A Couple of Notes on the Epstein Charges

[Content Note: Sexual violence; child abuse; trafficking.]

Financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is a very wealthy man with deep political connections, has been charged with new sex trafficking charges by federal prosecutors.

I am not going to detail in this space the heinous specifics of the crimes with which he is charged; if you want to know more about the case, head on over to the Washington Post, where Matt Zapotosky, Renae Merle, Devlin Barrett, and Kimberly Kindy have filed a brief, factual, and non-salacious report on the new charges.

I'm posting this thread primarily for discussion and to make space for community support, as stories of this nature dominating the news can get very triggering for survivors, but a couple of brief points:

1. This case is connected to Donald Trump in two ways: Epstein and Trump are longtime associates (Epstein is probably as close to a "friend" as Trump has), and the very credible rape accusation made against Trump by Jane Doe in 2016 allges that Doe was held captive as a sex slave to Epstein and Trump when she was thirteen years old.

Secondly, as noted in the Post piece: "The Miami Herald...detailed in a lengthy investigative report how then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, now Trump's labor secretary, shelved a 53-page federal indictment that could have put Epstein behind bars for life in favor of the deal that allowed him to plead guilty only to state charges."

So, to be clear: Epstein is alleged to have enticed and held hostage teenage girls for himself and his powerful friends to rape, among them the current U.S. president, and the U.S. Attorney who previously let him off with a breathtakingly inadequate plea deal that did not require him to name names is now that president's Secretary of Labor.

2. Epstein, being a very wealthy man with deep political connections, has a number of relationships with powerful people that might legitimately have nothing to do with his child sex trafficking activities.

(Although, these rumors about Epstein have been around for many years, and, if I heard them, so did they. There are investigations and lawsuits dating back to 2005. And some of Epstein's associates chose to ignore those rumors, investigations, and lawsuits and maintain ties with him despite them.)

Bill Clinton's name is often mentioned in any news about Epstein, because the former president has flown on Epstein's private jet a number of times.

I am not trying to implicate Clinton by mentioning him: My reason for mentioning him is because the Trump administration is almost certainly going to try to influence the case, because Trump himself has a vested interest in quashing any investigation that may expose his involvement. And I suspect that Trump will not merely want to make it go away, but instead will see this as an opportunity to go after Clinton.

Obviously, if Bill Clinton is involved in the trafficking somehow, then I hope he is charged. My fear, however, is that everyone else, probably including Epstein, will likely get away, and this will become the second impeachment of Clinton, irrespective of his involvement or lack thereof.

And, of course, I don't believe Bill Clinton is the endgame anyway. Humiliating Hillary Clinton and driving her out of public life and silencing her forever is.

It would be the ultimate insult to her legacy to forever ensure that any mention of her lifetime commitment to helping children conjures an association with a child trafficker.

They already tried it with Pizzagate. This time, Donald Trump has the entire force of the federal government at his disposal, and may try to implicate her in a "cover-up" of Epstein's crimes, by dint of her husband's association with him. "Lock her up."

I desperately hope that's not where this is headed, and I fear that it is.