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.
Perhaps these co-conspirators are also seen as victims – of a blackmail operation.
You should look up the video “everything wrong with the capitol shooting in 21 minutes or less!”
Stop and think about the cliche of a wealthy playboy. In the movies, he’s always pictured on a yacht with a bevy of young women in bikinis. Does anyone know how old they are? They’re always young women. They’re usually courtesans, angling for the excitement and gifts of associating with the rich and famous. There are wealth groupies, sports groupies, rock star groupies, tech groupie, movie star groupie, Arab sheik groupie. Every famous, wealthy, or successful male niche has its groupie. It’s a niche industry.
In some ways, the cliche of male success can be measured by how strongly groupies are attracted, regardless of whether they partake. Remember the screaming, fainting, Beatles teens? That was before my time, but the videos show the effect.
Most of the time, what usually happens is the people who work for these successful men offer invitations to a yacht or party to beautiful girls they either meet, or are referred to. There’s networking. Girls get to know those who can hook them up to VIP rooms at clubs where the rich and famous gather, behind the velvet ropes. They know the security guards or promoters, and they never wait in line. They get invited to the parties, the yachts, the after awards parties. Some are courtesans, and some are angling for rich boyfriends or husbands. They bask in the attention of important people, when most are just getting used.
But in some cases, it gets much darker. When it turns left, it involves sexual grooming, abuse, and in some cases, underage girls. There was the Nxivum scandal that blasted Hollywood. So many times, rappers and athletes, for example have gotten caught up in the groupies, only to discover that some were underage, or worse, they get involved in trafficking.
Epstein and Ghislaine were certainly prolific, but theirs are not isolated cases.
Unfortunately, parents need to teach their daughters how to spot when someone wants to take advantage.
It is awfully hard to teach people how to avoid being taken advantage of when they want to be taken advantage of.
Have any of the myriad of young women identified any of the men with whom they slept or entertained? If not, why not? Not one allegation even? Maybe nothing happened but it seems strange that no man has been accused.
Because maybe these Sugar Daddies are paying them to keep quiet. Who wants to go public and cut-off the cash flow? As long as none of these women are under 18, as distasteful as it may be, it is not criminal. Not unlike the Hollywood casting couch, the of-age women hung around Epstein hoping to find a “sponsor” and Epstein’s friends knew they would be able to meet a young aspiring woman in his company. It could be that Epstein was less a pimp and more of a clandestine dating service for rich, powerful and discrete men.
Jeff,
You have articulated some very good points on this topic, my compliments. You should try this approach more often.
Ray,
Thanks. As I have said time again, I don’t fault Turley’s arguments by and large. Turley was very critical of Trump; he called out his lies on occasion. Now that Trump is out of office, Turley aims his criticism at Biden. Fine by me. I did not criticize Turley one iota for lambasting the MSM for ignoring the Hunter Biden scandal. However, Turley is ignoring the 1/6 investigation into Trump, and all the Constitutional issues raised over Executive Privilege and his opinion on the DOJ holding Bannon in criminal contempt and possibly Meadows. These issues are far more consequential than wasting his time commenting on this salacious Epstein affair. He is a Constitutional scholar; not a tabloid reporter, darn it! I know the Epstein scandal sells; but we expect more from a law professor.
Jeff is laying the manure so thick even his vegetables won’t grow.
Any young and powerless girl would be eliminated long before trial. They are probably being bought off even now.
” Maxwell’s Conviction Leaves Glaring Questions” … But are those questions so glaring considering this from NYC?
“But the policy then states that anyone who is non-white — regardless of age, health or underlying medical conditions — is automatically deemed to have met the requirement that one must have “a medical condition or other factors that increase their risk for severe illness” in order to receive this treatment (“Non-white race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor.”). That means that a healthy twenty-year-old Asian football player or a 17-year-old African-American marathon runner from a wealthy family will be automatically deemed at heightened risk to develop serious COVID illness — making them instantly eligible for monoclonal treatments upon testing positive and showing symptoms — while a White person of exactly the same age and health condition from an impoverished background would not be automatically eligible.”
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/new-york-is-using-race-to-determine?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxOTMxMzgyNCwiXyI6IkJtUnNZIiwiaWF0IjoxNjQwOTc0MDUyLCJleHAiOjE2NDA5Nzc2NTIsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0xMjg2NjIiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.z5gPeeKwiYMQN7KKYdKIBASclfGgE64UTlRFa_ISgUQ
This is just one more step in the neo-racist policies of the left, justified by alleged “systemic racism”.
Even taking into account the prevarications of the Supreme Court, this policy is unconstitutional.
Race per se is simply not a medical condition that puts anyone at risk of a worse outcome for Covid. It may be that the co-morbidities that do create these risks are more prevalent in some groups than in others, but that is irrelevant it is the presence of the co-morbidities in an individual, not his status as a member of a group, that should be the criteria. Similarly, some groups may be less vaccinated than others because of the history of government medical abuse, and so more vulnerable as a statistical matter. But in this case what creates the vulnerability is the unvaccinated status, and that, not race, is the relevant criteria.
If these racial/ethnic disparities in co-morbidities and vaccination status exist, then assessing each individual for the co-morbidities and vaccination status themselves will lead naturally to disparate distribution in favour of the more vulnerable groups. But it will do so without taking race into account.
Daniel, racism is necessary for the left. They failed using class.
Once again, the left will play the racism card in the distribution of monoclonal antibodies while screaming at supporters of Trump that they are deplorables along with all sorts of insults and threats (Kill Bush). They will be accused of spreading Covid, even though vaccinated people can spread the virus. When they call people names for being unvaccinated, they forget that the black population is among the highest unvaccinated group. They blame that on racist whites rather than culture. The left is salivating, waiting to have enough power to cause physical harm to anyone that gets in their way (They have already done so with virtual impunity). They have Stalinist morals, and given the power, would kill and destroy the lives of regular hard-working Americans that do not walk in lockstep with them.
People should take a closer look at the origins of the left. They should ask themselves how the Holodomor happened. Some leftists on this blog are no different from the people that caused the Holodomor.
“But the policy then states that anyone who is non-white . . .”
Thanks to CRT types, America is going full tribalism. Here’s yet another example, from education — Extra pay for nonwhite teachers, and racial segregation of teachers:
“Retention strategies may include providing financial incentives for teachers of color . . . and placing American Indian educators at sites with other American Indian educators and educators of color at sites with other educators of color to reduce isolation and increase opportunity for collegial support.” (Mankato School District in Minnesota)
Sam, have you noticed that those on the left side of the blog can’t justify any of these points? One day they will run out of blue pills.
S.M.: There’s been an instructive development in this debate. Early on, they (and their cohorts in the culture) were running roughshod with tribalism (aka CRT). Then a few brave voices here (and in the culture) started presenting rational counter-arguments, and actually *naming* CRT’s inherent racism. Now, at least, the collectivists-racists do not dominate the debate — and in some quarters are on the defensive.
When the two sides of an issue are named clearly, and given equal hearing, then rational ideas stand a good chance of winning.
Nicely articulated, thank you.
If that’s intended for me, you’re welcome.
It was!
Lumping the names of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump together is good for clickbait, but fails to recognize the vast differences in their ‘exposure’ to Jeffrey Epstein. Donald Trump was also the only person on this list who voluntarily sat down with law enforcement about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Maybe Jonathan Turley wants the ambiguity he portrays here to maintain his apolitical bonafides.
Trump only shows up on smaller Epstein commuter planes that moved normally from Teterboro Airport in northern NJ to Palm Beach. Trips back and possibly forth just to do normal work. Epstein had a fleet of planes and a helicopter and in there was the Lolita Express. Trump’s own plane was just as big and his name does not show up on the passenger list for the Lolita Express.
Acosta was a Florida guy when Jeb Bush was the Governor. Wouldn’t be surprised if Jeb suggested the hiring of Acosta who never should have been hired in the first place. First administration chaos in an outsider government. And Trump liked real women. Epstein and close friends seemed to prefer youngsters. Never that twain should meet. Trump tossed Epstein and I believe Maxwell out of Mar a Lago forever when Jeffrey was arrested by the Palm Beach cops who did their job. Corruption above them ruined it all that first go round.
How about the charge that wasn’t made: Unregistered Foreign Agent.
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.
Italicized/bold text was excerpted from a report titled Jeffrey Epstein’s Sick Story Played Out for Years in Plain Sight
Acosta had explained, breezily, apparently, that back in the day he’d had just one meeting on the Epstein case. He’d cut the non-prosecution deal with one of Epstein’s attorneys because he had “been told” to back off, that Epstein was above his pay grade. “I was told Epstein ‘belonged to intelligence’ and to leave it alone,” he told his interviewers in the Trump transition, who evidently thought that was a sufficient answer and went ahead and hired Acosta. (The Labor Department had no comment when asked about this.)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-sick-story-played-out-for-years-in-plain-sight?ref=scroll
Have any of the super-sleuths at DoJ/FBI looked into the veracity the claim made in this report?
Why should I give a rat’s ass about this or anything else, for that matter?
Criminal cases dropped against Epstein jail guards.
Corrupt DOJ.
Wealthy connected elite liberals and predominantly leftist democrat politicos involved in these doings. George Carlin said of this cabal as ” a big club , and you ain’t in it !”.
They have their sacrificial lamb to make this all go away now. and it will.
the use of “elite” alongside “liberals and predominantly democrat[s]” is like the quintessential oxymoron, isn’t it?
The criminal FBI isn’t going to “investigate” anything involving Epstein’s wealthy clients and friends. The criminal FBI has already seized all incriminating evidence to cover-up the crimes and to protect those other criminals immediately after Epstein was successfully Epsteined. And that evidence will never see the light of day.
Oh, and for the dummy democrats out there that “think” Trump was one of Epstein’s clients, if there were any evidence implicating Trump, that would be the one set of evidence that would immediately see the light of day. And the criminal FBI would have already leaked that evidence to the New York Times, if it actually existed. But it doesn’t exist.
First of all, Turley, you don’t know what people have been questioned by the FBI, so implying that somehow they haven’t done their job or that more prosecutions aren’t in the works is speculative at best. Secondly, Maxwell might be willing to flip on some high-profile men in exchange for some consideration in her sentencing, or in exchange for her not being prosecuted for perjury, so the book hasn’t been closed yet on this case. But, the biggest beef I have is your comment about Bill Clinton lying. How can you, with a straight face, criticize Bill Clinton and ignore Trump’s Big Lie and the insurrection he set off and the distrust that he still fosters because of his refusal to accept defeat? So long as you won’t address Trump’s lying and the impact it has had on this country, you have no business accusing any Democrat of being a liar.
Was Bill Clinton talking about his wife?