Why did the FBI wait so long to raid Epstein's Little St. James Island? Shouldn't it have been searched concurrently with the search of the Epstein Manhatten mansion?
Both guards were asleep. Maybe one was and the other was drugged. Both sleeping at the same time is another stretch of the imagination to ponder.
14
According to the dirty Florida deal, Epstein's co-conspirators were given blanket protections after his slap on the wrist (wink wink) sentence which means, if it holds, none of his co-abusers will see a minute of accountability in the future. Bill Barr's word's ring hollow. He will protect the rich and powerful. Why he made his angry public statements against his own department was for PR only. After the Mueller report does anyone believe he's on the right side of anything?
14
Yes, it is a grave injustice that epstein's victims will not realize the exposure of the predator via a criminal trial--just as the 17 women trump sexually abused also will gain no legal satisfaction. Still, what say the public gets access to every scrap of electronic, video, audio and paper evidence involving every single male who took part in the epstein depravity? If he's not involved, maybe billy barr could release everything.
9
Justice is one thing. I'd like to see the mentality of these enablers on trial. The root that causes someone to assist a predator like Epstein needs to be exposed, so as a society we can identify these people early on and head them off. Furthermore, I'd like society to question whether someone as high-profile as Alan Dershowitz, who is on record as saying that statutory rape probably shouldn't include teenagers because many are already sexually active, continue to hold a tenured position as a law professor at Harvard?
7
One direct consequence of the raid on the Epstein properties is that any dirt that he had on the people he partied with, most of them important either in politics or in business is now in the possession of the Trump/Barr duo.
Hoover.
Now we have a chain of people who may be komromat: the President with Putin and the oligarchs, and a few lawyers, politicians and business leaders with the President.
J. Edgar Hoover, you son of a gun, you reincarnated.
4
Among all those affected by this fiasco, let's not forget the two low level prison guards, fired because they (we are told) slept through their shift, allowing Epstein to kill himself.
BTW: only the second suicide in that prison EVER. Makes you think, or should!
The young women affected MAY be able to claw back some money, but what do you want to bet most of it disappears!! Their psychic pain will, of course, be endless.
12
Any one trusts Barr?
Just asking.
12
It seems that Epstein's death was more in the interest of those known to have been part of his social circle than it was in his.
I can hear the sighs of relief from here, and some of those are radiating from the White House.
11
The cold truth about the Jeffery Epstein case is that anyone with half a brain knew what he was doing all along.
Come on - the "Lolita Express"? And his own private island?
It was who he was hanging around with that let him get away with it for so long.
You know who some of them are.
12
@Harlod Dichmon And they don't include Donald Trump, at least not in the nucleus. The Bush brothers commissioned Acosta to let Epstein walk, likely to placate Buckingham Palace. The Clintons, all three, along with members of the Clinton administration, are the most deeply embroiled in this.
3
In this country, as in many others, justice is decided by money; how much you can pay for lawyers to muddy up the minds of jurors and/or spend finding friendly judges when on the defense. Or how many lawyers a wealthy person or corporation can bring to bear to prevent justice or the pursuit of justice by a party with less money.
That said, my guess is that in the Epstein case, in spite of Barr's claims to want justice, justice for any crimes committed by Epstein's rich and powerful friends will go unpunished and the victims will not be fully compensated, if at all. As always, the big winners in any legal battles that may grow from the Epstein case will be lawyers.
That said, I advocate for a legal system based on the concept of legal parity, that is, no party can spend more on lawyers than what the other party can afford to pay — legal cost parity. Perhaps then laws and evidence will decide a legal case not money.
9
I don't buy the notion that Epstein would have 'flipped down' or made a deal. He had shown every reason to resist saying anything, by taking the fifth in all his prior testimony, and paying off witnesses and accusers. In addition, the government was no longer in a position to make another deal with Epstein, after the previous debacle. No question, the government will have to flip one of the major co-conspirators to get a conviction, and there are several.
2
Barr should have pulled out all stops to protect Epstein. Whatever shortages in the prison system caused by Trump’s cutting back Obama-era staff by thousands of employees, Barr could have dipped into the petty cash drawer and found some emergency funds to beef up security at the Manhattan facility—if he thought it to be important enough to do so. That he did not shows he’s a man of limited imagination and critical thinking abilities and poor planning. Not exactly saying much for the man whose job is Attorney General of the United States.
3
There is no "right to self-incrimination" as Renato Mariotti incorrectly writes. There is a right against self-incrimination, i.e. no one can be forced to testify against himself. Also Epstein was not a pedophile (sexual interest in pre-pubescent children). He was probably an ephebophile (sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents). The difference is not trivial or legally irrelevant. A 15 year old is capable of giving consent (in French and Italian law, for example). A 9 year-old is not. Let us not make Epstein out to be more of a monster than he was.
3
Suppose Epstein had lived, began to talk and implicated, with physical evidence, several high ranking former and current politicians and heads of state, businessmen, academics, celebrities, foreign and domestic...including foreign princes and kings. Now, what kind of 'sticky wicket' would that leave for the President, the U.S. State Dept and DOJ?
No wonder people are skeptical.
9
Two guards who were supposed to be watching a very high profile prisoner like Epstein were sleeping for 3 hours and not checking in on him. Barr is responsible for this prison and the boss of all who work there he should have ensured Epstein would be monitored but he did not. Barr's client Trump is a possible suspect as he has the power and clout to act to protect himself witness his fixer personal attorney in prison now for protecting Trump. If Barr is found to be protecting Trump for some reason he needs to be disbarred and removed from office he is too compromised to investigate the Epstein death ,the appearance of conflict of interests is too obvious . Barr;s dad hired Epstein as a teacher giving him access to rich folks he defrauded.
10
Whatever really happened with Epstein and however it happened, one thing is clear. The wealthy elites have once again gotten away with crimes against the powerless. Why don't they have any consciences at all? And why doesn't our justice system work?
19
William Barr's father was dean of the Dalton School, the Manhattan enclave for children of the city's elite. I believe the elder Barr hired Epstein as a math teacher at the school. Has anyone established whether William Barr personally knew Epstein? If he knew him even in passing, should Barr recuse himself from yet another investigation? I find Barr to be a raging liar and all-out creep and don't trust him as far as I can throw him.
On another note, why has not one man hs come forward to say, Epstein offered him the comfort of of a 14-year old victim for dessert after one of his infamous dinner parties and he refused. Or are we led to believe any powerful man offered sexual favors from a 14 year old would not refuse such a gift as long as it is accompanied by plausible deniability. I really hope that is not the case, or I fear for the souls of the men in our world.
11
Thanks for such a clear explanation of the process, like it or not.
3
The guards fell asleep on AG Barr’s watch. How convenient for him and his President, who both want us all be asleep while they perpetuate I justice throughout our country, tearing away environmental laws, putting assault weapons in the hands of the mentally ill, and marginalizing immigrants, racial minority’s and women.
21
The victims will settle out of court with ironclad NDAs. The pedophile predators will go back to their penthouses and private islands. Nothing will change.
12
Mr. Mariotti - you read my mind. Excellent article, injecting a welcome dose of realism into the already healthy dose of urban legend.
3
I'm puzzled why Barr is not being held accountable for this failure, or at least demands of accountability are not being made.
15
@David
Upon reading that AG Barr was "livid" and "angry" at Epstein's unobserved suicide, my first thought, shamefully, was " Guess he's mad that his source of supplies has dried up."
Such an opportune timing of a tragedy; why, it almost reads like a story by the Brothers Grimm. A virtual moral fairy tale, yet now we must anticipate the surprise ending.
8
Welcome to the world of bottomless corruption and criminality. Epstein was the tip of the iceberg and now getting at the other 90% (which likely includes Trump ... not Clinton) is going to be very hard indeed. AG Barr is useless in this regarding any real truth. Just like how the Congressional oversight committes and SDNY are using other pathways to get the financial info (and where much of the truth resides regarding Trump) there's likely other pathways available to get to the bottom of this vile, disgusting coward Epstein and his decades of crimes!
11
@Dennis C. Look, if Trump and Barr were complicit in any way, Epstein wouldn't have been arrested at Teterboro in the first place.
By the way, where is Hillary, that icon of women's rights (sarcasm), in speaking out against the crimes of Epstein? Oh, forgot, her daughter vacations with Epstein's madam, even invited her to her wedding.
4
problem being the recent display of fudging the facts of the Mueller Report by AG Barr casts a deep shadow of skepticism about what he will do with what an investigations discovers.
Barr's history of orchestrating the cover up of vast criminality by Reagan's administration offers more reason for concern.
There can be little doubt that Trump's braggadocio when it comes to his sexual proclivities, his open admission of being a germophobe and his contention that avoiding STDs was his "Viet Nam" create an iron clad context for his being a regular Epstein's massage parlor.
Not to mention Barr's own connection to Epstein and Barr's father's connection.
7
I don't know what will happen with his extremely large Manhattan townhouse, but I think it would provide some justice to this situation if it were to be converted to a place of therapy and healing for victims of sexual abuse. (After a thorough cleaning and renovation.)
I just don't believe Epstein's death was accidental, but I doubt we'll ever know for sure.
7
What this op-ed overlooks is that the FBI and the Department of Justice don't need Epstein's testimony to be able to identify co-conspirators in his sex trafficking crimes. They already know the identity of at least some of the co-conspirators as a result of the investigation they conducted prior to Epstein's 2008 plea agreement. We know this is true because that plea agreement, was actually designed, in part, to keep those known co-conspirators from facing justice.
So, while Jeffrey Epstein isn't available to identify and testify against those conspirators, Alex Acosta is.
Let Mr. Acosta tell us who the co-conspirators were that the plea agreement he approved sought to protect. And while he's at it, let Mr. Acosta tell us who above him in the Department of Justice signed off on the agreement and why.
17
Consider all those on the left - different, btw, from liberals - who nonstop crow about crime (i.e. male felons) in America now at "historic lows". Well, that history is short...just since the 1960s horrific spike in violent males.
The one stat that never goes into reduction mode any decade, anywhere in the U.S.: rape.
So the quality of life for girls in the U.S. today is at or more dangerous than ever. Because there is always another generation of boys who become teen and adult rapists, sexual predators, sex traffickers, porn addicts and strip club devotees. This is the lesson of who and what Epstein was even in the 1990s: You're on your own if female; nothing will change in the U.S. for girls and women's basic safety and well-being.
5
The unfortunate reality that Epstein's victims have suffered and may suffer for the rest of their lives for which they deserve and have my infinite sympathy. They deserve all of the help and support they can get. Unfortunately, I think it also a reality that no amount of punishment inflicted on Epstein whether it was 50 years, life, executed, killed by other inmates, or brutally tortured to death is going to magically make his victims feel better. The man is dead and I have less then zero sympathy for Epstein who is one of the most evil reprehensible persons in the world. And of course anyone who assisted him should be punished to the full extent of the law. But the idea that a certain level of punishment will somehow bring closure to these victims (or other crime victims) is to me is a fantasy encouraged by persecutors and others. Epstein should and hopefully will have everything he owns taken and distributed to his many victims. But I think the reality is that his victims will still have a very tough road ahead of them and hopefully will be given as much assistance as possible for as long as may be necessary to help them overcome what must be unimaginable trauma and injury.
2
Epstein had a portrait of MBS(Saudi Prince) in his NY Mansion. He had a lot of saudi connections, that's where the money flowed for him. He was trafficking girls for the Royals and the people in power. Then he died mysteriously in prison in NYC when he was charged for sex crimes. MBS can get anybody killed in any place. His connections with Royals and People of power had to have something to do with the alleged sex trafficking crimes. MBS and Trump Administration is well connected. Trump also wanted Epstein gone. Who else can get this job done. Trump's got his cronie Barr to help MBS team do the deed..!! Someone should look in to this angle.
23
It is not far-fetched to presume that Epstein was working for intelligence services. That is what Acosta told the Trump people when he was asked if the Epstein case could jeopardize his confirmation to Labor Secretary. That is a matter of record. That is the issue that requires investigation.
Also a matter of record is video of Trump at CPAC Conference 2015, saying Clinton was a heck of a nice guy, but he was going to
have a lot of trouble with Epstein and that island. Lots of trouble.
Pay off the victims and protect our lords and masters.
10
Nothing to see here - move along. The rich and powerful will be untouched and will remain safe. Soon, we will be talking hysterically about the next thing Trump said or did.
I suspect that Epstein's papers and video evidence will be lost, mishandled, or tainted. The blame will fall on low-level workers. The young women will soon be forgotten. No wonder we turn to conspiracy theories.
195
@Redneck
So very sad. So corrupt we are. So sad. Barr must go.
27
@Redneck
The rich and powerful MEN who protect each other, as well as protecting the poor and un-powerful men who one and all believe themselves entitled to destroy the lives of girls and women in order to satisfy their degenerate egos tied to a stiffie.
22
@Maggie
to be fair his one know accomplice was a woman.
17
I am in no way expecting anything from any federal investigations. Be real. Bill Barr was the sheriff and now we're expecting the sheriff to investigate how this all went down? Expect somebody small and powerless under the bus soon. As for pursuit of further justice also no. Acosta was a member of trump's cabinet. Does anybody think for one second trump wasn't fully in the know about the deal with Epstein before he was hired? They will continue to hide whatever they're hiding and will continue to pretend that they are seeking justice but it's not going to happen. Things will be suppressed just like Mueller report.
Anybody tired of winning yet?
204
@Jenifer Bill Barr is not only the sheriff, but the son of Donald Barr, the headmaster of a private school that hired Epstein as a math teacher, though he had no college degree. Dalton was not a loosy goosey place where teachers were hired on just talent. Epstein parlayed his contacts there into a job at Bear Stearns, though he didn't last there. What was Donald Barr's interest in Epstein? What records would Epstein have kept of that? Wouldn't his son be interested in keeping his father's reputation clean?
23
@The guards were supposedly sleeping, falsely posted in the logs that they had checked on Epstein every 30 minutes, so the first underlings are already under the bus.
10
The "cold truth" is that this country is a Banana Republic.
20
Barr is bought and paid for.
20
I don't follow the idea that since there will be no public trial, victims will not get full justice. So, if a public trial had given Epstein a 45 year jail sentence, it would have been more satisfying than the fact that he has died because of his misdeeds?
Isn't obliteration of this individual more appropriate than a jail sentence? While victims should get all the reparation that they can get, why would they want to have the entire sordid affair be put up for the titillation of the public?
4
Epstein is interesting because he was rich and well connected. The sad fact is the government is aware of human trafficking events the occur in every state that involve exploiting children for sex work and other labor. These children are not as important as Epstein's victims. It is our fascination with power and celebrity, not the underlying illness of interpersonal exploitation that is important in viewing the Epstein example.
4
Remember the Time when Donald Trump Tried to Get Mike Tyson Out of Going to Prison for Rape?
Trump told Newsday and AP he believed the millionaire, Mike Tyson should just pay a fine for raping a 18 year old girl instead of going to prison.
In Trump's mind having Tyson pay a fine would do more good then having him go to jail.
I'm sure AG Barr is well aware of Trump's attitude about this.
10
It seems obvious that Jeffrey Epstein's suicide at the MCC in Manhattan occurred because the circumstances that allow it to occur were intentionally created by the staff & management, both on-site and farther up the ranks of DOJ. As much as people want to think they have unique insight about the specific roles various actors played in creating those circumstances, the public does not have access to that information. Given the opportunity, Epstein's suicide was a foregone conclusion. The judge's decisions denying bail under any circumstances amounted to a life sentence. As a rich sexual predator, Epstein was consigned to live his remaining years under constant threat of sexual assault, beatings and extortion by the self-righteous criminals that would be his peers. It is easy to understand his decision to check out and escape the perpetual suffering he was likely to experience the rest of his days. The probability that he died at his own hand does not preclude the possibility of a conspiracy that provided the opportunity. Just don't hold your breath waiting for evidence or confessions.
15
Attorney General Bill Barr warned that "co-conspirators should not rest easy." Hey Bill, are you trying to make your boss worry?
14
His estate? I would like to know who is named in his estate.
7
@Taro, Probably his brother, sole surviving next of kin.
2
Whether by malice incompetence, AG Barr, and by implication, his boss in the White House, failed Epstein's victims and the American system of justice.
Epstein was a high-value inmate and there was a lot resting on his going to trial. Barr knew, or should have known this and stepped up efforts to assure Epstein's safety after his first suicide attempt. Instead it was SOP and now Epstein's victims will struggle to see justice and his co-conspirators are likely to get off Scot Free. I don't doubt that Barr will work mightily to find some scapegoats, but the deed is done and the responsibility is his. If he had an ounce of self-respect, Barr would resign in disgrace.
That said, this is consistent with justice in Trump's America and many will wonder who really benefits from this event. Co-conspirators, possibly including some of Trump's friends, may be among them.
11
A former prosecutor is not going to admit that William Barr's DOJ covered for god knows which of these rich degenerates. To do so would be to admit that we have two systems of justice, one for the rich and one for the rest of us.
18
Anybody that dies that fast that has dirt on world leaders should spark your interest. Giving immunity to him and his buddies. Trump says he knows the best people. Acosta was shield for the West Palm crowd. Giving out immunity like a Pez dispenser.
19
Wow. Why is the media buying that it was a suicide?
20
Full investigation of all Epstein's dealing's is warranted. However, I really don't trust Barr to carry out a complete and truthful one.
17
Didn’t the court documents in the state of Florida say that there were co-conspirators? Wouldn’t that also be true of the charges in New York State? Why can’t New York State then go after the co-conspirators, or is our system that broken?
229
@Pat likely most of these people will walk since they no longer have Epstein to testify against them. Add to that Barr is the AG which means if you are looking for any kind of unbiased legal action for high profile co conspirators don't hold your breath. As far as many are concerned Barr (Trump) has stripped away any legitimacy from yet another Federal department.
38
@Will Goubert I'm sure Barr would have no difficulty bringing charges if a democrat is involved, especially a Clinton...
7
This argument assumes that Jeffrey Epstein. a convicted child predator, would have been a more reliable witness, assuming he turned, than the victims who claim that Maxwell, for instance, knew how old they were, was a participant in some of the abuse, and told them to recruit other children. Likewise the other child abusers. Not to mention the pictures they have from the searches.
I do agree, though, that Barr is more likely to hinder any investigation and prosecution than he is to enable it. That's who he is. He serves his boss.
313
@deepshade Give Barr a chance. He may do the right thing. We'll see. He DOES serve his boss, but there might be a bit of professional integrity and basic underlying humanity that will surprise us all. Hopefully.
5
@alabreabreal The sitting President is (or was) a "womanizer". It isn't obvious that he ever engaged in unlawful sexual acts with those under the age of consent in the relevant state(s).
Thus, Mr. Trump is not likely to have been one of Epstein's "clients", i.e., those who preyed upon girls under the age of consent.
Trump - ever alert for political leverage - likely hopes that amongst Epstein's "clients" is a former President, spouse of a former Secretary of State.
Further, if anyone connected with the Washington Post was an Epstein "client", Trump will jump for joy. That newspaper pillories Trump whenever possible, so he'll leap at the chance to Tweet "long and loud"!!
Mr. Trump is likely to encourage AG Barr to carry out a deep and thorough probe into the many and horrendous crimes likely commited by Epstein and/or by Epstein's accomplices.
If indictments are forthcoming and warrants issue, those targeted will find few places of refuge. Few countries will be willing to shelter those, accused of sexual abuse of children. Even countries that hate the US (e.g., Iran, Venezuela, etc.) will "extradite" such a person.
Iran - or other countries at odds with the US - might use their helpfulness as a way to open a door to talks with the US over issues in controversy.
Thus, those indicted and for whom warrants issue would do well to make arrangements to surrender. It is to be presumed that such persons will be very closely supervised while in custody.
2
@Jay E. Simkin What makes you think they need to find any evidence to smear Trump’s enemies? They’ll just throw some names out, make unfounded allegations and then move on. Trump has already accused the Clintons of murder with no evidence at all. Where’s a good defamation suit when you need it?
11
"Equal justice under law" Where? People: We in the majority must go out and VOTE for candidates who want to find it.
Enough of "winners" basically by default of non-majority, mislead voters.
11
The essentials about Epstein have been known for years and years. I don't think an official conviction will make anyone "whole" but I do hope they can receive financial compensation.
I am forever confused why putting someone in jail or to death is "justice" and yet suicide is not. The fact that a criminal takes own life in jail is not as good as killing him ourselves?
Just doesn't make sense.
At least the world finally believes what victims and the Miami Herald have been saying for years and years.
3
I've always been on the fence about the death penalty. The (faulty) logic of your question however, nudges me slightly in its favor, because you force consideration of the criminal justice system's, and the law's relationship to perpetrator and victim -- leading me to conclude that the law/criminal justice system in part should act as the victims' representatives/surrogates in enforcing justice-necessary reciprocity between perpetrator and victim. A justification for the death penalty is that just as a murderer (or other life destroyer, such as rapist ruining another's life) arrogates to him/herself ultimate power over another's life, the victim's surrogate should assume that power over the perpetrator. A perpetrator's suicide denies the victim or the surrogate this power. Suicide and capital punishment, despite both terminating a life, are fundamentally different for this reason, among other but similar reasons.
I've not become pro-death penalty, but the vastly different justice implications (which your question omits or conceals) of suicide and capital punishment give some added weight to the pro-death penalty argument.
5
@Anon Except a New York court would be highly unlikely to execute Epstein (probably couldn't for sex crimes).
And your argument that the suicide 'denies the victim or surrogate' power to punish the perp? Again, makes no sense to me.
Revenge does not equal justice. The guy is dead, thankfully.
The people who should be punished are the lawyers/politicians/wealthy friends who knew about the crimes and enabled, abetted or ignored them. I'd rather be practical than focus on theoretical ethics.
1
@Barbara The victims wanted a measure of validation for themselves and a measure of shame from Epstein, which they probably wouldn’t have gotten even if he went to trial.
3
“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. 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.” - Donald Trump
Googling (precisely) "failure to report a crime New York Florida" turned up several links with excerpts. Among these excerpts: "In Florida, the crime of Failure to Report Child Abuse or Neglect is defined as knowingly and willfully failing to report known or suspected acts of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect."
My 2 minutes of "legal research" suggest that certainly Florida (i.e., where Mara Lago is), and probably New York, substantially criminalize failure to report even merely *suspected* child abuse.
Though prosecution for all accomplices by commission as well as by omission (those who know or even *suspect* and do nothing) is likely difficult, the law apparently anticipates this and defines the crime broadly enough to offset these hurdles.
I believe it should be easy to establish Trufmp at least *suspected* what was going on. Indeed, the quote itself may suffice to bring a Trump indictment.
Bear in mind Trump as president is the nation's top law enforcement officer, & the increasing apparent/known pattern of sexual abuse by the rich and powerful. If Trump violated Florida and/or NY law protecting underage girls, does this affect impeachment prospects? In any case, we must assume criminal prosecution is being vigorously explored.
6
@Anon Not by Barr. Maybe some other AG in NY. Barr’s job seems to be protecting Trump from punishment. Remember, Barr says a president can’t be prosecuted for anything.
4
@Anon
Your legal conclusions are worth exactly what we've paid for them. Logic is not your strong suit, friend
1
Barr has failed yet again.
What other high profile criminal recently housed in this jail has ended his case by suicide?
The rich can buy anything - even assisted suicide. Barr and Acosta allowed this pedophile a pass for way too long and demonstrates that they don't take the crime seriously if committed by the wealthy.
10
@Deb
also how the (rich, especially) patriarchy look upon young girls and woman and how seriously they feel about crimes against them.... pile it on higher, I can't wait til it topples.
3
The real tragedy of this horrible situation is the fact that most likely justice will not be accomplished for the victims, neither monetarily or psychologically. There is just too much evil power on the side of this ugly man. All the more reason for parents to educate their daughters more thoroughly on the dangers of men (and women) who approach them with promises of wealth and opportunity and a higher social standing. This predator took the easy way out, his discomfort was short and brief, but he left behind a lifetime of sorrow and shame to all those vulnerable young girls who believed his lies.
5
"I'm Wondering What Epstein's Up To Now" - a cautionary tale.
"on Monday, F.B.I. agents reportedly executed a search warrant on Mr. Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean."
Why are they doing that NOW??? That should have been done years ago! All the evidence has been destroyed by now.
9
@Jane Jane, it is to destroy the evidence against people whose names have already been made public, i.e. Richardson, Mitchell, Windsor, all Clintons, and those who have not yet been revealed. The FBI is not on the side of justice, you know. The search came AFTER the "suicide" in order to protect the guilty.
At its core, this case is about value, and the about the powerful stealing that value from those with little or no power.
The girls' value was their youth, appearance and sex. That's why they were exploited by cabal of older men. (Although a woman was involved, I doubt she was in it for the sex).
The men involved had an overabundance of value in the form of money, connections and influence. They used this advantage to take the dignity and self esteem from these powerless girls. Apparently, in spite of their money and influence, the men's value in the sexual marketplace was so low that they had to resort to evil to satisfy their lust.
That's an asymmetrical balance of power that goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks. Achilles sulked away the Trojan war in his tent because Agamemnon wouldn't give him a woman he lusted after, but the woman had no say in the matter.
2500 years later and we're still dealing with the same problems. Civilization has a long way to go before it becomes civilized.
9
Now that William Barr is involved, we can rest assured that co-conspirators can rest easy.
14
And the beat goes on.....and on......and on! Time goes by and the big wigs skate. And the victims suffer.
7
"on Monday, F.B.I. agents reportedly executed a search warrant on Mr. Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean."
They will search all Epstein properties. Barr wants them to find all the pictures.
5
With William Barr as Attorney General I doubt justice will ever be done. He is now in the position to ensure that evidence found will never see the light of day and Trump and his powerful friends will never be brought to justice. Unless of course they are Democrats.
20
Barr has no business in this investigation; he needs to recuse himself. But of course that will never happen.
15
Oh, no, Mr. Mariotti, the cold truth is not that the pursuit of justice in the Epstein case just got a lot harder.
It's that all that noise is about money, not justice. There are thousands of cold rape cases, which the police don't have money and resources to investigate and nobody cares. The public only cares when there are millionaires involved and that's a shame.
On today's front page there is an article America was not a democracy until black Americans made it one. Similarly, there is no justice for victims of sexual abuse as long as only wealthy and famous abusers are procesuters.
7
@Michael K
Similarly, there is no justice for victims of sexual abuse as long as only wealthy and famous abusers are prosecuted.
1
The Epstein case reads like a sordid novel. It's highly suspicious that he was left in incompetent hands and then committed suicide. Give me a break.
9
@Rena W
You wrote “All Trump's efforts to link Clinton to Epstein are kind of obvious attempts to deflect from himself, espec. when you consider that he and Epstein were both sued by a child they had allegedly raped.”
Are you saying that he (Trump) was also sued. This is something new as far as I am concerned. Can you please cite your reference or source.
4
@Fe R There were two such lawsuits, one in CA and one in NY. https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/06/23/donald-trump-rape-lawsuit/
Barr will stop seeking justice when he sees how often his boss's name pops up in relation to the deceased and his cronies.
8
@Don Barr is protecting the Bush family, for whom he initially covered years ago.
I feel such sorrow for the girls who have again been denied justice, and rage that their predator got the easy way out (whether he did it himself or had 'help').
2
This is the next feudal age, brought to us by the republican party and their owners, the oligarchs.
10
We are going to find out that all his 'wealth' was stolen or otherwise illegally got. Good luck giving some to the victims.
So far it seems most of the money is Mr. Werner's. Epstein's financial genius is like Madoff's, stealing from the rich.
8
And now we may never know why AG Barr's father hired Epstein to teach at Dalton prep school without having graduated from college.
13
Epstein's death closes the chapter on his life and his terrible transgressions. Young vulnerable girls were his victims. That he could so easily lure them with the help of Ms. Maxwell, enormously wealthy in her own right as the daughter of the newspaper tycoon, deceased, is a morality tale of the ages. Wealth covers all until it does not. The individual actors in this terrible scene out of Dickens from Wexner to Prince Andrew to Epstein play their parts with no concerns about health care, food, or other facts of life other than the necessity to please themselves. I have immense sympathy for the victims. Nevertheless, I do not want to read the stories of their plight. More action for catching creeps who thought the dance would never end.
2
Americans should be outraged that the DOJ does such a horrible job of protecting those in their custody. Clearly, someone above the MCC guards made the very questionable decision to take Epstein off of suicide watch. Why haven't we heard anything about this decision maker? This goes way beyond a few guards.
20
To begin, Acosta needs to be charged with wilful negligence and as an accomplice to the shameful sentencing and coverup in Florida of Epstein back in the mid 2000s. Also, the ABA needs to revoke Acosta's credentials right NOW. It needs to start at ground zero regarding Epstein in the justice system.
14
In other words, the article prepares us for the inevitable outcome: nothing. Money will be paid to compensate the victims but not much beyond this. Is there anything wrong with this picture? Hasn't this always been the case unless rich and powerful hurt someone who is also rich and powerful? Do we call this justice?
10
Justice has been done. Mr. Epstein
got death sentence. His property
should be sold to compensate the
victims. Other high profile abusers,
some already named and others mey
surface in documents seized, should
be tried. It will be cathartic to have
these so called powerful, famous,
wealthy people exposed as abusers.
Mask of respectability should come
off to see their real face of exploitation
and abuse which to a large extent
has been revealed by #Metoo movement. The trial will be further
confirmation.
6
@s.khan I read that Epstein had hundreds or thousands of videos of the girls having sex with his friends/ clients. Presumably this includes a number of wealthy and prominent people. Since these people are guilty of statutory rape or worse, the government has a duty to watch the tapes, identify the perpetrators as best it can (shouldn't be hard in many cases) and PROSECUTE. And if they don't, we'll know why.
8
@peter Your suggestion is why the FBI raided Epstein's island the past two days; to remove any trace (proof) of connection with powerful, elite people. Why hadn't the FBI gone in prior to Epstein's death? Now, when the big hush needs to be in place, the feds are confiscating evidence.
7
At a somewhat more abstract level, this case clearly illustrates that citizens of the United States do NOT get equal justice under the law.
The country has struggled to provide equal justice for minorities in cases where they are prosecuted unfairly but I think this cases highlights the role of wealth and/or connections in allowing criminals to *evade* justice.
People like OJ and Claus von Bulow can pay a "dream team" of lawyers to get away with murder. Hundreds of Catholic priests, dozens of powerful executives, and people like Epstein can use their wealth and connections to get away with sexual assault and child abuse.
Across the political spectrum from Left to Right, I think everybody would agree that you have a better likelihood of getting away with a crime if you have a lot of money or are a member of a powerful organization. Yet Congress and the courts have never done anything about this.
Just a suggestion... [I can hear the screams of anguish already :) ] Everybody gets a lawyer or lawyer from the same pool of public defenders. No more dream team, no more Harvard Law professors even if you can afford one.
All defendants would be on a level playing field. If nothing else, this would certainly result in increased funding for the public defenders offices!
8
@Engineer
Sure. If accused, why wouldn't each of us want a 9-5 government employee defending us from prison or death? Hey, I hear that those 2 MCC prison guards are looking for new gigs - maybe they can be defense lawyers now?
1
I highly doubt that Ghislaine Maxwell is hanging around the UES waiting to be thrown into the MCC. Does the USA have an extradition treaty with the UK for whatever crimes she is likely to be charged with? Also, how will the abused teen serve Epstein's estate with their complaints under the NY CPLR? Wil his brother be named executor? Will anyone even defend these actions? Will there be fraudulent conveyance claims? Is there some kind of insurance company that will be involved (I highly doubt that there will be EPLI insurance here). Also, will Ghislaine Maxwell be served? How will plaintiffs get at her assets that are held abroad (I highly doubt she will keep bank accounts, brokerage accounts, real estate etc. in her own name here).
2
Yes, the USA definitely has an extradition treaty with Britain, and probably the EU to extradite anyone wanted for crimes commited in the US. This applies also to mail order, cyber and financial crimes where the perpetrator has never actually set foot in the US. They have wielded the big stick several times.
1
@aggrieved taxpayer
"etc. in her own name here)."
"Offshore," as she too is or will be.
The American people should do anything and everything to keep this story alive, convict the co-conspirators and demand justice for the victims who were just young girls at the time.
If not for them, we must do it for all our daughters and granddaughters who must navigate through
such extreme evil prevailing in this world.
12
Yes, we should all trust Barr, the guy whose father got Epstein the job teaching young girls despite no college degree, the guy whose law firm defended Epstein when he got the sweet deal in Florida. The guy who misrepresented the conclusions of the Mueller report.
25
The suspicion that Epstein, had he remained alive, could have - would have - named certain powerful men will not go away. Certainly, his seemingly relaxed attitude suggests that he felt he had little to fear from the US authorities, even after his 2008 bust. Wouldn't a man with such a dark past seek refuge, and perhaps citizenship, in another country? Not if he thinks himself sufficiently well connected and protected.
With enough money and power, killing a man in prison and making it look like a suicide is quite possible, even in a foreign country. The deaths of numerous Russians in Britain over the last few years provides ample evidence of that. But this would require tremendous resources - if Mr Epstein was murdered, the list of possible suspects is very short.
5
Epstein was (is?) a clever man. One can't believe he didn't have some sort of safeguard in his pocket. Where is the ME's report? Barr has no credibility as many point out. With guards out of commission however someone could have entered the cell, or someone may have helped him escape.
The point is that we can have absolutely no confidence in our existing government. It seems obvious that Trump is culpable here, certainly Barr and the DOJ. News cycles will soon erase this as Trump or his minions create another horrible scene. Example: The Statue of Liberty was meant only for white people. And, will Wray be able to protect the FBI's credibility?
8
Epstein's 'death' is a total kick in the teeth to these poor victims, who endured incalculable pain and suffering at his hand and at the hands of his co-conspirators. Ghislaine Maxwell needs to be questioned vigorously; it seems all too convenient that she has 'disappeared' following Epstein's supposed demise (also questionable, as it's not inconceivable that AG Barr and even Trump himself orchestrated a ruse to spirit him out of prison and give him a new identity, allowing them to wash their hands of any culpability). What has been revealed to date, thanks to dogged reporting by The Miami Herald and The Times, is absolutely atrocious. No stone should be left unturned in investigating these crimes, and if it leads to the Oval Office, so be it; let the truth be revealed and let those responsible pay the price.
5
The Brits seem to be having a hard time finding Ghislaine Maxwell - just a temporary setback, I'm sure. She might have retraced her steps to Balmorial Castle to be with Prince Andrew again, but who knows?
The NY Times author might pause to reflect that it was Miami Herald's investigations that got the first plea deal declared illegal and forced the resignation of the Secretary of Labor and the new charges brought against Epstein. Neither the NY Times or the Washington Post did anything.
9
Mr. Mariotti underscores the futility of pursuing justice for those minors harmed by Jeffrey Epstein's depravity and crimes that he and his co-conspirators committed during decades of exploitation of underage girls by their predators.
Amplifying this despicable case is the incredulity of the nation's Attorney General who breached his oath of office when he delivered the coverup of obstruction by his client, Donald Trump, in the highly redacted Mueller report.
So, "thousands and thousands of documents" and information will be released that will include the names of influential people. We can forget about that now.
Why haven't we seen the unredacted Mueller report that contains thousands and thousands of documents and people who sabotaged the 2016 election and overthrew our democracy?
Where are the troves of information after the arrest and incarceration of Julian Assange who was the Trump-Russia go-between who funnelled the DNC computer hacks and Hillary Clinton emails?
Let's be clear: Donald Trump accused Hillary Clinton of being a crook and he recently implied that both former President Clinton and Hillary Clinton had Jeffrey Epstein murdered.
The Attorney General has a decision to make: 1) Either be the representative of the American people and clean up the festering Trump swamp or 2) Continue to be Trump's personal attorney, "Coverup Barr," pulling out all the stops to insulate the occupant in the Oval Office.
"Wherever law ends, tyranny begins." ~John Locke
8
Weren't most of Epstein's properties, jet planes, etc. held in the name of charitable foundations and trusts? He just controlled and used them, but they weren't titled in his name, were they? Did he spend the month before his suicide transferring those assets to other, unreachable organizations? It may turn out that Epstein has almost no personal estate to be sued for civil damages.
7
Epstein was originally housed with a notorious and musclebound murderer at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Who made that decision? This also should be investigated. https://www.foxnews.com/us/jeffrey-epstein-former-cellmate-apparent-suicide-attempt
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-epstein-life-behind-bars-20190726-ujdvknsmz5a4rbcgzfms6cqti4-story.html
7
Another commenter said that, according to CBS News, 'shrieking and screaming' was heard in his cell before he was found. I went to the link and, yes, the reporter said this and then just blithely went on. So WHO heard and reported the screaming?
He was killed. The question is if we will ever get the truth. With dis-Barr at the helm, I fear we never will. Barr is a criminal himself and he's doing a cover-up now.
America is crumbling with all these criminals at the top of our government. They want to blame the low level guards but it's dis-Barr who should be held accountable for the murder of the vile Jeffrey Epstein.
6
Did this former prosecutor do any research before writing his article for NYT? There is evidence that Ghislaine Maxwell recruited girls from local high schools in Florida. That would prove the mens rea element pretty easily.
Not a lot of hard hitting journalism on this case so far, save for the work from the courageous and tenacious Julie K. Brown of Miami Herald. Let’s hear from her, instead of a prosecutor taking us through information that every casual viewer of Law and Order: SVU already knows.
10
The notion of equal justice in America just took a big hit. Of course few people ever thought it was that equal, but now it appears less equal than it was.
Consider this simple theoretical metric: The extent to which money and resources affect the outcome is the measure of the inequality in the American justice system.
But this case shows another way for the rich and powerful to put their thumbs on the scale, by eliminating a witness, just like Al Capone rubbing out a stool pigeon. Whether he was allowed to kill himself through neglect, or whether he was murdered, it was a dirty job, and we'll likely never know what went down. They had a high-profile prisoner on suicide watch, and they didn't assign your best team to do the job.
I have a difficult time believing that anyone in that position is that stupid. I smell a rat, and apparently so does the rest of the country.
13
Michael Corleone: My father is no different than any other powerful man, any man who is responsible for other people, like a senator or a president.
Kay Adams:You know how naive you sound?
Michael Corleone:Why?
Kay Adams: Senators and presidents don't have men killed.
Michael Corleone: Oh. Who's being naive, Kay?
-The Godfather
The Godfather is the most popular movies among Americans because it almost perfectly encapsulates the inner workings and the lack of morality at the heart of America's marriage between Capitalism and Democracy.
12
@Lonnie, To the extent you are pointing to the lack of morality in our society as being a root cause of the actions of people like Epstein and his cohorts, I absolutely agree. If, however, you are suggesting that capitalism and democracy are somehow responsible for such actions, I would point out that things are no better with communism or socialism.
4
The notion that criminal punishment of Epstein could have made these victims whole is faulty. Of the two options - criminal punishment and money damages - money, though incomplete, would be more successful.
Making these victims' suffering meaningful will taking down the rich-get-richer and survival-of-the-wealthiest structures which allowed him to perpetrate his crime with impunity, and wield power over so many; then putting in place support for victims which will detect problems, and encourage victims to report. Punishing sick offenders rarely does anyone any good. Practicing prevention, and supporting victims with all the tools we have available will.
2
I do not believe the truth will come out as long as William Barr is overseeing the investigation. He has already demonstrated that his allegiance is to Trump, not truth. He will hide any evidence if Trump was one of the people who took advantage of these girls. Barr’s DOJ is tainted and does not deserve the benefit of the doubt in any investigation they are involved with.
7
Everything cited here about how further prosecutions and uncovering additional evidence of crimes are thwarted by this death makes clear how strong the incentive would have been for someone to arrange Epstein’s death. And it seems that might have been easy to do.
Heinous as his crimes were against young women, for many powerful people, Epstein was dangerous only because he could expose their own crimes. In fact blackmail may well have been his whole career.
Where is his trove of recordings?
10
On the positive side, Mr. Epstein did confirm his guilt in a most emphatic manner.
4
@Alan R Brock
Presuming he actually did kill himself, true,
5
I always enjoy Renato Mariotti's explanations, however depressing they may be.
Just stop the press this outrageous story is very important as it shows what we really all know The USA cannot control what is going on in a phone booth size locked cell. We all always talk about waste fraud and abuse I think it is way underestimated, the amount of our money that is just wasted and thrown down the drain by both lawlessness and incompetence obviously is much higher than anything we can imagine. Right today on the news and interviews with government officials they are jumping up and down but not one really big-time elected official seems really outraged and talk about all kinds of stuff but not really about how this whole Epstein saga reflects on the inefficient government in every respect.
3
Let's not forget, Barr served as counsel to law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP, the law firm from which Epstein had hired his lawyers, before becoming attorney general. Barr recused himself from any involvement in review of the 2008 case in Florida that let Epstein off with almost nothing, but would not recuse himself from involvement in the NY case.
7
Another example, albeit high profile, of how badly our system has failed. While another headline says evangelicals are happy with trump and another headline in which trump claims being president is costing him 3-5 bn dollars. Will all literate, thinking, compassionate adults please show up and vote him and them out?
9
There are three approaches to any problem.
a) prevention. b) cure. c) revenge.
America has always preferred c) and more and more, we use the word "justice" to mean revenge. We do not even NOTICE that we have changed the meaning of the word "justice".
And oddly enough, it is our thirst for revenge that prevents us from finding out the truth. Because when we go out with our torches and our axes, those who know the truth will, of necessity, hide. We have waged more wars in the last 40 years than any two other countries put together. And we imprison people at 5-7 the rate of France and Germany.
And all in the pursuit of "justice".
3
An interesting article about Epstein's French connection in Libération today. Because a number of his deeds happened on French soil and involved at least one French citizen the issue should be of interest to the French judiciary. From the folks who gave us Strauss-Kahn I'm not expecting too much.
3
When Barr said "co-conspirators should not rest easy" I understood that to mean co-conspirators should not rest easy, unless they are named trump. Barr has proven himself to be out to protect trump from any consequences of his bad behavior.
6
"If they were confident they had sufficient evidence to charge Ms. Maxwell, they likely would have done so already."
Huh? More likely is that until the suicide, they were waiting for her cooperation in the case against Epstein. They just recently uncovered troves of evidence form his various residences, which may be better than any testimony they could get from either of them.
As for suicide theories, here are a few I can think of, starting with the most outrageous - and unlikely:
1- Despite the near impossibility of this one: not a suicide but rather an elaborate body switch with someone murdered and Epstein spirited out of the country by nefarious forces (pick your favorite - mine here is Epstein's employees) It's a great movie script.
2- Despite the trove of evidence that can still be used, making testimony unnecessary, not a suicide but rather a murder of Epstein to shut him up executed by nefarious forces (pick your favorite - mine is always Russia-Trump)
3- And this one could be the most likely, a real suicide, with prison incompetence not fueled but any conspiracy, but simply a result of a full-employment economy which leaves institutions understaffed and with unqualified and untrained employees. Or...just a reflection of the general incompetence of so much of what is being done in this administration.
7
This is a very pessimistic analysis.
The final sentence: ". . . civil litigation, which can yield monetary compensation but cannot bring them justice or make them truly whole"—
What "brings them justice" or makes them "truly whole"? Epstein hung himself in guilt and shame. Isn't that obvious? It's like a capital punishment he placed upon himself. And do you think the victims are made "truly whole" when a guilty verdict is rendered. Is there anyone who doesn't think he's guilty?
And monetary compensation will now not be delayed by a lengthy criminal trial.
1
In any civil cases brought in New York would the Dead Man’s Act bar the victims from testifying about any statements or conduct of the deceased in their presence? If so, they would be barred from testifying about the very acts of sexual abuse forming the basis of their claims.
1
Epstein's death is just too convenient for those who would have perhaps been outed in his trial or with his cooperation with authorities. There are too many questions to which there are not going to be answers. Because of Epstein's timely death many who were part of his operation or who were his guests or clients will be able to hide in the darkness without being accountable for their roles in abusing and raping children under the age of any kind of consent. Many powerful mean are wiping the flop sweat from their brows this week and breathing heavy sighs of relief. Already AG Barr has moved to blame two guards and a warden. I imagine the blame ladder will not go much higher than these folks. In the next few weeks or perhaps months, Epstein and his case will slide quickly and painlessly into the past, leaving his victims with little more than they had after the Florida case was closed against them more than a decade ago. What happened to Epstein in his cell last weekend may well remain a mystery, but the reasons that it happened are quite plain to see. All we have to do is follow who benefits from his death and the rest is fairly easy to figure. It is however not easy to swallow.
8
We have an administration that won’t take responsibility for its Justice Department or Bureau of Prisons.How can we trust it to seek justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein.
It is our president and William Barr’s absurd belief that while they can escape responsibility for what is under their control in the United States that they can blame Clinton for what happened as far away as Benghazi. They now speculate on Clinton’s blame in a conspiracy in the death of Jeffrey Epstein who who was guarded by their subordinates.
It seems that many powerful people of varying political persuasions had a reason to want Jeffrey Epstein dead. Dead men can tell no tales and can not be pursued in court. Any pursuit of damages have to be so substantial and evident that they can’t be disputed. I have lost faith in our law enforcement and Justice Department to pursue the truth or justice under even ideal conditions, so their announcements of an investigation doesn’t inspire confidence.It just appears to be the political police of the Trump Administration engaging in a witch hunt for political purposes.
If there was a conspiracy in the death of Jeffrey Epstein, its purpose has been accomplished- to allow Jeffrey Epstein and any accomplices to escape Justice
4
I still find that suicide was the chosen method of dealing with this arrest and charge by Mr. Epstein. He apparently had more dirt on more high and mighty folks than most anyone else. He had the kind of leverage that no ordinary pedophile could draw on, so why not play his hand instead of folding and bailing out?
It is a problem with people who have money and get caught in the criminal justice system. They have many more options than people without means, options that we probably could not imagine.
For all we know, the "suicide" was faked, Epstein was taken out of the prison and is on some island now, presumed dead and therefore beyond prosecution, and those who stood to be placed into criminal jeopardy by his being alive, are now safe too. Now you can call that a crazy conspiracy, and for average folks it is, but for those with means and leverage, do not put anything past them.
6
Like I said, how absolutely convenient that Mr Epstein is dead. And, to believe that Mr Barr will hold a legitimate investigation into the cause of his death is no different than believing in Santa Claus. Mr Barr has already shown he can't be trusted in representing the people's interests.
3
This is truly sad. Are we really not able to break through the layers of protection that the rich powerful perverts have? Here in front of us, we see the Attorney General, who should recuse himself, taking the case completely into his control. His people are "collecting" the evidence and it will never be seen.
They're trying to stir up the counter story about how prisons are underfunded so they couldn't get the right guards to protect him, the guards were asleep, the warden made a mistake, blah blah...and we're supposed to believe it. It's like a bad reality show but it's real life and apparently there's no counter power that can get to the bottom of it.
Yesterday a NYTimes writer wrote about how he could have gotten much more information from Epstein but didn't push. I wish he would have but then, who wants to rock that boat.
3
Perhaps the Investigation should start with Mr. Acosta. He obviously knows a lot and can name names and reveal the reasons why he let Epstein off with such a slap on the wrist.
Circumstances are such that if this is not done, the DOJ will lose whatever credibility it has left.
Barr should step aside and let the SDNY continue its investigation as well.
But maybe the only way all of the facts will come to the surface, with names named, and deeds exposed, is if the Miami Herald reporter takes on the challenge of bringing the rest of the facts to light.
She could start with the victims. I am sure some of those know who exactly their offenders were.
This investigation should not end or it will prove for once and forever that the rich are indeed different from you and me.
3
Unless, of course, they find his famous library of videos taken with hidden cameras. They could then track down the money he received, and match the owners of the accounts to the faces in the videos.
5
"Perhaps the greatest blow to victims was the loss of a public trial of Mr. Epstein that would have brought new evidence into view. Unless federal prosecutors charge someone like Ms. Maxwell as an accomplice, documents obtained from grand jury subpoenas will not be disclosed."
Precisely as the wealthy and powerful preferred. I don't know if William Barr had any hand in this miscarriage of justice through prison security lapses, but frankly, I wouldn't put it past him.
His egregious and deliberate mishandling of the Mueller Report told me all I needed to know about William Barr and his "instincts" to protect the powerful. His acclamations of being "appalled" notwithstanding, I am appalled that this man--of all men--is running the "Justice" department as if it were his personal fiefdom in protection of the president.
16
It would be worth her while to flip and tell everything she knows. She can bring down the mighty.
I'll wait to hear of a strange and unexpected accident befalling Ms Maxwell in the near future then...
4
Although none of the article's statements appear to be false, they do not prove any point. They are hypothetical if's - what might have happened, were Epstein still alive. This sounds more like gossip. As a former proseccutor the author should know this, and it does not advance his case. His arguments would not stand in court.
1
"In addition, when Mr. Epstein died, prosecutors lost certain tools in their kit that would have helped them bring charges against accomplices. If he were alive, he could have “flipped down” and cooperated against them if he was convicted and faced a stiff sentence."
This is the single most compelling reason why Jeffrey Epstein did not commit suicide.
Combined with all the sudden lapses in security and protocol, and you don't have to have a beard to use Occam's razor.
This is why Barr's faux outrage is laughable. He knows nothing can really happen now. He knows no one will ever be charged with murder. Let's see if the powers that be make a scapegoat out of some MCC employees. They've already temporarily reassigned the warden and placed staffers on leave. What a slap on the wrist.
The richer you are, the more you can get away with. This involved many of the richest and most powerful people on the planet. Those names don't appear on the flight manifests and Epstein's address book by accident. There was no way they could entertain him singing for a lighter sentence, and producing photographs or videotape of people doing things that they shouldn't.
What will happen? Nothing. Who among the rich and powerful will get caught? No one. This article explains why.
7
Bill Barr, the latest Trump fixer, once again upending our entire due process system to protect Donald Trump & cronies. Too much at stake like Mueller report. All right before our eyes, within accountability or recourse
5
Ghislaine Maxwell's disappearance should indicate - beyond a reasonable doubt - that she knew very well what kind of recruiting she was about. It would be naive to believe otherwise. From the top there should have been every measure taken to ensure Epstein not commit suicide. Those measures have been imposed successfully for other high profile perpetrators before. A better question to ask would be were those guards tacitly given the impression that falling asleep on the job was okay? Something stinks here especially in light of Epstein's earlier attempt to kill himself.
6
The BOP managed to keep one of the world's most violent, wealthy and notorious criminals--El Chapo--alive to see justice day after day after intricately planned trips across the Brooklyn Bridge to court. In my eyes, it earned a fabulous reputation.
I ordinarily don't believe conspiracy theories, but they are simply more logical for Epstein than sheer, utter BOP incompetence.
8
The avenue that remains open for exploration is why Cy Vance's office sought to have Epstein's sex-offender status reduced. It makes no sense unless someone was leaning on the scales. Whoever (or whatever) influenced that decision is highly relevant to the pursuit of justice.
11
To sum up:
A lot of people had very good reasons to want Epstein dead.
And prison always seems a good place to make somebody dead.
But there was no foul play. Oh, no sir! To even ask the question is unhinged!
Sure.
7
Sure does feel like we are living inside a crime novel - life imitates art. Central casting could not have come up with this - and what player(s) in the deep deep dungeon of corruption ordered the hit? I don't believe for an instant the guy offed himself - too much arrogance, narcissism and pathology for suicide; don't tell me all these the creeps up at the top don't think they are god itself. The god club just got away with more.
3
It's absurd and paranoid to think that the Clintons had anything to do with Epstein's death. But some other people must have been very worried about what Epstein would testify to.
The circumstances of Epstein's death bear a strong resemblance to the highly suspicious "suicide" of Abe Rellis just before he was to testify before the Interstate Crime Commission about the murder of Arnold Schuster during the Truman administration. And Truman's suddenly sending then-Mayor William O'Dwyer of New York City as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico until the Commission wrapped up its work -- inconclusively -- and disbanded. I have not forgotten. Look it up if you don't know about it.
I predict there will be a big investigation and it will find no wrongdoing on the part of anyone. And someone(s) who worked at the jail will come into a lot of money.
4
This article fulfills the narrative that DOJ wants the public to go with - its all about sex abuse of children. While they were the obvious victims, the ENTIRE Epstein saga is about tax fraud the super wealthy get away with through bogus charities, international money laundering, bank fraud, and other highly suspicious international crimes at the intersection of politicians and the uber - rich. And its these crimes, at the heart of the murky Epstein financial picture, that Barr and DOJ hope to obfuscate. He couldn't have abused and trafficked so many girls if he didn't have a lot of money. And nobody can yet explain how he got his money.
7
@rgs. I totally agree with you. The money laundering, tax fraud, etc, and would add intel gathering/blackmail sold to foreign and US governments to leverage powerful men to do their bidding. All that evidence will be collected and destroyed by Barr. That is what this story is about.
5
Epstein has said he has lots of security footage. Goodness know what else he had. That secure room on his island that was totally off limits must contain some “treasures”. Thing is, will it be used for universal good, against Trump or GOP enemies, or leverage to keep some folks in line?
3
I am sure many of his victims hated him and just wanted him dead, so in one sense there is a form of justice. There was no crime committed that would have given him a death sentence.
Mr. Epstein supposedly committed suicide? How do you supposedly kill yourself? Was someone else with him in his cell? Did he fake hanging himself?
Maybe Epstein was told what to expect if he spilled the beans and that it would be "worse than death." Maybe the powerful men that he "hung out with" are still powerful. Maybe they knew that if Epstein was dead, the trail to justice would be much harder to follow. Hm.
I don't believe in conspiracy theories but I also do not believe that Chris Christie had nothing to do with BridgeGate just because he wasn't found guilty by a court. I laughed to think of the guards being asleep or too tired and that there was no camera in his room. OOPS! If you believe all that was happenstance, I know this bridge in Brooklyn that's for sale really cheap!
I wouldn't be at all surprised if Trump had been involved with these young women and gleefully so. Barr will, of course, protect Trump and any of his other cronies, above and beyond all else. No justice there.
For all the very young women whose lives were forever changed by this man and his buddies, my sympathy. The same scenario happens every day as it has for centuries. Bill Cosby is fighting his conviction -- he was wronged. Oh please. He's rich, maybe he will buy off a judge. These days anything is possible. The thick sludge once used to be hidden. Not now.
Perhaps the government can sell Epstein's mansion and give the proceeds to his victims. Not full restitution but something.
2
"The victims will regrettably never see Mr. Epstein brought to justice", thanks to the shortsightedness of the judge who adamantly refused his lawyers plea of house arrest and ordered him jailed. He won that battle but lost the war of bringing him to justice. Then is the sloppiness of the correction institution that removed him from round o'clock suicide watch. This is a traversity of the legal system that failed Jeffrey Epstein's victims and lost our trust of the due process.
2
Don’t pursue the two nobodies who fell asleep. That won’t get us anywhere or create justice for anybody.
Pursue those who let Epstein remain at liberty all these years.
9
Yes. The "Cold Truth."
This man's death served many people's interests and thwarted many other people's interests. And justice? What justice?
2
William Barr is not to be trusted, regardless of what he says.
It was his prison, after all, so the blame ultimately is his. And if there’s even the remote chance that the criminal in the White House is implicated, Barr will see that it is buried. Maybe even by calling off the suicide watch? These days nothing that unthinkable is impossible.
6
AG Barr's father gave Epstein his first job, which allowed him access to young women, even though he had no real credentials. AG Barr should immediately recuse himself or be removed from his position.
10
We know that any average person would have been prosecuted and jailed for the acts committed by a politcally powerful narcissistic money grubber. And then there's Epstein.
3
Epstein, a strategist until the end, exactly that is the reason that the authorities shall protect his life in prison
2
Let's way to see this play out on Netflix. Trump could play himself.
2
Ms. Maxwell deserves life without parole. Of course she knew what she was doing.
3
A couple of things just don't add up. First, why did Trump come out with a statement against Bill Clinton? As usual, Trump uses subversion and deflection to take the heat off of himself. Second, why did Barr make a lot of noise with regard to the prison system that allowed Epstein to kill himself, or did somebody else do the dirty work and make it look like a suicide.
Based on past rhetoric from Trump and Barr, it might be thought that something like this is a strong possibility: Trump wanted Epstein out of the way because, as per the video captions of those two being together at parties, Epstein had a lot of under age female junk on Trump that would get exposed and Trump was not going to let that happen.
So, Trump got in touch with Vladimir, who is the world's leader in making people disappear and there were already prisoners in the Tombs who would perform Vladimir's bidding. Trump would agree to pardon those prisoners on his last day of being President.
Whatever and however, the deed was done and Trump and Barr just sat back and waited. Barr is a vociferous clown who has Trump's back and Trump is out to transform America into Russia II so he can get his Trump Tower Moscow.
I am not a conspiracy theorist, never have been, but with a President who is a pathological liar and an Attorney General who is for sale and being paid by Trump, nothing is too far fetched. Think about it.
9
@Mfreed
Actually it is the taxpayer who is paying Barr, not trump
1
After yesterday's raids on Epstein's island compound, all we can hope for is that at least one honest cop will see to it that any evidence found will be leaked before Barr can destroy it.
Yes, we are at a place where we pray for just one honest American to do the right thing. Sad!
6
I thought AG Barr made it pretty clear that he is solely interested in the trafficking aspect of Epstein's sordid life and has little interest in the victims of rape and sexual abuse.
IOW, AG Barr is going after Ms. Maxwell. How convenient since she is nowhere to be found! Hard to believe in this digital and surveillance age, but Ms. Maxwell is gone? I don't buy that one either but if she is out of the country then it's a no go too.
All that is left is civil suits. Monetary compensation will help, the biggest factor being at least the money is not going to Epstein's cohorts or enablers.
Once again, justice denied the victims. This is becoming too common in the US.
3
I really hope if I ever went to a set up like Epstein's my first call when I got out of there was to call a lawyer to frame how bring this to the immediate attention of law enforcement. Trump's statements that Epstein liked his women on" the young side" he was obviously not referring to woman in their early twenties. Trump himself had dated plenty of them. He is also referring to underage girls, whose relationship with Epstein could and should have gotten major jail time. Trump was just pallin' around an obvious pedophile and the idea of dropping a dime on this rampant criminality probably never entered his mind.
8
The cold truth about the Jeffrey Epstein case is when you’re wealthy, you get away with it.
5
Not a hint that there was false play?
2
If there's any truth to the claims about the number of very powerful and high status people he stood a good chance of exposing let me just come right out and say it. I seriously doubt this was a willing suicide. It doesn't pass the smell test to me; does it to you?
Seems very....convenient to have him confined to such a low max, lousy personnel facility as this one. And equally convenient to leave him unattended for a period of time.
Convenient, that is, to anyone looking to terminate a relationship with extreme prejudice. I'd bet the guy was executed. Big Money and Power would have arranged to squelch him, permanently. And if I'm even close to the truth of it then this implies the corruption in our society is extensive, and reaches all the way to the top. One apple ain't just rotten, the whole barrel is.
But we know this already, deep down, don't we? So it goes I suppose...
John~
American Net'Zen
7
@John: Clear as the light of day.
3
I believe he was murdered. There are too many people who didn't want to be named. It's sad for the victims. I don't trust Barr with do a thorough investigation because Trump is probably involved.
Even though he is dead Justice only works for the rich. I hope the victims get some finalncial compensation that will pay for their years of therapy.
2
The Epstein saga is just like Democrat politics. There’s never justice, just outrage.
Les Wexner says he's a victim of Epstein (I seriously doubt it), so I'm wondering why he isn't suing to get his Manhattan townhouse back?
Doesn't he want that $46 million back?
3
William Barr recused, then unrecused (why?), then exercised apparent indifference (un-benign neglect?), then blamed everyone else, then put himself in charge of investigating and then decried the principle "appearance of impropriety."
I don't think anyone acted with ill-intent, but it just doesn't look very good (duh). Bill Barr would do himself and his Department of Justice a big favor to step aside.
5
In science, you look at things in two basic ways: qualitatively and quantitatively.
It's not just that Jeffrey Epstein had sex with minors a couple times (one of these egregious acts would keep a man of color behind bars for decades). Epstein did it countless times with almost complete impunity. Thus, he must have had tons of help. Not just logistical help in procurement, as Ms. Maxwell would seem to have done. But financial help as well.
Epstein probably committed illegal acts in the financial realm also - simply to keep his preposterous lifestyle afloat.
Epstein transgressed statutory laws concerning sex with minors, young women. Heck, why should he not flout financial regulations as well? A leopard never changes its spots. And a sociopath is consistent in antisocial acts.
Epstein's patron, Leslie Wexner had a pal at the Ohio State University go to the slammer for insider trading. I'd look into the case. That would be easy money for the well-heeled, unscrupulous Epstein.
4
Mr. Epstein was brought to justice. He gave himself the death penalty.
AG Barr has shown how conscientiously he follows law and precedent -- NOT. The fox is in charge of the chicken coop.
4
Well, all of this is very predictable. That's why he was 'allowed' to take his own life while in a federal prison. All of the powerful men who abused these girls can sleep better now. Trump got a 'fixer' when he hired William Barr. And now everything is fixed.
5
It is a further humiliation to these girls that anyone thinks monetary compensation will satisfy justice. They were victims, unable to give legal consent. Epstein satisfied himself and offered them to well-connected “friends” to protect himself. It’s the story of a pimp and blackmailer who doesn’t know when to stop and of men in power thinking they can control sociopaths while satisfying themselves.
To tell they will be “compensated” by monetary settlement only seems like justice in a society where enough money can “buy” anything. It ingrains in us that a female body is primarily for male pleasure—and can be bought at a price. The “remedy” essentially tells us they’ve been compensated—and any male guilt is lessened by equating the crime with “paying for sex.” Will these young woman be made “whole” with a fee that leaves them with damaged self-esteem and little justice?
It’s said that many of these girls came from wealthy homes where, perhaps, the idea that money buys anything was so ingrained that they didn’t have the maturity to fend for themselves when lured with feigned affection. Epstein and his enablers knew all this and now the nervous “friends” are trying to cleanup the mess.
Epstein couldn’t face his victims, himself or his fear. Suicide or homicide is a permanent solution where, at least, the victims don’t have to face their predator or his lawyers’ attempts to discredit them. This is a mafia-type story and at the head of every family is a don.
Get him!
1
I'm sure Mr. Barr is doing a fine job shredding pictures and documents to protect the rich. Epstein made all his money by providing rich men with children for sex. Most likely filmed it in secret and blackmailed them for cash. Where are the documents Mr.Barr?
10
@gene we will never see those documents. That’s the point of the raids...to find all evidence and seal it by grand jury (or, more likely, destroy it).
1
Attorney General Barr is determned to create a diversion, away from Trump's involvement.
6
Ghislaine Maxwell did more than just help Jeffrey Epstein. There are allegations that Ghislaine Maxwell sexually assaulted some of the underage girls too. Her own actions may be grounds for prosecution too.
5
And why was his private island left alone so long?
FBI just got there...
I no longer believe anybody including 45, FBI and NYT.
Evidence is long gone.
Mr Barr is not believable on any level.
9
I have no hope of learning much more about Epstein’s partners in criminal behavior as long as Bill Barr heads the Department of Justice. His every action, thus far, has been to protect one of the individuals who deserves investigation.
6
Thank goodness our President was not involved!
2
Next up in the docket: George Mitchell, former Democratic Senate majority leader, and Bill Richardson, former Clinton administration U.N. ambassador.
And the plaintiff's attorney: David Boies, who represented Al Gore in Bush v. Gore during the 2000 Florida recount.
This is Al Gore finally getting back at Bill Clinton for the latter's costing him his rightful claim to the presidency by his selfish affair with a White House intern.
And singing from the rafters: the tenor Placido Domingo, belting out his operatic finale.
You can't make this stuff up!
It's all on Bill Barr. " Where does the buck stop? With someone else" - D. Trump 2019
3
This is all so convenient for Epstein's associates, such as Trump and Bill Clinton.
6
A trapped, disturbed, ultra-rich guy prefers to hang himself rather than trade his personal jet and private Caribbean island for a fetid 8-12 foot concrete box with an open toilet. Hanging can be fast, deadly and comparatively painless, arguably a better end than a life of humiliating, dirty incarceration. Maybe we should wonder why more convicts don’t choose this way out.
Is there some collective fantasy that Epstein would have taken the stand and named names? With his team of high-paid professional liars he could have made it through a dozen trials never opening his mouth except to breathe. All he could have wanted was time off his sentence and no prosecutor or judge would have agreed to put this rank child rapist back on the streets. Everyone wanted this evil man punished and he ultimately paid for his crimes with his life. In the end, his wealth and connections couldn’t save him and he died alone and desperate. If that isn’t a horror show, what is? I don’t understand why are people so infuriated.
Let his victims proceed to plunder his estate; they are well-positioned to do so and deserve to get it all. They might fare better, in fact, now that he’s dead. I can imagine, with the help of his loyal retainers and hired hacks, the accused might have found a way to dissipate many of his millions while awaiting trial, leaving little for his victims.
So, Esptein’s buddy, Trump, who secretly met with Epstein in 2017 to broker deals with Israel and the Saudis and who lied about not having seen him in 15 years, according to recent accounts, will probably escape accountability, too.
9
It all seems far too 'neat' for my taste. Oops, Epstein killed himself. And any dirt he had on rich folk who visited his estate or his island will never be revealed. And Drislane is conveniently outside the reach of U.S justice. Barr knows nothing will come of it. But get up there and puff out your chest and look all tough and nasty and people will think you are going to get something on someone. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else has committed suicide in that prison. Or was this the first time something like this happened. All too tidy and easily explained for my taste. And after all is said and done, the only people who will pay a price are the guards. Barr will have done his job. Making sure the rich and famous never pay the price.
7
does "justice" mean getting paid? - he killed himself - pretty much means he got the death penalty - one could argue justice has been served. case closed on him. feel free to go after the others though
The government looked like the Keystone Kops from the beginning to the end of the Epstein case. That's why I oppose the death penalty. The government is simply not competent to decide who lives and who dies.
2
"Jeffrey Epstein Death: 2 Guards Slept Through Checks and Falsified Records" read a headline today. Know what? Maybe the guards really ARE so stupid that they really DID sleep instead of doing their jobs, even though the prisoner was the highest profile in the country. Maybe there really is no conspiracy after all. OR....maybe there is.
7
@ManhattanWilliam Maybe the guards did accidentally sleep through their required 30-minute checks on Epstein. And maybe Epstein stayed awake all night waiting for that window when he thought, "They forgot so now I can hang myself."
Doesn't ring true to me.
2
seems to me the,administration is more focused in solving the suicide than his crimes.
3
Men like Epstein almost never commit suicide. Most highly functioning sociopaths in similar circumstances simply assume they will prevail. For example, look at Bill Barr; he's not accepting any responsibility for what happened... he's too busy looking for a suitable goat to blame. Getting someone else to fall on YOUR sword is considered an admirable survival skill in DC.
4
Anyone else worried about what Barr’s thugs will “NOT find” on The Island or in The Mansion?
5
With this enlightenment, any wonder there are conspiracy theories about Epstein's death.
4
Beyond the hideousness of his pedophilia, so much about Epstein is strange. Where did all of his money come from and how much is there? Why would a business leader like Leslie Wexner essentially entrust all of his money and affairs to him? What drew other rich and powerful men to him as friends? (Trump, Clinton, Prince Andrew, Alan Dershowitz, Woody Allen, George Mitchell, Bill Richardson, Glenn Rubin, and so on.) What, exactly, was his relationship with Ghislane Maxwell and why did she hang around, possibly as some kind of “recruiter” for him?
And why, despite all of his seemingly obvious exploitation of underage girls so out in the open, did the 2008 wrist slap deal happen? And why was nothing else done after that despite his continuing activities until the Miami Herald published its investigation? And why was one of the most notorious detainees held in federal prison, who had already tried to kill himself there only a couple of weeks before, not monitored more carefully despite supposedly being on “suicide watch”?
I am really not a conspiracy theory guy. But this whole thing smells like a cross between House of Cards, Scandal and Surviving R. Kelly.
10
I believe that many of his victims are glad to hear he died in prison.
1
Like everyone else my first thought was "Well, ain't that convenient"
But in the, perhaps unlikely, event that there was no hocus-pocus, it occurred to me that in the person of the warden of that jail, we have been introduced to the world's stupidest man.
3
Like a child, Barr is a blamer.
3
Epstein is not the first criminal to commit suicide in prison - do the countless other lapses in prison security get this much scrutiny?
Not to belittle his crimes or the plight of his victims, at all, but will this case do anything to highlight our wholly inadequate and mismanaged prison system? Facts show that the guards who slept during their watch were on (forced) overtime because of lack of staffing. Prison reform?
2
If Ms. Maxwell is as well connected as I suspect she is, she will not be touched. And if the investigation moves up the chain, Barr will get the message to go no further. Should the trail lead to invividual #1, Barr will lose interest entirely.
22
@JR. I assume by “individual #1” you mean Bill Clinton.
1
No excuse is needed. It was all too convenient to too many important people. I have never been a conspiracy theory person, but any investigation had better not have Barr's fingerprints on it.
15
I will hope that the I.G.’s report will be thorough and balanced, but suspect that more might be learned from civil suits filed by victims.
If nothing else, the victims have no reason to protect the status quo.
2
I hope all of the the women who were abused will eventually secure some monetary compensation. But the really important thing now is for them to find ways of renewing their lives. A long difficult trial complete with their testimonies and endless appeals would have been yet another horror for them. Epstein is now gone, having in effect confessed to his crimes and applied the death penalty to himself. I hope the women can achieve a bit of relief from that.
5
Rudy Giuliani gives an excellent, pithy summary of the suicide issue in a current youtube video. His key points are that whether or not Epstein was on 'suicide watch' he should have been on continuous watch using a camera, of which there are many in the jail, as well as audio recorders. As the most vulnerable and important detainee, he should have been well-guarded, but even 'substitute' or 'overworked' guards should have prevented the suicide. Giuliani regards the published scenario as 'impossible.'
11
Regarding being whole:
There are things which happen in this world, which no science, psychology, sociology, or other areas can explain yet. I think if statistics are added to intelligent observations and opinions, it makes a significant difference. If there is 0.001% of a population which has experienced trauma like this, and become "whole" (according to our norms), this needs to somehow be put before the young women who were used, and are most likely still able to be swayed in the way they think about themselves. The accounts and thought processes in Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" come to mind.
1
Regarding being whole:
There are things which happen in this world, which no science, psychology, sociology, or other areas can explain yet. I think if statistics are added to intelligent observations and opinions, it makes a significant difference. If there is 0.001% of a population which has experienced trauma like this, and become "whole" (according to our norms), this needs to somehow be put before the young women who were used, and are most likely still able to be swayed in the way they think about themselves. The accounts and thought processes in Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" come to mind.
Justice for money. The truth is that justice isn't blind. It's just that money makes her look the other way. Time and time again people who can afford the best legal defense can avoid doing time. So, it's not about guilt or innocence. It's about how much money can you afford to spend to buy your freedom. The whole criminal justice system is corrupt. From the judges right on down to cops. Everyone's got their hands out. And the victims get victimized again by the legal system.
5
While I hate to see Epstein escape justice and make it harder for those wronged to receive some compensation, inadequate as it will be, I think suicide is a right that anyone should be allowed to exercise at any time.
3
@lvzee I totally agree about the suicide. It IS a right, we DO have that "option," and if others are not willing to help us live, then the same ones can't tell us how to die. Thanks, Ivzee.
2
A completely realistic take. In summary maybe the occasional headline but the chances of convicting or even criminally charging any of Epstein's associates is next to zero. On the civil front winning cases against whoever has inherited his estate is not going to be easy either so what you are likely to see is some out of court settlements with the victims who have a sound case. The reality of due process.
1
Too many conspiracy theories here.
Acosta was appointed by President George W. Bush as
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida to show Bush's commitment to diversity. Acosta is Hispanic,
As to the rich and powerful, Trump never flew on Epstein's private plane. Clinton did.
Trump's portrait did not hang in Epstein's NYC mansion, Clinton's did.
Most telling: Epstein was not invited to ANY of Mr. Trumps children's weddings . But Epstein was invited to Chelsea's Clinton wedding. The one and only child of Mr. and Ms Clinton.
Think about this for a moment.
Your only child marries. Would you invite anyone who is not a good friend ?
20
I am far from a Clinton supporter but in many circles political and business associates are a substantial portion of the guest list.
9
@John Thank you, John. At last, someone assigns the proper POTUS to this narrative: W. Bush. At the time Acosta made the sweetheart deal with Epstein, he was working for George W. Bush, in the southern district of Florida, governed by JEB! Bush. The Bush family freed Epstein, and is directly responsible for all crimes he committed forthwith. And your point regarding the Clintons is spot-on. Only CLOSESTS friends are invited to your only child's first wedding, and Maxwell and Epstein were front and center. It was Bill Clinton who spent his retirement on the Lolita Express, and it was the Clinton White House that hosted Ep and Max. Trump was not around.
2
Justice deferred is justice denied.
These women bravely spoke out in the past, and dedicated investigators tried to get them justice.
Then something very odd and mysterious happened. A sweetheart deal from Acosta, secret coconspirators who were given a pass, and the social ranks closing around Epstein as though he were not a sexual predator of children.
The investigations must continue. Enormous money flowed into his hands. Was this due to blackmail? To sex trafficking? From the mob or Russians or some other criminal elements?
One woman who said Trump raped her when she was 13 at an Epstein party had a witness and tried twice to sue him. Trump admitted to being good friends with Epstein back in the day. Now the record shows this was exactly Epstein's modus operandi.
She is due justice. So are all the others, both the ones who have come forward and those still in the shadows.
Let the cards fall where they may. If Trump went beyond sexual assault to rape of a young girl, frankly that is something of a pattern for him including in dressing rooms.
And Barr needs to recuse himself from any involvement whatsoever given his father's support of Epstein.
112
Why all the whining about the lack of justice? The main bad guy is dead. In the eyes of most people, Epstein killing himself is an admission that he committed the crimes of which he was accused. Think about it. Had OJ Simpson been killed or killed himself while driving his White Bronco wouldn't justice have been served? Instead, he was acquitted of a murder that all but a few believe he committed. Count your blessings. Epstein could have hired the best, the brightest and the dirtiest to get an acquittal. Will there be perfect justice here? Probably not. But when do we ever get perfect justice?
6
Epstein is dead and his victims aren't. That's the only thing that matters. Justice is more than the attention, pageantry, and media attention that comes from a criminal trial (in fact those things are often not a part of "Justice" at all). I cannot understand the hand-wringing and uproar and investigations as to why or how he killed himself.
Let the victims recover some money but let's stop pretending like Epstein got away scot-free. He is, after all, dead and death is usually the harshest punishment we give a wrongdoer.
8
We have no knowledge that Epstein has written a note to admit his guilt. He was awaiting trial, innocent until proven guilty... and he died as such. We all know in our guts that he commuted these monstruosité crimes, but there has been no demonstration of his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. That’s how Justice has been denied by his death.
The public examination of his crimes, his ties to business and political leaders, and his shady finances should have been closely examined and put on display in a trial, spectacle or not.
2
The fact that his island and other properties weren't searched the day he was arrested tells me this is a cover-up, and that raid was there to destroy the evidence. Can you think of any other reason why the arrest and warrant wouldn't be lined up in succession in a case of this magnitude? It just doesn't make any sense at all. Very powerful people afraid of what Epstein might have kept doing whatever they can to destroy that evidence? That does, unfortunately, make a lot of sense.
10
The case is raw, it is right that the victims seek legal justice for any co-conspirators for the victims' sake and to protect others. Outrage accompanied by a sickly feeling in the gut makes sense. Yet, the legal system's only means for response is to punish the perpetrators within a legal framework. It can neither truly heal the wounds of all who are affected nor can it prevent similar kinds of abuses. Another conversation is desperately needed because our culture and the human condition interact to make these situations all too frequent. This is true of the very rich and powerful and at every class in society.
2
The greater difficult prosecutorial choice I see is: Will the federal government for criminal or tax liability reasons attempt to seize by forfeiture. If they do so priority ranking, then that could diminish the net assets of the estate remaining to satisfy victims’ monetary judgments.
I believe that no amount of pressure would have coerced Epstein into flipping. There was no way he would have escaped prison. He was self-centered, so preserving his estate for his heir would not have offered meaningful leverage. Perhaps not having him take the stand and pleading the 5th Amendment will end up being a better path towards finding culpability among his enablers.
"They instead face the challenge of protracted civil litigation, which can yield monetary compensation but cannot bring them justice or make them truly whole."
That's our system, and it should not change for Epstein, as it did not change because of O.J. Simpson, who remained alive but managed to insulate himself from civil judgments.
Hard cases make bad law.
1
Something seems deeply wrong with our criminal justice system. It cannot protect the accused while imprisoned awaiting trial. Now the lawyers are stumbling all over themselves explaining why it will be so difficult for any of the victims to achieve justice. Proving again that money & power are part of our two tier system where, for some, laws are just inconveniences.
5
We need a way to release the investigative reports. We need the victims to come forward. We need to know who the perpetrators were, all of them, regardless of their power.
6
This is likely not a conspiracy. Those who are being accused of conspiring are too smart to risk targeting someone who is a person of public interest, like Epstein. I'm not one to discount conspiracies off-hand (I had my own personal experience with some of those being accused that one could easily put in the category of conspiracy). However, the facts of the case do not add up.
Assuming that he killed himself for the sake of his co-conspirators leads to a logical paradox that I believe fundamentally disproves the conspiracy.
On the one hand, if he was NOT willing to testify against them, then why kill himself for their sake. Why not simply not testify? On the other hand, if he was willing to testify against them, then why would he kill himself for their sake. In such a scenario, why not testify and get a decreased sentence.
This implies that his actions were taken independently and irrespective of his co-conspirators incentives and interests. Thus, I believe it is highly unlikely that a larger conspiracy is at play here. Some of the accused co-conspirators are shady—I have dealt with them; however, the facts of the case seem to suggest that his action were taken without their prodding.
Do you wonder why the spectacularly incompetent warden who chose to leave Epstein alone and to take him off the suicide watch was reassigned and not suspended without pay? The answer is no doubt that he has rights under the employment rules for federal employees that protect him and the 2 sleeping guards who falsified their reports. An important story that will probably not be covered for very long is how these 3–and perhaps others, will be dealt with. It is likely that they, like way too many incompetent government employees, will ultimately skate. In fact, I won’t be surprised if they file lawsuits for how they were treated.
1
The prison was understaffed. Guards and other untrained personnel were repeatedly forced to work overtime.
Why didn’t the Justice Dept just hire more guards to meet at least minimum staffing needs? Because for the past 5 decades the GOP — the party that continually harms our economy with its “trickle down” voodoo economics scam — has systematically deprived our government operations of the funds needed to efficiently carry out the work at hand. They have stolen our money, money to keep us taxpayers safe and run our government, to give huge tax breaks to the already-obscenely wealthy.
Vote blue 2020 and throw these bums OUT!
2
First of all, NEVER trust whatever comes out of the mouth of prosecutors and DA's. NEVER. And that includes the author. As a defense attorney I can guarantee absolutely no one among the "associates" or "acquaintances" will ever be brought to trial, and any civil suits filed against the Epstein estate MIGHT be settled by the time the petitioners' grandkids are in college. The spectacle however will continue with prison officials retiring, jail guards docked pay and new, expensive surveillance equipment will be contracted out for ALL Federal lockups to a favored contractor. That's how the world spins kiddies, so either enjoy the ride or get off.
8
This article admits that Federal prosecutors have effectively turned the Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination against defendants.
First, a defendant cannot defend against forfeiture actions unless he waives his rights. Thus, a defendant suffers the harshest penalty possible, other than prison, when loses everything that can be forfeit, even before he has a chance to a criminal defense.
Second, the victims bringing civil actions cripples the right to a criminal defense. It is entirely up to the civil judge how long the criminal right against self incrimination will apply -- thru trial usually but not always, but not usually to an appeal. So a defendant either loses it all, or loses an appeal.
This system was developed to get at unpopular defendants, like organized crime. Getting a sexual predator like Epstein certainly fits that pattern.
However, such organized destruction of rights doesn't end with just the popular target of the day.
We don't provide these rights for the benefit of the dirtbags among us. It is for all the rest of us, and the health of our society, that we set up a legal system that provides rights to an accused, to all accused.
We've been eating away at that, and this author, a prosecutor, is not troubled at all by that. Be afraid of those prosecutors. When they get one, they find more to get. It doesn't end when the bad guy of the day goes down. It is only starting then, with the inviting excuse to eliminate our rights and protections.
26
Here's my "conspiracy theory." AG Barr and the president are fully aware of the circumstances that this column describes. The victims' case is significantly weakened. The AG and president will criticize and punish low ranking employees in the federal prison system... despite the fact they themselves are responsible for mismanagement. Epstein had no good options and, given the opportunity, his demise was inevitable. Now it is difficult to prosecute Epstein's associates and this is exactly the AG's and president's intent.
77
Thank you. One of the most objective analysis of the effect of Epstein's death and how things will actually play out from here. So much of the commentary is from a prospective of how this supports an existing political view or agenda. Starting with the fact that a some well known people may be sleeping better with Epstein's death. This does not support that any of these people had any involvement in or there was a conspiracy to kill Epstein without additional facts, not speculation.. The only hard truth is that it is hard to feel any sympathy over Epstein's death, who was as sleazy and immoral as they come and we will probably never know the truth, whatever that may be.
8
Evidently Prisons are not safe places for people either who want to commit suicide or who know too much to allow to publicly speak and incriminate others. Perhaps each cell should have mandatory video taping and the government should be liable for suicide or other prisoner deaths. If the government had to pay out damages to the families of prison deaths and they were sizable the problem would end instantaneously. Vietnam , Mai Lai and the US border tells us that the U.S. has no respect foreign lives. Prisons tell us we have no respect for the lives of our citizens either.
24
@Michael Cohen It’s interesting that you think Epstein’s death deserves respect. Bizarre.
You mention that if authorities had enough evidence to bring charges against Maxwell, they would have. But knowing that the case against her has to be iron clad, don’t think for a moment they aren’t trying to do just that. It takes time, victims and their input to compile a solid case, and I hope they are doing just that!
31
@Let me know Where is Maxwell currently?
Or given Ms Maxwell’s background, might she also vanish ?
1
I am not sure that the scenario that Mr. Mariotti envisioned would have taken place. Epstein was likely going to prison for the rest of his life no matter what he told prosecutors. He was at the top of the pyramid.
How could they get him to cooperate?
He could have pleaded guilty, avoiding a trial and avoided further questioning or having to face his victims.
This is basically what Madoff did and his secrets are likely die with him.
9
Since Epstein killed himself or was killed in the maximum security federal prison on William Barr's watch, this is another of Barr's multiple failures of, or violations against, the Public Trust; his facilitating of the cover-up of the Iran Contra "affair", the manipulation and withholding of the Mueller Report with intent to obstruct justice, and now a convenient obstruction of justice, the well timed suicide of Jeffrey Epstein.
This may be a cold truth from a former prosecutor's perspective, but it is part of a bigger picture, a true reflection that is not lost.
123
Not to excuse the failures at the Bureau of Prisons, but I would feel that I had obtained justice if I were a victim of a crime and the perpetrator committed suicide rather than face a trial and a long period of imprisonment. In effect, the perpetrator would have validated my complaint and suffered the ultimate punishment in our system -- the death penalty -- without any risk of mistrial, acquittal, reversal on appeal or pardon. And as a victim I would have been spared the need to testify in a criminal trial, which is never a pleasant experience and would be particularly difficult for this type of crime.
14
No thanks. I want to see my tormentor tried, found guilty, and serving time. Not taking the coward’s way out via suicide.
2
@Joel What if Mr. Epstein did not commit suicide, but was murdered? Would you also feel "good" about it? Pedophilia generally does not warrant the death penalty in our criminal justice system.
And what if he were not guilty? The right to an accused's opportunity to clear his name will have been denied.
3
Judgments are a dime a dozen.
Collecting them is another thing.
Odds are an Epstein estate will never be opened because there are no assets to probate.
He had no assets in his name.
The "victims" should have filed suit while he was alive.
If they had, their claims would have survived and they would have had the right to chase down his transfers of assets.
In an irony of ironies, the victims may have malpractice claims against their attorneys.
In another irony, Epstein's estate has an air tight wrongful death lawsuit against the United States. And as well known as he was, the recovery could be in the tens of millions.
15
That’s why he died.
There are no accidents.
18
William Barr "demands" an investigation? How righteous! But he's in charge. Investigate himself?
"Round up the usual suspect" -- not very credible.
49
This Epstein-Barr thing is like a bad virus.
93
Albeit the main case is now closed, the case against Ghislaine Maxwell actually seems stronger. If previous failure to indict is an issue, the whole earlier plea bargain may be thrown out; it's clear from the disclosures how central her role was, and now there will be more. It might indeed be a case of swimming upstream (most people don't realize the degree to which prosecutors are constrained), but the current has shifted, as well as the overall cultural climate.
13
What is known about Epstein is likely just the tip of the iceberg. How many others were involved in his financial frauds, blackmail and other crimes? A whole network of powerful people, all of whom will now get away. No accountability, including for the stunningly inept BoP. Might as well be Putin's Russia.
The NYT should pursue every aspect of this case before it sinks to the bottom like the Titanic.
33
People who hurt young girls are the lowest form of life in prison. Mr. Epstein probably knew that once he went to prison, he would be a marked man. Reason enough for him to check out.
5
When Mr. Barr un-recused himself, the case got harder. Moreover, a living Epstein might have constrained the ability of Barr to interfere and otherwise obstruct justice. One central troubling fact is that Barr has a number of connections to possible co-conspirators including his own father Donald Barr who was, like Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Epstein. Though Epstein did not have a college degree, Donald Barr hired him to teach at his school. As reported here, Epstein behaved inappropriately at the school, for instance, fraternizing with his students. Donald Barr himself also behaved questionably. Though he was a headmaster, he pseudonymously wrote and published pornographic novels. Add this to the fact that both Trump, whom Barr thinks he represents (rather than behaving as the nation's chief law enforcement officer which in fact he is), and Alan Dershowitz, who has fiercely defended not only Trump but also Barr, appear in Epstein's little black book. Both Trump and Dershowitz were accused of participating with Epstein in the pedophilia even before Trump's butler tried to sell Epstein's little black book.
43
@Robert You really stretch things here. Trump was never accused of a role in Epstein's pedo life. If Donald Trump weren't POTUS, his name would seldom if ever be mentioned in this story. Barr aside, it was the George. W. Bush administration that gave Epstein the heavenly deal via Acosta, and it was Gov. Jeb Bush whose state law enforcement allowed Jeffrey to continue his crimes.
The news report that Epstein's brother Mark is in line to inherit his fortune is distressing. I was in Jeffrey's class in PS 188 in Brooklyn. Jeffrey, even at a young age, thought he was superior to everyone but that was not the case with Mark, a chubby, affable kid who was nicknamed "Pudgie" Apparently Mark carved out a comfortable financial position, which is all the more reason for Epstein's victims and not Mark, to be recipients of his wealth.
10
To be sure that Jeffrey Epstein didn't slip away from the law, again, has anyone seen his dead body?
52
Which is precisely why he was offed.
8
Brett Kavanaugh and the rich, powerful men in Jeffrey Epstein's orbit have this in common: other rich, powerful men ensured that no harm would come to them from abused girls.
38
How pathetic was it to see Baghdad Barr faux outrage over the pedophile's death at the MCC?
I hope his victims get justice but I sincerely doubt it.
22
With Barr in charge there’s zero chance that justice will be served in any fashion.
35
Ross is on to something which is why the "Times" hired him. Many scandals out there, the church, Penn State, the gymnastics doctor, Horace Mann and other prestigious Manhattan schools where predatory behavior has gone on for ages with boys and girls. Barr an HM graduate is as close as you could find a person who is competent enough to investigate the Epstein case .Truly where did all Epstein's alleged money come from? Surely not just from Wexner and his financial acumen.
7
So, what is competent Bobby Barr investigates and uncovers evidence that Epstein procured minor girls for Trumps enjoyment. Would he pursue it if he proscribes to the DOJ memo that a sitting President can’t be indicted? Unlikely.
Compulsive sexual predators in extremely powerful positions are not new. They are not (D) or (R) or U.S.A. either. Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, Mohammed Bin Sultan and who knows who else all spent way too much time with Epstein.
Given his pre-jail notoriety and the domination in the news cycle of Epstein's initial suicide attempt, why were the persistent problems about guarding him not publicly known? Who signed off on his release from suicide watch? Who expects me to believe that Epstein inadvertently, in a series of simultaneous, honest errors by at least three prison staff, went unguarded for a long time before anyone knew his regular (not a suicide-prevention) sheet hung him.
Epstein totally had the goods on his rich, powerful pals. I'm no detective but even I know a broken clock is right twice a day. I'm no crazy conspiracy theorist but Epstein's was at least an encouraged suicide and possibly more.
66
Shrieking was heard in Epstein's cell the morning he died. This information changes everything.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/shrieking-heard-from-jeffrey-epsteins-jail-cell-the-morning-he-died/
2
@Caleb, my apologoes, I thought that must be fake news, but I followed the link, and there it was on CBSNEWS.COM.
From the link: “On the morning of Jeffrey Epstein's death there was shouting and shrieking from his jail cell, a source familiar with the situation told CBS News.”
Seems like something worth following up on, eh, NY Times?
Two things must be looked into:
• Who is responsible for his death from the actual killer to whoever gave the green light
• Epstein’s co-rapists from Maxwell to whoever are in the AV recordings that were found in his mansion
10
I believe in two “conspiracy theories”:
1) Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.
2) Jeffrey Epstein did not commit suicide
I believe Epstein was murdered or he is living on his island with a bunch of tween sex slaves.
10
Just thinking about the physics of this case ....
It will be a long time before any human agency will be able to reliably transport any sort of living organism back into time and retrieve it safely.
However, sending an easily-concealed audio recorder back in time to a place you are sure this deceased person was at and possibly arranging criminal activity, and then retrieving it to compare recorded voices to those of living persons, might happen before too many new generations have arrived.
I wonder what Geoge Lucas is working on....
1
For obvious reasons, Mr. Epstein's untimely death is highly regrettable.
But consider the facts: in the Manhattan facility where he was held, there had been reportedly exactly one suicide in the last 40 years, 21 years ago. There were also only three foiled attempts.
This is an admirable record. It points not to incompetence in the Epstein case, especially since he was easily the most consequential prisoner.
The troubling question therefore is, did someone kill him, or did some tacit or explicit conspiracy allow him to take his own life. If he wanted to take his own life, would it be too far fetched to surmise that he paid the guards to look the other way? Or, if the guards considered him particularly noxious based on the nature of his crimes, would they on their own take justice in their own hands, and look the other way knowing that he was prone to take his own life?
Of course, this could have all been a very unfortunate accident due to temporary incompetence by the jailers. A black swan if you will.
But the exemplary record of this prison makes other possibilities, "irregularities" in Mr. Barr's words, eminently worth investigating.
10:05 PM est Tuesday.
31
The fact that Epstein was able to commit suicide is an appalling travesty, a true indictment of the ineffectiveness of Barr's DOJ. And now we, the public, are expected to entrust Barr with investigating his own department's colossal failures?
How come guards were able to protect and monitor notorious criminals like Paul Manafort, El Chapo Guzman, and the MAGA Bomber in isolated wings inside this same very prison, without any security protocol lapses? Why was Epstein, one of the most high-profile incarcerated inmates in the United States, not given the same level of protection, ESPECIALLY after a previous suicide attempt less than 3 weeks earlier? These are the core questions the Inspector General's office needs to answer. But since Barr as the helm of this inquest, the only thing we should expect are lies, obfuscation, and partisan gamesmanship.
Like Mr. Mariotti stated, the biggest injustice out of this debacle is the pain and anguish the victims will continue to live with. The only justice, if you could call it that, would've been a public trial listing the exposure of the truth - names of the accomplices, the criminal acquaintances (Trump), financial fraud, the seizure of assets. We can only hope that the Department of Justice will keep its word and bring the rest of the criminals associated with Epstein into a court of law.
20
Epstein eluded justice in life as well as in death. Whatever solace it may bring his victims that he will never again abuse anyone, his victims and not his brother deserve financial compensation. While receiving money from the Epstein estate will not alleviate the horrific memories of the victims, it would at least be a small measure of justice for them.
7
We are focusing on this destructive man's selfish suicide so much we are not focusing on the continued bravery of these women. Testifying against a sociopath wouldn't give these women closure but allowing the truth to be told, will. Why hasn't his accomplice been charged yet? My guess is that prosecutors hoped to use that cold fish to testify against him because of her past immunity deals. The Civil Court cases need to move forward and faster.
10
But in a way victims did get their justice - Epstein is dead. As much as we would have liked to see him suffer more, much more, what if our justice system, as corrupt as it seems these days, would have let him go? Can we even imagine?
3
This isn’t going to end well for Maxwell and others I bet. Maxwell was named specifically as a pimp and participant. Just because defendant 1 is dead doesn’t mean that defendant 2 is off the hook. Things have gotten more complicated since the suicide but these crimes won’t simply go unpunished.
5
The worst is that Epstein's death virtually eliminates any possibility of getting a grasp on how his abomination of a plea deal happened. As a lawyer and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I agree with Father of One that nothing is a true fix. But in this instance, the painful wound I'm dying from is the perversion of the legal system that I've always defended by a bevy of the most powerful lawyers in the country representing the interests of incredibly powerful people.
12
Let’s ask the obvious question that nobody seems to have the guts to ask.
Where were the parents ?
Were they at all interested in their kids traveling around the world on a private jet with some man they didn’t know ?
Now that big money is in play, are they suddenly “shocked” to discover the rich man had bad ideas for the kids ?
Give us a break - nobody cares while the money flowed.
15
Yep. Money and Power. Michael Jackson groomed the parents and the kids....
@John
Parents? Wasn't it established that Epstein preyed on homeless girls? Many as young as 14? He gave them money to give "massages" to himself and his 'clients'. He also used them to recruit other young, homeless girls. There were no parents running interference.
3
I care. And regardless of the parents’ possible culpability, these women deserve justice for the inhumanity they suffered while children. Every person who participated and/or facilitated or enabled this barbarity should be held accountable; and the fact that they won’t be is an indictment of the United States’ betrayal of its own creed.
2
The DOJ needs to bring criminal charges against themselves for destroying evidence. Who's watching the watchers? Banana Republic here we are...
28
In today's America if you question the 'official story' no matter what the underlying circumstances you are labeled a 'conspiracy theorist'. Talk about muddying the waters. This is the swamp at its best. No need to get into Bill Barr's connections with Epstein. Alarmingly the media seems to play up the abundance of 'conspiracy theories' as if that is the state of America today. No. Produce the facts. Autopsy? Co-conspirators? Was he really a hedge fund manager? C'mon now. Hopefully Julie Brown will get to the bottom of this because everybody seems like they want it to go away.
23
There's been several pictures and images of Epstein with his celebrity. But what can't be unseen was the video shot of Epstein at Mar a Logo with Trump at a party with at least a dozen women. The shot of them laughing and obviously commenting about the women was disgusting.
42
@greg
Truly nauseating image, especially since all those cheerleaders were more than 20 years younger than Trump (then 46 years old). Perverts together basically, which evangelicals ignore along with the mountain of other evidence that Trump is depraved.
38
There is nothing preventing the ongoing investigation of Procurer Maxwell's enthusiastic participation in Epstein's evil enterprise. Could she have found a more despicable way of using her influence among powerful men?
4
So I'm confused, is the Epstein story covering for the Missouri debacle or the China tariff catastrophe? Or are the tariff and immigration stories meant to snuff out Epstein, pun not intended.
7
I submit that Wm. Barr may have seen to the suicide of an inmate who could have caused havoc for Donald Trump. And there are those calling for Barr's impeachment; I second those calls. He's a crook, our Attorney Corporal. What he did for Reagan's Iran-Contra crooks, he will do for Trump's felons. And the list of Trump's guilty associates is lengthy. The Barr Impeachment Trial may prove to be the Trial of the Century.
47
Epstein's lawyers can continue to siphon funds from his estate without the bothersome existence of Epstein. I bet they're all crying.
3
This is a curious comment. What does Barr have to do with this? He is new on the job. He is a reputable person and will find out what happened.
1
@Alan
Barr ended the Mueller investigation, squashed the report for weeks, released an early short and completely false summary of the report's finds, continues the family separations of immigrants and the abuse of refugee children, etc. He is not in any way a reputable person. If he ever was, he sold that for power.
23
“They instead face the challenge of protracted civil litigation, which can yield monetary compensation but cannot bring them justice or make them truly whole.”
Making “them truly whole”, what does that ever mean?
If that means being able to testify about what happened in open court, it may bring some initial sense of justice. That is understandable, but then there is the risk of unwanted things being brought out during cross-examination that could make the experience even worse.
Financial awards in a civil case brings its own satisfaction but what these victims are seeking doesn’t have a price tag on it, or shouldn’t.
Perhaps visualizing Epstein’s body hanging limply in his cell might satisfy, but what the victims claim happened to them is not a capital crime.
Epstein’s death, as this piece discusses, will make it harder to see criminal convictions or realize financial compensation, so maybe rather than seeking some undefinable wholeness, it might be better for the victims to accept Epstein’s death as the only definitive outcome of this whole sordid matter.
2
Do you know what will help restore a degree of justice to the victimes in the Epstein case? It is for president Trump to stop tweeting conspiracy theories that distract from the real issues.
36
@Thomas
Or just fess up that he was also a client and was accused of child rape before the victim ran away under intimidation.
14
@Thomas
Fully half the country is thinking about a conspiracy, either to end J.E.'s life, stage a Juliet Capulet scene, or install a ringer willing to provide for his family in an odd way.
The goofy thing here is the Hate-Trump crowd breathing hard about making the Attorney General pay some sort of price, when the two A.G.'s installed by this president are mountains of personal integity and courage compared to the two utterly loyal political soldiers willing to surrender their reputations as Pres. Obama's A.G.'s.
1
@L osservatore Oh dear. Sessions and Barr 'are mountains of integrity.' I want some of what you are having.
4
I agree with all the conclusions of this piece but one: the prospect that Ms. Maxwell may have an easier time of being exonerated.
From reporting and court filings, it would appear that Ms. Maxwell not only new full well what Epstein was up to, what her role was in procuring under age girls meant for the girls--she at time actively participated in the sexual abuse.
If she is not indicted, that would speak volumes about the comittment to bring enablers or paricipants in these crimes to justice.
I expect the odds of her early demise are equivalent to Epstein's--especially given the budget constraints our DOJ has so convincingly cited to explain Epstein's death.
15
It is heartbreaking the utter lack of humanity these young women have endured. At the hands of rich and powerful men that considered them nothing more than objects, they suffered unmeasurable pain. I don’t believe in hell, but if I did all these men will be there.
46
Did you notice that one of the co conspirator in his crimes who’s picture is posted with him in this article is a rich powerful woman?
4
It appears there were women involved too
3
@Michael, so in your mind, that excuses the scores of hateful men involved in this display of inhumanity? Your lack of proportion and empathy is nauseating.
6
Trump is the poster boy for no accountability. Just in case there was any doubt, he has Barr to back him up.
There is no way the American public can trust the words and actions of this leadership. The DOJ is known for political bias and inhumane cruelty.
We cannot expect anyone to be treated fairly under their watch.
64
@Louise Mc
And certainly not to own up to their own culpability.
5
I feel very bad for the victims of this man. But, it seems that this scenario has happened many times before against prisoners that are far less famous than JE. Our justice system is under the influence of only one driver. MONEY
13
The very rich play by a very different set of rules than everyone else. I never really expected this case to be any different.
37
@Michelle
Indeed. And then there are the "rules" "trump" plays by. Which are basically, it's good to be king.
6
In other words, no justice. Meanwhile, Donald J. Trump, because he is president, is above the law for any and all crimes he might have committed in the past or might in the present commit. Witnesses and government officials ignore Congressional subpoenas with impunity to thwart a case for impeachment. What a great system we have! The least we can do now is demand Congress appoint a special prosecutor, outside the Department of Justice, to investigate Epstein's death and follow all leads.
39
Thanks for saying what I've been thinking.
8
Real justice will be served when the putative blackmail DVDs we have all heard about in the prosecution reports are cataloged and their contents made public. Needless to say, I am not holding my breath. It would appear that Mr. Epstein’s real occupation was as a pimp of young children and an extortionist. Who were the Johns? Dare we look?
80
There are no "prosecution reports" about "blackmail DVDs."
2
Congress needs to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Mr. Epstein's death. Attorney General Barr is compromised by the fact that his father (ironically named "Donald") hired Mr. Epstein to teach math at the exclusive Dalton School on the Upper East Side.
33
There are so many parties of influence interested in Epstein's demise from the President on down, that it is immaterial whether he was killed or allowed to commit suicide (which, one could argue, are the same). Epstein's knowledge was of such consequence that one could have justified not simply one "sitter", but why not 3. Now the coverup begins where low level individuals in compromised positions unable to account for their personal or systemic vulnerabilities get blamed for choices which were permitted to occur, while those with real power at the very top are able to dodge the bullet. This was a systemic-level supported execution from beyond the walls of the prison and the truly culpable individuals will not be named.
93
There is no excuse for him to be allowed to commit suicide. At the same time, if the victims had asked for a harsh penalty for what Epstein did, life imprisonment would have been most they would have hoped for. Now we have a death sentence, although imposed by the wrong entity. Even though the 'system' failed them, the victims should take some solace in that voicing their complaints did directly result in the death of their oppressor.
9
@Steve
The victims wanted all of their abusers brought to justice. Epstein’s death makes it a certainty that the others will never see an arrest warrant or the inside of a courtroom.
19
@ADN
If Epstein were extorting people or simply receiving payment for "services rendered", an exhaustive review of all his accounts might reveal where the money came from. Determined accountants can hide the money, but even more determined investigators have a shot at finding out who was behind the hiding.
6
@Steve: But was that death a harsher penalty than a prison sentence after a trial and conviction? Epstein apparently saw it as the easy way out, so maybe some of his victims won't feel a lot of solace that he was allowed to take it.
2
I urge Barr to recuse himself from this investigation, or others in law enforcement or government should force him to recuse himself, for two reasons: first, as attorney general, he leads the department that oversees all federal prisons, so that he is investigating his own department--an obvious conflict of interest; second, his father, as headmaster of the Dalton school, hired Epstein to teach there even though Epstein did not have a college degree (which is virtually unheard of in any school), so Barr is personally connected to the Epstein case. In any event, Barr can not be trusted to pursue the truth or tell the truth, so any investigation he leads will be suspect, to say the least.
28
For me there are still unanswered questions about Epstein's death.
The NYC ME has still not made a definite statement about whether the death was suicide or homicide.
We still do not know what was used to hang Epstein.
Was whatever was used an object normally in all cells or only in cells of non suicidal inmates or never in cells for any inmate.
Were there grab marks on the body which would indicate homicide.
Why for a possibly suicidal inmate [Epstein was found several weeks earlier with marks on his neck] was there not a camera with continuous surveillance in the cell whose images a CO would view every few minutes.
A 30 minute interval is too long a time for suicide prevention.
Many people are happy Epstein id dead and can no longer testify about anyone involved in Epstein's sex crimes.
That does not mean the death was a homicide.
It does mean the death should be fully investigated and the full autopsy report be made public.
10
@Eric Blare
Transporting young girls across State lines for the purpose of underage sex, I think that would constitute a felony. So if any of the victims could show they were driven or flown from another State ...
3
Stop with the euphemisms. Epstein and his crew raped children. "Pedophile" is a pretty benign description.
7
@Tony Cooper. It’s not pedophilia in any event. That describes those who desire prepubescent children. This was some other perversion seeking children with women’s bodies but not their free will.
2
Atty. Gen. Barr, as head of the justice department, was responsible for protecting a high profile prisoner like Epstein from himself.
His indecent haste in kicking the blame for Epstein's lax supervision to the bottom of the food chain suggests more than carelessness or incompetence.
It suggests that his will was lacking for reasons best known to himself and his boss, but which are not difficult to surmise.
20:30 EDT, 8/13
29
Maybe he was guilty. Last I checked we still have a presumption of innocence. All we have for sure is a dead guy and a barrel of uncontroverted ‘evidence’. Maybe he wasn’t guilty. Since there is a pile of money, there will be a feeding frenzy. Maybe there will be a trial- and a record of facts, probably not. We can all agree that this story makes us bit players, like extras in a Billy Wilder film. It is all so ugly.
2
@Robert: He was already proven guilty in Florida, so there’s no doubt about that, but he got a slap on the wrist due to Acosta. The train of “presumption of innocence” passed the station a long time ago.
10
He was already convicted of sex crimes
6
Epstein has a pattern of guilt. In 2008 he pleaded guilty to raping a 14 year old girl.
Although he spent only a year in part time imprisonment, investigators implicated him with 36 other young girls.
In other words, the guy is a monster.
7
Mr. Mariotti argues as if this case was your-run-of-the-mill criminal scandal. It’s not. It involves the sexual trafficking of minors across states and across oceans and nations for the use of Domestic and international VIPs - all male. It also involves people who worked for Epstein and “arranged” his life and who are reported to have signed NDAs. With his death, aren’t these contracts null? If the state can offer protection to these staffers, current and past, much evidence can be gathered -documents, video, audio. The morally malleable Ghislaine Maxwell, like her father, appears to have been involved in nefarious activities on Epstein’s behalf and personal enjoyment and should be tried - no doubt, she will have good lawyers; still, we don’t know what evidence Epstein’s computers, what and whose photos he had and what his staff, assistants and advisers kept.
Although some staffers and associates can argue that they were forced to participate or unknowingly participated in sexual trafficking, it won’t work for the same reasons that Nazi collaborators claimed innocence and victimhood by association. Ghislaine is as good as cooked.
Ultimately, it depends on how the government pursues this case. Chances are that under AG Bill Barr, the case could be derailed
32
What's your hunch Renato?
4
Forgive my ignorance, perhaps someone can enlighten me. But this article seems unnecessarily pessimistic. Yes, Epstein is dead. But why would that mean that prosecuting co-conspirators stops dead in their tracks? I am sure there is an abundance of emails, texts, voicemails, saved files, records, documents, etc that can be thoroughly investigated and paint a picture of who all was involved.
15
@Chelsey Leung Yes, all those trails could be followed. The problem is that Trump's AG, who spun the Mueller Report into misleading impressions, and who knows that Trump and Epstein socialized, is in control of the degree to which evidence is investigated, brushed aside, or worse.
6
"That doesn’t mean charges are out of the question."
No, it doesn't. So enough with the fear-mongering. We'll get to the bottom of this.
3
Epstein had sick fiends for friends, and they are wealthy and powerful. That's why he was 'suicided'...duh!
18
With the author until the very weak closing paragraph:
The victims will regrettably never see Mr. Epstein brought to justice, and unless one of his accomplices is charged, they may never see a public trial that establishes the abuse they suffered. They instead face the challenge of protracted civil litigation, which can yield monetary compensation but cannot bring them justice or make them truly whole.
--
The author obviously knows the criminal justice system better than I ever will, but It still sounds like a TV (reality-style) view of it, rather than something well thought out.
To hear the word "guilty" intoned 1 or 21 times DOES NOT HEAL. "Closure" was so grossly overused for some number of years that the Times is giving it a multi-year sabbatical.
"Make them whole" is both more nebulous and less accurate.
Since we don't operate on "an eye for an eye," it's mostly about using money to "compensate" victims. Just as Munves and others basically knew that "resistance was futile" once the facts were the stinking pile that they came to be, ... I simply don't believe that lawyers will zealously combat JE's victims. Rather, it may look more like the 9/11 aftermath, where payouts become somewhat formulaic.
Last, don't forget that Dershowitz' slander trial(s) and others like it will accomplish much of what the author says has gone up in smoke with Epstein's death - depositions, flipping, etc. And plenty will come out with the accused(s) NOT being a disgraced billionaire.
7
@edtownes
I'm in complete agreement about the authors statement regarding making the victims 'whole'. Rendering justice to a victim's tormentor does not make the victim whole. But rather upholds the conviction on "justice for all" and reaffirms the foundation of our country that no man is above the law. It's sad to say, but there's a bad shortage of that right now.
1
Are we even sure he's dead? Have you seen the body? If it's up to the Bureau of Prisons or the DoJ the fix is in.
12
Trump, Kavanaugh, Epstein...#MeToo
18
@Jerry Kavanagh
You forgot Bill Clinton. Just wanted to offer some balance.
3
@Jerry Kavanagh
Funny how you left Clinton, Kennedy, Weinstein, Biden, Weiner and any other Dems off your list. Probably just an oversight
1
@Midwest Josh
Has there been any proof that Clinton participated in the rape of children at Epstein's home or on his private plane? No, there have been no accusations from the victims now coming forward. Trump, on the other hand had a more current friendship with Epstein, until they had a falling out over Epstein trying to recruit a young person at Mar-a-Lago. Just to offer some balance to the right wing's continuing to drag Clinton into the sewer many of them inhabit.
2
Epstein died by his own hand. All this discussion of conspiracy is a complete waste of time and comes across as a society that is bent on retribution rather than punishment.
There is no greater prosecution in the US than death, and that's what Epstein chose. What I read is that people really wanted to torture him. Had he been tried and convicted, he would not have fared well in prison - society would have outsourced his torture to prisoners. While he may have deserved torture, it is prohibited by our constitution.
He's dead. We saved a lot of money that would have been spent on his trial. Let's just review the evidence he left behind and continue investigations into those that are still alive and at large.
15
For those who say Epstein escaped justice, giving himself the death penalty does in fact, seem just.
Assuming this really was a suicide. But this case has so many tentacles, it could easily have been a murder staged to look like suicide.
3
No, getting away with it is not justice. Suicide is not justice. Even murder in prison before trial is not justice.
Justice is when defendants face the accusations against them under due process of the law.
That is not what happened here.
Justice is important for the stability of society. What happened here is deeply destabilizing.
51
Those who accused Mr. Epstein of crimes should celebrate. In his suicide, they received what US justice would not have given them: the death penalty. If, in addition to his death, they want notoriety, they can write a book depicting what they went through as a substitute for a trial transcript and let the public decide whether or not their claims are believable. If, instead, they want money for their alleged suffering then they can do what the rest of us do when the world wrongs us, they can get a job, work hard, pay their taxes and save.
2
Those of us who care about justice don’t even consider sentencing.
Justice is when an accuser faces the charges against him or her under due process of the law.
I care about justice. I am opposed to the death penalty. Legal process includes sentencing, but its importance for society lies much more in trial by jury: the event when the accused faces the charges in fair trial settings.
10
You seem to forget. Epstein and his rich friends raped children
2
What nonsense to say that the NY feds can confiscate property of the estate of someone who was not convicted of a crime.
Also his NY house is known to be the property of a company. That company is now owned by a trust. That trust (nor the company) has not committed a crime. It is further nonsense to say that the NY feds can confiscate property not even owned by the deceased, an unconvicted late defendent..
1
You have no knowledge of American law...civil suits require a “preponderance of evidence” that, despite his death, absolutely can be used against his estate to compensate the victims. A hollow substitute for justice in the criminal proceedings, but still a very legal remedy.
6
@art benis A good forensic accounting will tie it all up if he really owned it all and then the route to a judgment is a short hop skip and jump away.
2
@art benis On today’s NYT podcast “The Daily,” a reporter addresses your issue by saying prosecutors are exploring the “ill-gotten gains” body of laws used in repatriating artwork stolen by the Nazis, to be distributed to the victims.
Maybe intrepid reporters from a newspaper with some resources could investigate and get the flight logs for Epstein’s Lolita Express to see who took flights on it and where they went.
3
@EGD The logs have been published long sgo. at least some of them.
2
@art benis
I think the key is who took flights to the island, and whether or not any prominent politicians dumped their Secret Service details when doing so.
3
The cold truth was left out of this piece. Sadly.
2
“ To bring a criminal case, prosecutors would need a victim with a credible account, backed up by supporting evidence, of a crime that occurred in a jurisdiction where such a suit could be brought”
Yes. Especially because in many instances the girls may have not been underage in the jurisdiction where the activity took place. Relations with someone who is underage is a much easier crime to prove establish a crime occurred with a legally “of age” girl where the defense of consent is in play
1
“. To bring a criminal case, prosecutors would need a victim with a credible account, backed up by supporting evidence, of a crime that occurred in a jurisdiction where such a suit could be brought”
Yes. Especially because in many instances the girls may have not been underage in the jurisdiction where the activity took place. Sex with someone who is underage is a much easier crime to prove ( it’s always rape) than establish that a legally “of age” girl was raped
1
I'd like to see his entire estate voluntarily turned over by any Beneficiaries to give victim restitution. Who would want to be a beneficiary of that disgusting man.
4
@Sal I’d take his money- for money arrives blameless and free of sin. Bearer paper. I might even do noble deeds with it, but it would come with no guilt.
1
The Public, following this case and debating how it might fall into the category of a 'conspiracy theory', may remember that the death of Ms. Maxwell's father remains to this day a mystery and inconclusive.
Most likely the Press went hunting for the truth, and whether 'Vanity Fair' for instance decided to profile her sire, this reader does not know, but the pursuit of justice for 'All' rarely happens in reality.
In another Era, there was a society tragedy which ended fatally, and 'Everybody', the Public and Press apparently knew that it was a formidable cover-up. After reading a best-selling novel by the late Dominick Dunne on the above, I forwarded it to The Red Queen who had been well acquainted with the persons depicted: 'It is quite accurate', she replied, 'but I have always found this story depressing, and felt sorry for (Her); I do not pretend to understand your Generation's interest in Our Tragedies; surely you must have some of your own'.
She was right, and did not live to see what is happening in The Trump Era.
3
I have yet to read who are the beneficiaries and the executors of Epstein's estate. It seems to me that these facts would be a basic journalistic target.
2
@TH Usually the executor/executors of a Will first notify the probate court which will include a copy of a death certificate. Don't know if NYC has even issued a death certificate yet. If they have, the executors will then go to probate, with the original copy of the will and file it and it will become public information. If there is no will, his next of kin a brother would probably be the beneficiary, but perhaps the probate court would appoint an executor.
2
The Will will do little more than establish an Irrevocable Trust under Will. The assets, beneficiaries and terms of which will forever remain beyond public scrutiny. The Trustees will most likely be institutional. Nothing will be revealed in Probate.
Again, this is not about “conspiracy.” It’s just how the real work works for people like JE.
Insider knowledge of people and events that JE cleverly sought to hide will be needed to pursue the matter further.
1
I remain dumbstruck the parents of these girls did not bring the hammer down on Epstein.
5
@texsun
Why? At the top of the list "trump" knows how to threaten. Roy Cohn taught him.
@texsun
Everyone was misled by the federal prosecutors who didn't disclose the plea bargain until months after it was complete.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/us/politics/acosta-epstein-fact-check.html
"After all, it’s not a crime to work for a criminal unless you are in on the crime."
What about Felony Murder Rules? In those cases, the defendant doesn't need to know a crime was being committed to be deemed as guilty as the perpetrator. Don't these laws still exist in the U.S.?
@Eric Blare No. You have to commit a felony.
2
@Eric Blare
No, that is not what the felony murder rule says. The felony murder rule does not mean that anyone who works for or with someone who commits a felony is also guilty of a crime. What that rule means is that if A,B, and C commit a felony (say bank robbery), and during the commission of that felony A commits a murder, B and C will be guilty of that murder as well .
3
In short, as I argue in Salon, it sounds crazy, but by killing himself.... Jeffrey Epstein got away with it.
https://www.salon.com/2019/08/13/jeffrey-epstein-got-away-with-it-will-donald-trump-escape-judgment-too/
9
Jesse will you pursue this story?
The victims need somebody like you on their side. If you have neither the time nor the inclination to pursue, will you try to persuade your colleagues to follow this?
John Winans has never seen justice for his daughter’s attack and murder. That was 1996. I pledged to him that I would help in any way I can. This case involves the same failure, culturally, nationally, to protect children from sexual predators and prosecute the criminals. Tell me how you think I can help writers like you pursue the truth in cases like this. You know how to reach me and thank you for your well reasoned piece in Salon.
1
@Jesse Kornbluth
I hope the scenerio in the last paragraph of your salon piece becomes true.
2
What credibility does a writer have if he doesn't know the definition of pedophilia, starting off the article with a misuse of the word? Epstein was a sexual predator. A violator of teenage girls. Pedophilia is basically a sickness, characterized by a deviant attraction to prepubescent children.
13
And who trusts Bill Barr not to shield his 'boss' from association?
10
In the public eye, Epstein was already convicted and sentenced. He carried out the sentence handed down by others--for which some of those others call him a coward. When I read about those who commit suicide, especially service members, and the speculative as to why they do it, cowardly isn't a word that comes to mind. Maybe he killed himself out of regret for what he had done. No one will ever know.
I don't know the evidence about Maxwell, but it's hard to say she didn't know they were under age once a dozen or so who are 14 or 15 testify, that's a tough defense. Her lawyers can argue and argue, but once you hear their testimony and see photos of them at the time and see the corroborating evidence, I don't agree with Mr. Mariotti that the trial would not be worthwhile. Why did she settle the defamation case on the eve of trial? Why has she seemingly disappeared?
Maybe Maxwell gets the turncoat deal. Maybe the others who are sweating it out right now drop a dime.
Telling a NYT reporter that under-age sex should not be a crime is one thing. I hope the money is followed. While Epstein's crimes against young women are atrocious, I suspect he was the best blackmailer of them all.
12
Considering Epstein's track record, keep wondering if he actually owns the NY house. Or the others, for that matter. Also wondering what is his actual net worth. He was such a liar that it might not be that much.
4
@Bob Jack The house is owned by a VI company. The shsres are owned by a trust. Who now owns the shares is unknown.
4
@art benis do you mean, “who now benefits from the trust” that is the shareholder or “who now controls the trust” that is the shareholder? Or both?
The FBI raided pedophile Island and house, more than a decade after the convictions. That lag probably added to making the pursuit of justice even more difficult.
6
The other cold truth is that we have cut federal revenues substantially and our now out of line with similar countries.
Less revenue means less staff, and fewer resources for all the criminal investigations the justice department needs to do.
When we devote all these resources to pursuing a dead man’s criminal story, and divert resources to this, we should remember all of the other victims of ongoing crimes who will also never see justice. Some of these may make dryer news coverage but they may be more important for protecting public safety.
Remember, Epstein did himself in while under the care of an unqualified guard and a second one, both working overtime. I don’t know what they were doing instead of checking on one old man.
The cold truth is we aren’t collecting enough in taxes to keep American’s safe or to protect our right to justice.
7
@Lydia
Is that the cold truth? El Chapo was also held in the same facility. Many people wanted him dead but it didn’t happen. Sindona tried to commit suicide there and it didn’t work. He was poisoned in a prison in Italy. Also, the evidence is, unless we’re being told total fictions by former inmates, it’s physically impossible to hang yourself with the clothing they give you because it wouldn’t support the weight of a 200 pound man and there’s nothing on the ceiling to hang from. The “cold truth” most likely has nothing to do with staffing levels or the qualifications of guards. A lot of powerful people wanted the guy dead, and he’s dead, and that’s the cold truth.
23
@ADN
Revenues are down substantially this year. The assault on the integrity of workers has made hiring difficult. Both workers were working overtime and one wasn’t qualified.
Which is why there is simply no excuse for the multiple security lapses that occurred.
El Chapo, housed in the same correctional institution, was not given the opportunity for suicide. Suicide is not justice.
DOJ has failed each and every victim. I don’t want to hear AG Barr give any further accounts of his feelings or impressions. I want him to issue a sincere and personal apology, given that full responsibility rests with him, to every victim deprived of justice in this case. And to recuse himself from any further investigation, since both his firm AND his immediate family had a long history supporting the dead defendant, already convicted of related charges in Florida.
This is so dispiriting for #MeToo.
Consider what this case says about our resolve as a society to protect children, especially girls, against abuse. And to fully prosecute the criminals who prey on them and ruin their lives. What happened here tells the world that in the American justice system, women’s lives don’t matter. It’s a national disgrace.
People who say #MoveOn just don’t get it.
1043
@Suzanne Stro
The excuse will turn out to be funding, I bet.
You can’t cut budgets and make federal jobs unpleasant and expect to have the staff necessary for your “no excuse”.
53
@Suzanne Stroh
.
You are correct on the reach of justice, but a few people are sleeping easier after this "national disgrace." What a relief !
As far as society is concerned, only those biased people understand and tolerate, while folks that "just don't get it" really haven't a clue, having no choice except to "MoveOn." Please fund education, again, it's our only hope, Obi Wan.
16
May the fourth be with you
12
I'm not particularly optimistic that justice will be done. Epstein may or may not have committed suicide. It can take weeks to run toxicology screens and certainly, enough money in the right hands can accomplish the almost impossible. El Chapo is a good example of that. Bottom-line is that with Epstein dead, the criminal case against him is also dead. Insofar as co-conspirators, they are likely to be wealthy, have crackerjack legal teams, and know to never speak with police without an attorney present. A civil case has a lower burden of proof, but alleged incidents are just that unless there's proof. The victims will face an uphill battle at the very least to get justice or any sort of compensation unless the executor of Epstein's estate is amenable to a settlement to avoid a civil trial.
229
@Mike F.
Money doesn't not buy justice. Women have suffered the media wants to address is Mr. Epstein's estate. Investigating his estate and for what? it will be years if ever before these ladies win there civil case, another legal hurdle for them to overcome which was unnecessary.
I wish the authorities had focused on keeping Mr. Epstein safe so that this case of justice could of moved forward. However the authorities deliberately did not. Just a few weeks ago, El Chapo was there in the same facility, he was ok. How is that possible.? They could do everything right for El Chapo and do everything imbecilic for Mr. Epstein. Now they are trying to cast blame on the guards, please this is rotten all the way to the White House. Trump wants to blame the Clinton's well I think he protest to much. The buck stops with his administration.
There is no trust in This administration, incidents like this continually happen, the names are changed but the get over is the same.
That fake outrage by Barr who shouldn't be in charge of this investigation,
White men hate women and they will do anything to hide the truth . The hearings for the drunk predator who is sitting on the Supreme Court.
Murdering Mr. Epstein is a knife in the heart of every women who stood up for themselves , just a day in court. Women who have accused Trump have seen no movement in their cases, except insults from Trump saying they weren't his type.
Stop the oppression of women in this country
18
@Mike F.
Vote Trump out of office and America will get the truth.
9
"They instead face the challenge of protracted civil litigation, which can yield monetary compensation but cannot bring them justice or make them truly whole."
To be clear, someone who has been raped can never be made whole again. With or without the conviction of their abuser.
That said, hopefully the victims are able to pry every last penny from Epstein's estate.
446
@Father of One If his brother, who seems to be Epstein's only close relative, had an ounce of sense he would forfeit any interest in the estate and Epstein's holdings could be distributed by a court appointed Master like the Madoff case. Epstein's lawyers are the only one who have anything to really gain in this debacle/tragedy.
57
@Father of One
Convict ALL co-conspirators and expose ALL the high profile powerful people who turned a blind eye and enabled this evil monster, Epstein to destroy young girls lives.
15
No, Mr. Mariotti; here’s the “cold, hard truth about the Epstein case”: the idle rich won. The countless thousands of girls who were consumed by the evil man—lost. The empty words of Attorney General William Barr ring hollow. The machinery of the federal government’s DOJ has been corrupted, much like the pus that oozes from a boil. Who’s going to bat for the victims?
R. Alexander Acosta, the government’s “prosecutor” in South Florida, gave Epstein a pass long ago because the sexual pervert was rich and had a battery of slimy lawyers and knew people. The girls, by contrast, were frightened and knew no one and nothing. They weren’t worth preserving; only the rich white guy who hobnobbed with the other filthy (spot-on, that) rich and shameless predators.
So Donald Trump’s DOJ will make a fake (love that adjective) show of concern about the thirst for justice while going out of its way to protect a president who may have done to the American citizenry what Epstein and his pals did to all those lost little girls.
This administration forced us to believe in injustice for us but justice only for the white and the rich.
We’re Venezuela North.
1387
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
Bravo Red Sox!
The reason there are so many conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein's death is because no one, myself included, believes a word that Barr and the Trump team say. For good reason.
I understand the case Mr. Mariotti is making here, but I hope others outside of Barr's control will continue to dig into this sordid story. My guess is that there are many more crimes to be uncovered.
308
Excellent post@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
82
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
I second all you wrote - except "... who were consumed by the evil man..." should read evil men.
Because the only way the whole Epstein saga makes sense if he financed his lavish unearned lifestyle by black mailing others, equally depraved as he was.
168
Another cold truth is that closure is a myth. There's no way to get "whole" - it's not like a car that can be replaced. Damage was done, Epstein did it, no number of years of him in jail will solve that. Money for therapy is the best the world has to offer - and prosecution of him in order to warn other would be pedophiles that there is a steep price if you are caught, and you might be caught quite a long time after your initial offense, to discourage the crime.
276
@SusanStoHelit
How about 5 million dollars for each victim that was assaulted and raped by Epstein’s criminal enterprise. That sounds fair to me. I hope every child he and his customers raped and assaulted calls the FBI and they file a class action civil suit against the estate and any co conspirators identified.
38
@SusanStoHelit So Epstein acted alone?
6
@SusanStoHelit
Epstein was not the only one who did damage. The friends he gave the girls to also did damage. They won't be prosecuted but they are equally guilty. I would like any person involved in this, whether procurer, someone who covered for him, or who used these girls, to be prosecuted regardless of political beliefs. If this means two Presidents, so be it. It won't happen but if you are a believer in a just God, these people are gonna fry.
12
As is usually the case in American justice, those at the top of our 'culture's' food chain, the rich, the powerful and the prominent, will get away scot free while those at its bottom will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives, regardless of whatever compensation they are able to receive for their priceless pain. As evil as the crimes committed this time were, the coverup is still even worse for those too weak to stand up to those stronger as well as all of us since, once again, those who swore to protect our constitution have shamefully abrogated their obligations to themselves and to their citizens who entrusted them with that responsibility.
Vote.
548
@Guido Malsh
One rich, powerful and prominent figure in this case did not get off scot-free at all. Epstein is dead as a result of the charges he was facing and his incarceration. He has lost his life, either at his own hand or that of others. One way or another, he has been subjected to, or subjected himself to, a very heavy penalty indeed.
14
@philip proust No, no not heavy enough my friend. And his death however it happened lets the others who raped his girls off the hook too.
63
@cheerful dramatist
So death is not a heavy enough penalty? It's the ultimate penalty.
3
I think it a coherent footnote that Julie Brown, the Miami reporter who constructed the story, considers it consistent that Epstein would wiggle his way out of suicide watch; and the system, as we are reminded, is "strangled" of resources by the people who twiddle the purse strings.
Justice in America is much blinder, lamer, and brain-damaged than we are aware of unless at some moment a tear appears in our mythic Constitutional/educational marketing construct. (see also"What was the intention of the Second Amendment")
7
I suspect Epstein’s death was very convenient for a lot of people.
30
Yes, there are victims, but they were not just victims of Jeffrey Epstein or even the now disappeared Ghislaine Maxwell, but perhaps other powerful men. Some may talk, but others may fear retribution given the lack of clarity surrounding Epstein's death. Was it suicide or was it murder? We cannot trust Attorney General William Barr who is more personal lawyer to Donald Trump, an Epstein associate, than the people's lawyer. If an independent commission is not appointed, we may never get to the truth. We must have the facts first before justice can be rendered.
12
Let’s start with who benefits. Follow the money first, then look at the conspiracy theories.
7
The raid on the Caribbean island estate was to bury the evidence not bring anyone to justice.
105
The fact that it took this long to do it isn’t encouraging either. There was plenty of time for accomplices to get rid of any evidence.
26
Exactly! I am sure Barr was in charge to make sure of that.
14
@GermanShepherd It will be interesting to see how long it takes for his Santa Fe ranch to be destroyed by a "mysterious" fire.
7
Since Atty. Gen. Barr's father hired Epstein in 1973 to teach at The Dalton School, Barr should (of course) be recused from all things Epstein - as any first year law student knows.
The lawlessness continues apace.
322
@R. Law
Which rule or statute do you believe compels AG Barr to recuse himself for something his father did 50 years ago? Come on, tell us. You must know - after all, as you said, this is something every first year law student knows.
7
@R. Law Barr Sr resigned from Dalton in Feb 1974 - not 1973 - effective June and Epstein started work in September 1974. You have no proof that Barr Sr hired Epstein.
1
@art benis According to published reports, Donald Barr offered his resignation in Feb. 2014, but remained in his position at Dalton through the end of the school year, presumably June. Though his tenure did not ovlap with Epstein’s, we still do not know whether or not Barr hired Epstein. FWIW, Barr the elder was in OSS for some time.
6
"But Attorney General Bill Barr warned that “co-conspirators should not rest easy,”
So...does that mean that Barr and his buddy Trump are going to have trouble sleeping?
131
@Steve Dumford Barr Sr resigned from Dalton in Feb effective June the same year Epstein started teaching in September. You have no proof that Barr Sr hired Epstein.
Epstein was a pervert and the young ladies deserve compensation for their anguish, but this whole case is becoming overblown. Either he was the leader of an elite prostitution ring a la the movie Taken, which deserves to be explored by the FBI, or he was just a finance and sex guy who went criminal in his taste for young women. The media is most salacious of all.
4
They were children, not young ladies. This goes beyond a generalized perversion and deep into criminal behavior.
39
That you could call him “just a finance and sex guy” who went for young women is they reason why so many men get away with so many assaults, rapes, harassments. Consent is meaningless if men who abuse women and girls are considered “just” guys into sex. Words matter. If it doesn’t rise to the level of “taken”, it just doesn’t matter.
A man once told asked me about Christine Blasey Ford, “How could it be non-consensual sex if there was no penetration. No penetration means no sex, right?” This man thought that it wasn’t serious if she wasn’t penetrated.
Men need to understand what non consensual is, and men need to see women as human beings, not possessions without feelings or free will. And men attracted to underage girls need to understand that anyone under 18 cannot consent to sex acts by law.
24
@Chris McClure The media coverage of a trial drawing intense public interest is not “salacious.”
Blame the messenger if you wish. Epstein’s predations and probable blackmail operations involved criminal syndicates, money laundering and statutory rape, which should be prosecuted.
Ghislaine Maxwell has publicly stated, “The girls are nothing,” suggesting they were disposable. Most people find that horrifying.
10
Without pedophiles willing to pay to rape children there would be no sex trafficking.. We must find out who Epstein was blackmailing and uncover what he was blackmailing them with. I believe this is the tip of a very black sick iceberg with an extremely tangled web of the powerful. Don't expect AG Barr to investigate who are the clientele. Especially when your paycheck depends on no finding out. Sadly for the victims I'm not holding my breath.
149
Barr is protecting the clientele.
15
The only thing really keeping this alive will be Trump-conspiracy conspirators...aided and abetted by a corrupt Atty General, Bill Barr.
7
As far as Epstein's potential testimony against co-conspirators, I don't think a child rapist trying to save his own skin would have a lot of credibility anyway.
And this Maxwell woman? If you can prove that she regularly provided underaged girls--you think a jury is going to think, oh poor rich heiress she was too stupid to realize? How'd she manage to provide underaged girls if she didn't know they were underaged--just some grand coincidence?
Epstein is no longer alive, so law enforcement do not have to make a case against him--that should free up resources to gun for his accomplices. He didn't sex traffic underaged girls in isolation.
And law enforcement already knows where to start: with the Florida and New York prosecutors who went easy on him. Start there. And the Bar Associations should to, for that matter.
I don't regret that Epstein is no longer among the living. I doubt the prison guards cared either.
Bottom line: his death is no excuse whatsoever for his accomplices to get away with it. We're talking child rape. Make an example of the lot of them.
102
The chief co-conspirator suspect won't run far. He's in the White House.
80
I doubt we’ll get anything resembling truth out of Barr’s DOJ. He might well pronounce Epstein “exonerated!”
35
Perhaps the luckiest man, as a result of Epstein’s suicide? Donald Trump, his old friend and fellow connoisseur of “beautiful women”. With Trump consiglieri Barr leading the “investigation”, we will never find out if those young women’s accusations (https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/11/04/donald-trump-teen-rape-accuser-drops-suitagainst Trump) are true.
137
@John Ranta-There much more to the story. Let's hope the NDAs underage models were forced to sign are invalidated.
We all Knew About the Trafficking-The UnTold Story of Trump Model Management
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/10/6/1578544/-The-Untold-Story-of-Trump-Model-Management-A-Daily-Kos-Exclusive-Part-1
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/10/25/1586568/-Daily-Beast-Inside-Donald-Trump-s-One-Stop-Parties-Attendees-Recall-Cocaine-and-Very-Young-Models
Former Models for Donald Trump’s Agency Say They Violated Immigration Rules and Worked Illegally
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/donald-trump-model-management-illegal-immigration/
23
@Ann
Sadly, his constituents will not care.. or will blame the under age girls themselves -- what did she expect going to that man's room to give him a massage or then there's the devil to be blamed..
OTOH women have to stop putting up with male ego sex problems, have to be able to have an income so they are not dependent on whomever often a man and so they don't have to protect a philandering or worse spouse just because... it might/would look bad if they asked for a divorce. (Her I consider Hillary Clinton a pyschologically abused woman! ditto Melania altho Trump prob. behaves in at least some ways these days.)
4
@Ann: Thank you for posting this.
One self-confessed criminal pedophile (a photographer) who participated in Trump's Plaza criminal pedophile ring ("modeing agency") blithely stated that Trump participated, i.e., that Trump is a criminal pedophile. Unlike the Trump-Epstein accusation, this was Trump's criminal pedophile operation.
It's not clear why the NYTimes isn't covering this. These are abhorrent crimes allegedly committed by the President of the United States. The stories you cite, Ann, aren't un-credible or conspiratorial in nature.
On the other hand, over time, the facts may come out, when the frighteningly powerful, prospective countersuers like Dershowitz (see recent, kid-gloved New Yorker article) are dead.
On the other hand, you may rest assured that the children who filled out the forms to sign up for Trump's modeling agency -- and were raped -- know that Trump knows who they are and where they live. Just as the perps are resting easy, these now-women must be very afraid right now.
Undoubtedly, the NYTimes could obtain models' names from Trump's agency's roster. These now-women could confirm or deny any such allegations. There is no such thing as consensual for minors.
So please, New York Times, pursue this. There is much work to be done.
8
As far as Justice goes, seeing your tormentor dead is not the worst outcome.
No doubt many would have enjoyed him being skewered at trial, and some might have welcomed it as a distraction from more egregious behaviors happening elsewhere. I doubt if anybody on either side of politics was looking forward to that particular show.
4
Suicide is not justice.
Justice is process with the hope (however dim) of remorse and repentance.
Suicide may be merely a logical solution, not a sign of guilt or remorse.
Society that allows unprosecuted sexual abuse of children is a replay of human history so deeply rooted and damaging that it has been mythologized as Saturn Eating His Children. Self destructive on a massive and horrific scale. This is how DOJ has served the country and the victims in this case—not with justice.
3
What conspiracy theorists don't seem to understand is that suicide was the only card Epstein had left to play. Money and influence and aggressive counsel eased things for him for a long time but finally the noose was the only way left to game the system.
19
Monetary compensation to Mr. Epstein's victims will probably be eaten up by the lawyers. This column is based on a lot of "ifs" and my father-in-law taught me that "IF" is an old man with a beard.
2
Playing devil's advocate:
So what happens to the presumption of innocence when the person is dead? Does suicide imply guilt or just despair? Epstein pled innocent and was not yet tried. Epstein may have had exculpatory evidence--we do not know. How should journalists write about this?
The author here was not holding back very much.
2
@Scott
Wasn't he already found guilty in Florida?
13
Consider that suicide is so often the route taken neither out of guilt nor despair, but out of desire for control which runs just as deep.
This is a suicide that signals, to me, the dead man’s resignation to good solid logic: taking his life was the final decisive action (given his prospects) left under his control.
If he feared realistically that he would not be allowed to live in prison, I can imagine that suicide might well have seemed the logical choice.
Whitey Bulger’s murder in prison, for instance, was a horrific end that nobody would wish on another person.
3
We should not rush to judgment to say that the feds dont have evidence against his co-conspirators. The FBI raided both his NYC home and his island home. Let us see what the evidence turns up.
6
The worst judicial system in the Western World.
6
This column illuminates the rewards of ending Epstein's sordid life for some.
Not to mention the savings in legal bills and reputation.
4
The FBI is only now searching Epstein's private island? How can anyone take it seriously that he committed suicide?
There's no one on this planet that doesn't think that he was assassinated to keep his blackmail documentation and tapes from being revealed to the public.
Like many others, I hope the truth comes out. It likely won't be on these pages.
34
"Her (Ghislaine) legal team will likely argue that she would not have helped him if she knew he would abuse underage girls. After all, it’s not a crime to work for a criminal unless you are in on the crime. Jurors might believe prosecutors set her up to take the fall because Mr. Epstein eluded their grasp."
There will still be the potential for up and down flipping. As long as the evidence is good enough to bring a hammer or two down.
And like any conspiracy case, look to any criminal organization, its difficult to convince jurors, that a consigliere, such as Ms. Maxwell, is NOT in the know, and therefore not guilty of aiding the accused. Here lawyers will have to prove, not just suggest she's the next best scapegoat. By all telling of the story in the public at this point, she knew what she was doing...as well as what Epstein was doing. And if she truly didnt know what her actions were leading to - she at the very least knew what he was doing! He was not keeping his perversions secret. And therefore she was turning a blind eye to pedophile! Which should at the very least get her some time, and penalties.
She also circulated among, and in fact introduced Epstein, to many of his alleged clients, so her not knowing of his dealings is specious.
I suspect that of those who had to sign NDA's...we'll see a few break their silence.
But this all hinges on a carefully prosecuted case. Very careful.
21
With so many people profiting from his demise it is plausible, to put it mildly, that Epstein’s final scene was ghostwritten.
10
And you wily coyotes honesty believe that mainstream media has a world of fake news to choose from. What a way to snap that unbelievable and inconvenient truth.
2
I'm very wary of Barr's "Justice" Department's handling of Epstein's properties and possessions, much of which has been seized in highly publicized "raids" at his NYC and Virgin Islands residences. What materials were taken? Who is in charge of cataloguing the items/files? How do we know they're secure?
Why haven't we heard about concurrent "raids" at his New Mexico and Florida residences?
Problem: Since Barr had RECUSED himself from the Epstein case (for good reason, as his father hired Epstein to teach at the Dalton School), but has now REINSERTED himself into the case, and has already been "spinning" information, just as he did with the Mueller report (lying, in that case!), there is a very high likelihood evidence and materials linking "famous" people to Epstein and his underage sex procurement enterprise will never see the light of day.
BARR MUST RECUSE HIMSELF....AGAIN!
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@Slann I agree totally!!
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@Slann I agree totally!! And, why did Barr's father hire Epstein who apparently was not even a college graduate?! Hmmm.
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@Boomer
Barr Sr resigned from Dalton in Feb 1974 effective June and Epstein statrted work in September. Where is your proof that Barr Sr hired Epstein?
Barr Jr correctly recused himself because a law firm he was connected with 10+ years ago was rhen working for Epstein when the Miami NPA was done.
He correctly did not recuse himself from the current NY prosecution since that he and thst law firm are not involved.
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Ms. Maxwell may think she is out of the woods but her reputation is irretrievably demolished by her association with the now deceased pedophile, Mr. Epstein. We probably won't be hearing very much from her in the near term unless she is indicted as some sort of accomplice. Since he is dead, all she has to say is she wasn't involved in that end of his social life, had n knowledge of his sexual proclivities and anything else is uncorroborated gossip aka hearsay. Messy messy business.
@Harley Leiber Ms. Maxwell, it seems, was schooled early in dishonorable activities at her father's knee. Like Epstein she has wiggled out of tight spots and appears to be out of sight and "difficult to locate".
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In my definition of justice, if a wealthy criminal, in good health, in his sixties, kills himself, forfeits his natural lifespan, and leaves this wonderful little planet, a good amount of justice has been served.
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It seems unlikely that Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend and alleged procurer of girls for him will elude prosecution. I believe one of the victims claimed she had joined Epstein in sexually abusing her. The major problem, of course, is that Epstein is dead and the allegations against him are very old. It's not clear from Epstein's indictment brought by the Southern District of New York if there were any new victims after his much criticized lenient plea deal more than 10 years ago in Florida.
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I don’t trust Barr, at all...
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When Epstein was let off the hook in the ~2003 florida 53 page indictment, guess who some of his lawyers were:
William Barr's law firm
Kenneth Starr (impeached Clinton with a tiny fraction of how much the criminal Trump has gotten away with)
Alan Dershowitz (alleged perp)
and these guys negotiated in secret with Acosta - ALL of them knew what they were doing was against the law (not informing defendants of secret deal).
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@East Coast Did Epstein have dirt on these people? e.g. the Barr patriarch.
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@East Coast Jail for life
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So what do we do. Use the latest technology to bring Epstein back to life? Prosecute Epstein in absentia for killing himself.
A former federal prosecutor, Mr. Mariotti must know that a case such as Epstein's always involves the possibility of myriad twists and turns, some that might be foreseen, others unforeseen. As Ginger Rogers exhorts Fred Astaire in Swing Time, "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again." Which will happen, along the lines indicated in the Op-Ed.
Quite frankly, as both a former prosecutor and defense lawyer, I'm a little fed up with laments over the Epstein death because it "deprived" victims of justice. This is Jeffrey Epstein we're talking about. He never played by the Marquis of Queensbury rules before he was indicted in Manhattan. There was no reason to suspect he would play be them after indictment. Maybe he killed himself. Maybe he was murdered. I make no apologies for singing "Ding, dong. The witch is dead."
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I suppose Barr will now try to appease Trump supporters with tantalizing non-facts implicating one or both Clinton’s in some way. He obviously can’t be trusted and his party is led by the best liars in the world.
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Take heart, fellow lovers of justice, this is only the pendulum swing, steady back and forth, from progress to set-back. We've just been through a set-back, coming up next: a step forward. It's not over for the Rich Perverts, we don't know what lies ahead, but let me guess: more revelations.
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As a forensic psychologist and court evaluator there is NO WAY I repeat NO WAY any psychologist would recommend he leave suicide watch! NONE.
Prior attempt botched days earlier. Huge dump of incriminating evidence. A perp who is narcissistic and grandiose made to feel like ZERO facing prison rape threats on his life etc.
It’s possible his death is what is known as a passive murder. Simply take him off watch. Keep him alone and constrained. Show him the document dump. Maybe have guards tell him he’s going to get no deals.
Done and Dusted. Barr who should have recused is serving Trump and can blame others.
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@BERNARD Shaw - The scenario you describe is the one I think is most likely. "Arrangements were made" to set the scene that would impel Epstein to kill himself. I keep thinking about how both Epstein and Trump were accused of rape by a young woman (or was it an underage girl?) and the suit was settled out of court. I bet the court record of the lawsuit is "unavailable."
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Despite the Barr assertion, co-conspirators CAN rest easy: Barr will direct all efforts to proving that the Obamas and/or the Clintons were behind everything.
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The whole episode reeks of corruption in the highest ranks.
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@Tennis player -- So true...yet...like Bernie Madoff...insignificant when compared to the compound felonies of the war criminal Dick Cheney...who roams freely among us....
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Could we at least see the corpse of Epstein?!? Until we do, I will have to assume that Epstein and Ken Lay are sitting on a beach somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere.
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The facts as lain out them out here seem to support Mr. Marioti. As a former federal prosecutor, he is able to se the difficulties this development poses for all who are interested in seeing justice served.
I don’t think that includes AG Barr, based on what we have seen from him so far.
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I think we all know that "Cover-up General" Barr will suppress any evidence that implicates his wealthy and politically influential friends and acquaintances. He's done it before. He'll do it again. He's the one who made the case for the Iran-Contra scandal pardons, which set a precedent for today's obstruction.
Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh wrote in 1992 that pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger's "early and deliberate decision to conceal and withhold extensive contemporaneous notes of the Iran-contra matter radically altered the official investigations and possibly forestalled timely impeachment proceedings against President Reagan and other officials. Weinberger's notes contain evidence of a conspiracy among the highest-ranking Reagan Administration officials to lie to Congress and the American public. Because the notes were withheld from investigators for years, many of the leads were impossible to follow, key witnesses had purportedly forgotten what was said and done, and statutes of limitation had expired.
"... This office was informed only within the past two weeks, on December 11, 1992, that President Bush had failed to produce to investigators his own highly relevant contemporaneous notes, despite repeated requests for such documents."
History repeats.
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@jim emerson
I don’t think ‘we all know’ anything about Mr Barr and this case except that Barr’s been the recipient of an Alinsky-style disinformation campaign by the Left to discredit him (and by extension Mr Durham) as they look into DNC and Clinton campaign malfeasance with respect to the origins of the Russia collusion scam.
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@EGD Really? You think Alinsky trafficked in disinformation? He was a man who devoted his life to improving the lives of the poor...the disenfranchised. He was a community organizer. Much like Obama. Perhaps that is your what you hate.
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I suspect that there's a lot of physical evidence in the possession of the estate. Physical evidence (such as video tapes, etc.) are the kind of insurance a pimp or sex trafficker might keep to extricate himself from legal jeopardy. He has managed to avoid any real legal jeopardy for a long time.
With his death, there's no one left with legal standing to object to the production of such evidence. He was not a lawyer, priest or doctor, so no one can claim a privilege in information they might have shared with him.
I'm still suspicious that he may have had sensitive national security information: national leaders in compromising positions, etc. But we may never know about that. And who knows what evidence Barr's "Justice" department might already have destroyed.
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@Justin-Indeed. As recently as June AG Barr’s Justice Dept. pushed to uphold Epstein’s secret wrist-slap 2007 Florida plea deal, engineered by Acosta in a June 24 determination. From the Miami Herald June 25, 2019 report:
Jeffrey Epstein Plea Deal Must Stand, Prosecutors Tell Sex Abuse Victims
"Suspected sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was handed another break by the Department of Justice on Monday (June 24, 2019) when federal prosecutors rejected his victims’ efforts to throw out his plea deal and prosecute him for abusing dozens of underage girls. In the 35-page motion, filed in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia, federal prosecutors said that there is no legal basis to invalidate Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement — and they warned the federal judge in the case against doing the same."
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article231916968.html
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I’m sorry but what convicted criminal, operating on this level, would house such valuable evidence, after all this time, in the house?
I predict they will recover little of value.
I am not peddling any “conspiracy theory.” I am just reviewing in my mind what the general private banking practices are around the world.
It’s most likely that Mr. Epstein’s legal heirs and authorized assigns with access to his safety deposit boxes have already recovered “everything.” His death ensures that they are the only people with access—and have been, at least since Monday morning.
Saturday morning’s death gave ample travel time to anybody who needed to walk into a bank when it opened anywhere in the world on Monday August 12th—even an Asian bank. It seems to me that Mr. Epstein knew exactly what he was doing, and like most of us reading these mind boggling reports of incompetence happening on so many levels at once, I find it hard to believe that the timing of this regrettable suicide was not carefully controlled.
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@Justin "Sensitive national security information"? Maybe, but probably not. National security leaders in compromising position...for sure. But information?...unlikely. Be careful not to add to add to conspiracy theories.
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The article fails to mention that with Epstein obviously no longer represented in many areas, search warrants will be virtually automatically signed off on thus making evidence disclosure far easier.
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@Alan - the article doesn’t say that because it’s not true.
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"If they were confident they had sufficient evidence to charge Ms. Maxwell, they likely would have done so already."
Couldn't something similar have been said about Mr. Epstein himself, during the decade between his Florida plea deal and June?
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@itzajob
Could something similar have been said? Sure. I guess what you’re suggesting is that Epstein couldn’t be convicted of much of anything. But what’s been said instead is, a) that the plea bargain was negotiated in secret, including undisclosed meetings in hotel rooms, b) that, considering the evidence they had, the plea bargain was a joke, c) that it’s a curious coincidence the lead prosecutor who made the sweetheart plea deal ended up in Trump’s cabinet, d) that a federal judge said the plea bargain deal was improperly completed, e) that it’s another curious coincidence that the law firm that represented Epstein was later joined by now Attorney General Barr, and f) that Trump was an extremely close friend of Epstein’s to the point that they had a party planned that included only them and extremely young women.
But really, the large gap in time between the two charges doesn’t mean a thing. I mean, it’s not like Epstein’s powerful friends in high places had anything to do with his ability to sexually abuse children for decades with impunity. Obviously there just wasn’t enough evidence. Now about that bridge in London you wanted to buy…
6
@ADN Let me make it clearer, then. Just because they haven't charged Ms. Maxwell yet doesn't mean they can't or won't. Until June, you could have said, "They must not have anything more on Epstein, because it's been 10 years and they haven't charged him." But you would have been wrong.
Well, Epstein-Barr is currently viral (and has been for 50 years), but now we must focus on whether or not P. Domingo is going to sing.
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@Marat1784 And chronic.
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@Marat1784 - How had I been blind to this pun before now?
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@Marat1784 There are TWO puns! Clever.
3
Our "justice" system is so broken, so flawed, so tilted in the wrong direction that there is no way it will ever be "served" for all the victims of the individuals who perpetrated these heinous crimes.
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When I first learned about his death, I thought it made sense that someone would not want the humiliation of dozens of then-underage girls brought to accuse him in person (a la Larry Nassar) only to get life in prison.
As for the suicide watch, he and his lawyers asked that he be taken off of that. But then I read that his lawyers said he was in fine spirits a few days earlier. Plus so many people must be breathing easier (despite what Barr says) that you can't help but wonder.
Ultimately, I think we will never know. There won't be a smoking gun (such as a prison guard or someone else who gets paid off with a condo at Trump Tower). While the government may briefly make a show of pursuing his death and the accusations against him further, I doubt that anyone will be brought to justice. It's demoralizing that this can just be brushed under the carpet, but money talks and I think that's exactly what will happen.
(And having put this in writing, I hope I'm totally wrong.)
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@ReadingLips
When someone is suicidal or severely depressed and then is in "fine spirits" it often means that they've made a decision to end his life.
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@ReadingLips "As for the suicide watch, he and his lawyers asked that he be taken off of that."
That's swell, but the MCC protocol REQUIRES a "face-to-face interview" with the prisoner, by the in-house clinical psychologist, whose decision it is to remove the prisoner from suicide watch. It is most certainly NOT up the the prisoner and his lawyer!
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@ReadingLips
substitute "a condo in Trump Tower" with a "cushy position at the Clinton Initiative Foundation" and your comment would make more sense.
6
Well considering that Barr's father hired Epstein - with no academic credentials or qualifications - to teach math at Dalton, I'm sure the Attorney General will get to the bottom of this case in no time.
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@Ignatz Farquad
Barr's father hired Epstein, then Trump made Barr his AG; Acosta let Epstein get away with just a slap on the wrist, then Trump makes Acosta his Secretary of Labor. All Trump's efforts to link Clinton to Epstein are kind of obvious attempts to deflect from himself, espec. when you consider that he and Epstein were both sued by a child they had allegedly raped.
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@Rena W. Barr Sr resigned from Dalton in Feb effective June the same year Epstein started teaching in September. You have no proof that Barr Sr hired Epstein.
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@Ignatz Farquad: I worry the raids are to destroy evidence, not collect it.
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