Why Epstein Matters

Looking at the numerous actual and well-documented actions aimed at preventing Donald Trump from winning the election in 2020, or even efforts aimed at preventing him from running in the 2024 election - from a barrage of prosecutions to censorship on social networks, the inordinate creation of material dedicated to his smearing in the media and the systematic hatred directed toward him by the Democratic Party - it becomes clear that, if Trump or anyone in his entourage were implicated in an alleged secret child sex trafficking list in the hands of the FBI, that information would have come to light years ago as part of the prolonged campaign to demolish his reputation. Therefore, the versions linking Trump to the famous Epstein list do not seem remotely possible.

Similarly, it is worth considering the fact that, since the Epstein case broke out, the FBI has been under the control of both Republican and Democratic administrations, which implies that both parties have had the opportunity to leak or censor information according to their interests. Despite bloodthirsty election races and accusations of deep state conspiracies, no concrete evidence about the alleged list has emerged, even as much of the information about Epstein and his crimes was leaked before its official release. The expected information bombshell never went off.

The simplest explanation, following the principle of Ockham's Razor, is that the Epstein case has no more politically significant revelations to offer. So why have the Administration's recent attempts to close the issue generated a Streisand effect, stoking suspicion and discontent among its own ranks? Why does the Epstein case matter?

"Epstein's documented crimes, his connections to powerful figures, his suicide...created the perfect conspiracy."

The Epstein case matters because it transcends the political. It combines gruesome elements: dirty campaigns across the political spectrum to frame their opponents for aberrant acts, the power of elites to manipulate the judicial system, and the everlasting media fascination with the scandals of the rich and famous. These factors made Jeffrey Epstein, a millionaire Manhattan financier who sold himself as a philanthropist while hiding his facet as a sexual predator, the epicenter of a hellish plot.

Long before Esptein and his bloody existence were even remotely known, there were conspiracy theories about satanic practices, organ or fluid theft, VIP pedophile rings, suspicious pizza boxes, adrenochrome potions and a host of fantasy literature ramifications that the political class has exploited to discredit its opponents. But the emergence of the Epstein scandal was essential for these theories and helped make the fantasy "credible."

Nothing was lacking in this scandal, including the multiple oddities surrounding its end: the distracted security guards; the strange situation of his cellmate; the confusion surrounding the deleted or "edited" surveillance tapes; the star team of lawyers; the people linked to the case killed in tragic circumstances such as Leigh Patrick; Jean-Luc Brunel, the modeling agent whose agency allegedly selected women for Epstein, who committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial on child rape charges; Carolyn Andriano, Epstein's victim since the age of 14 whose testimony was key to convicting Ghislaine Maxwell; or Virginia Giuffre, one of the best-known victims who secured a multimillion-dollar settlement with Prince Andrew and recently committed suicide.

Epstein's documented crimes against teenagers, his connections to powerful figures, the lenient treatment he received at trial in the 2000s and his suicide in a federal jail cell in 2019 created the perfect conspiracy. And while the idea of a network of sex offenders connected by "pizza boxes" is far-fetched, the hypothesis of a client list that provided the mogul with protection through extortion didn't seem so absurd.

For years politics fueled these suspicions. In Trump's election campaign, it was suggested that he would declassify the Epstein files, and in February, the Trump Administration made a big fuss by handing out to influencers neat binders purportedly containing Phase 1 of the files. These binders were a fiasco, something that reinforces the Ockham's Razor theory, but the photo at the White House went viral and Pam Bondi enjoyed the flashbulbs along with the MAGA influencers, as well as the expectation received and the limelight gained. Did Bondi not know that there was no Phase 2? Did she not read the binders? Should she have waited for the public's disappointment to victimize herself and blame others for the gaffe?

A violation of the unspoken commitment to truth and transparency

This episode, mishandled politically and communicatively, raised expectations and allowed rumors to snowball and grow. The president is right in wanting to put an end to the issue, and it is necessary to come clean about what is happening at this unsustainable point. That is why he tried to lower the froth, but not with a clear and tempered explanation, but by forcing his followers to forget everything, insulting those who demanded what they had been promised. Trump misunderstood the demands of a large part of his electoral base, who are the ones to whom he owes his position, beyond the claims of MAGA influencers. The Epstein case matters to them because for years it has been equated with other scandals where the government cover-up has been blatant, cases where there is plenty of evidence that the cover-up has been brutal and blatant.

These are cases where the ordinary citizen was blatantly mistreated, insulted and censored. Cases that had to do even with attacks on Trump himself and where his supporters showed the love they have for him and how far they were willing to go to defend him, even in the worst circumstances. Many of his voters now know that their suspicions about the origins of COVID and the regulations implemented around the virus were manipulated by politicians and those who benefited from government purchases and tenders, in addition to the dystopian control system that was implemented during those years, and whose consequences will continue to be paid for decades to come. People know that the Democratic government manipulated them with the climate alarm to impose a nefarious agenda of degrowth and manipulate the energy and food market, among other things. People know that powerful politicians and platform and network owners colluded to censor opinions and also manipulated them with a criminal agenda around gender transitions in children. And if they have supported Trump against all odds, it is because the president promised them to put an end to that, to governmental obscurantism. For the most diverse reasons, the Epstein case remained within that set of cases, not because the public made it political, but because politics used a thunderous case to gain advantage. Now, for example, the Democratic Party, which previously downplayed the case, seems to be taking advantage of the changed narrative to revitalize it.

It was also Attorney General Pam Bondi's mishandling of the Epstein files that put the president in this bind, in a display of irresponsibility and inefficiency that will apparently go unpunished. The erratic handling of the files has exposed the president to a controversy that could erode the confidence of his base and turn the case into a permanent conspiracy theory, comparable to the myths surrounding JFK or Marilyn Monroe. Her contradictory statements - first announcing that he had "on hes desk" major revelations and then downplaying the content - show that either in February or this week, she did not tell the truth. In doing so, she exposed the president to a stain that may cost him the confidence of his base, and to a host of layered conspiracy theories.

The president must understand that the symbolic value of the Epstein case lies not in the scandal itself but in what it is associated with. What the Trump voter does not want to lose is the tacit commitment he has to his president of truth and transparency. Trump should take note of that urgently. His frustration should be directed at those who exploited the case, not at those who believed the promises of transparency.

Rhetoric about sensational scandals is a powerful but double-edged political tool, and Trump is about to cut himself with the weapon his attorney general sharpened. The outrage of his supporters is understandable: those who have been fed expectations about the Epstein files for years are, at the very least, disappointed, if not distrustful. Someone must offer clear explanations to avoid hard feelings and, above all, prevent the Democratic Party from capitalizing on this fiasco. The responsibility for this mistake must fall on those who negligently handled the case, and the consequences should not go unpunished.

The Epstein case matters not because of its hellish twists and turns, but because it exposed the dangers of incendiary plots when they become political, and it also exposed the bungling of some of the characters surrounding the most powerful man in the world. If the president wants to emerge successfully from this rough patch, he should go back to speaking with sincerity and consideration when addressing his base... and save the reproaches for his bureaucrats.