Warning: This article contains references to death by suicide, sexual assault and other details that readers may find disturbing.
US President Donald Trump can’t seem to get away from the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Epstein, a former investment banker, sexually abused and trafficked young and underage women for years, as well as “passing them on” to friends and business partners. The Epstein scandal had a huge impact on high society in the US, where many elite politicians, businesspeople and power brokers socialized with Epstein. In 2019, Epstein died by hanging off the side of his cell bed, while awaiting trial.
More than six years later, and the Epstein affair has become a major pain for President Trump. Members of the general public and opposition politicians are demanding that the US Justice Department release the so-called “Epstein files” in full. Some of the files are publicly accessible, but many sections have been redacted.
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse are demanding that everything the authorities know be made public and that anybody who was part of Epstein’s sex trafficking network, or who participated in the sexual abuse, be held accountable.
Trump: Epstein ‘a lot of fun to be with’
Trump was very clearly friends with Epstein in the 1990s — there are plenty of photos and videos around to prove it. In a 2002 interview with New York magazine, Trump called Epstein “a great guy” and said “he’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Trump and Epstein fell out socially in 2004. Trump himself was found guilty of sexually abusing the author E. Jean Carroll in 1996, and has tried to distance himself from the whole Epstein affair since the allegations of abuse came to light.
But interest in the case remains high. It is noteworthy that not only members of the opposition party, the Democrats, are calling for a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bill that would require the Department of Justice to publish all unclassified records related to the investigation. Some members of Trump’s own party, the Republicans, also believe this is necessary.
“Congress must choose. Will you continue to protect predators, or will you finally protect survivors?,” Lisa Phillips, a survivor of the Epstein abuse, said on the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington earlier this year. “Transparency is justice. Release the files, end the secrecy and stand with us in declaring that no one, no billionaires, no politicians, no world leader, is above the law.”
Abuse survivor Lisa Phillips was one of several survivors who demanded full transparency in the Epstein scandal during a protest in Washington in SeptemberImage: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP
However, at the moment, there’s nothing really happening with the official Epstein investigation. Due to the ongoing US government shutdown, the House Oversight Committee, the main investigative body of the US House of Representatives, isn’t working at all.
Survivor’s posthumous memoir published
Instead, information is coming from other sources. On Tuesday, the book “Nobody’s Girl” was published — a posthumous memoir by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of the most prominent survivors of Epstein’s sex trafficking network, who accused the UK’s Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager.
In April, the then 41-year-old died by suicide. In the book, she writes that Epstein had video recordings of his “clients” sexually abusing girls and women.
The memoir has only fueled further speculation about Epstein’s “client list,” and whether it might be among the documents that the Justice Department hasn’t released.
Trump himself actually made a campaign promise to release all the Epstein files — which is why some of his staunchest supporters, members of the Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement, are outraged that he hasn’t.
Prince Andrew named in Epstein accuser’s posthumous memoir
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Could it be that Trump is preventing further publication of the Epstein files because they could damage him personally and politically? It’s impossible to tell without further examination of the documents. But what one can try to answer is how Trump’s supporters might react to possibly damaging revelations.
“Many Democrats hope that the Epstein files might bring Donald Trump down,” said Ines Pohl, head of DW’s studio in Washington. “But this assumption doesn’t match my experience on the ground. Certainly, the vast majority of Republicans and Trump supporters also consider Epstein a despicable criminal. But different rules apply to Donald Trump.”
Pohl has spoken to many Americans about their opinions on the Epstein files and any possible Trump involvement. Most often, the replies she’s heard testify to Trump supporters’ strong rejection of the political establishment and their unimpeachable loyalty to the man they consider “their” president.
They say, “all of Washington has dirt on its hands,” Pohl explained, so, “why should Donald Trump be held accountable?”
If you are suffering from emotional strain or having suicidal thoughts, seek professional help. You can find information on where to find help, no matter where you live in the world, at this website: www.befrienders.org.
Does the Epstein controversy matter to Trump’s base?
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Janelle Dumalaon in Washington and Thomas Latschan contributed to this article, which was originally written in German.
