On February 21st of this year, American Attorney General (effectively Donald Trump’s top legal advisor) Pam Bondi went on Fox News. She was asked the following question:
“The DOJ is really releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients? Will that really happen?”
Bondi responded: “It is sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive from President Trump. I am reviewing that, I am reviewing JFK files, MLK (Martin Luther King) files, that is all being done at the directive of the President”.
Naturally enough, those comments sparked some excitement in that corner of the internet which is devoted to the belief that 1) Jeffrey Epstein did not kill himself and 2) that a list of very wealthy and powerful people who availed of sexual services in trafficked women and children provided by Epstein existed.
That was on February 21st, just over four months ago. The only further Epstein development since then was an accusation by Elon Musk that Donald Trump himself featured in the alleged Epstein files, which was denied by the President and then withdrawn by Musk.
Then, on Sunday evening, the US Department of Justice, which Bondi heads, issued a statement. The US authorities have conducted a full review of all matters related to Jeffrey Epstein, and come to two conclusions: First, that Mr. Epstein did in fact kill himself. Second, that no list of his alleged “clients” exists, or ever existed.
They further say that “no further disclosure of Epstein related materials would be appropriate or warranted”.
So, that’s that, then. US Administrations of both parties have come to the same conclusion: That Mr. Epstein took his own life and that his conduct, while criminal, does not appear to be at the nexus of any kind of organised sexual exploitation ring involving the wealthy and the powerful in American society.
There’s an old joke about conspiracy theories that readers may enjoy: A man spends his whole life devoted to uncovering the truth about who really shot US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in Dallas. He hunts down every file. He makes hundreds of youtube videos. He examines all the details of the case in completely forensic exactitude. Near the end of his life, just as he believes he is getting close, he gets hit by a bus and dies.
When he arrives in heaven, Saint Peter tells him he can have a brief audience with God, and that he can ask God anything he wants. Naturally, he asks the almighty who killed JFK.
“Not again”, sighs God, whistling. JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald emerge to stand at his right and left hands. “Tell them”, says God. “It was me”, says Oswald. “I fired the shot, and I had no accomplices”.
The man considers this information, lets out a long, slow whistle, and shakes his head in amusement. “Boy”, he says. “This goes right to the very top”.
The problem with the ongoing conspiracy theories around Epstein is that in order for them to be believed, moving forward, we must now believe that a whole load of people with nothing particularly at stake for themselves are voluntarily taking part in a cover up.
Take the case of Dan Bongino: Former policeman, former secret service agent, Trump devotee, and – until recently – massive “Epstein didn’t kill himself” guy. President Trump appointed him deputy director of the FBI earlier this year. Bongino now says that he has seen all the files in the FBI, and that he is fully satisfied that Epstein did, in fact, kill himself.
Kash Patel, his boss, is another: Patel was fully on board the “Epstein didn’t kill himself” train and now accepts that Epstein did, in fact, kill himself. Neither man has any particularly obvious reason to prostrate themselves before some hidden “deep state” and maintain a conspiracy.
But of course it gets worse than that, as American journalist Jim Geraghty notes:
There’s much more, by the way, where that came from. The list of Trump officials claiming to have seen evidence of a suicide and a cover up is very long indeed.
At some point, the likeliest explanation for a lack of supporting evidence for the case that Epstein’s murder was covered up and his client list hidden becomes: Epstein killed himself and didn’t have an organised client list. Personally, I think that point has now been reached. As for the people who insisted for years that they knew the “real” truth who have backtracked as soon as they were appointed to positions where they could expose it? Judge them, I think, accordingly.
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