Former Harvard president Larry Summers has now lost virtually every professional association after a House committee released emails of his exchanges with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Many of the correspondences are embarrassing. There’s going to be little, if any, sympathy for a well-known elite who’s angered conservatives and liberals and befriends creeps. And perhaps Summers doesn’t deserve any.
Even so, there isn’t even a hint of illegality in those emails. There’s nothing suggesting that Summers participated in any kind of impropriety or conspiracy. The only purpose of the release was to destroy Summers.
Congress is about to release the so-called “Epstein files,” a trove of documents that were amassed during criminal investigations into the sex offender who committed suicide in 2019. The contents are likely brimming with thousands of names of innocent people, many who have provided alibis or were never under any suspicion of sex trafficking or anything else. A significant portion of any criminal investigation consists of uncorroborated accusations that are floated by people on the periphery of the case, third-hand accounts, theories, and rumors. This is why grand jury files are almost always sealed.
We already know Epstein was a vile and depraved criminal. And no one should belittle the experience of his victims. Anyone, however, can make allegations. Even victims don’t always remember correctly. Even things a braggart such as Epstein might have said may not be true. That’s why we have procedures, the rule of law, statutes of limitations, and trials.
Moreover, the Epstein files will be filled with information obtained by law enforcement using warrants based on probable cause signed off by a judge for a specific reason. The warrants, which allow the use of government coercion, weren’t signed so that the public could have access to the emails of every person he spoke with. Americans caught up in criminal investigations have a presumption of privacy.
Those who continued their relationships with Epstein even after he was convicted of solicitation of prostitution from a minor are detestable. But fraternizing with criminals isn’t criminality itself. What principle stops future congresses from cracking open useful DOJ files and releasing any embarrassing second-hand conversations that involve their political enemies? Perhaps ask the people caught up in the “Russia Collusion” investigations.
There’s apparently a widespread public belief that Epstein was trafficking underage girls to a cabal of powerful people. As of now, there is only evidence that Epstein participated in sexual crimes himself. It is perfectly plausible that the financier befriended celebrities and kingmakers on one hand, and trafficked women for himself on the other. If journalists want to prove that Epstein was the kingpin of the New World Order pedo-ring, go for it. If authorities believe that his prosecution in Florida was corrupt, they should launch an investigation into misconduct. This isn’t an ancient case. Most of the victims are still alive. Most of the powerful people involved with Epstein are still alive. His sidekick is still alive and in prison. Investigate.
But much of this is driven by rank partisanship. Democrats like to act as if Trump is engaged in some cover-up. Well, they had every chance to release the files during Joe Biden’s presidency. I’ve not seen a single Democrat explain why they didn’t. One suspects that if there was anything implicating Trump of genuine wrongdoing, we’d have seen the files leaked long ago. House Democrats couldn’t even muster the votes to censure Democratic Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett, who exchanged text messages with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing. The whole thing is a farce.
Republicans are no better. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s embarrassing press gaggle, featuring some of the world’s most vacuous “influencers” waving empty “Epstein Files: Phase 1” binders around, left the administration with a mess that’s now impossible to fix.
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The files, of course, will never be enough. There will be hundreds of ghosts to chase. If conspiracists don’t get what they’re after, they’ll simply claim that other files are being hidden. They’ll demand grand jury files, which are being protected, as they should be, by a judge.
If Americans want to speculate on Epstein, that’s their right. Maybe their theories will be proven correct. But long-standing norms regarding privacy and the presumption of innocence shouldn’t be trashed by cowardly politicians every time the mob howls.