Latest Epstein release may benefit Trump

Once again, everyone is talking about Jeffrey Epstein, the late child-molesting financier, after the Justice Department released a huge trove of documents related to the Epstein investigation. The numerous mentions of Donald Trump in these files — and unsubstantiated allegations that he was involved in sexual assaults on underage girls — have energized many Trump foes and caused many of the president’s defenders to squirm. Others see the new documents as broader evidence of corruption among the elites.

But what do the files expose about possible crimes by the privileged, or are they more hype than substance?

The documents certainly contain many uncorroborated and improbable allegations made to law enforcement amid intense publicity. Epstein was arrested in July 2019 after a highly publicized exposé of the plea deal that allowed him to escape serious jail time after his first arrest in 2006. While it’s not unusual for multiple victims to come forward after a high profile arrest, such cases also tend to become magnets for attention-seekers or mentally ill individuals.

Thus, one male accuser featured in the files claims that he was raped not only by Epstein but by President George H.W. Bush and was also ritually tortured. The man, an admitted drug user, said that memories of this ordeal were elicited in therapy. Claims have also been made of young women and children being murdered at Epstein’s sex parties. There is no evidence that these acts ever took place. Nor is there any evidence to support child sexual abuse allegations against Trump — or claims that Epstein had a “client list” of men to whom he sexually trafficked underage girls.

The known facts are grotesque enough. Epstein admitted paying a 14-year-old girl for sexual acts and was credibly accused of sexually abusing other minors. While Trump’s association with Epstein ended before his first arrest, there are strong indications — including Trump’s own past statements — that he was aware of the financier’s preference for underage girls and treated it as a salacious joke.

The damage to Trump from the new Epstein revelations is particularly ironic given that for several years, Trump supporters accused Democrats of an Epstein cover-up, often suggesting that Epstein was murdered to protect former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton (both just agreed to testify to Congress under pressure from House Republicans). In a sense, the right is hoist with its own petard: unproven allegations aside, the files show close connections between Epstein and Trump associates, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Elon Musk.

The files released to date show that quite a few prominent people, including Giants co-owner Steve Tisch — mostly men, but also some women — were willing to overlook Epstein’s sexual abuse conviction to have friendly contacts with him, seek his funding for academic projects, and even solicit his dating advice. In many cases, the reputational damage is well-deserved. But the Epstein story has also become a witch hunt, with individuals denounced because they were part of a group flying to a conference on Epstein’s private jet before his first arrest, or found themselves at the same banquet with him, or because he made unproven claims about their alleged sexual misconduct in his emails.

Despite the embarrassment for Trump, the hype about the new trove of Epstein information may actually help the White House by taking some of the focus off mounting Trump administration scandals that range from self-enrichment to thuggish immigration enforcement tactics. Ultimately, unprovable allegations regarding the president’s past are not nearly as relevant as current abuses of power.

Opinions expressed by Cathy Young, a writer for The Bulwark, are her own.

By Cathy Young

Cathy Young is a writer for The Bulwark.