Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent or MAGA, we are one voice when it comes to the Epstein Files. It may be the only moral issue of our time that we all agree upon- Epstein and Maxwell’s sex trafficking of children and the efforts to hide the evil actions of the perpetrators and hold them to account is non-negotiable. Our efforts to bring the pervs to justice is working. Thomas Massie, the representative from Kentucky, along with Ro Khanna and Marjorie Taylor Greene spearheaded a bi-partisan effort to release the Epstein Files, name names with proof corroborated in emails and evidence to bring the guilty to justice. Congressman Thomas Massie was so effective in his relentless pursuit of justice, he paid for his efforts to expose Epstein and Maxwell with his job. Republican opposition to his re-election flooded the primary with cash for his Republican opponent, and flushed Massie out. However, Congressman Massie plans to fight for the remaining seven months of his tenure on behalf of the victims. Good for him.
The House Oversight Committee heard testimony from victims earlier this month, and recently from Epstein’s former assistant Sarah Kellen. Ms. Kellen shared that she too was a victim of Epstein. Julie k Brown, the Pulitzer prize winning journalist of the Miami Herald, chronicled Kellen’s story on Substack. We recommend you consider subscribing to Ms. Brown’s substack- she is the gold standard in journalism.
The release of the Epstein Files, which was signed into law last year, has not been enforced. Pam Bondi, the former Attorney General did not do her job defending the innocent. In fact, she ignored them—publicly. It’s up to us to encourage the current Attorney General, Todd Blanche, to defend the victims. You can write to AG Blanche here. Give him a simple message: Justice for the victims of Epstein and Maxwell. Feel free to share this link with every American you know. They keep track of the numbers— dissent is one click away.
First Lady Melania Trump held a press conference about the Epstein Files on April 9th to explain the nature of her social interaction with Epstein and Maxwell and to stop the inferences that she somehow knew of their sex trafficking and those who participated. She finished the press conference with a recommendation that a congressional hearing be conducted that would allow the victims to tell their side of the story and to seek justice for the crimes that had been done to them. As a young model in the fashion industry back in the day and an immigrant from a small European country (Slovenia), she probably knows a little something about the potential and reality of the exploitation of children by adults in fashion and film. I noticed her mother and father were always close to her—and perhaps that is what saved young Melania from the horrific fate that befell the victims.
The children trafficked and raped by Epstein and Maxwell are now grown women. The victims are studies in reinvention and resilience, but they are women, which means their voices matter less in our culture, and in some circles, not at all.
The voices that have been muted or ignored include the First Lady. In a recent essay, I supported Mrs. Trump’s plea for a congressional hearing on behalf the victims. In the days that followed her press conference, very little support and coverage appeared about Mrs. Trump’s mandate in the press conference speech. Her hats got more coverage in the news sphere than her pleas for Epstein’s victims. I was surprised by this because I felt her plea on behalf of the victims was in earnest. But, it turns out that politics these days are not only divisive but intractable on either side even in obvious matters that rely on common sense. When a suggestion is made to defend the innocent, it shouldn’t matter where it came from- all people should unite against the evil. The foundation of unity is truth. Unfortunately, the foundation of politics is to win, and worse, to remain loyal to a party instead of a moral imperative. Evidently, common sense can not compete with chest thumping as some hope to retain their current power and others hope to regain it.
There was a pop-up museum in New York City with the Epstein files displayed for all to visit. It was difficult to get a ticket to tour inside, the tickets sold out instantly. Visitors tell me that the tour was sobering, and that they left the exhibition with much to think about. Many believe we don’t need an artistic interpretation of the degradation of our children—we need to see these bastards in court. I believe any effort to keep the Epstein Files in the news and central in the American conversation is important.
There are plenty of signs that indicate the American people have not forsaken the victims. It turns out some of people who were friends with Epstein and Maxwell, who went to him for money and access, have realized the error of their ways. As we continue to put the pressure on the perps, they resign their leadership positions in shame. While others hold on to their offices and continue to lie under oath about their knowledge and involvement, the only tool we have left to defend the victims is our ferocity of purpose.
At the heart of every single one of the victims’ stories, including Virginia Guiffre, there lies a vow to expose the criminals so this abuse never happens to another child again. The victims are pure of intent and heart. We need a government that does the same. After all, we elected them. They work for us.
How did this happen? How did Epstein and Maxwell get away with it? Epstein slipped the noose from the start. He should have been in prison 30 years before he found himself in a Manhattan jail. He was the luckiest bastard on the planet. You and I would have landed in the slammer sooner and for much, much less. But Epstein had plans from the start as most criminals do. His drive to be wealthy was not about funding Harvard’s research department or providing scholarships for needy kids. Those efforts were just smokescreens for the crime. Great wealth gave him access to other wealthy people, and he needed millions to fuel his scheme. He needed a bottomless pit of access to wealthy men to grow his global crime ring. He needed Maxwell to put him in rooms with the right people- socially and financially connected bums to perpetrate their sex trafficking scheme. Both Epstein and Maxwell sexually abused the children. They needed vast amounts of money to stay in this dirty business. Epstein needed jets, islands, ranches and townhouses. He needed influence and power and connections. The only way for him to successfully sex traffick children was to have privileged, entitled people go along with it. It was a global scheme. Every victim was poor, unprotected and unconnected—the opposite of the men that raped them.
There is evidence early on that Epstein wasn’t right in the head. And yet, those around him gave him the breadth and space to build his wealth and become a monster over decades. You may believe the “suicide note” but I wonder. A demon like Epstein would never believe that his own marker had come due because he had successfully skirted the law at every turn. Think about it. He died privileged. He was sitting in that jail cell with family on the outside. He had money and a lawyer. He had powerful friends in government. I surmise that he was certain he could buy his way out of his current dilemma. Surely, the old Epstein magic would work one more time. I don’t think he killed himself, but I know that he killed the souls of many of our children. He left them in a world in which they had to piece themselves back together and carry on. Senator Kennedy shared our opinion.
It seems in retrospect, plenty of people knew something was terribly wrong with Epstein and Maxwell. Ask Epstein’s neighbors in Florida. They knew something was not right. A few of them called local law enforcement. Ask the wealthy folks of good intent who refused to meet with him. They too knew something was off. There were as many suspicious folks in the orbit of Epstein and Maxwell as there were participants. This is the tragedy of the scheme. Good people suspected the worst, and nothing was done to stop them. Alexander Acosta, the Florida DA who coddled Epstein legally should hang his head in shame- he could have put an end to Epstein and Maxwell years earlier. Because of the callous ineptitude of Alexander Acosta, and the puny sentences levied against Epstein of two counts of prostitution, Epstein and Maxwell continued forth with their scheme. I hope that Acosta never has a decent night’s rest. He made a mockery of the law and led the public to believe that the two counts of prostitution against Epstein wasn’t a big deal! I would like to add Acosta’s name to the list of misogynists who threw gas on Epstein’s scheme and lit the match. And yet, despite Acosta’s best efforts to support Epstein, the truth began to emerge, and it became undeniable.
Epstein and Maxwell are liars. Parents have taught their children not to lie since the beginning of time because its not about the lie itself. It’s about the habit that forms around disregarding the truth. Lies become a way of life, and get the liar what he wants.
Epstein’s lies started at the beginning of his story. When it was discovered that young Epstein lied on his resume for a job at Bear Stearns (HR had vetted his resume after Epstein was hired), it was revealed that Epstein lied about graduating from two California universities which he had not attended. Keep in mind Epstein was not a college graduate at all, even though he worked as a high school teacher at Dalton, a private school in New York City. There were wealthy contacts to be made at the Upper East Side school, but elementary and high school education wasn’t fertile enough for Epstein, so he moved on to find a place in the lucrative business world of Wall Street.
When Epstein’s boss Alan Greenberg found out that Epstein lied on his resume, he called him into his office. Greenberg was set to fire Epstein for falsifying his resume. Epstein explained that if he hadn’t lied about his education, he would have never gotten the job. Greenberg took pity on Epstein and empathized with the poor kid from Coney Island. Ultimately, he let Epstein stay on at Bear Stearns. That was the first rubicon crossed that saved Epstein and set the course for his scheme.
The lies on his resume were indicative of Epstein’s self loathing that begat the entire crime ring and desperation to associate with wealthy people. Bear Stearns allowed Epstein to stay on the job which gave the world Epstein the financier. They legitimized Epstein the liar with the excuse that the young man had promise. The general feeling was, so what, Epstein lied about his education. It’s a small lie made by a guy who just wanted a shot to get ahead. But it wasn’t a small lie—it was an indication that Epstein couldn’t be trusted. We know he had talent with numbers; he built his personal wealth on the backs of those who already had it. Epstein thrived because the men around him allowed it.
Soon, a pattern of lies formed beyond the initial ones, all to gain the trust of the rich in order to build Epstein’s own wealth. Epstein knew social standing mattered, so he and Maxwell began to play the part of a couple. Epstein had to appear to be in a couple because that’s a requirement of society—and getting into the social circles that matter. They were anything but a romantic couple. They were deviants who joined forces to create a global sex trafficking business. Epstein was so diabolical and cunning, he knew the drill. Throw dinner parties with movers and shakers, whomever he could think of that might lend him legitimacy. Politicians. Royals. Hollywood directors. Journalists. Academics. They too were being used, but you could argue that most of those folks were also on the take. They socialized for the connections that would give them access to college admissions for their kids or the funding of a research department at a fancy school, or the financing for a Hollywood movie. Sometimes, in the case of creepy Larry Summers, the former president of Harvard, it was to have Epstein hook him up with an unsuspecting woman outside of his marriage. But when it came to Summers, it was also about the money. When Epstein began doling out millions to universities and investing in businesses, many wondered how he built his wealth, but they took the money anyway. There are still no answers around how Epstein got his money, but there is speculation. We only know for sure, that all of it was ill gotten gains.
There’s an old concept called noblesse oblige. Fundamentally, it is about the conscience of the rich, who know that they are blessed and, therefore, must share their wealth on some level. Simply put: rich people take care of the less fortunate because they have the dough and it’s their moral duty to do something more with their money than sit on it or spend it. There’s also the ancient biblical mandate: to whom much is given, much is expected. It’s a beautiful idea that holds those fortunate enough to have been graced with privilege, a duty to use that wealth for good. In my lifetime, this has also been the aphorism touted by trust fund beneficiaries, the indolent children of the rich, overly educated and mildly ambitious, who want to leave their mark in the world. They are smart enough to know that to live a life of purpose has to have a point. They just don’t want to work hard the old fashioned way: diligently, over time, through the peaks of success and the valleys of failure. But we do know, when they don’t have to earn a living or pay the rent, they haven’t faced the problems you and I confront, learn from in order to recalibrate and do better. What’s left for them to covet but power? Political power over us. Wealthy people think there’s something wrong with you if you’re not rich like they are.
The idea on their end is that they know better because they have the key to happiness: cold hard cash and the lavish junk of the world at their fingertips. Make no mistake: Epstein held a grudge against the rich, educated, connected and powerful. He resented them- but he needed them. Epstein used philanthropy as a tool. He offered scholarships, but he didn’t care about the victims education. It was a lure to pull them into the scheme and use their bodies. He supported charities, but there was no place in his heart for true empathy. Charitable giving was just a grift to get at the bigger money. Maxwell was as diabolical as he was and now that she’s rotting in prison until she in her 80s, she’s suddenly seen the light. She abused those children as much as Epstein did. She’s a self-hating woman and folks, there is nothing worse than a woman who hates women except perhaps a man. I hope the First Lady will argue against any pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell. I hope Mrs. Trump’s voice is heard loud and clear when the time comes. I hope Thomas Massie will see his hard work on behalf of the victims see the healing light of day and keep Maxwell where she belongs: behind bars.
Epstein wanted to be important. He wanted what the wealthy had and to gain power over the meek. He would give these creeps anything to get it, including the souls of children. His child sex trafficking scheme wasn’t just about his personal sexual deviancy (and theirs), it was about his hatred of women. Whether the exploited children were from a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of his Florida mansion lured by Maxwell and her cash envelope, or flown in from places where people are so poor and desperate that they put their children in the hands of an ultra wealthy American scam artist in the hopes of better life for them, Epstein and Maxwell thrived on creating a business built upon the pain and suffering of children.
The release of the files in total is the gateway to the prosecution of the pervs who trucked with Epstein. The proof. On paper. In words.
The release of the files in total is the gateway to the prosecution of the pervs who trucked with Epstein. The proof. On paper. In words. We still don’t have the files in total. Our determination to get them released is about our morality as a nation. To continue this botched dance of brutality against the victims where the names of the perps are redacted, and the victims’ personal information is exhibited for public consumption, is also about our distrust, disdain and hatred of women. This isn’t about sex; it’s about the sex trafficking of children. The goal is to ruin these children and their lives in the future. It’s about how we neglect our children. It’s also about the grip of poverty that leads to hunger and desperation so that our children become prey to those who make promises to take care of them. It’s about addiction that destroys our families and kills our souls. It’s about how poverty and wealth only intersect when some rich man has a sick proclivity for our children and is willing to pay someone like Epstein for the pleasure of exploiting them. It’s about how girls are expendable, criminally exploited, used and tossed away when they age out of the sexually perverted lives of old, rich, powerful men.
I’ll bet you had high hopes that the world has changed—evolved in modern times—when it comes to the treatment, nurturing and education of women. It hasn’t. Scions of great wealth—British royalty, European royalty, professors, tech giants, bankers, politicians, cabinet members, Hollywood fat cats—these are the men that use their wealth to exploit and debase our children. Those left standing in our culture with a voice should raise them on behalf and in defense of our children. I see that you do and that you are sick and heartbroken for the victims. But it might not be enough. We have to insist that law enforcement and the courts make sure that this never happens again.
Adriana Trigiani Substack: The Epstein Files
New York Times: Melania Trump Says She Was Not Associated With Jeffrey Epstein
BBC: ‘He liked the fear in our eyes,’ Epstein survivors tell BBC
Katie Couric and Julie Brown Substack Live: Epstein Files Latest with Julie K. Brown
New York Times: See Who Has Faced Fallout From the Epstein Files
New York Times: Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich
Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
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