Jeff pal guilt trips: rushing to judgment

In 2019, I set out to debunk a conspiracy theory alleging that Jeffrey Epstein was given a lenient sentence during his first prosecution due to his role as a government informant in response to the financial crisis. I spoke with officials from the SEC, prosecutors, and Wall Street executives, acquiring solid proof that those claims were groundless. Just before writing, I decided to reach out to Epstein himself. Locating his contact details proved challenging, given his increasingly reclusive lifestyle. However, at a dinner meeting with two moguls from New York, one offered Epstein's number.

Upon calling Epstein, he responded to my inquiries, asserting that he was not a pedophile or a hedge fund manager. Rather, he positioned himself as a high-end broker for the ultra-rich. He dismissed the idea of cooperating with authorities for a lighter sentence as complete nonsense. Within months, Epstein was arrested and eventually found dead in his jail cell in an apparent suicide.

This narrative speaks not to my personal connections but rather highlights Epstein's associations within power circles, spanning Wall Street, Washington, and academia. The person who provided Epstein's number, I am confident to state, was neither a part of Epstein's infamous sex trafficking circle nor involved in Epstein's notorious private jet scandal, should they have been involved, it would have been strictly business.

Epstein's actions are beyond reprehensible. The reasoning behind his initial reduced sentence remains puzzling. The recent document releases have escalated the scandal significantly, incriminating virtually anyone Epstein had ever known, creating a guilt by association culture reminiscent of the Red Scare and unfounded conspiracy theories.

Even though I disagree with Bill Clinton's actions and policies, it is premature to presume his affiliation with Epstein's sex ring, simply based on hearsay. Moreover, the inclusion of the late Stephen Hawking in the Epstein document release seems ludicrous. Epstein's email to Ghislaine Maxwell in the unsealed documents suggested paying off his accusers to disprove allegations against Hawking, which doesn't attest to Hawking's participation in unlawful sexual activities.

Even Donald Trump, known to have associated with Epstein socially, is brought into this scandal due to a playful comment he made about Epstein's admiration for beautiful women. We shouldn't hastily judge Clinton, Trump, or Epstein without sufficient proofs. Just like how Alan Dershowitz, one of Epstein's primary lawyers, was finally exonerated after years of legal battles and humiliation when the accuser admitted she might have made an error of judgement. This context should be kept in mind as we try to make sense of the next batch of Epstein's documents.