Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein was an American financier who was well known; now infamous for two things — his sex trafficking operation (arguably the largest-scale crime revealed under the aegis of MeToo challenged only by /NXIVM, the case, and the case), along with the… controversial circumstances of his death in prison, which has been ruled a suicide. Many have doubted this ruling, especially as these revelations came around the time conspiracy theories claiming to link the international elite to pedophile cults were rapidly growing. 
Epstein had long been known in right-wing circles as somebody who was let off the hook for his crimes because of his connections with the Democratic Party. A 2007 column from Ann Coulter, for example, specifically notes how light of a sentence he was given and compares it to the then-ongoing controversy surrounding Scotter Libby and the investigation of Rush Limbaugh from a few years before.Shooting Elephants In A Barrel anncoulter.com However, a renewed interest in him occurred following the rise of Pizzagate in 2016. In 2017, Paul Joseph Watson did a video called "Pedophiles Rule the World" which talked heavily about Epstein.Pedophiles Rule the World YouTube
==Some background==
Though initially a teacher in New York City, he would leave that for a seemingly much more lucrative career in the finance sector. The word "seemingly" is invoked because, well, it's a bit of a mystery where his billions actually came from or if he was a billionaire at all.How Jeffrey Epstein Made His Money: Four Wild Theories by Matt Stieb (July 9, 2019) New York Magazine. As much of his wealth came from a money management firm in the tax haven of the U.S. Virgin Islands, which has never released any public records, how rich he was and how he got the money remain currently unknown, although he was definitely rich enough to afford a private island which he used to traffic girls. Theories as to the origin of his fortune range from money laundering to work in espionage. Dodgy conduct was associated with him from fairly early on — he was fired from both and his teaching position, and indeed he only got this job at Bear Stearns because he had befriended their CEO, Alan Greenberg. He nonetheless managed to achieve acceptance among the American aristocracy and even made contacts abroad! Some prominent acquaintances of his (who have since had to make some really embarrassing denials) included Bill Clinton,"Court documents reveal names of powerful men allegedly linked to Jeffrey Epstein" - Brian Mann and Jaclyn Diaz (January 1, 2024). NPR. Prince Andrew, Ehud Barak, Donald Trump, Steven Pinker, and Bill Gates.
==The infamous part==
In the '80s, Epstein began performing financial services for Leslie Wexner, the CEO of Victoria's Secret. Wexner was the primary client of Epstein for quite some time, without which Epstein's business likely wouldn't have taken off. Abusing this connection, in the '90s Epstein began posing as a "model scout" to lure prospective Victoria Secret models to hotel rooms and his home, because there's absolutely nothing skeevy about a middle-aged man pretending to be a "model scout" to get women into his bedroom. Wexner was made aware, but did not suspend his connections with Epstein until around the time of Epstein's first conviction. In what is in hindsight somewhat disconcerting, in the early 2000's Wexner would market his line of lingerie towards 15-year-old girls.Victoria's Secret: Epstein, The Atlantic
Epstein had officially been accused of sex-related crimes since 2005, and was even convicted in 2008 (though his sentence was a mere 13 months), but this really only caught up with him in 2018 and 2019. After numerous accusers came forward influenced by similar events like the fall of Harvey Weinstein, numerous vile details were brought to the public eye and he was arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking. Whilst awaiting trial, he was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. How did he die? How could the guards have let this happen? Who did the deed? What secrets did he take to the grave about his rich and powerful clientele? Such questions gripped the popular consciousness, and in many ways Epstein is more remembered for his mysterious death than for the horrible things he did.
==Alex Acosta and the plea deal==
Epstein was indicted on sex trafficking charges in 2007 after a long FBI investigation. Agents found 34 children with credible accusations against him. Alexander Acosta, then federal prosecutor and later Donald Trump's Secretary of Labor, made a sweetheart plea deal with Epstein which included the right to leave prison for 12 hours a day on work release. He naturally used this period to abuse at least one victim.https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/lawyer-epsteins-abuse-continued-while-on-work-release.html
In addition to being morally sketchy, this deal was also illegal under a federal law which says Acosta was required to tell the alleged victims about such plea deals.https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article226577419.html
The plea deal came up during Acosta's confirmation hearing, but it wasn't until 2019 (after Epstein's final arrest put the case back in the spotlight) that Acosta resigned.https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/us/politics/acosta-resigns-trump.html
=="Epstein didn't kill himself"==
His death was officially ruled as a suicide, specifically saying he hanged himself with his bed sheet. Naturally scores of people in the perpetually paranoid American body politic believe that Epstein was killed, usually by some powerful person who did not want their connection with his crimes revealed. The Clintons are common "suspects" because of course they are. This is encapsulated in the phrase "Epstein didn't kill himself," which went viral very quickly, and this meme has refused to die. Such widespread acceptance can be traced to three things — legitimate procedural fuck-ups that the prison staff made in regards to him, mass resentment of the well-off elite that he was intricately linked with, and some supposed discrepancies in the autopsy.
It's not impossible that Epstein was murdered, but it's likely he did commit suicide and the guards utterly screwed up. One simple reason is that there's far, far easier ways to kill someone like Epstein. For example, nothing outright says that Epstein is required to be separated from the general population of inmates, many of whom would have very strong reasons to resent Epstein, and just letting things happen.
===Malfunctioning cameras===
Not one but two cameras malfunctioned in front of Epstein's cell when he died.from Reuters It's possible for a camera to have a fault due to poor maintenance, but two cameras having a fault at the same time is pretty much announcing that the cameras were tampered with. However, this is not proof of an assassination (though video evidence would be helpful disproving it), as there is actually a more plausible reason why someone would tamper with the security footage...
===Sleeping guards===
During the night of Epstein's death, two guards assigned to him were allegedly both asleep.NY Times, guards asleep This is a colossal screw-up, of course, but never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence. Anyone who's worked in the prison system could tell you, there's a good chance that the guard in the tower is busy playing a handheld game or reading some internet site dedicated to debunking spiritualist woo, unlike our readers who never stop work to goof off. That both did so simultaneously for such a long time is much more suspicious, of course, but not impossible. At the same time, combined with the "malfunctioning" video cameras, they were charged with falsifying records.Epstein guards charged with falsifying records The simplest explanation is that a pair of utterly incompetent guards struggled to cover their tracks after letting a notorious inmate commit suicide.
Had there been an actual assassination, well, this is where a real conspiracy would begin to unravel.Watergate was just one of many examples of real world conspiracies undone by a bumbling idiot making a mess of things. Prison guards are less "Jason Bourne" and more "Paul Blart, Mall Cop". Charging someone with serious crimes is not a good way to ensure they stay quiet, and bribery is a tool best used to keep people out of the spotlight. Given the high profile nature of the case, if one of the guards suddenly buys a Lamborghini or a beachfront mansion in Boca, that's going to attract questions, and it's hard to believe someone could be bribed with money that they couldn't ever spend.
===Hyoid bone===
Epstein's death involved a broken hyoid bone. It's actually unclear how often a broken hyoid bone occurs in a suicide by hanging,Slate's take on the hyoid bone but it is more likely to happen in strangulations than in suicides, due to the angle of the choking pressure. The older the suicide victim is, however, the more likely the hyoid bone would break. Epstein was hardly a young man, so a broken hyoid bone is not all that unusual, and so by itself doesn't really provide much evidence for a death being a murder or a suicide.
===Prior suicide attempt===
There was a prior suicide attempt by Epstein, allegedly. Epstein himself claimed that another inmate tried to murder him, though the guards believed that he either attempted suicide or was trying to frame another inmate for assault in order to be transferred to another, better facility, which actually raises the possibility of another explanation for everything that happened.Epstein found injured The person Epstein accused of attempted murder was Nicholas Tartaglione (who in turn claims he saved Epstein's life), an ex-cop who allegedly murdered 4 people, including one by strangulation.NY post, exp cop accused of hurting Jeffrey Epstein The video for this attempt was initially missing, but was eventually located.CNBC
There is also the possibility he simply did not want to be put on suicide watch which in jail is a humiliating experience.
===Motive===
Now moving into the conspiracy theorist's realm, the entire reason to kill Epstein is because some of his friends were also in on the molestation, and dead men tell no tales. However, this falls apart for a simple reason; at least 80 victims came forward against Epstein before he died,how many victims were there and if another powerful person was in on the raping, many of the victims who came forward against Epstein would still come forward against Epstein's partners whether or not Epstein was alive. So far, there hasn't been a rash of Epstein accusers slipping down the stairs onto some bullets. Given that Epstein's friend Bill Gates also ended up involved in numerous sex scandals that he couldn't keep those under wraps forever (or even remain CEO of his own company!),All the times Bill Gates reportedly engaged in questionable conduct before he and Melinda Gates announced their divorce, insider if Gates was in cahoots with Epstein there's no reason to believe that any of the victims who came out against one wouldn't come out against the other. So far, the only one of Epstein's famous associates to have related rape allegations is Prince Andrew, and if the British Royal Family wasn't able to make an accusation quietly disappear, it's unlikely anyone else would've been able to keep all of their victims quiet. Furthermore, if one or more of Epstein's clients arranged an assassination to silence him, it is inexplicable that they would not do the same to Epstein's partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who also had full knowledge of their crimes. As of 2024, Maxwell is still alive and serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison.
===Suicide of Jean-Luc Brunel===
 was a fashion mogul and associate of Epstein who was accused of aiding in his sex trafficking business. When he was arrested for the sexual abuse of minors, Brunel was also found dead in his cell after seemingly hanging himself.Jean-Luc Brunel, held on suspicion of supplying girls to Epstein, found hanged, The Guardian Conspiracy theorists like Ted Cruz suggested that Brunel, like Epstein, had been murdered, possibly by the Clintons.Ted Cruz under fire for attempt to link Hillary Clinton to Epstein associate found dead in cell, The Independent No evidence of murder has ever been presented, though, and Brunel was reportedly suicidal.Jeffrey Epstein's former friend Jean-Luc Brunel made numerous suicide attempts before his death, The Telegraph
==Relation to QAnon==
For more, see QAnon
QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory revolving around the idea that there is a massive cult made up the world's elites where everyone practices cannibalism, pedophilia and Satanism. But somehow the best person to put a stop to it all is Trump. Reading between the lines, they outright admit Trump needs to be compared to a group of Satan-worshipping baby-raping cannibals in order to come across as the good guy; a group of Christian pedophile-cannibals or Satanic cannibals would not be sufficiently evil to make Trump look good in comparison. Soon after this conspiracy spread, well, Epstein made the news with his death. As an obscenely wealthy man working in the mysterious/despised world of Finance, who had connections to the top people in the world, Epstein was the perfect guy to make the center of the conspiracy, and him being Jewish was just the cherry on top.
==People associated with Epstein==
By no means an exhaustive list, but he did have a lot of friends who would become hated by the far-right for different reasons, many of whom actually do deserve a bit of scorn;
*Bill Clinton, U.S. President and utterly hated by the far-right for proving that a Democrat could be an evil president too,Photos allegedly show Clinton received massage from Epstein accuser, Forbes disliked by many others for more legitimate reasons such as allegedly abusing his power to make rape accusations disappear.Juanita Broadrick tells her story. WaPo, 1999 He was in Epstein's flight logs at least nine times.
*Les Wexner, CEO of Victoria's Secret, recently pissed off the far-right by promoting LGBT issues.Les Wexner's connection to Epstein, NYT He probably should be hated regardless for the very existence of the brand "Pink", a line of lingerie whose target is girls as young as 13.Archived from 2002 Plus as mentioned earlier, the whole "talent scout" thing.
*Bill Gates, billionaire software magnate, now hated for his pro-vaccine stance.Epstein and Gates, NYT Also had a lot of sex scandals that only became public during his divorce, probably deserves a bit of scorn for that.
*Prince Andrew, a member of the Royal family even the British were unaware existed before Epstein's death, but if you need some random world leader to be included in your conspiracy, there you gofrom Beeb
*Alan Dershowitz, already hated for either being pro-Israel or for defending O. J. Simpson.Alan Dershowitz not happy about documentary, CNBC Would later work as a lawyer for Trump.Aamer Madhani (January 24, 2020). "2 lawyers on Trump defense team shared Epstein as a client". The Associated Press.
*Trump himself!John Haltiwanger (July 6, 2020). "Fox News says it 'mistakenly' edited Trump out of a photo with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell". Business Insider. Epstein was a regular at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate,(July 17, 2019). "New Tape Shows Donald Trump And Jeffrey Epstein At Mar-A-Lago Party In 1992". TODAY. and Virginia Giuffre alleged she was lured into Epstein's trafficking ring from there.Josh Gerstein (May 4, 2017). "The one weird court case linking Trump, Clinton, and a billionaire pedophile". Politico. Trump was on Epstein's flight logs at least seven times,Ben Wieder and Julie K. Brown (December 21, 2021). "Maxwell case logs show how frequently Trump flew on Epstein jets; Bill Clinton, too". Miami Herald. not counting when he flew Epstein's former jet to campaign events.Jacob Shamsian and Graham Rapier (August 12, 2024). "Trump spent the weekend flying around America on a plane previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein". Business Insider. Fourteen phone numbers connected to Trump (including and other than his own, e.g. Ivanka Trump) were in Epstein's "little black book".Nicole Einbinder (July 10, 2019). "Jeffrey Epstein had 14 phone numbers connected to Trump in his contacts". Business Insider. Arguably the two had a falling out over time, but still... In a 2016 lawsuit, Trump was alleged to have raped a 13-year old girl with Epstein in the 1990s.Josh Russell (September 30, 2016). "Rape Allegations Refiled Against Trump". Courthouse News Service. The plaintiff dropped the suit, with her lawyer saying she "had received threats and was too frightened to show up."Josh Gerstein (November 4, 2016). "Woman suing Trump over alleged teen rape drops suit, again". Politico. Then elected, Trump appointed Alexander Acosta to be Labor Secretary, but he resigned because of controversy over a legal deal he cut with Epstein years earlier.Ayesha Rascoe (July 12, 2019). "Alexander Acosta Steps Down As Labor Secretary Amid Epstein Controversy". NPR. Trump said in 2020 of Ghislaine Maxwell, then charged for conspiring with Epstein: "I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach. I just wish her well, frankly. I wish her well, whatever it is."Andrew Solender (July 21, 2020). "Trump On Jeffrey Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell: 'I Wish Her Well, Frankly'". Forbes. Asked in 2024 whether he would declassify files relating to the Epstein case, Trump gave a somewhat strange answer: "I guess I would. I think that less so because, you don't know, you don't want to affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there, because it's a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would".Max Tani (June 9, 2024). "How Fox News massaged a Trump interview". Semafor.
*Fellow billionaire and GOP megadonor Peter Thiel may have met with Epstein as many as at least 3 to 5 times, although the exact number of meetings which came to fruition is unclear.Chas Danner, Benjamin Hart, and Matt Stieb (December 19, 2023). "Who Are the Newly Revealed Jeffrey Epstein Associates?". Intelligencer (New York).Matthew Goldstein and Ryan Mac (May 18, 2023). Peter Thiel Is Latest Billionaire Said to Have Met With Jeffrey Epstein. The New York Times.
*Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (listed as "Bobby Kennedy Jr.") appears in Epstein's flight logs at least twice.
==Eugenics and transhumanism==
There have been claims that Epstein was planning to create a master-race based on his own DNA, a scheme which matches the definition of eugenics. The New York Times cited associates of Epstein, saying: "Epstein told scientists and businessmen about his ambitions to use his New Mexico ranch as a base where women would be inseminated with his sperm and would give birth to his babies … Mr Epstein’s goal was to have 20 women at a time impregnated at his 33,000-sq-ft Zorro Ranch in a tiny town outside Santa Fe". Creepy. This reflected Epstein's more general interest in transhumanism, including giving $20,000 to the Worldwide Transhumanist Association (now Humanity Plus) in 2011. His former lawyer Alan Dershowitz claimed to have been concerned by Epstein's fascination with eugenics, given Dershowitz's and Epstein's Jewish heritage and the Nazis' interest in eugenics.Jeffrey Epstein Hoped to Seed Human Race With His DNA, New York Times, July 31, 2019Epstein reportedly hoped to develop super-race of humans with his DNA, The Guardian, Aug 1, 2019
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Billionaires
Category:Business
Category:Convicted felons
Category:Criminals
 
Category:Eugenics supporters
Category:Government incompetence
Category:Jews
Category:New York
Category:Paedophilia
Category:Racists
Category:Thielsphere
Category:QAnon