The conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell for five out of six criminal charges was heralded by many as bringing some justice for the girls abused through her actions. Indeed, the Southern District of New York correctly called the underlying conduct as “one of the worst crimes imaginable – facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children.” However, that statement only begged the question of why none of the men listed on flights of the “Lolita Express” or on the guest lists of these parties have been prosecuted. That list includes former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump as well as Prince Andrew and an assortment of billionaires. It is not clear if these men committed criminal acts but it is also not clear that they have been formally questioned by the FBI.
As I discussed last night, this criminal enterprise was allegedly not only to bring girls and women to Epstein but to his powerful friends. Without pursuing those alleged “johns,” the Maxwell prosecution seems like arresting a getaway driver but letting the bank robbers escape.
The pictures of men on these trips are now well-known. They do not in themselves establish criminal conduct. For example, the pictures of Clinton getting a message from a 22-year-old woman is not illegal and she later described him as a “perfect gentleman.” However, Clinton has been accused of misleading the public on his number of flights with Epstein. The media has reported at least 26 flights with Epstein. Being a repeated guest with an infamous child molester raises obvious concerns. It is certainly enough to warrant questioning by the FBI.
Then there is Prince Andrew who has been pursued for questioning. Much of the litigation, however, has come from civil litigation. Prince Andrew recently put forward a novel defense in one such case.
Yet, there is a concern that the Justice Department has previously worked to scuttle rather than to pursue the underlying wrongdoing, including a disgraceful plea agreement. I was an early and vocal critic of that deal with Epstein. Despite a strong case for prosecution, Epstein’s lawyers were able to secure a ridiculous deal with prosecutors. He was accused of abusing more than forty minor girls (with many between the ages of 13 and 17). Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state charge of felony solicitation of underage girls in 2008 and served a 13-month jail sentence. Epstein was facing a 53-page indictment that could have resulted in life in prison. However, he got the 13 month deal. Moreover, to my lasting surprise, former Miami U.S. attorney Alexander Acosta was inexplicably made labor secretary under Trump. He later resigned.
While the FBI aggressively (and correctly) pursued Maxwell, there is no evidence of such a concerted effort to investigate the men who may have been involved in sex trafficking. Given the all-out effort on Ashley Biden’s diary, it would be good to see an equal effort on Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators.
If Epstein allegedly transported women and girls to his island for visits with himself and these men, there is ample reason to interview them. It is not clear if Maxwell has further evidence to offer, but this is the time to produce it. While she is not practically looking at 65 years, she can easily receive a sentence around 15 years even as a first offender. That sentence could be reduced with cooperation credit. What is not clear is how focused the SDNY is on developing cases that focus not just on the “transportation” but the destination of these flights.
Why do you think that your thoughts matter?
And I am shocked, shocked I tell you that there was not even a whiff in Maxwell’s trial that Epstein/Maxwell were a Mossad political blackmail operation. It appears obvious that she was following the footsteps of her father, a long time Mossad operative. The extensive clandestine video recording system found at Epstein’s New York mansion make the blackmail purpose clear. The young girls were doubly victimized, both sexually and used as bait to obtain political leverage. Maxwell was prosecuted for the symptom while leaving the disease untreated and unmentioned.
Maxwell is dummy. When she was in California, Maxwell could have left the US for Europe instead of buying a house in Vermont under a fake name. Maxwell had many connections in Europe & lots of money.
If it is true that Epstein and Maxwell’s “honey trap” was on behalf of Mossad and the Israeli government, nothing more will come of any of this. Why haven’t the women themselves named names and written books about who they had sex with?Most likely because they have reason to fear for their own lives if they begin telling everything they know. For reasons that are unclear to me, Prince Andrew was expendable. If so, why is that not also the case with Bill Clinton? Under the heading of “It wouldn’t surprise me,” it wouldn’t surprise me at all to learn that the Epstein sex trafficking operation continues operating, only now with other players.
The SDNY US Atty. is in a good position to now begin putting together co-conspirator cases against the men. He was careful to get through this trial without divulging the plethora of evidence he has (photos, flight logs, Maxwell’s calendar book). That makes it very hard for “opportunist victims” to come forward with allegations, only to be discredited in court because their stories are drawn from public information. We’re entering a phase where any underage victim who wants to pursue justice can name the man or men who committed a crime or coercive, underage sex. As long as there is some corroborating evidence, the case can go forward. Maxwell may take advantage of a sentence-reduction offer to turn government witness, but my sense is that her cooperation is not essential to putting on strong cases.
What this is all about now is whether DOJ is very interested in the development of young women who come from poverty and broken homes. Are their legal rights as important as those of powerful VIPs? In other words, do we have a defacto two-tiered justice system?…or one that levels the playing field regardless of one’s station in life?
We have NO justice system! There is a paper I wrote not too very long ago titled The Legal System Is Even WORSE Than Gambling!, and in it, I prove beyond all doubt that the entire legal system is a con game that is set up to rip people off! And I wrote several other papers on the blatant criminality of the legal system, all of the way from the top down to the bottom of it. Papers such as The Scam Of The Legal System, The Holes In The Legal System, Any Person Subject To…, The Achilles’ Heel Of EVERYTHING In The Universe and several others too.
Did your paper call out any positives of our legal system compared to Russia, Sudan, Myanmar, Egypt, Libya? Rules of evidence?
Presumption of innocence? The need for 12-juror unanimity? Voir Dire? Appeals?
I tend to discount any analysis of a complex system that has benefitted from centuries of evolution/improvement that only points out flaws and then denounces the entire system as worthless. It’s not an objective analysis — It’s a study in negative thinking.
Where there is a crime, there is a Clinton. Maybe not always, but always too frequently.
I agree; it is more than slightly curious why the FBI is only pursuing the low-hanging fruit in this whole affair.
I have heard rumors about this in the past, but am not about to spread them further; this is not the venue for me to detail what I have heard from other sources. But this does seem to be a pattern: We have laws against actual crimes, yet the law-enforcement officials decide to only pursue process crimes instead. This article’s headline tells it all.
I think the issue would have been properly addressed if Jeffrey Epstein could have been successfully brought to trial. But he died before that happened, notwithstanding the previous case arranged for by former US Attorney Alex Azar.
Maxwell is guilty of violating the Mann Act which has been misused from it’s inception. She shuts up or gets shanked. Pretty obvious that Epstein’s blackmail material has been secured, and like Bill Gates says: “He’s dead.” Now it’s time for the Big Payoff.
Turley raises an interesting question.
If she is guilty of sex exploitation , why not go after the ‘Johns’?
In this case… can you prove that just because you were on the ‘Lolita Express’ that you were an active participant?
prove that just because you were on the ‘Lolita Express’ that you were an active participant?
Is it probable cause to investigate?
Let’s not forget who the prosecutor was in the Maxwell case. Also involved in the Epstein suicide debacle
https://www.worldtribune.com/comeys-daughter-prosecutor-in-maxwell-trial-earlier-explained-loss-of-epstein-suicide-video/
“[T]here is no evidence that [the FBI is engaged in] a concerted effort to target the men who may have been involved in sex trafficking . . .”
Cut ’em a little slack. Their plate’s already full with investigating: Diary-Gate, “insurrectionists,” “domestic terrorists,” the conspiracy behind the theft of a celebrity’s dog, and nooses masquerading as garage-door pulls.
The FBI will not investigate those people. Parents. yes; these people, no
Epstein]s assassination with the aid of agents of the govt is circumstantial evidence of powerful people engaging in their (illegal) kinks with immunity. Of course this has been going on for a long time (the coverup, not the kink, the kink predates walking upright) JFK was quite open about diddling the younger ones, and providing them to his cronies.
Like back in the JFK days and now, the media participates in the revolting behavior. Matt Laurer? CNN?
Since the actions by Maxwell occurred between 1994 and 2004, what happened to the Statute of Limitations?
It is not clear if these men committed criminal acts but it is also not clear that they have been formally questioned by the FBI.
How many of these men have been formally accused of a crime? Or should the FBI simply question people out of curiosity?
FBI simply question people out of curiosity?
The Maxwell trial had a slate of 100 witnesses. Victims of this scandal. They are all naming names. That’s enough for FBI investigation. Way more than a private persons missing diary.
I believe the new DOJ standard (Jan. 6) is to hold them in solitary confinement until a crime is alleged.
Any person named by one of these 100 witnesses should be questioned. What I want to know iowan2 is what evidence have you that any of the individuals named in Turkey’s commentary were accused of any criminal acts by any of those witnesses.
Randy, I’m talking about an investigation. Still important to adhere to the rule of law.
Not that many months ago, we saw women gymnasts testify in front of a congressional committee. They outlined the failure of the FBI to followup accusations of Nassar’s sexual assault. Very little has happened to those agents that ignored accusations and refused to follow up. That failure expanded the victims by dozens.
Is the same enabling still going on as we examine the failures concerning Epstein?
Circumstantial evidence is mounting the FBI is not enforcer of the law, but a Praetorian guard for societies elites. Shielding them from the law.
“Liked” (I don’t have a WordPress account [as I figure everyone is already aware])
The SDNY is politically driven in its choices of prosecutions….and don’t give a Tinker’s Damn about Justice or the enforcing the Law.
Clinton did not miss lead about the number of Flights….He out right LIED. One has to ask that simple question….”Why”?
Dershowitz was on that list…..and claims his innocence….as he naturally would being the Lawyer that he is and as the Law allows him to do.
Prince Andrew….who I have met and shared a Dinner with….is also declaring his innocence…..as is his right.
The Professor is exactly right when he questions why the “Johns” are going scot free on this…..and of course knows the answer but declines to make a declarative statement…..”Privilege” of he wealthy and politically cnnectded and a corrupt SDNY.
Did Epstein agree to talk in a deal with the Florida Prosecutor and earn that sweetheart deal….but some one acted to prevent him from doing so…or for testifying in court? Was there a cover up of that murder?
When the Clintons get embroiled in yet another scandal….bad things begin to happen to potential witnesses to the extent it is hard to blame pure coincidence.
If this Woman decides to fully cooperate with the SDNY and testify in Federal Court…..what will she be able to attest to that would allow the Prosecutor to make cases against the “Johns”?
Will she live long enough to do so and see some of the Johns join. her in a Federal Prison?
If she cooperates, it will be along the lines of being a witness to men coming to parties to have sex with underage girls. The primary testimony will come from the female who was “coerced or paid” to have sex. The age can be proven using calendar dates taken from flight logs. Corroborating testimony from the pilot, house servants, photos and notebooks will assist. The testimony of the female victim, if corroborated by some of this objective evidence or witnesses, is sufficient to nail a co-conspirator.
We all know that justice is flexible.
Gentle, compassionate, and silent for the rich and connected.
Harsh, unforgiving, and vocal for the poor.
And politics is important. Look at the treatment of the 1/6 rioters versus the Portland rioters.
Same for military justice, where connected O6’s and above are treated quite gently (witness Petraeus).
American justice is not just.
PLEASE NO ad hominem. The first paragraph of this article puts 2 men who behaved VERY differently towards Epstein in the same sentence. That is a smear.
– Pres. Clinton not only travelled extensively with Epstein but decided to lie about it, most likely to cover up nefarious activity.
– Pres. Trump barred Epstein from his properties in 2010 when he discovered Epstein assaulted a girl at Mar-A Lago. In other words, he STOPPED nefarious activity.
Many people know bad people.
Pres. Trump stopped the deviance and banned the cause of it from his properties.
Pres. Clinton appears to have participated in the deviance.
Let’s use our words more accurately, Dr. T. Logical fallacies weaken your writing.
The difference in behavior of the two men is yet to be clear. It just came out that Trump traveled at least six more times than previously reported, was his omission of those six flights a lie? Clinton has cheated on his wife, been alleged to have fathered a child out of wedlock, abused his power and possibly committed rape. Nobody, least of all me is suggesting he’s a role model. He should be questioned and arrested if found guilty.
Trump has a much longer list of accusations, cheated on all of his wives, lied about his affairs, been accused multiple times of rape, sexually harassed underage girls and bragged about his ability to do whatever he liked to women because he was a star. Yes he stopped Epstein from continuing to use Mar-a-Lago to pick up girls after he hit on a friend’s daughter. You have a low bar for declaring him to have stopped nefarious activity. Trump also should be investigated and arrested if guilty, you should stop declaring him virtuous and be willing to examine him as well.
https://www.miamiherald.com/article256740662.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/women-accused-trump-sexual-misconduct-list-2017-12
Your Miami Harold link is paywalled
The Business insider link is nothing but baseless accusations. None ever filed a police report, or provided extemporaneous evidence.
Thanks for playing, pick up your parting gift on the way out.
It is impossible to take seriously a person who clearly is willing to so easily dismiss the conduct of Trump, who is clearly a person of highly deplorable and deeply flawed moral and ethical character.
Clearly you should cease using the word clearly to express your feelings.
Randy:
“It is impossible to take seriously a person who clearly is willing to so easily dismiss the conduct of Trump, who is clearly a person of highly deplorable and deeply flawed moral and ethical character.”
*****************************
I think it’s impossible to take seriously someone who claims to be able to judge another’s heart armed only with mere allegation.
Randy, if there is criminal evidence, please present it.
Cheating on a spouse is not a crime. It may be a lifestyle choice shared with his wife.
Never saw any underage girl accuse trump of sexual abuse. And you are going to have to provide names, dates, places
You can register for free for access to the Miami Herald. Or just Google something like “Trump flew 6 more times than reported on Epstein flights.” Unless a course you just don’t want to know. The Business Insider story is a compilation of 26 separate accounts. Some have filed lawsuits, there are lots of reasons girls/women don’t file police reports against powerful rich men. Disbelieve all 26 claims against Trump if you will but don’t hold him up as a role model when his own words prove otherwise.
When you get a verdict, come see me.
I don’t mind that stance, if you want to proclaim Trump less guilty than Clinton in sexual matters, I would object.
Truth and proof come before comparisons. You have neither.
proclaim Trump less guilty than Clinton in sexual matters, I would object.
Clinton paid Paula Jones $850,000 to drop a sexual harassment suit. Trump has not paid off any accusers
So you can stuff your phony equivalency charade.
” Trump has not paid off any accusers”
Really! Does anyone want to tell him?
Enigma, you have gone after Trump with unsubstantiated claims continuously. One of my early encounters with you was when you attacked Donald Trump for something his father allegedly did before Trump was born. There was no proof of that claim, and if the person in question was Fred Trump, he was released while others were placed on bail. That is how thin your stories are—blaming a person for acts that took place before that person was born.
To date, that is the type of complaint you have leveled against Trump. That is a bit crazy in my book, but apparently, the idea of truth never crosses your mind when you wish to perform a political hatchet job.
Fortunately, I have a record of exactly what I said about Donald and his father instead of having to rely on your version. Of the 26 separate claims against Trump, I invented exactly none of them. I don’t need to make up anything against Trump, the truth is sufficient.
https://democracyguardian.com/the-sins-of-the-fathers-e98e31364902
Enigma, what you say is what you said elsewhere, but not on the blog. Based on the date, that may even have been a later revision of what you said.
Based on known facts, nothing you said changes anything you wrongfully told on the blog. What you said was a bit crazy.
In essence, you accused Donald Trump of racism based on his father’s supposed sin that occurred before Donald was even born. Though people were arrested at a gathering, they were from all sides or just people who would generally be outside.
There isn’t even adequate proof that Fred was there. If he was gathered up with a large net, he was released because he was an innocent.
Everything you say is made up, and even the leftist fact-checkers use red lines to emphasize certain things while making it hard to read the facts because the lines were intentionally placed to confuse. I used your sources and others at the time of the Blog entries. You were unquestionably wrong and tried to do a hatchet job based on what supposedly occurred almost 20 years before Trump was born.
Again, you saying I said something as opposed to citing what I actually said. Though Donald Trump said Fred wasn’t there though he wasn’t born yet. The contemporaneous report listed Fred’s name and accurate home address. Based on your version that maybe it was just people standing around, you probably think January 6th was just tourists.
I hadn’t given any thought to New Year’s Resolutions but ignoring your foolishness has become #1 on my list.
Enigma – You are a basket of red herrings and other logical fallacies. Try to respond with logic instead of fallacies please.
Enigma, I don’t remember the listing of Fred Trump’s address though it was probably available for anyone to see from numerous sources. That is not a dispositive finding.
The name listed by some newspapers was that of Fred Trump, but another article written at the time said there was no proof that the innocent person accidentally grabbed by the police was the real Fred Trump.
Fred may or may not have been there, but it doesn’t matter because he wasn’t involved in any of the ensuing problems. If he wasn’t there, Donald was correct, and you are wrong. If Fred told Donald he wasn’t there, then Donald was again correct in believing his father, and you are wrong. If Fred were there, so what? We don’t know why he was there, which means you are wrong again.
In fact, blaming Donald for something that occurred 20 years before he was born is ludicrous, and it is morally wrong to make such absurd accusations.
The Steele nonsense was released prior to public disclosure of the 26 times Clinton was on an international manifest. The most telling sentence in the entire thin tissue of lies was the one that said the KGB and the FSB checked their files and found no compromising information on either Clinton. If I recall correctly the Starr report given to Congress listed Jane Does one through six. Six allegations of rape and sexual assault. Let’s be exceedingly generous and assume some were false. The KGB and the FSB have been tracking this guy for over three decades and have no compromising information. That strains credulity to put it nicely. That sentence alone should have caused the FBI to dismiss the document in its entirety.
Charge the pilot of the plane. Charge the company who sold rubbers. Don’t allow those women to wear makeup again. Tell the men that you can’t pork em if ya got em.