Part one: Jeffrey Epstein – what you actually need to know
I deep-dived into this horror show so you don’t have to.
An audio version of this post – by me – is available here:
The files! The files! What – or, more importantly, who – is in the Jeffrey Epstein files, why aren’t they being released, and how much hypocrisy does it take to gild the Oval Office? Sure, we all have a few ideas, but the story currently hogging headlines is so much bigger and darker than just that.
Epstein’s crimes spanned decades and involved countless enablers and participants – yet, apart from his girlfriend-come-consigliere Ghislaine Maxwell, no one has been held accountable. No one else has faced charges. Victims have received no justice. That is extraordinary. That is the story. And that’s why I’m writing this: because I think we’re watching, in real time, one of the biggest whitewashes in modern political and criminal history – not over humdrum corruption, but over the trafficking of children. And the rot appears to go all the way to the top.
So here’s what you need to know, in two parts, because it’s big. Ready? Deep breaths. Let’s get into it.
Who was this guy?
Jeffrey Epstein was an American financier and convicted sex offender who managed money for incredibly wealthy and powerful people. Despite running a private investment firm, his methods and track record are opaque. Why these eye-wateringly rich people entrusted him with their cash, (and we’re talking billions), and what exactly he then did with it, isn’t glaringly obvious – a lack of clarity that has fuelled blackmail conspiracy theories no end.
Epstein’s money dealings were actually the least curious thing about him – which is saying something. What made him singular, even in la-di-da power circles, was his social life: who he and Ghislaine Maxwell had on speed dial.
His many properties – including his infamous private Caribbean island – hosted some of the biggest wheelers and dealers, politicians, royals, artists, scientists, crooks, and media moguls to walk the planet. His legendary shindigs were akin to 17th-19th century literary salons, with lauded names getting weird while holding forth on the ills of us lesser mortals.
What we know he did
Turns out Epstein wasn’t just schmoozing the big cheeses at his gaffs – he was trafficking children through them, too. Yes, through his houses. The same houses where his many distinguished guests drank expensive plonk and marvelled at his bizarre art. Yet, somehow none of these visitors knew. Even though they all knew. There was more than a whiff of Jimmy Savile about the whole, “Epstein likes ’em young!” jokes.
A 2024 lawsuit filed by 12 Epstein victims against the FBI – for failing to protect them – details “direct reports, claims and tips concerning the illegal sex trafficking of women and underage minors, sex abuse and human rights violations committed by Jeffrey Epstein and associates” dating all the way back to 1996 – most of which, the case alleges, were ignored by authorities. (Proceedings in that case are ongoing.)
These reports told how Epstein and Maxwell would identify vulnerable girls from disadvantaged backgrounds and groom them, offering money, gifts, and opportunities. The jobs, such as being Epstein’s masseuse, were actually cover for sexual abuse and exploitation – by Epstein and reportedly lots of other powerful individuals. He and Ghislaine forced many girls to recruit others, creating a trafficking network. The girls were all isolated, blackmailed, coerced and manipulated to ensure secrecy and compliance.
These were big and important people telling young and vulnerable people to put up and shut up.
The first convictions
Epstein first faced legal trouble in 2005, when he was investigated for sexually abusing underage girls at his Palm Beach mansion. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. This was the bare minimum he could cop to bearing in mind the extent of the investigation (which included finding photos of multiple underage girls at his property).
“This was not a 'he said, she said' situation,” Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter told the Miami Herald at the time. “This was 50-something 'shes' and one 'he' – and the 'shes' all basically told the same story.”
Epstein got away with this by signing a massively controversial ‘non-prosecution agreement’ (NPA) organised by Alexander Acosta, the then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. The NPA meant Epstein was sentenced to a pitiful 18 months in county jail, of which he only served 13, and much of that on work-release which meant he was allowed to work in his office for 12 hours a day, six days a week.
SOUNDS LEGIT. I’m sure Paedo Phil from Nowheres Ville was offered exactly the same deal.
The NPA meant Epstein and any “potential co-conspirators” avoided federal sex trafficking charges that could have carried decades in prison. Acosta, the overseer, would go on to become Trump’s U.S. Secretary of Labor in 2017 – a role in which he oversaw workplace and trafficking issues. Classic.
Multiple reports suggest Epstein continued trafficking minors after his release. And why wouldn’t he when he’s literally been handed a get-out-of-jail-free card? High-profile people continued associating with him – most famously Prince Andrew. This bastion of good sense and national pride stayed with Epstein in December 2010 and even allegedly emailed him in Feb 2011: “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
WE’LL PLAY SOME MORE SOON.
(Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew saying she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17, in the early 2000s. Prince Andrew has always denied this, claiming he can’t even remember the famous photo of the pair with Ghislaine ever being taken. Oh, and he also can’t sweat and was in a Pizza Express in Woking when all of this was going on. Nevertheless, he still paid Virginia Giuffre millions to settle the case in 2022.)
The second convictions
Shit finally got real after journalists, lawyers and – most importantly – victims like Virginia Guiffre – spent years fighting for some form of reckoning. Major props to journalist Julie K Brown whose 2018 exposé Perversion of Justice published in the Miami Herald not only revealed the true scandalous extent of the NPA ‘sweetheart deal’ Epstein was gifted, but gave voice to over 60 of Epstein’s victims. Her work is widely credited with spurring the public and political outrage that directly led to what followed.
On 21 February 2019, a judge ruled that the NPA that had protected Epstein for a decade by that point was actually illegal. Acosta had violated the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act by not informing Epstein's victims it was happening. (He didn't even tell them about the deal!)
On 6 July 2019, New York federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. They alleged he operated a network that recruited and abused dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005, many transported via what became known as the 'Lolita Express' – Epstein's private Boeing 727 jet.
Prosecutors circumnavigated the Florida-based NPA – which, despite being ruled illegal hadn’t yet been overturned – by bringing the case in New York with new evidence and witnesses. (After Epstein's arrest, pressure on Alexander Acosta, the author of the deal, rocketed – especially when Epstein's lawyers argued that the deal should still shield him and any accomplices from prosecution, proving beyond doubt the enormous level of behind-the-scenes shithousery that the NPA involved. A couple of days later, Acosta resigned as Secretary of Labor. Since then, he’s kept a very low profile, but, don’t worry, this fine figure of law and order will be making a barnstorming return to the story in Part Two.)
Epstein’s death
On 10 August 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell, one day after documents were unsealed implicating high-profile people. The New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. However, the circumstances were, not to put too fine a point on it, shifty as hell. Murky as muck. Weird as Waldo. It is decidedly not just the tin-foil hat brigade who suspect there’s more to this story. Here’s why:
His suicide-watch status was rescinded only days before his death.
His cellmate was transferred out leaving Epstein alone, against protocols.
He was allowed extra bed linens (prohibited to high-risk inmates) that were then used in his suicide.
Guards allegedly fell asleep or didn’t perform their checks (and later falsified log records).
Security cameras malfunctioned outside his cell.
While officially blamed on prison system strain, the convergence of these factors doesn't pass the sniff test for many, especially considering the high-stakes nature of the case. (If you’re wondering where Ghislaine was during all of this, she was living under an assumed name at a secluded property in Britain, because of course she was.)
What this means
This is a bonafide horror story that goes all the way to the top. It shines a light on how wealth and connections influence justice systems in ways that are just staggering. It proves not only that victims regularly aren’t believed – especially women, minorities, and the economically disadvantaged – but that the systems meant to protect them can be easily manipulated by privilege, turning blind eyes, and a reticence to disrupt the status quo.
It teaches us that accountability often depends on public scrutiny and persistent advocacy – most often enforced by survivors and investigative journalists at great personal risk. (Which is one of the reasons why the dismantling of press freedoms and the undervaluing and undermining of journalism happening everywhere right now is so worrying.)
Finally, it’s a stark reminder that power without oversight can create environments where abuse thrives – bringing us neatly to Part Two, dropping soon about how all of this relates to what’s happening now.
Just One More Thing
As one recent social post put it: "So Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked underage girls to… nobody?" The background to this story is integral to understanding what is happening now – powerful men are getting away with the most unbelievable shit (and now perhaps even Ghislaine Maxwell will, too…) and they’re all still acting like none of this matters. It does matter.
*Exceedingly modest reminder that I have written eight bestselling mental-health books which have been translated into dozens of languages. I’ve also written a book about the TV show Friends which would make a delightful gift for any Friends obsessives. All are available to buy online or at your local bookshop.
Right, I am officially worried. I have been on tenterhooks waiting for part two, but alas, nothing, nada, rien, zilch. Are you ok?