Jeffrey Epstein's Sick Story Played Out for Years in Plain Sight

[DonViejo]

How did the New York financier stay nearly untouchable for decades? Vicky Ward—who has reported extensively on Epstein, and on efforts to rehabilitate him—finds out what’s changed.

Vicky Ward

Updated 07.09.19 9:58 AM ET Published 07.09.19 4:35AM ET

A couple of years ago, I was interviewing a former senior White House official when the name Jeffrey Epstein came up.

Unaware of my personal history with Epstein, this person assured me that the New York financier was no serious harm to anyone. He was a good guy. A charming guy. Useful, too. He knew a lot of rich Arabs, including the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, and, further, he had clever ideas about creating bond issues for them. “OK, so he has a girl problem,” this person threw on, almost as an afterthought.

Epstein’s name, I was told, had been raised by the Trump transition team when Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. attorney in Miami who’d infamously cut Epstein a non-prosecution plea deal back in 2007, was being interviewed for the job of labor secretary. The plea deal put a hard stop to a separate federal investigation of alleged sex crimes with minors and trafficking.

“Is the Epstein case going to cause a problem [for confirmation hearings]?” Acosta had been asked. 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.)

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[unc70]

1. Belonged to intelligence

And above Acosta's pay grade!

[tblue37]

6. Like Felix Sater? nt

[crazytown]

8. Agent 0014

[gratuitous]

2. Gee, who told Acosta to back off Epstein?

He probably doesn't remember.

[leftieNanner]

10. He may not actually know

If this goes high up the food chain, he probably can't identify the person who stopped the prosecution.

Or he's a flaming Republican ass hole protecting a monster.

[dalton99a]

3. Kick

AMY GOODMAN: So, in 2018, the Miami Herald published an award-winning series of articles exposing Epstein’s crimes and the high-powered people who protected him. The series is called “Perversion of Justice.” This is a clip from a video accompanying the piece, where we hear the voices of the women describing what happened to them.

VIRGINIA ROBERTS: I went from an abusive situation to being a runaway to living in foster homes to just already being hardened by life on the streets.

JENA-LISA JONES: The other girls that I personally know of that went were coming from trailer parks that were having gun shootings, drugs.

COURTNEY WILD: My mother was on drugs at the time, and she couldn’t provide for me. And I was pretty much homeless.

JACK SCAROLA: One child would be lured over, would be paid substantial sums of money, would be offered the further inducement of being paid a bounty for anybody else that she was able to bring to Epstein. A network developed where many young girls in the same kinds of circumstance wound up being victimized.

JENA-LISA JONES: The three of us slid into the backseat of the cab, and we drove, and I remember just driving down Okeechobee Boulevard and thinking how I had never been on Palm Beach Island before, in my whole entire life that I had lived in West Palm Beach.

COURTNEY WILD: By the time I was 16, I brought him up to 75 girls, all the ages of, you know, 14, 15, 16, people going from eighth grade to ninth grade. At just school parties is where I would recruit them from.

VIRGINIA ROBERTS: All Jeffrey cared about was “Go find me more girls.” His appetite was insatiable. He couldn’t stop. He wanted new, fresh, young faces every single day.

[Stuart G]

4. Looks like Jeffrey is a very sick piece of s**t. Sometimes..people with a certain kind of

reputation don't do so well in prison. Other prisoners don't like them. Now Jeffery is a very rich man who has lead a rich man's life. If he is convicted, and goes to prison, he might not do so well. He might find some difficulties in prison. I ain't the judge. Perhaps Judge Judy could give us perspective on this one. If she can find time to stop counting her money. I hear she has quite a stash of money...

[gratuitous]

11. These predators know their victims

The more "troubled" the girls are, the less likely they are to be believed. If you remember Clarence Thomas' defense against Anita Hill, it was to paint her as a little bit nutty, a little bit slutty. Epstein knows that as a wealthy white man, he gets instant credibility, while he or his surrogates run the "who are you going to believe" game: Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, pillar of the community, or this teen-age girl from a broken home with a drug habit, looking to score a quick payoff? She's an unstable, damaged little girl who has inexplicably targeted Mr. Epstein for some demented reason known only to her. Any evidence that Epstein and the girl had ever had contact is waved away with protestations of the generous and big-hearted billionaire who extended himself to try to help this poor unfortunate who had crossed his path. And this is the thanks he gets! Jeffrey Epstein is the real victim here.

It's a well-worn playbook.

[ChicagoRonin]

5. They (the rich and powerful) all know

Years ago, a friend out in LA told me that people he knew in show business all knew director Bryan Singer was a pervert and ringleader of a notorious group that picked up and exploited young boys. This was way before #MeToo and before Singer's activities came to light. Everyone in the industry seemed to know what was going on, but no one did anything about it.

A couple of years ago here in Chicago, we had a big scandal in the theater community in which it was revealed that the artistic director of a successful theater company had been a serial abuser and sexual exploiter ([link:https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/profiles-theatre-theater-abuse-investigation/Content?oid=22415861|). It led to the shutting down of the company, effectively running the artistic director out of town, and a whole movement. BUT, I had been told by colleagues about this guy's antics years before, always accompanied with a shrug and "Everyone knows, but no one knows about it."

I think all of the rich and powerful have known for years what Epstein was up too. I even think if Bill Clinton didn't partake of his illicit entertainments, he might have known what was going on. But now that he's part of the insiders' club of the rich and famous, he kept quiet and didn't rock the boat. I don't like to think that, but it's a possibility we should all consider.

[Roy Rolling]

7. Chicago

Why did you not say anything in Chicago if someone told you "years before"? I wouldn't bring it up, except you are faulting "the rich and powerful" for doing nothing---the same as you.

And nice touch bringing up Bill Clinton.

I don't get this post at all. Sorry.

[ChicagoRonin]

9. For the same reason as most other ordinary people

What's the reason for attacking me? I'm just sharing an observation and a concern.

And I couldn't do anything regarding those other issues. I'm just repeating anecdotes told to me by others. I had no personal dealings with these people, no first-hand experience. I had no evidence. I'm not an investigative reporter. And as it turned out, the Chicago situation (and the Epstein situation now) have been brought to light by the diligent work of professionals who know how to approach these things and what to do.

And I'm not trying to be inflammatory mentioning Bill Clinton (who was the first president I voted for and I still think did a good job). But I think there's a lot of good people out there who turn a blind eye to bad things. Especially if they travel in elite circles. They might not outright endorse crimes, but they rationalize it.

[MaryMagdaline]

12. Yes. This is s wake up call to all of us. As trump likes to say,

If you see something, say something. I would surely love for someone to rat out his modeling agency. One of its victims.

[questionseverything]

13. alot of rationalizing going on here lately

it is pretty obvious this creep got by with this for so long because a lot of other 1%ers were involved too

[Roy Rolling]

14. Not Attacking

It was a strong statement, I admit. And I also said my reason very plainly...your criticism of others “rich and powerful” who said nothing, is what you chose to do, also.

Now, I totally understand if someone is reluctant for whatever reason to call the authorities. That sometimes is a bigger problem than a solution for the individual.

But if that’s the case, being a public critic of others who did the same is a strange testimony. Better to not advocate for something if you’re unwilling to do it yourself, faced with similar circumstances.

And, yes, I thought the Clinton reference was a gratuitous swipe, (speculating he was aware of heinous, illegal activities) however unintentional it may be. Bringing up Clinton is a right-wing talking point and not something enlightened people like you wish to emulate.

My apologies again for being abrupt.

[ChicagoRonin]

15. Just to clarify

Sorry to belabor the point, but what was I supposed to do in the incidents I mentioned? Or anyone else who finds themselves in such a place? Because I was not a witness to anything. I was not a victim of anything. All I had at disposal was heresay. Heresay from people I trusted, but there's not much you can do with that. I wasn't even talking to people who were victims themselves, whom I could offer support or suggestions. Best I could do was avoid placing myself in situations with the parties mentioned and not patronize their businesses. If I took to writing in a public venue with no accumulated evidence, I'd just make myself a target of lawsuit (Whereas journalist have the means and resources to investigate).

The public figures I'm thinking of are those who regularly rub shoulders with the likes of Epstein, do business with them, visit their houses, go to their parties, etc.