Mornin’ Politocadoes!
Documents related to Jeffrey Epstein in the case against Ghislaine Maxwell have been unsealed. The documents contain approximately 150 people that had been under redaction during the trial. The case itself had been settled in 2017, but the Miami Herald had petitioned for access to the redacted information. Over the years, pages have been unsealed by courts with 2,000 pages being unsealed in 2019, with additional pages being released in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
This release is said to have about 250 pages with sections that had been up to now unredacted due to privacy concerns of Epstein’s victims and other people named in the suit. It’s important to remember, though will likely be drowned out by the noise of social media, that just being named in the suit is not the same as being accused of wrongdoing. The first 40 pages were released on Wednesday. So…who’s in ’em?
Well, nothing surprising so far. Especially if you’ve been aware of the names in Epstein’s little black book from the Gawker days. Former President Bill Clinton is mentioned at least 50 times with no accusation of wrongdoing. Ex-President Trump is mentioned in the documents though no mention is made of anything illicit, Alan Dershowitz is named over 130 times (and this is before the suit Virginia Giuffre brought against him). Dersh, for his part, welcomed the filings unsealing. Jean Luc Brunel, a former modeling agent who was found dead in a cell in 2022 over his alleged role in the sex trafficking of minors. Prince Andrew was mentioned in testimony, including by a witness saying that he put his hand on her breast. Figures who also appear are former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former US Senator George Mitchell, and billionaire Glenn Dubin, all of whom had been accused by Giuffre of being pressuring her into sex. Magician David Copperfield and Michael Jackson are also named as celebrities who were at one of Epstein’s homes, but neither were accused of any wrongdoing.
What might also get drowned out the further this goes along is that the frequency of mentions does not necessarily make that person more significantly associated with Epstein. Clinton and Dershowitz, regardless of what they actually got up to with Epstein, only have high reference counts, in this specific circumstance, because Giuffre was being questioned about inaccuracies in newspapers by Maxwell’s lawyers.
It isn’t clear when the rest of the documents will be released but more documents are expected to be released in the coming days.
I emphasize the “reference not being an accusation” as misinformation leading up to the unsealing has run rampant. Jimmy Kimmel became a target for speculation thanks to a joke that Aaron Rodgers made on the “Pat McAfee Show” over on ESPN. The Epstein situation has been largely coopted by the conspiratorial parts of the internet to largely unhelpful ends and releases like this need to be handled delicately.
Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect.Something to keep in mind! Police are using digital data to prosecute abortion seekers, and Facebook and Google are helping them! Even if they are not legally required to do so, the tech giants will aid them in this since it’s technically *against the law*. Please be careful when looking for abortion providers or helping someone who is looking for that assistance.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues even if the emergencies end, continue to vaccinate using the latest version of the FDA approved vaccines by Phizer and Moderna. Even if you are vaccinated, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas in accordance with CDC guidelines in regard to your own vaccination status.
Also, Dentista wanted this signal boosted with my usual coda on Covid. According to recent polls approximately 50% of adults are not planning on getting their Covid-19 boosters. So please get them and older adults should also look to be vaccinated for RSV! It’s been difficult to get adults onboard with getting the RSV shots as it is. Remember that getting these shots could potentially keep thousands of Americans who do not have to be there out of the ICU this winter.