"I've never met a more terrifying, predatory human being in my life."
--One of the prospective witnesses in Epstein's aborted trial, on Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump and Comp. did all they could to spread conspiracies. But, while things like QAnon and Pizzagate were tinfoil-hatted nonsense, Jeffrey Epstein's crimes are not, even if many popular narratives of his activity bear little resemblance to the known reality. Read what has been presented in court, and what we know of the testimony that would have been delivered had he not conveniently died. I mean, he was a criminal and a scumbag, but the majority of people with whom he associated were involved with financial and business doings, not sexual predation.
Also charity. The more their reputations came under attack, the more Epstein and Maxwell supported worthwhile charities and attracted wealthy donors to those causes. Such fine folks! Brings to mind Jimmy Savile.
Obviously, some of his associates were involved with the sex-trafficking of young women. Determining which others may be an impossibility at this point. Associating with Epstein makes one suspicious but, by itself, doesn't make one guilty.
Trump and his associates did everything to smear their opponents and the supposed "Coastal Elites" with whatever conspiracy happened to be at hand. They were going to release "the Files" and "the list," and numerous conspiracists attached that claim to their favorite paranoic fantasies-- as if Epstein's actual crimes, in and of themselves, aren't repugnant enough. At the very least, people made the tacit assumption that anyone in "the Files" or on "the List" must be guilty, too.
Except, of course, that Jeffrey Epstein's long-term friend, Donald Trump, also gets named in those files.
Suddenly, they're on board with the notion that, you know, not everyone mentioned is guilty.
Deputy Attorney General and former Trump attorney, A.G. Blanche, is now interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell. She's a criminal, yes, a convicted sex trafficker and proven liar, but she's no idiot. And Trump, who, not so long ago, wished her well despite her conviction, has a history of being tough only on Black, Brown, and Democratic-state crime. White skin, white collar, pro-MAGA motives? Hey, that's a different story. He's given out pardons before. At the very least, she might get special considerations.
Also on her mind might be the death of her ex-boyfriend, in prison, under circumstances that some people find suspicious.
Does anyone think that Maxwell will give accurate testimony, if it involves anyone close to the current American president?
The system did not move ahead with her in the past because she is not considered reliable. Her testimony, without additional evidence, could never be free of reasonable doubt. Nevertheless, it seems possible that Trump and associates will use her testimony to villify some of his enemies, in the hope that the attention on him will go away.
His supporters have demonstrated selective amnesia in the past. If and once some non-Trump-related Epstein-associate takes heat, will they forget how hard their president tried to suppress Epstein-related information in recent months?