People have thoughts about Epstein
Right now, there seem to be two main issues that the news media and the public are talking about. The first one is the thuggish behavior of ICE agents attacking and imprisoning protesters, non-criminals, and even children. However, Donald Trump‘s administration is making it as difficult as possible for people to protest, film, or even write publicly about the illegal ICE activities.
The second issue the news media and many voters are talking about is the Epstein files. There, the Trump administration is having less success keeping the story under control. In recent testimony before Congress, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi tried her best to protect Trump and make the issue go away, at one point even saying that Americans should not be talking about the horrors of the Epstein files because “the Dow is over 50,000 right now.” However, every day, it seems additional prominent people become implicated in the Epstein story to one degree or another, from being friends or socializing with Jeffrey Epstein or riding on his plane, all the way to allegations of raping underage girls. In other countries, Epstein files revelations have taken down, demoted or sullied the reputation of high-placed officials and prominent figures, including:
–Former Prince Andrew of the UK, stripped of his titles and properties
–Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem of Dubai, replaced as Chairman of the giant GP World company
–Peter Mandelson, removed as UK ambassador to USA
–Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit
–Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland, arrested and charged with “aggravated corruption” regarding an investigation linked to the release of the Epstein files.
-Mona Juul, Norway’s ex-ambassador to Jordan, forced to resign following reports that Epstein left $10 million to Juul’s children in a will drawn up shortly before he died.
–Former French Culture Minister Jack Lang, resigned as head of the Arab World Institute in Paris over alleged financial links to Epstein.
–Slovakia’s national security adviser and former Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák, resigned over past communications with Epstein
In America, thus far, the list of people named in the Epstein files includes:
–U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Luttnick
–U.S. Health and Human Service Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.
—Elon Musk, who corresponded with Epstein expressing a desire to visit Epstein’s private island
–Billionaire heir Tom Pritzger, suddenly retiring as Executive Chairman of Hyatt Hotels
–Kathryn Ruemmler, resigning from her post as as Chief Legal Officer at Goldman Sachs
–Financier Leon Black
—Brad Karp, resigned as Chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind law firm, but is still a partner there.
–Billionaire and Republican activist Leslie Wexner, a clothing and retail corporate CEO who was a client of Epstein’s financial advisory services for years.
And a special category is reserved for Donald Trump, who is mentioned more than a thousand times in the Epstein files released thus far, including allegations of rape by underage girls, and statements by Epstein that he was Trump’s closest friend.
The list keeps growing and it seems like the Epstein story is gaining rather than losing momentum. Attorney General Bondi says that all Epstein files have been released, but estimates indicate that as little as two percent have been released. Meanwhile, a new Economist/YouGov survey finds that half of Americans think Trump was involved in Epstein’s crimes, and 52 percent say Trump is trying to cover up such crimes.
What has happened in the past, such as with the Watergate scandal that brought down Republican President Richard Nixon, is that a slow drip of information on a daily basis, either from the government, the news media, or both, tends to keep a story going. The story often builds momentum as more information emerges, reporters tie facts together, and people who are implicated turn and implicate others. As Election Day 2026 approaches, we will see if that happens here, and whether it has an effect on the voting outcome.
Photo by Eli Christman, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/lv162D
