective” in real life.
If the Hostel movie comes true next, I will not be surprised, because with these people, anything goes.
8
I think people want to believe Epstein's crimes are outlier behavior and he escaped justice because of his wealth. The truth is that our society looks the other way every day while men of all races and classes prey on young women, largely with impunity. I used to manage a sexual assault/domestic violence hotline. I can tell you that Epstein's behavior happens every day, all over our nation, perpetrated by rich and poor men alike and most never even encounter the criminal justice system.
88
@Amy Luna. Indeed. There's no mistaking the willingness of average citizens to look the other way. Not many know that the Super Bowl Weekend - is when sex-trafficking peaks. Thoughts and prayers aren't working.
14
This guy has ruined lives of young women and girls... and those with power and influence in the US cover for him and protect him.
Whether you like China or not.. you have got to admire their much more direct and severe approach to wealthy child molestors. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/business/child-sexual-abuse-wang-zhenhua-seazen.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage
If convicted.. Wang will most likely receive a sentence of death, and his wealth will be confiscated and used in part as reparations for victims. More immediately though... the Party has revoked his membership immediately... something no spinless US political party would dream of doing.
15
@Chuck
This is perhaps because there is unity among all seven men on the Standing Committee. As we move closer to the single-party model, we’ll be able to get many more things done without partisan bickering. Tigers will be betrayed by their stripes. The West has much to learn from the rest of the world on matters such as this one.
1
@Ben - No. The United States needs to emulate nothing that the Chinese model as government. Don’t confuse the issue. Darkness is cured by light, not more darkness. Evil is evil.
7
If there was any surprise - it was that he was miserly for someone of his wealth when it came to direct ( and on the record) political contributions.
His behavior fits a stereotype of pedophiles - as he helpfully pointed out, the ones who go after after post pubescent girls! He is correct that there are predators who prefer different ages; he(also) doesn't think there is anything wrong with him having sexual encounters with underage females; but is - again typical - is cognitively aware that what he is doing is illegal and seen as despicable by much of society. He's not "enigmatic:" he needed to keep this on the down low.
I agree with @ Michael Cohen(below): any enigma lies in how he made and hid his money. Despite the crash, and collapse of BearSterns he held onto his "earnings" (on which - IF he did report it as income-he paid capital gains rates instead of earned income rates. This is only a small tangent: this money provided him with the means and secrecy to "buy" underage sex slaves, friends with influence and his freedom. Once. And se has never paid a fair share to be a citizen).
It's no secret that when you have a lot of it, or people think you do, hangers-on will bow and scrape to be close to you. Ask Trump (who at this point, is not implicated).
That Epstein was hired as a unqualified teacher at Dalton School- by Barr's father - is too ripe with coincidences to ignore. He charmed adults - what of the teenagers - his target demographic in his classes?
49
When you know people you know people.
His game was sexual power.
He used his ability to provide young women on demand to give to other men.
This unique offering placed these other men within his favour. They owed him.
That was his cachet.
24
@Alex
Or his Kompromat.
His rapid climb to wealth and his association with the rich and powerful is questionable,
10
@Alex, I agree with everything you say except that he didn't procure young women. They were underage girls. He was a serial pedophile.
1
Was Epstein ever married? If so, to who? And when?
4
@MIMA
No, never married as far as I can tell. Which doesn't look good for him.
3
The Ottoman Sultans with their harems had nothing on this guy.
8
@New World why deflecting - those were different times and different social norms. Several older men married girls 15-18 years old in the early days of the USA.
Terrible photo choice and terrible headline. The man is a monster. Cover him as such.
27
Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump..
..were co-accused of RAPING
a 13-year old girl
called Katie Johnson
in 1994.
Her video testimony and the affidavit are online and easily searchable.
47
@GVB Thank you!!
2
@GVB Here's a recent article about Trump and "Katie Johnson": https://www.gq.com/story/jeffrey-epstein-arrest
4
“so so many -- esp men -- turned a blind eye.”
The fact remains that many, if not all, of Epstein’s top fixers were women: Ghislaine Maxwell, Sarah Kellen and Lesley Groff. Without the help of these women, Epstein would have had no madams to secure his young victims.
18
I guess we will learn more .on FRONTLINE. He finally made it big
4
If I were the father of one of these girls,
Epstein’s light would already be out.
20
Just a thought could it be that he was a pimp for the rich and famous.
22
Good God: Weinstein, Epstein, coaches, teachers, Boy Scout troop leaders, legions of pastors and priests. The longer I live, the more convinced I am that there will be a marked gender disparity in Hell.
31
"...a secret plea deal" for a pedophile!! Disgusting. Question is, what is the judge get out of the deal?
10
My question is, if Mr. Epstein took classes at The Cooper Union School and NYU and did not receive a degree at either school, how did he manage to teach at Dalton? Did he have a degree from another school or did he manage to wrangle his way into teaching without a degree?
24
@norinal
Private high schools do not always require a bachelor's degree for teaching, especially if the teacher has life experience in their subject (or the kind of image the school wants to project).
6
@Sara Fasy I know this as I worked with an independent school for years. However, he was hardly an expert in his field at that point in time which means, he was a good actor and he finagled this part of his resume to get the job (he projected that image and those who interviewed him had super bad judgement!) For the most part, good independent schools do not hire teachers without the right documentation anymore.
10
@norinal Barr's father hired him.
16
Why is Maxwell not being tried as co-conspirator at the least?!
24
@Lagrange, yep. procurer remains unscathed.
3
@Lagrange. She may have turned against him to improve her chances during the sentencing phase.
1
I have read elsewhere that the sole client of Epstein's hedge fund was Leslie Wexner, owner of The Limited and, ironically, that Mecca of pre-teen lingerie, Victoria's Secret. Truth to this?
32
@OPOP You are correct. That's why he was a familiar face to all the Victoria's Secret girls.
3
Umm...what’s up with the fawning headline, NYT?
Epstein pleaded guilty. He’s a registered sex offender. ‘Lurid accusations’ is a puzzling undersell.
60
Trump cavorts with the worst and hires the worst. He’s a rapist, molester, ignorant buffoon. Epstein’s neighbor has photos ((numerous) of F&O going into his mansion. That’s where he attempted rape on a minor never mind the pageants. Democrats need to put these facts in TV ads on all major networks starting tomorrow. Trumps voters are ignorant, I should know, I recently visited my relatives in Mississippi and they’re all trumpees
42
@Lisa
what is F&O
5
@Lisa
Hopefully your comment will convince them to switch filter bubbles in 2020.
3
@Ben
What's filter bubbles?
1
I won't write what i think of Alexander Acosta. Won't be published. Last week the Times published a video Op-Ed 'Stop telling me America is great' that talk about 'cracks in the system' and some U.S. values bashing.
Sorry guys, you're not fit to see the abysmal institutional dysfunctions serving the less than 0,01% of the U.S. population.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/opinion/america-great.html
8
@Le Michel
Here's my note about the plea deal was published by the Times but is now, mysteriously, "not available"
he real beneficiary of Epstein's light sentence in Florida was Hillary Clinton who was the presumptive Democratic nominee at that point. The settlement in Epstein's case kept it off the front pages and and didn't expose Bill for the creep he is.
22
@Amy, the plea deal was engineered by a rising Republican star (Alex Acosta) appointed by George W. Bush to be U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, yet somehow you manage to blame Hillary Clinton.
2
A sex addict and deviant without any self control or morals.
And the money, plans and enablers to get what he craved. Find those enablers!
I wonder, did this guy ever have a relationship with an adult woman?
Haven't heard a word about that in anything I've read.
He's a very sick man.
41
@Paul King
He used to see Miss Sweden.
1
@AS Until she turned the ripe old age of 12?
7
This reports meanders around the rabbit hole without dipping a toe in it. But that's the case in all the mainstream coverage of Epstein so far.
Epstein's procurer is the daughter of the notorious Robert Maxwell, a Czech-born "Israeli superspy" according to biographer Martin Dillon. Maxwell's naked body was found in the Atlantic, supposedly after "falling off" his yacht. He was a business partner of the Boss of Bosses of the Russian mob, Semion Mogilevich.
Remember Alexander Litvinenko, the former FSB official who went public with claims that the Russian mob had taken over the agency and who was later poisoned in London with polonium-210? He exposed the connections between Mogilevich and the FSB. One of Mogilevich's criminal enterprises is the sale of illicit nuclear material.
Bob Levinson was, in a way, an American version of Litvinenko -- a career FBI agent with a passionate interest in investigating the mob empire of Mogilevich. In a BBC interview he told journalist Tom Mangold: “Criminals are coming in who are wealthier and more vicious than any of the criminals that you, or anybody on the continent, have ever seen. As far as I’m concerned, they’re the most dangerous people on earth.”
Levinson subsequently disappeared in Iran.
Epstein's cultivation of relationships with powerful people whom he lured into his honey trap of pedophilia with the help of Maxwell's daughter would've represented a goldmine of kompromat to the Russian mob and Mogilevich in particular.
72
How about leading with his mug shot instead of a publicity shot? Oh, that's right, he's a nice guy from a good family, right? He's a rich, white guy who has gotten away with child sex abuse and trafficking for years. So, does everyone (i.e., Acosta) think what he does is his own business and the girls must have wanted to be abused (hey, they got paid so it's 'prostitution')? Do they think it's so bizarre that it can't possibly be happening? Did he say he would never do it again and they believed him? My guess? People like Epstein and Acosta and friends all think women and children are property that can be used and then discarded as needed. Especially if they're poor.... in fact, they probably think the girls were grateful to have attention and money.... so sick!
53
Epstein, Dershowitz, Elite prep school principal Donald Barr, Acosta, Clinton, the Trumps, .... money seems to attract and protect an interesting bunch of weirdos with really bad judgment/impulse control but amazing abilities to insinuate themselves into government and our lives. What’s bubbling in that witches cauldron of relationships should be rising to the top very soon.
38
@Jennifer - I can't help but notice that New York City seems to attract more than its share of these weirdos.
5
Mr. Clinton's spokesman gave a drastically different version of the facts than 26 flights including many unaccompanied. So, why is the accusation not even mentioned?
Do we know who is telling the truth?
21
@Mark Thomason
I think one version is flights with multiple stops as counting as one flight while another interpretation is every stop is counted as a stop.
A flight from NY stoping in Florida, Texas Nevada and California is counted as one flight by Clinton.
1
@Mark Thomason There were 4 flights. Bill Clinton had the secret service with him.
3
@terri smith - Well, that is what Bill says but he also said that he did not have sex with that woman, Monica, even though we all saw the blue dress. I do not believe anything the Clintons say. Lucifer has lied fewer times in his career.
4
When the feds turn Epstein's life inside out, I suspect they will find copious depravities but far less cash.
Epstein supposedly had $15 billion under management. Yet according to Vanity Fair, NO ONE on Wall Street's trading desks knows anything about Epstein's transactions (aside from his losses in the Bear Stearns funds). Really?! How could a portfolio that size fly under the radar?
And why would his client Leslie Wexner have been part owner of his residence? Did Wexner help him buy it, and why would a purported billionaire such as Epstein need that kind of help?
Then there is the story that no one will talk on the record about how/ why Epstein left Bear Stearns before making partner...
Gatsbyesque is right.
56
@Sunlight
He even owns more than one swimming pool.
@Sunlight
Several published reports said he was caught committing financial improprieties, and his two “mentors” on the Bear Stearns board did not have enough votes to keep him on, so he was pushed out. Epstein didn’t just decide to strike out on his own.
According to Vicky Ward, Epstein’s criminality started early. He was arrested as a juvenile for breaking into mailboxes, presumably to steal Social Security checks.
3
Epstein with a honey pot...money. What a truly demented world we live in when men or women of power didn't report & stop Epstein for his actions. No excuses -- you all knew there was something up. Those young girls were damaged, truly damaged. Every single man or women who had any inkling of what was going on needs to pay for it and be exposed -- Democrats, Republicans, lawyers, professors, whoever. Many Americans live a life that do the right thing but don't make it to the top because we speak up when a person of power is an abuser. Our leaders don't get a pass.
48
U.S. Attorney Berman was given an acting appointment to the SDNY by Jeff Sessions. A life-long Republican who practiced law with Rudy Giuliani, Berman was not confirmed by the Senate. This is the US Attorney who went after Michael Avenatti with breath-taking swiftness in the Nike case, while multitudinous cases involving Trump proceed at a glacial pace.
Is there any reason not to believe his SDNY team was sent into Epstein's Upper East Side mansion to manage evidence that may incriminate Berman's patron? Trump is known to have visited Epstein at the mansion, saying he's, "a lot of fun to be with." He has been accused of abusing a girl provided by Epstein on four separate occasions there.
Surely, prosecutors would want to interview "Katie Johnson" now, and place her in witness protection if justice was the point. Dozens of women are providing similar stories to SDNY of the illegal and immoral activities at Epstein events. The details support her story in the 2016 lawsuits accusing Trump and Epstein of rape.
This new Epstein prosecution may yield a trove of embarrassing material contemporaneously with Mueller's testimony to Congress. Attorney General Barr won't recuse himself from this case, in spite of his father's connection (hiring an unqualified Epstein to teach children at the Dalton School). Can he be trusted not to spin any findings to protect Trump and shame Democrats? Barr's politically-motivated obfuscation of the Mueller Report does not provide any confidence.
34
@Sal A. Shuss Bill Barr's law firm also defended Epstein back in 2008.
10
What ever happened with the Katie Johnson lawsuit against both Trump and Epstein for raping a 13 year old? That would tie Trump into this unbelievable horror.
69
@Allen Polk
I read that she dropped the suit because she was receiving death threats.
1
What is confusing to me is why Alan Dershowitz would be associated with Mr. Epstein.
There are many cases Mr. Dershowitz could have chosen from in 2002. At that time, there was surely information (possibly only rumors) circulating.
I would have hoped that this highly responsible attorney would have said no if asked.
7
@Chris
Money obviously ..
16
@Chris Dershowitz was named in the Miami Herald series as having gotten massages and id’d by one of the girls to be one of the old creeps in the Florida mansion.
This is potentially huge. Let’s not let Barr spin this and Vance bury it. The NYT and WaPo really need to do ALOT of investigating on this.
25
@paully Allen Dershowitz has also been accused of sexual crimes by Epstein's victims.
15
Most pedophiles do stay out of the spotlight. How many times do you hear friends and neighbors say, "Nice guy. kept to himself."
19
My goodness! How judgmental and fickle you all are! Didn't we learn of a slightly less lurid version of this in 1998 during the Clinton Presidency: a powerful man abusing his power to obtain sex from younger, more vulnerable women. It must be that you agreed with his politics that caused you all to overlook his crimes. Yes, the women were a few years older but the power differential and the abuse of power and privilege was exactly the same. (And please, lets not leave out JFK). Here we go again: Selective moral outrage by the left. How despicable. While the NY Southern District is placing Epstein's head on a platter, why not reopen the cases against former President Clinton? Ethical consistency demands that you do.
14
@Toni
Underage children..
You go to Jail rightly..
20
@Toni Same crime....different time.
No longer will men or women who sexually abuse children or adults be given a free pass
7
@Toni there’s a significant difference between sex trafficking and molestation of hundreds of teenage girls and a consensual, extramarital relationship between two adults. It’s a legal difference, and one that should matter. Epstein and Clinton are hardly synonymous, despite what Fox News wants you to believe.
57
Is anyone going to mention the girl who attempted a civil suit against Trump for raping her when she was 13? Epstein “arranged” the meeting. Her case was dismissed on a technicality. She was representing herself and not savvy in jurisprudence. I thought I had read that her silence was purchased. Anyone know about that last bit.
27
@Dwalla -- She went by the alias "Katie Johnson" in the documents she filed in the first suit, in California. That one was dismissed because of errors she made in filing (probably because she filed herself.) She refiled the suit anonymously (but clearly the same person) in New York, this time with the help of a lawyer. It was reported that she dropped the suit four days before Trump won election because of "death threats." It would be very, very interesting to know what Michael Cohen knows about this.
21
@Gary, Indeed!
1
It's a sad state of affairs that it was the July 2019 indictment that "...marked the downfall of a man who had, until then, been dogged for years by allegations..." instead of his imprisonment on serious sex offences a decade ago.
15
Great work so far NYT. Get your best investigative journalists on this trail.
24
@Grant Withamn Julie Brown, journalist for the Miami Herald, broke the story. You can read the detailed articles there. Should have garnered a Pulitzer Prize, but the committee missed the boat.
16
Whenever I read stories like this about billionaires abusing their power, I feel confirmed in my belief that we need to heavily tax these people and use the money to create more opportunities for others especially for young people and young girls. Why does one person need 6 houses@ millions of dollars each; a private island; private jets; a fleet of cars, etc. Meanwhile I work close to a homeless shelter that's full beyond capacity.
140
Why does anyone need a 4 bedroom home in the suburbs with three cars, a summer vacation out west, and paying for kids involvement in travel sports? Be careful when you start deciding that when someone doesn't need something, the government should take it away from them.
1
Interesting. He also bought his 727 from Wexner. It was a real showcase, displayed by Boeing at an annual convention to show potential buyers what Boeing's new, at that time, product, the BBJ, could look like. It was less attractive after it traded hands as parts of it were refurbed in a bright red, sometimes known as a fitting hue. Bet the townhouse was a real showpiece until its next owner redecorated it. Wexner had quite an eye. Guess Epstein did too (pardon the pun).
11
Please don't use the wording that several commenters are using: "underage women."
A woman is at least 18 years old, and, therefore, not "underage."
These are GIRLS.
153
@PJW. Right. Would anyone have called Dennis Hastert’s victims “underage men”?
42
I am a 54 year old man.
This guy is disgusting.
I hope he gets either the death penalty or life imprisonment in a blue collar prison.
45
Epstein taught at Dalton. He was hired by Donald Barr, the father of our Attorney General.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Barr
Where is this going. Yikes.
58
@George N.
Dalton is one of the most selective private schools in NYC. I am shocked that someone without a degree, no matter how clever, would be hired to each there. At that school elementary teachers have Ivy League PhDs.
2
@George N.
Tonight Lawrence O'Donnell reported on Donald Barr/Jeffery Epstein. He also pointed out that Epstein arrived a Dalton with nothing more than a high school degree. Donald Barr was removed as Headmaster two years later; probably in part because of his hiring of Epstein.
How can William Barr NOT recuse himself from this case?
Yikes again!
4
@George N., I know that both Barr and Epstein left Dalton a few years later. I wonder whether there was any scandal involved, which Dalton obviously would have concealed. Pedophiles usually don't start in middle age.
1
“He hates every story starting with ‘billionaire pervert,’” Mr. Hay said. “Jeffrey had long stories about the difference between pedophilia with very young children and tweens and teens a little older.” He added, “It was his way of trying to talk his way around it.”
Three words, LOCK HIM UP!
76
Now that he might go to a real prison where tattoos are misspelled on unwilling recipients, soaps are slippery in the shower, and scalding instant ramen accidentally falls on sleeping inmates, Jeffrey baby will be singing Celine Dion’s “It All Coming Back to Me Now.”
He will be ratting out his so called pedo friends be they Democrats or Republicans. A video or two will not be farfetched.
It will be very beautiful to behold.
37
@Opinioned! - I will believe it when I actually see him go to a real prison without his own private wing. The judge at Paul Manafort's first case thought he was a standup guy who deserved leniency.
8
Weird headline for a convicted sex offender. It's also rather unclear if he is or isn't a "money manager."
"Who Is Jeffrey Epstein? An Opulent Life and Lurid Accusations
The money manager once socialized with celebrities, presidents and princes but remained an enigma."
15
The interesting thing about Epstein will likely never be revealed. Who aside from Lexlie Wexner did he work for? How did he make his money? The other question concerns his relative invincibility. People as far away as South Florida (Jim Acosta and New York, Cyrus Vance) attempted questionable things for him. Is this the way all hyper rich appearing clients are treated or did Epstein have special knowledge which he used to extort leniency.? We probably will never know.
43
@Michael Cohen "The other question concerns his relative invincibility. People as far away as South Florida (Jim Acosta and New York, Cyrus Vance) attempted questionable things for him." Just so others don't get the wrong idea, it is ALEX Acosta, the now Secretary of Labor who did questionable things. Jim Acosta is a well-respected journalist for CNN.
18
For all of his wealth, good looks and charm he has to be a deeply insecure person about his sexuality.
He could have had any number of very attractive adult women as his mistress or wife, Trump being a case in point. But he was addicted to very young, vulnerable, non threatening and complaisant girls who did his bidding for money.
43
@Edward B. Blau
Yes, there was something self destructive about him. Mind-boggling that he kept CD evidence right in his safe. You're right, he could have had tons of woman right out of college and no one would batted an eye.
10
@Edward B. Blau; Although I take your point, I wouldn't use Trump as any positive example ... for anything but for sure not when it comes to women!
12
@Jay - As far as the cd's in his safe, I would have believed it if I had actually been there. Sadly, our country is full of stories of the police planting evidence at crime scenes and I have no reason to believe either party in this sordid case. The SDNY could have brought this same case to light back in 2015 but that would not have looked good for Hillary, now would it? But, here we are in an election and its the headlines because it looks bad for Trump.
Both parties need to go, period.
1
"He was said to look a little like the designer Ralph Lauren, who was born in the Bronx. But Mr. Epstein came from Brooklyn."
For us outsiders, what is the significance of this?
63
@TRF. I too thought that was odd. And I’m a,(former) New Yorker. There’s no significance.
44
Day after day. it seems as if we uncover more and more swamps that will require more and more drains as well as more and more
employees to drain them all.
That's where the real money lies, just like oil or gold, right under our feet!
Drill Baby, Drill!
46
“He began his career as a math teacher at the Dalton School, an elite private school in Manhattan”
Dalton is not a very good school when it hires a college dropout as a math teacher. Most private schools want someone with a masters degree.
74
@Robert Gravatt
Epstein was hired to teach at Dalton by none other than William Barr's father, Donald Barr.
Donald Barr was fired from his position at Dalton due his questionable decision making......Epstein was let go soon after.
42
@Robert Gravatt Private schools are at liberty to hire anyone who they believe will do an excellent job. For all his faults Epstein evidently is a math whizz, which must have overruled the fact that he had no degree.
6
Reading the Miami Herald's articles and investigation into Epstein makes the entire situation even more incredibly frustrating. NYT does a great job, but reading the detailed timeline and reporting from the Herald makes it really hit. Disgusting, terrifying, and disappointing. How could this have happened? The government is put in place so that human error and misjudgment can be reduced (checks and balances, even for state attorneys). Epstein needs to get what he deserves. (Also: how does one make America great again when even government officials are undermining the value of justice? No greatness without justice.)
85
@EJ
I agree. Anyone who is seriously interested in this story must read the account in the Miami Herald for a fuller picture. When I finished reading it, I felt mortified not only about Epstein's dirty deeds but about the way his "legal sharks" manipulated so brazenly the legal system.
33
@blgreenie Those legal stars included Alan Dershowitz, legal commentator for Fox News and Harvard professor, also accused of participating in those misdeeds. And Kenneth Starr, who went after Bill Clinton for the Lewinski scandal, and who resigned as head of Baylor University during the time that sexual assault cases were mismanaged. Dershowitz and Starr must value money and power over ethics and justics.
15
@EJ, I don't think Epstein's deal was the result of human error or misjudgment. It was the result of careful deliberation and calculation. It was a corrupt deal, but it was no accident.
I wonder what Alex Acosta got out of it.
5
"Jeffrey had long stories about the difference between pedophilia with very young children and tweens and teens a little older." This says it all.
99
@Anon
Epstein was quoted as using the analogy breaking the law as either being a murderer or someone who stole a bagel. He merely stole bagels to his thinking.
A very sick man. Who happens to be the friend of a very sick man who occupies the Oval Office.
44
The fact that he still had child porn after he'd been convicted shows he is irredeemable and thinks he's above the law.
23
@northeastsoccermum
He just believed he could get away with it.
He probably bet that he had the goods on so many men, he could blackmail his way out of all of it.
3
While the allegations indicate detestable behavior,in the context of all the political, economic and social events occurring in real time today throughout our nation and the world I cannot but ask why the NYT treats this natter with such significance.
5
@Michael Ashner probably because it was so egregious involving 100's of girls and the current Secretary of Labor was the one who gave him a ridiculous agreement, sealed it and also agreed not to prosecute anyone else who was involved. Potentially, any "anyone else" who currently sits in the WH. One of the girls was recruited from Mar-a-Lago. Might want to read up on it some more.
74
@Michael Ashner
Really, Michael? You really can't discern the significance of the arrest on pedophilia charges of a longtime friend of the President, a man who, until now, escaped with a slap on the wrist thanks to the President's current Secretary of Labor?
Maybe you should think harder.
38
Re: Michael:
It matters because a billionaire abused hundreds of vulnerable teen girls and bought himself out of a potential life sentence with the cooperation of a Florida DA who is now labor secretary. But mostly, because the girls matter.
52
I just walked by Evelyn Nesbit's name at the 23rd Street Station and I'm gratified by how far we've come, from her abuse by Stanford White to holding Epstein accountable for his crimes (alleged).
13
@Tedj, White paid for his abuse at the hands of Nesbit's aggrieved husband. Epstein has yet to answer for his. And his politically well-placed enablers, as well. Maybe up to the very top?
3
"that he lured girls and young women into disturbing sexual encounters"
Fixed it for you:
"He systematically recruited vulnerable girls (his words: very young children, tweens, or teens) and used their bodies to access high profile men. He also used their bodies to fulfill his own sexual appetite. There may be thousands of girls who were discarded. It is unknown because the men who are at risk if exposed are more important than the truth."
148
Exactly.
17
@Tessa
These girls need to come forth- all of them. And get the entire men's club exposed. Whether they were paid or not, they have to power if they will come forth and use their voices
9
Don't tell me people didn't know. James Patterson and John Connolly wrote a 305 page book on this published in 2016. Powerful men closing their eyes and closing ranks.
90
@EllenKCMO
Vanity Fair did a story on Prince Andrew a few years back and Epstein figured in it. People knew.
5
Patterson and Clinton recently collaborated on a mass market thriller. Coincidence?
2
In 2016 my husband and I took a snorkeling vacation in the Virgin Islands. We did a couple of trips to the area around Little St. James Island, owned by Jeffrey Epstein. Our tour guides told us he was a sex offender who molested young girls and got away with it, which apparently was common knowledge in the Virgin Islands. I wondered how it was that I'd never heard of him and his crimes, despite being an avid news follower. But now I know why.
207
start watching Democracy Now. You will get a treasure trove of news that you never hear on the major networks.
3
Jeffrey Epstein did not need a college degree to make a fortune. He had a gift for math and the Wall Street money game and for 'net working.' He knew it was not what you knew but who you knew and how you could get them to support you whether by bribery, flattery, intimidation, extortion or a combination. He would not have been able to indulge in his taste for young girls had he not been so skilled in luring top officials and business people into his sphere of influence, money and secrecy. He tastes were no secret nor were his offers that were not refused. However creepy his sexual obsessions, I want to know about the financial deals and the part he played in moving vast fortunes to places like the Virgin Islands. The estimate of the wealth that is going untaxed and secreted in hidden accounts offshore should be the obsession of journalists and the public that is getting stiffed. In ideal situations with a functional justice system, that would also be the focus of our top law enforcement agencies. But the idealists and professional non-political types have been systematically removed. An apathetic public is the real reason for all this mess.
132
@BJW
Maybe it’s not apathy. But we need to evolve from a sense of resignation about tax dodging by the very wealthy to a sense of determination that we will put an end to it. It is well past time for the incessant negative rhetoric around paying taxes to be countered with answers about patriotism, ethics, and the common good.
2
Aside from the underaged girls, this column could have been describing Jivanka - private and mysterious, yet with a fabulous social life; living large, yet no one really knows their source of income; very familiar with Mar-a-Lago, high flight risk once they are arrested.
39
@Paul Ivanka was an employee of the Trump Organization for years and had fashion line (eventually shut down). Also, she married almost 10 years ago to a wealthy man.
Epstein was an enigma. Privacy for Mr. Epstein was essential to conceal his life as a sexual abuser of underage girls, his life as a criminal. He used his high intelligence to interact successfully with those of great wealth and high position while keeping in secret his other life. So, those who knew him only knew half of him. They probably realized that, but if they suspected what the other half was about, they kept that private too.
18
Three hundred years ago this is what Swift was writing about when he composed his essay titled: A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Children of Poor People From being a a Burthen to their Parents.
Maybe we should welcome climate change and the destruction of our civilization. Maybe we should rejoice on starting over from scratch but this week Canada divested itself in stocks of for profit prisons and when you look beyond America's media more and more of us are becoming woke and suddenly more and more Americans are feeling shame.
As we start to recognize the real cost of greed and denial the world can get back on track. Children in cages and concentration camps I hope brought shame not anger and maybe this time after more than 40 years Pretty Baby is more than just two hours of light entertainment.
America unfortunately is the world leader but tragedy is that America is lost in the wilderness.
39
What is the Victoria's Secret connection; was Trump Model Management involved?
18
Years ago- “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Trump told New York Magazine that year for a story headlined “Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery.” “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
Today- “I was not a fan. Haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. We had a falling out.”
I wonder if the falling out had anything to do with the rape allegations. I wonder if there was a payoff.
What do trump’s friends cohen, manafort, epstein have in common? JAIL
You’re known by the company you keep.
Corrupt. Criminals. Abusers.
121
@Steve Ell I read earlier today that the "falling out" occurred after Epstein hit on the young daughter of an important member of Mar-a-Lago. Epstein's membership was yanked and, presumably, that was the end of their friendship.
22
Today's oxymoron: "passionate mathematical riffs."
46
If I were the Dalton School administration I’d be quite worried about what he was doing back in those days as a teacher...the description of him as a charismatic “Dead Poets Society” type is unnerving.
82
@Jerry maybe passionate about middle school girls
1
How we are proceeding from here?
We have one past president received donation from this Guy.
We have a current President , apparently party with this guy.
Our moral subject is: child sex abuse.
How we are proceeding from here, What direction, towards the bottom of the stinky swamp.
50
@su The greeks [Athenian republic] and Romans and Japanese would encourage self-punishment. But capitalism is ALL about ‘me me me’,
6
The biggest mystery is how Epstein made his money. I wonder if that trove of photos/videos in his safe were used as leverage. It is highly suspicious that he had so many politicians, celebrities and Illuminati in his orbit - all of whom now claim that they have severed ties with him.
I do not buy Trump’s claims that he bounced Epstein from Mar-a-Lago because of his improper behavior with a young girl - nor do I believe Clinton’s claim that he never visited Orgy Island (the flight log lists both of their names as having gone there).
Republican or Democrat, monarch or President, lawyer or scientist, movie star or professor - I don’t care. If they molested teenage girls, they need to burn for this. The rot in this case has festered for far too long.
230
Mr Epstein is a close friend of D. Trump. All I can say is, birds of a feather!
49
Birds of a feather indeed.
Don’t forget* the close Clinton friendship.
Integrity and ethics matter to some of us.
*Those who tend to shout ‘vote blue no matter who’ the loudest, seem to have selective hearing and vision... They also tend to criticize AOC, but not Clinton...
I despair for my country.
17
@Lilly
Climate change: it's the most important reason to vote blue. It's the greatest threat to our species.
A lot of us have indeed criticized Clinton AND know that a blue vote is the only vote that gives a possible future for our children.
AOC is smart and dedicated - the kids are alright.
8
@Lilly - Let's not forget how close the Clintons and the Trumps have been through the years. Chelsea and Ivanka were best friends? How many times did Ivanka pop over to the Clinton's house for dinner during those years?
3
Let’s hear him sing...! This will be great fun.
Decades of extortion, underage girls, and the rich and mighty. There’s a movie in it, too...
25
He is a very complex man. It makes me think of a chameleon because he seems to socialise with people from very different circles. He knows the Trumps but also the Clintons. He does not have some kind of judgment. What makes me feel unconfortable is that he knows Kevin Spacey, who is also accused of sexual assaults. He seems to use his connections with the rich in order to solve his compromising files. Either the persons who know him, denies to know anything about the cases or they just do not talk. He used his money and his power in order to serve his freaky sexual desires which are considered as pedophilia because the victims were teenagers. In the moment where the Me Too movement is still present in the american society, the victims must fight for their rights: the right to have a fair trial and a decent acknowledge of what he did to them. But there is also something that could be questioned is the election of Mr Acosta which is the actual labor secretary of the country. The authorities should investigate if Trump played a role in this 2008 judgement in Florida.
18
@Ken "He is a very complex man. It makes me think of a chameleon because he seems to socialise with people from very different circles. He knows the Trumps but also the Clintons"
Not complex at all. Some people are just drawn to power. Morals, ethics, political loyalty aren't factors for them at all.
22
@Ken
Actually, he seems simple and consistent: corrupt, morally bankrupt, self centered, rapacious and falsely charming.
14
Change to the headline... "protected by his power friends, stayed mostly out of the limelight"
28
Another weird plot twist:
He gets arrested at the airport. 24 hours later despicable and serious evidence was incredible easy to find in his home. Which at least one of his benefactors used to own and might still have access too.
Either Epstein is not only perverse, but also stupid - or he felt untouchable (doubt that) - or some of his clients in sex-trafficking minors - wanted him to take the fall.
What a sad, sick drama.
31
You need to get a mug shot of Epstein instead of handsome glam shots!
59
Sad that this handsome, talented guy is so damaged that his life was one of exploitation and manipulation. He must be so deeply empty, that he can only get some relief by raping young girls. What a mess!
24
Imagine this: Individual #1 had a good friend, one whom he identified as such in a magazine and, in so doing, he acknowledged the friend had an attraction for women "on the younger side". The friend gets in deep trouble for luring and paying underage girls to his bedroom for massages that go far beyond back pain and sometimes include intercourse. Then, a prosecutor makes a decision to go light, being intimidated, by his own words, by the legal stars lining up against him and the fact that those same legal stars were buzzing around his prosecution team with the potential to expose personal lives. Having gone light on this friend, Individual #! then gives the prosecutor 5 million. End of story?
Everything is true about this except the ending. Trump did not pay off Acosta with cash, he appointed him to be labor secretary of the United States. We can't, and we shouldn't at this point, say that these events were tied together. We don't know. We do know, beyond a doubt, that something smells as rotten a week old fish. Left out in the Florida sun.
Meanwhile, most of the respected and well funded national media ignored the story. For years. It was either ignored or only reported when the victims in Florida went to court to try to at least be heard formally.
So, if you are rich, you can not only get off easy with horrid crimes, you can expect blind treatment by the media. If Trump had not been placed in the White House, odds are that Epstein would not have been indicted in NY.
32
@Doug Terry An additional, important question regarding Acosta's sentence is WHO WAS HIS BOSS?
While the focus is on Acosta right now, I want to know the legal "chain of command" in Miami at the time Epstein was sentenced.
At least two people and the AG knew of this deal.
12
@Chris
This exactly.
Acosta claimed that intelligence told him to cut the deal. Needless to say, acostas superiors signed off on it
10
@Doug Terry
you are a genius and I think you are right. why would Acosta do something that doesn't make sense to most people-1) he is stupid or 2) being paid off by trump or Epstein 3)paid off by others involved
3
Are we to believe that a guy this sleazy and secretive paid his taxes honestly ?
Or is this another area where the gatekeepers looked the other way?
31
Congratulations, Mr. Epstein: You are now untouchable; a pariah among decent people, or those wishing to appear decent. You've certainly earned this distinction.
9
.
@Alan R Brock,
.
But Mr Epstein has not stood trial on the accusations vs him, and has pleaded not guilty.
.
That should be impt to decent ppl
.
@Ken Lewis
Excuse me. He has already stood trial (in Fla.), pleaded guilty, and was given a walk.
The current charges in NY are beyond what we already know of him. Stay tuned.
12
@Ken Lewis Epstein was already a category 3 level registered sexual offender in NY. I'm pretty sure porn pictures of young girls in his home aren't part of the rules under his sex offender status.
10
Have any more bagels stepped forward?
9
It’s strange that nobody mentions the James Patterson book about Epstein.
12
@trblmkr
Patterson was interviewed on CNN today.
7
@New World
Thanks! He must be getting up there!
There are some things money shouldn't buy. You can't use money and power to get away with illegal acts, especially rape. Yet, this is what Epstein seems to have done. Hopefully, justice will be swift and thorough. Its time to pay the piper.
9
Since the origin of human culture a number of salient facts have stubbornly stood the test of time.
1. Under Polytheism, Monotheism, Dictatorships, Communism or Democracy, the rich will separate themselves from the poor and do everything in their power to accentuate their differences. The gated community, metaphorically as well as physically is as old as Lucy.
2. The rich will always have rules of law written only for themselves and protected with the very might and every ounce of the ship of state.
3. The rest of us have made some inroads against the wall that Trump stands for. Incremental, but inroads nevertheless. Sadly every three steps forward is two step back - i.e. Trump.
And so.....Epstein appears to be right up there with Caligula and his pal Trump, now favored, probably to win re-election.
I predict Barr will step in somehow to immunize Trump, at least, from anything that Epstein says at trial- if indeed Epstein sees a trial.
Men of lesser means are put away every day in this country, with (you can be sure) the percentages heavily weighted towards towards people of color as well. Its money, stupid, but its also skin color.
25
Alan Dershowitz defense of Epstein: He’s suffered enough!!! No wonder he was spared real punishment and justice in Florida’s pay-to-play political system. No one knows who’s money he manages, yet he’s a billionaire in the mold of the billionaires who cleared tax payers money via Wall Street in 2008. So much for the “special” moral gene - though we see how Stephen Miller operates as well - or the special “genius” gene. It turns out it’s more about fleecing people.
44
I've been reading about this in the NYT'S for a few days now. I'm still not clear on the time period of the crimes charged by the Southern District Prosecuter Did all the alleged offenses occur during the time period that the Florida Prosecuters tried him for? Is the Southern District simply saying that they were not properly represented or do they have more? Have there been more alleged offenses since then? How does the discovery of photos and CD's of nude pre/teens factor in. We need a better understanding of this so we can understand how this wealthy person will ultimately escape harsh punishment, which is all but inevitable.
BTW, he's a slimeball that thinks nothing of destroying the lives of others for brief satisfaction. He deserves a long sentence with others that do not know what intimacy is.
13
Go read it in the Miami Herald. I just did .They started reporting in Nov 2018. They 4 detailed articles and a time line. I was shocked!
15
Probably had little time to be in the limelight, what with his devotion to his peculiar and victimizing proclivities.
8
Deeply troubling connections:
Donald Trump attended a number of Jeffrey Epstein's events.
Bill Barr's father Donald Barr was the Dalton headmaster.
Donald Barr hired Epstein though Epstein didn't have a degree.
Epstein's little black book implicates many including Alan Dershowitz.
His little black book also identifies a number of victims.
Dershowitz has been accused of participating in an Epstein event.
Trump has been accused, with Epstein, of raping a 13 year old at Epstein's house.
Were those accusations made even before the book was made public?
Trump calls Epstein a good friend.
Alexander Acosta is Trump's labor secretary.
Acosta protected Epstein from earlier charges.
A federal judge has determined that Acosta's maneuvers broke the law.
While he was a school headmaster, Donald Barr wrote pornographic books under a pseudonym.
Only two clients of Epstein have ever been identified.
Commenters on this site have corroborated some of this.
E.g., Ghislaine Maxwell's name is circled in the book.
A commenter mentions seeing her at Epstein's office.
She was working there though she was still very young.
The only workers in the office were Maxwell and a number of very young women from Asia.
51
@Robert Take a look at the connections with the Russian mob. Ghislaine Maxwell is the daughter of Robert Maxwell, who was a business partner of the notorious mobster Semion Mogilevich. It sure looks like Epstein was recruited, and mysteriously financed, to run a sex ring in which the gathering of incriminating evidence against very powerful men was not incidental.
14
Interesting that Epstein, a college dropout, was hired by Donald Barr (Attorney General Bill Barr's father) to teach at Dalton an elite private school in Manhattan. One would have thought an elite school would be hiring college graduates.
114
The thing is, this guy is no anomaly. Go ahead and cue the gasps and especially the mock surprise from many men who *know* this kind of behavior is more common than women realize. It's sad and depraved and it happens the world over.
34
@Region Valdez
Women are quite aware that this behavior is common. It’s men who pretend it’s not.
36
@Region Valdez It happens in Omaha, NE so much so that area groups take out ads the weekend of the Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet) meeting each year. https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/groups-warn-of-human-trafficking-spike-before-busy-weekend
8
@Anon
Thank you. Women are aware. We were all girls at one point.
13
Exactly how did this young man with no apparent college degree or training in investments or finance supposedly acquire the skills or means to supposedly become an investment advisor to sophisticated billionaires? How exactly did he acquire the funds to buy his extravagant houses and aircraft? Patterson raises questions of security cameras and possible blackmail. Congress and prosecutors should follow the money with assistance from IRS and SEC trading and tax return audits and not become too distracted by the more salacious aspects of the case, as incriminating as they might be. With access to such an A list of powerful names in compromising positions, Epstein was in a position to have access to insider information that he could easily monetize in an insider trader scheme. Executives like Wexner were true corporate insiders. What consideration did Epstein supposedly furnish Wexner for the transfer of the NYC residence and how were said funds obtained?
107
@Biker My guess is that Epstein had something on Wexner and blackmailed him thereby 'earning' the house and cash to 'manage' Wexner's portfolio
.
28
@Biker?
How did Steve Jobs co-found and lead the most profitable company in the world without a college degree? Some people are simply brilliant. Others, like Epstein are devious, evil, and brilliant.
How did a man with no training or skills outside of running a mom and pop (without mom) real estate company become the President of the USA and the most powerful man on earth?
Timing and plain dumb luck is often everything. Epstein could have benefited from having the right skills at the right time. And like so many billionaires---just been flat out lucky.
Fortunately, it appears his luck just ran out.
24
.
@Biker,
.
Seems EP was a math brain.
We could ask how George Soros was able to see the conditions surrounding the UK Pound in 1992 that prompted him to increase his position in them by 10 fold so he could short them, which he did.
That's widely agreed to have made him $ 1 billion USD literally overnight.
It seems few other currency traders saw that opportunity.
College degrees and training arent always necc --
Bill Gates is a college dropout
.
10
Sad that he did not use some of his billions to set up desperately needed shelters for homeless teens. He might even have been able to channel all that lust in a positive direction by seeing young girls as children often in need of help. There would have been plenty of money left for him to date young women of legal age.
27
Gawker also did stories about the flight manifests for the trips Epstein and his friends took to Little St. James. His private island located off of St. Thomas.
People only went to that island for one reason.
Among the people on those manifests: Kevin Spacey, Bryan Singer, and Donald Trump.
And Bill Clinton. His excuse doesn't wash.
Let's not forget Les Wexner. He was also a guest of Epstein's there.
155
@Joe. .... and Les Wexner gave JE his fabulous NYC mansion for free....why so generous? Very strange.
I can't understand why he kept all these photos in his house for cops to come and take with them. I thought Alan Dershowitz was a good lawyer. Or was he playing double agent (for obvious reasons)? Or are these photos etc. were already used as evidence in his Florida indictment? Whatever, I bet none of his pals will even be mentioned!
21
@Har
The public will cry out for the release of all this information. We live, thank god in this case, in a new age. Even the formidable NYT has to put the sleaze on the front page now, because women just won't have it anymore. And a good majority of young men, neither. It's over old creepy plutocrats - at least in the sleaze department if not in the money department.
14
@Har: They could include images of Jeffrey's compromised puppets.
5
@Har Alan Dershowitz is not a good lawyer. He is a tv loudmouth. Maybe a decent professor.
23
A friend of mine told me many years ago that there were a LOT of stories where she lived about Les Wexner's womanizing and hard living. (Just to clarify, I'm sure she didn't know about any pedophilia or she would have reported it.) Can't say I'm all that shocked. Also sadly not shocked that being white, rich, and connected helps you avoid any significant prosecution. There are going to be a whole lot of other people taken down, I'm sure.
59
Acosta lauds the fact that Epstein had to register as a sex offender. What good did this do? Epstein's been allowed to abuse perhaps hundreds of girls for 12 years after, thanks to his ridiculous noblesse-oblige sweetheart deal, signed sealed and delivered, with pride, by Acosta.
Acosta himself said he was proud of his work on this case during the March 2017 hearing for his appointment to the Labor Secretary job. This report is available on the internet for those interested in verifying for themselves.
Why is Acosta any different than Epstein the child molester? Why is he different from those in the Catholic church who stood silently by while known molesters continued to prey on children?
It was within Acosta's power to stop it, but he chose to let Epstein continue with impunity. Is he still proud of his work, one wonders? What legal culpability does he have? Lots, one hopes and prays.
160
@Roxy
I was really mad at him too but now I'm thinking, maybe someone told him to take it easy on Epstein.
What if anything did Acosta get out of this?
17
@Tedj
A Cabinet post?
10
@Roxy Need to add Dershowitz and Starr as guilty and reprehensible enablers and co-conspirators. They are, among other things, guilty of extreme harassment of the prosecution, the girls and their families, and witnesses to try to make Epstein's case go away.
Miami Herald did an excellent timeline of this issue. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article221404845.html
Meanwhile, that other pillar of integrity, William Barr, has recused himself from this issue in Florida, as it was his firm that represented Epstein. However, the creep will NOT recuse himself from the NY case against Epstein.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/barr-wont-recuse-himself-from-new-york-case-against-jeffrey-epstein/
When articles say Epstein was well connected, it appears to be an understatement. The stench associated with him is on a lot of folks.
21
Gross. I'm sure there were people he crossed paths with/ donated to who were not criminals.
BUT - I'm sure there are plenty who were. Let them all burn. Acosta should be prosecuted. Left, right, I don't care. These young women deserve justice. And maybe the properties and cars and tokens of wealth.
By the way, the wealth doesn't add up either. International mod money and trafficking often go hand and hand...
40
How did someone without a degree get a job as a teacher at an elite private school in Manhattan?
217
@Sunny
Ask William Barr's dad who gave him the job at Dalton.
49
@Sunny
Here's how: (I heard this fact, last night on Lawrence O'Donnell's news show, The Last Word) -
Jeffrey Epstein, then in his early 20s, was hired to teach at Dalton by (are you ready?) the father of our country's AG, Bill Barr. That's right. The same Bill Barr, head of our Justice Department, who is now acting as DT's private lawyer.
Talk about a cast of characters !
42
@Sunny Ask Attorney General Barr.
12
Follow the money. As cited in many articles his activities were invisible. Something stinks.
122
And let me get this right. Associates included not only Trump, and trips on a jet around Africa with Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey? All three have reputations for being predatory. I guess next we'll hear Anthony Weiner was part of his crew...
60
@disgusted Isn't Spacey...not into girls? Were boys involved too?
8
I’ve got friends in low places serving in high places....end of story!
10
Why no mention of the deeply weird role Cy Vance’s office played in this sordid saga! Strange!!
64
Just cannot wrap my head around the the whole rich and powerful man thing. At the end of the day, it seems they only lust for .... lust.
20
Still think you have a two party system America?
20
How is it that Mr. Epstein was a math teacher at the prestigious Dalton school without a college diploma? According to your article, he attended, but never graduated from any college.
38
@Deb, JE made donations perhaps
.
1
@Deb
Private schools don’t always require the same teaching credentials as public schools. Don’t know how he got an intro, but it reads as if he had the knowledge and the charm to convince the school.
7
@Deb He was hired by Barr's father. Truly.
6
Someone in the media...I’m lookin at you NY Times...needs to figure out how this guy got his money in the first place.
In 1973, despite being a college dropout, he got a job teaching at Dalton...which even in those days was considered a top NYC private school. The head of school at that time was apparently Bill Barr’s father, just FYI. So from private school teacher, Bear Sterns trader (?) to billionaire with a private island? In less than 20 years...he didn’t start Face Book or Microsoft. How did he get that money?
Doesn’t the combination of mysterious wealth and pimping out children seem somehow connected?
I would be very interested in following the money. Also in seeing if any girls he taught at Dalton have stories.
In 1973 he was 20 years old. A 20 year old college dropout. Just that job alone is suspicious.
679
No one has been able to find out.
22
@Karen
My thoughts exactly...it's extremely fishy, and none of it adds up.
47
@Karen
He is being investigated for human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. He trafficked children for sex - that’s how he earned his money. I’m guessing that the photos and videos of these trafficked children recently seized were for marketing / promotion purposes... then the trafficked children were transported via private plane between specific locations (for parties, modeling, massage... whatever you want to call it) where they were assaulted and raped by men who reimbursed Epstein either with financial favors or money. As I’ve read in previous articles, the trafficked children were also raped on the plane.
45
Nice glamour shot - nothing more recent than 2004?
28
He is a registered sex offender. Hardy accusations. Just because he got off with the help of Ken Starr (Famous for resigning from Baylor for covering up a rape scandal) doesn't mean he won't get justice this time.
32
Too connected to jail?
13
He was arrested coming back to the US from France. What do you think he does over there?
25
Who else caught the detail that he "served time," so to speak, on two counts of "soliciting prostitution from a minor?" Did you catch how this implies that the girls were somehow at fault for "being prostitutes," which they were not. So, we're still fully in the thick of trying to twist things to blame the female, eh?
Mr. Epstein, may you serve the rest of your life in prison, this time 24/7/365. May all your "associates" be with you, if you know who I mean (one of them is orange).
73
There is no way the majority of people that hung out with Epstein did not know he was involved with these horrible crimes. Some people just don't care and want to see what opportunities are available to them being around this billionaire.
I hope every single person that took part gets named and brought to justice. I could careless what political party or where they live.
53
Just because the feds have accused him of various nefarious deeds does not mean he actually did them. The feds do lie on occasion. They make stuff up and falsely accuse people. There are plenty of examples of that in the public record.
But since he was pals with Bill Clinton I think he is guilty as sin.
8
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus - Was Trump lying when he chuckled about his penchant for under aged girls?
The feds didn't make up those photos.
20
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus
Didn't Jared from Subway go to prison because of pictures on his hard drive?
13
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus
Don't forget DT
9
Way down at paragraph 33 is a Vanity Fair quote:
""Epstein is known about town as a man who loves women, lots of them, mostly young"......Vanity Fair said in 2003""
Trump's 2002 quote about Epstein that has some calling him an accomplice:
"It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."
Does Vanity Fair's acknowledgement of Epstein's reputation also make them an accomplice?
And if Epstein's reputation is "known about town" (as Vanity Fair put it)...is every member of Epstein's social class also an accomplice...as they too (like Trump) must have been aware of his "reputation"?
Looks like a lot of New York millionaires and billionaires are in a heap of trouble.
35
@John How would Vanity Fair's acknowledgement of Epstein's reputation make them an accomplice? It's a magazine, not a law-enforcement agency.
9
I hope that Epstein gets what he deserves if convicted, which is a long jail sentence, and also that his involvement with Trump is explored and published. I also want to comment on something that has bothered me about the Times, and other respected news sources, which is the sexualization of girls in advertising. Not that this in any way excuses men who abuse girls, but it does help to create an atmosphere of tolerance. Beautiful young girls sell fashion and their presence in this publication and others encourages men to view them as sexual objects.
43
I hope this guy is never granted bail. With his unlimited supply of money, he will be gone forever.
28
Something you think would have awakened in the dusty halls of justice when his private jet, aptly named ‘Lolita Express, rolled by on the epicurean tarmac. The plane was certainly not carrying adolescents to a Nabokov reading. So many persons of hauteur are now poking up through the soup and looking for a way out of all this unwanted publicity. It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious.
32
@Berkeleyalive
The movies eventually made about the first couple of decades of the 2000s will be interesting. Hopefully well written.
2
This man is indicative of what money can buy; not only luxurious properties and sex with minors but enormous political influence that covered and drastically reduced punishment when all facts pointed to abhorrent crimes.
This could potentially lead to a domino effect against other well known politicians and business people and the crass human corruption and perversity in which they engaged.
Perhaps photos will surface that will bring a regime down.
16
If men with normal morals, ethics, and sexuality spoke up to condemn men like Epstein when they heard about his "peculiarities", we'd have a better society.
62
An enigma? Really?
Let's see, well-connected kid cashes in on silver spoon upbringing, ability to apply math to the useless financialization of the economy (in order to serve rich people's interests) becomes richer still, remains completely disconnected to the real world of everyday people's concerns (including morality) and decides to indulge even his darkest desires.
Knows full well that many of the other moneyed elites of the world get away with all sorts of criminality, and, in the unlikely event of getting caught, get a slap on the wrist. Not surprisingly, after getting caught in his version of improprieties, gets a slap on the wrist.
Lesson : rich people can do pretty much whatever they please, most will get away with with hardly anyone even noticing, those that get noticed will have others cover for them, and those foolish or unlucky enough to get nabbed will really not have to worry that much, since their riches can crush any legal representation of their victims. So, we're pretty much going to double down on this unlawfullness.
Anyone else sick of this? I sure am.
31
@Gee one of the many mysteries here is that Epstein did not come from a wealthy background. Per the article, Mr. Epstein came from Brooklyn. His father was a city Parks Department employee. He also never graduated from college yet somehow taught at the Dalton School. Something doesn't add up.
65
@Gee I’m with you, but Epstein wasn’t exactly a silver spoon rich kid. He grew up in blue collar Brooklyn with a father who worked for the Dept of Parks and Recreation. Went to a sub-mediocre public high school, briefly attended then-mediocre NYU. Not exactly posh beginnings. The turning point seems to have been getting hired at Dalton by AG Barr’s father...
7
It is hard to tell whether this man of mystery persona was covering up crimes or client secrets or both. When do life styles and perversions intersect?
Trump's access to young models in his Trump Model Management and to young beauty pageant contenders in the Miss Universe Organization meant that he had power over vulnerable young women, many of whom were international.
Epstein's victims may be getting a measure of vindication now.
One who continues to haunt me is the woman who said when she was 13-years-old and at an Epstein Manhattan party when she was raped by Trump. She had one or more witnesses and she tried more than once to bring a suit against Trump but did not have the resources. It is so easy to dismiss women as being not credible due to their exploitation, their trauma expressed in later behaviors, or others.
But how many victims such as those of Epstein and Trump are out there, still hurting?
118
@SMB It was also pretty widely reported that she was threatened.
25
It still has not been well explained very well how a former high school math teacher became a billionaire. Yeah, he ran a hedge fund but I have not seen how his fund became so successful.
65
@Jack The fund became successful by clients such as Leslie Wexner. My guess is that he blackmailed Wexner and the payoff was legitimized by Wexner being a 'client'.
This would also explain the upper east side property handover from Wexner to Epstein. Makes lots of sense to me.
16
A good friend of Bill Clinton! The sleaze factor just increased tenfold.
20
@Ricardo de la O - An even better friend of Trump. It's funny how the right wing lemmings seem to miss that part.
27
Clinton ain’t got nothing on the biggest creep of all — Trump. Clinton didn’t have a federal lawsuit filed against him for raping a 13-year-old.
20
He's not interesting, he's just a creep. No more stories about his mansion, or what an enigma he is, please.
58
Why is the news site Gawker now defunct? Oh right, Gawker made some people very, very angry.
48
@Pryor Oak
Actually, Gawker made another billionaire angry. Peter Thiel. It's not just making people angry that matters. Just rich people.
12
@Concernicus
I agree.
2
In this world, there is no room for the poor, sick and old, unless you are an attractive young woman.
11
@toom
Apparently, the younger the better. Attractive boys are eligible too.
3
Michelle Goldberg of the NYT editorial staff said it best with a wonderful economy of words. She used just 5 syllables that capture Epstein and America as well as it enters the critical 21st Century: "Plutocratic Rot". Well done Michelle Goldberg!
96
Bill Clinton really knows how to pick his friends.
30
@Shamrock: Yes. And Trump, too.
21
@Shamrock: Grubbing for money is the sum total of the reality of US politics.
9
Reprehensible behavior but, unlike the similarly repulsive trump, Epstein isn't President.
26
@say what,
But Bill Clinton was. And we nearly had him again as a first gentleman. So glad HC got booted.
6
@Andrew F - But you're fine with Trump? The guy who brags about sexual assault?
17
@DR they both need to go down to the joint. The rot is capitalism in American politics.
6
This case stinks to high heaven, in every possible way.
How did a former math teacher amass so much money and live the life of the rich and famous? Is it possible he is a Russian asset whose job was to get kompromat on American politicians and business man?
Thank you Miami Herald for digging until this rock was overturned.
Thank you NYT readers who pointed out that both Epstein and Trump were sued by a girl alleging she was raped at an Epstein party by a Trump when she was 13 years old, a case mysteriously dropped 2 weeks before the 2016 election. Thank you NYT readers for pointing out that Mike Barr’s father was in charge of the Dalton School when Epstein was hired, and for noting that both Trump and Clinton appear on lists of passengers on Epstein’s private jet.
When is the NYT going to start reporting on these matters?
As to Clinton, as a lifelong Democrat I say: Let the chips fall where they may.
223
@Alice In Wonderland: Math whizzes are called "quants" on Wall Street. Robert Mercer is another chip off this block.
13
@Alice In Wonderland
I too wondered what happened to the case of the young girl who was raped and beaten (tied to a bed) by DJT at one of Epstein's parties. She was a virgin at the time and her life was threatened, along with her family if she ever told what happened. Evidently there was another young girl who had disappeared named Maria. The 13 year old was threatened also that she would disappear like Maria?
Another point brought up by this women who is now 23, is that Epstein had had an argument with DJT over the rape because he (Epstein) was the one who wanted to take her virginity. There are suppose to be two credible witness to back her story, one named Tiffany, who was employed by Epstein to find these young girls.
On the eve before the press release both her attorney and her life's were threatened, along with their
families, so she dropped her claim. I hope she reconsider's, even if she was paid off, to renege on any contract she signed.
No one is above the law, especially the President. I think this country is quite sick and tired of what he appears to have gotten away with his entire life by bullying, threatening and payoffs and continues to do so.
36
@Alice In Wonderland
Much more likely to be cia
2
Is there a reason that the press are avoiding the words "Pedophilia," "Rape," and "Conspiracy?"
297
@Russian those terms are reserved for those without wealth or power.
17
@Russian Bot
YES -!
Lets use the words Child Pornography too!
16
He saw a difference between "pedophilia with very young children as opposed to teens"? What part of under-age does not register with this guy? He's an old man. They are children. Lock. Him. Up.
162
@Amelia Yeah, he was trying to rationalize criminal behavior and the PR consultant saw right through it/ turned down the job.
4
I live on East 71st and walk my poodles up and down every day on my way to Bloomingdales. Only see him once and awhile. Seemed like a nice guy. Never any trouble. I'm actually surprised.
3
@george eliot: People often say this about abusers because the abuse usually occurs in private where the abuser can get away with it. And abusers are often quite charming to everyone else. Charm is another way to manipulate and control others.
48
@george eliot
I know. I cannot believe it.
@george eliot
Yes, because you were out walking your dogs...no cocktail parties, no réceptions, no soirées. No access to the debauched quotidien life at 9 E. 71st.
14
I'd bet that before the money Epstein liked young, underage women. The money just helped him have more of that and be able to 'go underground' with it.
Power is alluring. Perhaps we need to teach -- strongly -- to young women that glamour and power and money will lead you down a path that is dangerous, demeaning, and beguiling.
And, what do we teach our young men? Why is greed so alluring? Corruption so commonplace these days?
Let's hope these charges stick. But like others here, my bet would be that the story dies...
16
@Tao of Jane
This sordid story will not die.
On a pro bono basis, the famous lawyer, David Boies, is representing one of Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking victims in a suit against the billionaire hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein. David Boies is one of those qualified lawyers to argue cases in front of the SCOTUS.
You know that if David Boies is involved in this JE case, this case will NOT die.
3
Interesting that both Trump and Bill Clinton say they haven't talked to Epstein in over a decade. I don't believe either of them.
42
@Carol
Once he was charged in Florida they probably figured he was toxic and stayed away. Lots of other billionaires who would fly them around.
21
One can only hope that this is the beginning of the opening of a Pandora's box full of guilty folks. DJT perhaps?
36
@Kanaka
More likely WJC, based on available information. And of course Epstein is said to be a major Democrat donor.
3
@Paul Stenquist trump was a lifelong democrat until recently.
8
@Paul Stenquist
Everyone and anyone who abused these children should be publicly named and shamed — Harvard professors/academics, past presidents, royalty, etc.. If WJC abused a child/children, he needs to be jailed, too.
10
It’s so interesting to me that all the accusations of serious sexual misconduct have started showing up since Mr Trump became President. It may be a coincidence but if all these accused end up in jail could Mr Trump be far behind who has been accused by so many of sexual misconduct and who was on tape boasting about it. Just wondering
12
@Eraven They aren't new allegations and I understand that Epstein was banned from at least one Trump property, so there is that.
4
@Margo There was a new allegation last week...of rape, in a store.
3
@Eraven
You're not the only one wondering about this.
The majority of people that I have talked to or read about, regarding this sordid case, do believe that Trump was a part of this perverted group.
2
Would it REALLY surprise anyone if two presidents were involved in this horror? And I don't mean W and Obama.
35
‘He began his career as a math teacher at the Dalton School, an elite private school in Manhattan whose alumni include the cable-news anchor Anderson Cooper, the comedian Chevy Chase and the actress Claire Danes.’
The article didn’t mention the fact that William Barr’s father was headmaster at Dalton at the time and hired Epstein even without a degree. And it has been reported that Epstein and Barr’s father were friends.
Is the world that small to have this many coincidences?
189
@BoB: Nor does the article mention that the Dalton School has a history of student sexual molestation.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-metro-dalton-headmaster-sexual-abuse-allegations-lawsuit-20180607-story.html
45
@BoB It is one of the reasons I believe for going to these schools that cost a fortune. For all of the fine connections you will make. Looks like they are coming in handy for Epstein, even though he was only a teacher.
9
@Steve Bolger Good find.
10
It is a fact that for many people it is exactly the life style pursued by Epstein and his associates that is seen as the entitlement of those who have achieved wealth and power. It is probably true that many of those (mainly men) who are distancing themselves from his current notoriety are doing so with more than a little envy at his unabashedly self-centered approach to the perquisites of obscene wealth.
In a society that seems to worship the "rich and infamous," it is worth wondering what fantasies people have about what they would do if they enjoyed those circumstances, and how many of those who have actually attained those heights were at least in part motivated by a desire for the kinds of excesses for which Epstein is now being prosecuted. Take away the underage victims and we have a referendum on the outcome of the "Playboy philosophy."
21
@michaeltide Sorry but the assumption being made in your 2nd paragraph "motivated by a desire for the kinds of excesses for which Epstein is now being prosecuted.", doesn't account for the fact that he sought after persons who could easily been taken advantage. He looked for teens who were poor. He didn't do this with some idea that he preferred them to rich teens, he did this so he could get away with his excesses (crimes).
Everyone needs a reality check, he is a bad guy and there isn't some brush that you can use to paint this in any way other than he took advantage of and assaulted children. Any characterization other than that is absent rational thought.
The point being made about justice isn't blind is important, as if we don't have laws to protect everyone equally, everyone will suffer the consequences of the lawlessness.
6
@michaeltide. I believe that in Trump’s inspirational speech to the Boy Scouts he told them how, if they worked hard, they too could be like a man he knew who had a large boat and entertained lots of beautiful women there at parties. The dream life.
9
@Bashh
Excellent (memory) point !
Except that most people would not consider that a dream life. Look at the lonely existence Jeffrey Epstein had. I'm not trying to be compassionate here, just observing that JE's life was devoid of love, except love of himself and his power (like Trump)
7
The reporting on this story thus far has suspended by cynicism. Every point leads to a serious conviction.
What a pivotal moment in the American Judicial system as it pertains to the ultra-wealthy.
30
In a piece written during the 1970's oil crisis, William F. Buckley pointed out that "the rich...can look after themselves". His illustration in that context was that the rich, if inconvenienced by the difficulties getting around or staying warm in New York city, could go to Rio de Janeiro.
There's little doubt that Mr. Epstein is but one of a legion of well-heeled satyrs spared by their wealth and connections from facing such consequences as would befall mere mortals. With that in mind, it's likely that the investigation and prosecution of his misdeeds will reach the threshold of exposure of more than a few even higher on the food chain than himself. At that point, it's almost certain that the whole matter will be quietly buried, as apparently already happened once before.
24
@Art Marriott
I too have felt the only reason what had previously happened went away was that it implicated too many of the rich and powerful. Maybe this is what is wrong with so many of the politicians today. We can not let this go away.
6
@Art Marriott
This case will not be buried,.
On a pro bono basis, the famous lawyer, David Boies, is representing one of the sex-trafficking victims, in a suit against the billionaire hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein.
David Boies does not like to lose. And with this case, he won't
5
This is a critical test for the rule of law (and fundamental morality) to see whether federal law officials can prosecute crimes, especially if the perpetrator can implicate others who played any role in his sex trafficking exploits. I hope, in this era of women's rights being asserted all over the world, some of his many victims will find the strength to come forward.
59
@A Goldstein
This would be a good time for Ocasio to be speaking out.
2
Unless the masses complain about any lenient sentences, Epstein will again get a slap on the wrist. We are now finding out that other wealthy and well known men are involved. Bill Clinton has distanced himself. He will be only the beginning as the days go by. This just reminds me of the college scandal. When will it ever stop?
8
In reading some of the comments here, it seems there is a consensus among some that Epstein is too powerful with his friend association to be prosecuted. I hold out hope that the people of this country will step up & demand prosecution. I still believe we do care about our children, about the fairness of our court system, the scales of justice will equal an equal justice for us all.
Every person, every country, all reach a point where they have had enough & I hope this is it with Epstein. It already is disgusting enough with the rich & powerful not having to pay for their crimes.
128
@Jon: Equal justice for all is one of the biggest lies this nation tells.
21
@Steve Bolger That is true for now Steve, it is a lie, just ask any of our Public Defenders anywhere or attorneys who have had to go up against powerful people or powerful corporations. I just hope that people in this country will start to pay attention & realize that we can change things if we try.
13
@Jon Epstein deserves justice, which I hope means a life sentence.
However, Trump has already demonstrated that multiple felonies are just a minor thing if you are president.
7
If I were a betting man, I'd predict that Epstein will get off easy on these charges. Let's not be naive enough to think that a new ally in the Justice Dept will not have any impact here. Our country, while never a perfect democracy, is now more than ever a new type of aristocracy - something we've tried so hard to ignore and disbelieve for years. Money talks folks and makes even the most ethical and moral among us perform acts against their true nature. Perhaps money is the root of all evil here?
67
@Bernard
Nope, we're reaching critical mass in terms of an end of tolerance for greed and lust.
10
@Bernard
At least, he'll be forever known as the "billionaire pervert" or something worse when he dies.
4
@Bernard
Times are changing. While having nowhere near the wealth of Epstein, Nassar and Sandusky were finally brought to justice. Different crime, but Bill Cosby and his perversion were finally ended.
Epstein got away with one sweetheart deal. My bet is he won't get another.
I will completely agree with you that too much money in too few hands is the root of all evil.
11
The key to any fair prosecution of Mr. Epstein lies in the Florida agreement which protects his "co-conspirators." The specifics of the individuals thus far shielded by the Florida plea deal, will be determinative in the amount of political pressure brought to bear in the SDNY case.
Two Presidents representing both major political parties, are known acquaintances of Mr. Epstein... and both have problematic ethical histories regarding women. Mr. Epstein's other acquaintances include Titans of finance, government, law, and business. All have a desire to be sequestered from this case and the money and influence to interfere in this process.
Americans are no longer naive enough to believe that Justice is blind and with AG Barr in place Justice remains an open question.
233
@Phil Zaleon - It appears that Bill Clinton was only interested in Clinton Foundation work in his association with Epstein. DJT was definitely not doing charity work when he hung out with Epstein. I am deeply worried that some scary stuff will come out regarding DJT's visits to Epstein's sex trafficking compounds.
21
There is one word to describe his wealth, lifestyle, and alleged crimes..obscene. The same goes for his pal from Mar-A-Lame-O.
290
Wow. Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey all on Epstein's private plane headed out over the Atlantic Ocean in 2002. How many fewer sexual assault victims would we now be talking about if that craft had experienced a major malfunction?
111
"Mr. Hay said he ultimately declined to work for Mr. Epstein. He said he had misgivings about Mr. Epstein’s sincerity."
Wow! An honest public relations person. I'm shocked.
200
@george eliot It probably was that the pay wasn't high enough to induce him to overlook his qualms. Also, Epstein, like Trump, was known to stiff people he hired.
8
@George eliot
I worked in PR for many years and most of the rank and file were honest. They sometimes got shoved into work that felt disingenuous but never stuff like this. My mother was a CEO for the largest PR firm in the world and she was a straight arrow. Refusing to work with many people. Luckily, she was really good at what she did or she would never have gotten that far. Not surprisingly, when she retired, no one from the boys' club invited her to sit on any boards or pretty much ever spoke to her again. If you don't play along to get along, you get boxed out. Anyway, be careful with generalizations.
18
The men and women on both sides of the political landscape involved in this horrendous situation have a lot to answer to. This is a scandal that must not go away until every single one of these pedophiles and their accomplices are put in prison forever.
86
Sexually assaulting and raping children and women is never acceptable, even if you are rich and powerful. Sex trafficking children and women is never acceptable, even if you are rich and powerful. Exploiting children and women is never acceptable, even if you are rich and powerful. Time for our elected leaders to have the courage and the morality to hold criminals and monsters accountable even when they are rich and powerful.
430
@Rain Clearly by elected officials you can’t be referring to our President, since, most unfortunately, he is one of the ones doing the assaulting! E. Jean Carroll’s story is just the latest example of that.
14
“Exactly what his money management operation did was cloaked in secrecy, as were most of the names of whomever he did it for. He claimed to work for a number of billionaires, but the only known major client was Leslie Wexner, the billionaire founder of several retail chains, including The Limited.”
Epstein ran an extortion outfit disguised as a financial investment firm. He would hold parties with very wealthy people and other powerful people, and also with underage girls. At some point during the party a person might well be secretly filmed with one of these underage girls, from a secret camera in one of his rooms/airplane. The next morning this person would find out that they were compromisingly filmed with an underage person by Epstein, and then suggested they invest a large sum of money with his firm of which he would take a cut. Of course the people protecting Epstein were also compromisingly filmed. I am sure there are a lot of people involved. There will also be a lot of people still protecting him to save themselves from being outed - his social circle.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-08/shtf-lets-revisit-jeffrey-epsteins-little-black-book
235
@steve
Not impossible, but wouldn't you think word would get out as in "stay away from Epstein"? Then again, maybe the carrot proved to be more enticing than the stick was scary.
9
@Steve: “ I am sure there are a lot of people involved.” Perhaps even the non-recused Mr Barr.
20
@steve Major stuff could hit the fan after DOJ people review thousands of hours of hidden cameras film in the NY mansion, numerous cameras were installed during a total gut renovation years ago, per another NYT article. One might assume his FLA home and others had similar equipment. They've already found thousands of photos & CDs of the girls. This guy's paper (film) trail will be very long & detrimental to his fear of being enclosed in a small 8 x 10 cell.
38
At least one person had integrity to not associate with Epstein. That would appear to be Mr. Hay
55
Calling the accusations "lurid" doesn't do them justice. They aren't scandalous tabloid gossip; they are bone-chilling, disgusting, horrifying, enraging...
Also 14 year old children cannot consent to sex, so call it what it is: rape. Use the word. It matters.
I hope he and every enabler of his crimes get hit with the full brunt of the law. If not worse.
792
@Ryan true. Journalists like to use the word "luird," also "scandalous," etc. to make it sound sexy. This is the polar opposite. It is indeed rape, and it didn't only destroy the lives of the survivors, but of their families. Hopefully they are healing. One thing is for sure - it wasn't their fault. It was his.
30
You’re absolutely right to draw attention to the vocabulary we’re using to describe these crimes.
What are being described as “lurid photos” should be called what they really are, child pornography. “Sexual situations with underage girls, some as young as 14,” that’s called pedophilia, sexual abuse of children, assault, rape.
Continuing to frame this discussion in euphemistic terms does not acknowledge the truly heinous nature of the alleged crimes. It frames the conversation on the terms created by powerful abusers in order to normalize disgusting, criminal behavior and minimize the suffering of victims.
94
@Ryan Thank you. I have never seen a story about "lurid accusations" against a priest (i.e., when the victims are male).
26
Our sitting president is a curious omission from this article in spite of multiple photos linking him on at least three separate occasions. I trust that The NY Times will do its due diligence and report on when Epstein and Trump met, what happened, and the ages of all those who attended.
374
@Josh: linking Trump with UNDERAGE GIRLS? or simply proving Trump was at an event that Epstein also attended?
That's a very low bar, and not a crime to simply attend a party or event with someone also present.
7
@Josh
I agree and wonder about the woman who tried to sue Trump for raping her while she was a teenager but dropped her suit after death threats. We have heard nothing about her since 2016.
63
With all due respect. Donald “Grab Them By..”
Trump is not a planet circling the sinkhole that is Epstein. He has his own moral morass (pun deeply intended) with his own corrupt satellites circling around him like the losers they all are.....
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In the knowing chuckles and clear references to Epstein liking "young women" so so many -- esp men -- turned a blind eye. I keep thinking of Christine Blasey Ford's comment: "indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter...they were having fun at my expense..." Abuse of women is a joke to these guys, hence Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court, Trump in the WH despite his "pageants" and so much more. No need really even to hide it, so absurd is it to them that a female of any age should claim rights to her own body. We may not be draining the swamp but at least we can see more clearly day by day the monsters lurking there.
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@sue denim: Blasey-Ford -- assuning you believe her with no evidence nor corroboration from her friends, after 38 years....was 15 with boys of 16 and 17.
However bad, it was not an ADULT MAN predating on her. There is a power imbalance when it is an adult -- a very rich adult -- who can take a teenage girl and give her presents, take her to grown up restaurants and parties and influence her behavior.
I think bringing in Kavanaugh is poor sportsmanship, Sue, because he is accused of doing something at the age of 17 -- and never again in his adult life. Epstein is 66 and has apparently been doing this for 30 years or more. He's doing it NOW. He kept doing it AFTER he got caught and went to jail (*part time).
Trump has never even been charged with any crime, let alone a sex crime. That you BELIEVE he has groped women is not the same as an actual criminal charge, such as those against Epstein. (And no credible charge against Trump involved underage girls.)
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@sue denim
Makes me wonder, as a woman, who like a lot of women I'm sure, who was chased and continually and aggressively pursued by men old enough to be my father from as young an age as 9, 10, 11--what makes a man look at an 11 year old and think that's someone I want to have sex with? I've been pondering this question for a while. Why would a 50 year old man pursue me at the age of 11? Does anyone have an answer to this? These were respected professional men within their communities. The 50 year old I'm talking about was harassing me at a feminist conference where he was an invited performer! I told him my age. Repeatedly. Nothing. Turns out he was also a teacher at a girls school. This is a common experience for a lot of girls. Thinking over this case I've decided that maybe it's just the idea of getting away with it. For some people that's the thrill. Just transgressing and getting away with it. It's like being God, right?
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@kim
Pedophilia is a mental illness. These people have arrested sexual development. For some reason, their brains began sexual attraction at young ages, and then stopped.Whereas other people do feel sexual attraction at young ages, but then those types of feelings mature along with their own emotional development. For pedophiles that development just stops. Some pedophiles have been victims of abuse at a young age, and that caused the stunted emotional development. Others have had some sort of trauma around their own emotional sexual development. Unless there is extensive counseling, there really is no way to help them develop more mature relationships. There is also the obsessive/compulsive component which seems to be a large part of Epstein's problem. Reading the items in the Miami Herald article, it includes lists of names that he kept track of. These lists include HUNDREDS of names of girls. That implies obsessive compulsive traits. He was, and others are also, smart enough to use this compulsion in a way that would imply it was just an attraction to "young girls". Far too many men use their power to rationalize their own arrested development as just behavior that boys have. I am so glad that a huge spotlight is being put on this behavior, and I hope that the victims will feel some sense of justice being served.
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This could be very big.If I were a bettin man it's going to get buried.If not it is going to be fun to watch.
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@robert conger It could and should but probably won't
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Unsurprisingly there are no photos of Epstein where he doesn't look smug.
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Never forget, money, above all, gains influence and favor, regardless of political persuasion. Mr. Epstein’s varied list of acquaintances confirms that.
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Ewwww. Just ick, eww and show me where the soap is so I can get the filth out of my eyes.
Actually.
What I feel is more than disgust.
I. Am. Enraged. Enough, Basta!
I am engaged at a man, but also culture, that could have so easily commoditized the bodies and spirits of young women. Of girls in braces, newly wearing bras or lipstick or nail polish. Girls in algebra classes. Girls that a mere decade earlier would have been playing with dolls and believing in the tooth fairy.
Once upon a time, I was a young girl. I have daughters and nieces. Let me be clear—-not one of us was born with any lesser expectations about our worth than men. When and where did our exploitation become a given?
I want more for all the girls, indeed for women. It may be the era of #metoo but just as much, it’s the era of Trump and eroding reproductive rights.
This coming election we have many choices. It may not be popular to at this, but I hope for an all-female Democratic ticket. God knows there is enough talent to put something like that credibly in place....truly a winning ticket. And I hope such a ticket wins. Only by breaking some barriers will we set enough of an example that young women are people and not prey.
Let’s stop waiting to be freed once and for all.
....and in the meantime, lock him up.
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@Gwe: I suggest showering in bleach.
No seriously, this is gross.
But it is such a repeating theme, among powerful men --even among priests. We absolutely need to study why adult men are drawn to CHILDREN for sex.
It's not enough to say it is monstrous evil (which it is) but I feel helpless to say WHY this keeps happening and happening. You very rarely see a woman predating on a teenage boy (though the example of Mary Kay LeTourneau is there).
This man could have had any beautiful adult woman -- model, actress, prostitute -- that he fancied. He went for 8th grade girls. That's some serious perversion.
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@Gwe
Yes. I'm hoping, praying the Democrats will get it together and support Warren/Harris. I think this is the best arrangement at the moment and it's clear Trump is terrified of both women. Harris in particular. Trump's gotta lotta lip for old man Biden, with all of Biden's white man's faith in the goodness of the other old white men on the other side. Harris calls Trump a predator and worse and he's got nothing. Unleash the women. They're not Hillary, who I like and admire but let's face it, she was not the opponent he needed. Two NYC chums at the end of the day. That didn't work out well. He wants nasty? Give it to him.
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@Concerned Citizen
Before we investigate why, can we just respond to the injustice first?
10
Epstein must have a closet full of big names he can throw at the prosecutors if they talk 20+ years in prison. But lets see what his legal eagles can finagle him out of real jail time. The Me Now people will be watching this like hawks and woe to the people who get this creep off lightly.
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I'm long accustomed to evil. But what is staggering to me is how indifferent so many people had to be to Epstein's depravity for so long. Just like Sandusky and Nassar, these crimes did not transpire in a vacuum. So many people looked the other way, it's nauseating.
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The rich and powerful are different from you and me. This is just entertainment for them.
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@Hotel: including Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Hillary put up with 45 years of Bill and his infidelities -- don't tell me she did not know all about this.
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@Concerned Citizen: Yes. And Trump and Melania.
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“Instead, he served 13 months on state charges of soliciting prostitution in Florida. But he was allowed to leave the jail six days a week to go to an office and work.”
Gosh, I would have thought a chain gang more appropriate. Bet he also earned more than the fifty cents or so per hour that US prisoners are generally paid.
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@Judith Nelson
The county added a new wing, which was used to house Jeff. I suppose he didn't want to be with the other prisoners.
I'm sure he was "working" a lot of over-time back in those days, too.
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@Judith Nelson: ONE day a week -- whoopee! that's 52 days in the slammer, spread out over more than a year.
What a gross miscarriage of justice, when there are people in jail for relatively minor crimes who have to serve out their whole sentence.
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@Concerned Citizen A woman just got thrown back in jail for 5 years for attempting to vote when she didn't realize her voting rights had not yet been restored.
Think of the disgusting conditions at the border camps where we are holding children and infants for weeks upon weeks without adequate food or hygiene. So unbelievably unfair.
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