The US government’s release of its Epstein files has set off tremors among the world’s elite.
The US government’s release of its Epstein files has set off tremors among the world’s elite. A former prince was stripped of his title and arrested. Ambassadors have been sacked and also arrested. One of America’s most prominent lawyers plans to resign; another stepped down as the head of a major New York law firm.
At least one CEO resigned as a result of his long friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted on Florida state charges of soliciting prostitution of a minor in a controversial 2008 plea deal. Even after his conviction, Epstein maintained relationships with some of the world’s elite in business, government, academia and entertainment — until his arrest in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges. Over the following years, some of his connections did face public blowback after their ties to Epstein were brought to light. But only one person — Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell — was convicted and went to prison for her role in the sex trafficking ring he was accused of running. And President Donald Trump’s first US Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned from his post in 2019 amid scrutiny over his role as a prosecutor who signed off on Epstein’s plea deal in 2008, which allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges and serve 13 months in prison for state prostitution charges over his involvement with underage girls. Now a new reckoning has come in the form of some 3 million pages of documents released by the Justice Department under a law passed by Congress last year. The files include the results of numerous Epstein investigations, consisting of court documents, emails and text messages, along with countless unverified claims and allegations collected by the FBI over the years. It’s not just associates who have been impacted. At least one person who doesn’t appear to be in the Epstein files has also faced fallout. The chief of staff to the UK prime minister resigned for his role in the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US. Mandelson has since been arrested amid accusations that he passed along market-sensitive information to Epstein while he was business secretary in the UK government. Others who cut ties with Epstein or didn’t associate with him after his 2008 conviction also have faced consequences. Casey Wasserman is selling his talent agency after the files revealed messages he exchanged with Maxwell, years before allegations against them were made public. Being mentioned in the files is not an indicator of any wrongdoing. Nearly all of these people deny any wrongdoing and now say they regret knowing Epstein. Moreover, questions remain about the way the materials have been redacted, and what unreleased material may still exist. CNN will continue to follow the fallout.
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