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kentuck

(114,374 posts)
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 05:32 PM Monday

The Epstein "scandal" could be larger than either side might think it is?

It could include well-known businessmen, billionaires, Congressmen and Senators, and names from both Parties that might surprise everyone? It is possible that neither political Party wants the "files" to be made public?

We just do not know.

If that is the case, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to take the lid off.

Why didn't Joe Biden make the files public? What would have been his reasoning?

And Trump? Why won't he make the files public?

Of course, Biden never made a big deal about it, as Trump and his MAGA supporters did. Perhaps it was not such an important issue for the Biden Administration?

Should the next Democratic nominee for President promise to open all the files, regardless of whose name might pop up?

Neither side thinks their side is the most guilty of a cover-up.

56 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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The Epstein "scandal" could be larger than either side might think it is? (Original Post) kentuck Monday OP
"Why won't he make the files public?" sop Monday #1
Plus if Clinton or any Democrat was in there, they'd have been released in 2019. . . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Monday #32
Even if Trump's name was in there? kentuck Monday #34
Hadn't thought of that electric_blue68 Yesterday #49
Raping those underage Traildogbob Monday #2
He's probably communicating with Ghislaine Beachnutt Monday #3
I wish her well the papers are fake bucolic_frolic Monday #6
This message was self-deleted by its author Beachnutt Monday #4
Good questions, i was thinking just outside those lines earlier this afternoon bucolic_frolic Monday #5
True. kentuck Monday #11
Coverup to protect rich, white dudes. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ RedWhiteBlueIsRacist Monday #7
Lets the chips fall where they may. Gore1FL Monday #8
Absolutely. johnnyfins Monday #9
THIS. I don't give AF who goes under and what letter is behind their name. Maru Kitteh Yesterday #46
I agree. hamsterjill Yesterday #50
Here's a question: johnnyfins Monday #10
Good questions. kentuck Monday #12
Ding-ding ThreeNoSeep Monday #28
yup. johnnyfins Monday #31
I hadn't thought of SCOTUS on the island, good question. nt Maru Kitteh 15 hrs ago #56
There may be Democrats implicated in the files... AntiFascist Monday #13
Remember those Republicans that went over to Moscow on a special trip... kentuck Monday #16
One wonders if they may be featured in certain files... AntiFascist Monday #18
When was Trump supposedly working with Epstein to develop "kompromat"? Wiz Imp Monday #35
Think again... AntiFascist Monday #39
Really weak. That was not a remotely serious interest in being President. Wiz Imp Monday #43
He expressed such aspirations during his friendship with Epstein nonetheless, also in 1999... AntiFascist Monday #45
I'm not remotely defensive about Trump. However, I do believe in staying grounded to reality. Wiz Imp Yesterday #48
Apologies for my carelessness...I was careful, though, in my initial post about this... AntiFascist Yesterday #54
Er...It's MORE Than "Scandalous" having undeage sex with girls especially in those conditions! I also get your other... electric_blue68 Yesterday #51
I don't care how deep it goes KentuckyWoman Monday #14
I don't care whose names are on it. EllieBC Monday #15
I agree that there are politicians and celebs, etc...from both sides. kentuck Monday #17
yup, too many people with too many connections and dollars Amishman Monday #20
There's something huge there if they'll kill leftyladyfrommo Monday #19
That Jeffrey Epstein evidence isn't missing - there's more than you can imagine B.See Monday #21
Thanks for the link, B.See. sheshe2 Monday #25
here's the startling comparison sheshe2 some_of_us_are_sane Monday #30
Thank you ! sheshe2 Monday #33
natch..Trump likes that homey feel. B.See Monday #41
Ohhh, boy. 🙄 blargh! electric_blue68 Yesterday #53
If they were screwing underage girls, out the sobs. Emile Monday #22
RAPING. The correct word. niyad Yesterday #55
I notice that M$NBC is now warning Democrats.... AntiFascist Monday #23
Huh? Wiz Imp Monday #36
On Katy Tur this morning n/t AntiFascist Monday #38
This goes far beyond petty U.S. party politics. BlueTsunami2018 Monday #24
And why it must questionseverything Monday #26
This will never see the light of day in its entirety. It will be redacted or faked. Pisces Monday #27
I believe it is. snot Monday #29
It wasn't really just a wrist slap after his conviction. It was a plea deal. Wiz Imp Yesterday #47
I don't give a motherfuck which side of the so-called political aisle a fuckstain pedophile resides on. Fuck that shit. SoFlaBro Monday #37
k and r nt orleans Monday #40
Funny how 2 were supposed to testify and ended up dead. Blue Full Moon Monday #42
??? Wiz Imp Monday #44
The odds are that the list and or other evidence will never see the light of dsy. CentralMass Yesterday #52

Bernardo de La Paz

(57,020 posts)
32. Plus if Clinton or any Democrat was in there, they'd have been released in 2019. . . . . nt
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 08:50 PM
Monday

Traildogbob

(11,482 posts)
2. Raping those underage
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 05:38 PM
Monday

Girls was his Viet Nam. How many did he get pregnant and would he even fork out a dime to pay for abortion. No, he would just threaten their lives if they came forward.

Beachnutt

(8,803 posts)
3. He's probably communicating with Ghislaine
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 05:38 PM
Monday

daily trying to convince her to lie and say he was just a good friend and he will get her released from prison.

Response to kentuck (Original post)

bucolic_frolic

(51,383 posts)
5. Good questions, i was thinking just outside those lines earlier this afternoon
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 05:42 PM
Monday

The scope may not be limited to what is known already. The motives, even financial ones, remain unproven and unclear. There may be many innocent people connected only by an airplane ride. Wealth protects wealth, many would prefer to look the other way.

kentuck

(114,374 posts)
11. True.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:18 PM
Monday

Wealth protects wealth, but wealth can also corrupt and pervert people that believe their wealth will protect them from everything.

Gore1FL

(22,547 posts)
8. Lets the chips fall where they may.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 05:55 PM
Monday

I would prefer if all of the rapists are exposed for what they are regardless of political affiliation.

Maru Kitteh

(30,368 posts)
46. THIS. I don't give AF who goes under and what letter is behind their name.
Tue Jul 15, 2025, 12:00 AM
Yesterday

Anybody who only cares about the abuse of women when the abuser is politically expedient to them is NOT on the side of human rights, equality or dignity.

Anyone who believes that people couldn’t possibly be an abuser based only on a letter behind their name is deliberately simple, a liar, a fool or some combination thereof.

May all who are proven guilty receive what they deserve.

hamsterjill

(16,098 posts)
50. I agree.
Tue Jul 15, 2025, 12:38 AM
Yesterday

If they are on our side, they don't deserve to be. They need to be outed and dealt with. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

johnnyfins

(2,381 posts)
10. Here's a question:
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:11 PM
Monday

What if TSF has been using "the list" and/ or the files to blackmail half of DC.? Would explain a lot of the blind worship of him by repubs. He put Alex Acosta on his first term cabinet. That guy knew those case files inside and out.

Any SCOTUS justices ever around Epstein?

kentuck

(114,374 posts)
12. Good questions.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:20 PM
Monday

A lot of people are giving him millions of dollars for seemingly no reasons?

ThreeNoSeep

(222 posts)
28. Ding-ding
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 08:36 PM
Monday

Everyone knows the POS is in those records in places. We've all seen the photographs of the two of them standing together, rich chums. That's not the reason "they" keep this under wraps. There are names and family shames that could become public, and those names probably cross party lines, and only a fool wouldn't realize those names are connected to money and power.
This should be a sneery hypothesis, a fringe conspiracy theory. It should be easy to disprove.
I wonder if an organized bandit, whose name sounds a lot like a Canadian dish of French fries, cheddar cheese and cream gravy, has been blackmailing people in power for years, decades or more, using the information Epstein created and recorded. They may have preyed on other families of power. This blackmailer is playing a long game. The unnecessary chaos we are currently experiencing has roots that stretch back to the 1980s and before,. That bandit seems to have had something over so many people for a while.

AntiFascist

(13,494 posts)
13. There may be Democrats implicated in the files...
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:23 PM
Monday

Last edited Mon Jul 14, 2025, 11:36 PM - Edit history (1)

and I think it's the files that are the issue, not any specific "list"; however, I believe that there is a much deeper scandal to uncover involving Russian meddling and I suspect that Trump was working with Epstein to develop "kompromat" on others, giving him the mysterious power he seems to now have over Republicans and other elites. Sure, it may be scandalous to show that Trump had relations with underage girls, but the much bigger scandal is that Trump benefitted from this deep operation giving Trump, and probably Putin as well, vast political leverage.

kentuck

(114,374 posts)
16. Remember those Republicans that went over to Moscow on a special trip...
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:36 PM
Monday

...way back during Trump's first term? Did we ever figure out why they went or what was their explanation?

AntiFascist

(13,494 posts)
18. One wonders if they may be featured in certain files...
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:43 PM
Monday
In addition to Shelby, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and has limited foreign policy responsibilities, the official congressional delegation featured Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas).

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/seven-gop-lawmakers-make-misguided-trip-russia-msna1119676

Wiz Imp

(5,968 posts)
35. When was Trump supposedly working with Epstein to develop "kompromat"?
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:30 PM
Monday

Trump & Epstein's falling out occurred I believe back in 2004. I'm pretty sure Trump wasn't seriously thinking about being President back that long ago. There's no evidence of any contact between the two since Epstein was first arrested.

AntiFascist

(13,494 posts)
39. Think again...
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 10:58 PM
Monday

Seven years after Trump's Rona Barrett interview, in the spring of 1987, Michael Dunbar, a furniture maker in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, tried to convince Trump that he was the man who could turn things around. The Republican Party activist had become fascinated by news reports about Trump's business acumen and personality. He sent out mailers encouraging Republicans to "draft Trump." Friends told him the idea was laughable, but Dunbar invited Trump to speak to the local Rotary Club. Trump, intrigued, invited Dunbar to discuss the idea at Trump Tower that summer.

https://theweek.com/articles/637675/donald-trumps-decadeslong-obsession-being-president


Also, Trump had learned directly from his mentor Roy Cohn about the value of "kompromat".

Wiz Imp

(5,968 posts)
43. Really weak. That was not a remotely serious interest in being President.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 11:28 PM
Monday

Besides, you didn't answer my question? Where's your evidence of "the fact that Trump was working with Epstein to develop "kompromat""? Not speculation. You say it is a fact so where is the irrefutable evidence?

AntiFascist

(13,494 posts)
45. He expressed such aspirations during his friendship with Epstein nonetheless, also in 1999...
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 11:41 PM
Monday


Edited my post to say "I suspect" which was my correct wording in other posts, happy?

Also, why so defensive of Donald Trump?

Wiz Imp

(5,968 posts)
48. I'm not remotely defensive about Trump. However, I do believe in staying grounded to reality.
Tue Jul 15, 2025, 12:19 AM
Yesterday

This place is supposed to be a "reality based community". There's more than enough documented terrible offenses by Trump, that there is no need to invent additional offenses for which there is no evidence. When I see something alleged as fact that I wasn't aware of, I will research it to confirm it's true. If I can't find evidence confirming the claim, I'll call it out. If it's presented as a speculative opinion, then I'll let it go.

AntiFascist

(13,494 posts)
54. Apologies for my carelessness...I was careful, though, in my initial post about this...
Tue Jul 15, 2025, 02:27 AM
Yesterday
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20482875

and if you care to read through the lengthy article I linked to in that post, you may find plenty of "reality based" material regarding:

"Law-enforcement agencies on both sides of the Atlantic have been – and continue to be – adverse to making inquiries into VIP child sex-abuse. This has been the position for decades.
...
In the US, the FBI has covered-up for an ‘intelligence’ agency for whom Epstein and Maxwell ran ‘honey traps’. Their victims should brace themselves for another round of betrayal by the FBI which has acted deplorably thus far. Ghislaine Maxwell may be thrown to the wolves but the intelligence agencies involved in the scandal will escape justice."


Also, the real issue I believe, and supported by other evidence, is the involvement of Russian funding and meddling, both in Ghislaine Maxwell's father's activities, and later Epstein's which Google AI seems to break down pretty well:

Connections to Russian officials: Epstein was known to have close contacts with Sergei Belyakov, then Russia's Deputy Minister of Economic Development and later head of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum Foundation. The Dossier Center notes that Belyakov is a graduate of the FSB Academy, which trains Russian intelligence officers. The Dossier Center also indicates that Belyakov helped Epstein deal with a Russian model who was allegedly blackmailing American businessmen, and Epstein in turn advised Belyakov on the Russian economy and recruited high-profile guests for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Meetings with Russian diplomats: Epstein scheduled meetings with Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the UN, and his son Max Churkin, a New York business student who later worked at Russia's largest bank, Sberbank.

Financial dealings and ignored red flags: Deutsche Bank faced a $150 million fine for ignoring warning signs while processing billions of euros from Russia and other former Soviet states. Additionally, payments to a Russian model and a Russian publicity agent from Epstein's accounts were not scrutinized, as a compliance monitor dismissed them as "normal for this client". These payments may have been used to further or cover up criminal activity.

Russian state media focus on Epstein: Russian government-funded media, including RT and Sputnik, dedicated significant coverage to the Epstein scandal after his arrest and suicide. They focused on narratives criticizing Western media, casting doubt on official explanations, and portraying Epstein as a symbol of Western moral decline, according to the Alliance For Securing Democracy. This extensive coverage of the Epstein case, despite limited direct Russian interests, highlights the Kremlin's strategy to discredit the West.

Book exploring Epstein's connections to the Russian underworld: Publisher Dutton announced a new book by journalist Craig Unger that explores Jeffrey Epstein's ties to the Russian underworld and Russian connections to powerful politicians and financiers.


and here are some of the claims made in Craig Unger's book, "American Kompromat":

• How the Epstein-Maxwell ring helped enable young women with possible ties to Russian intelligence to gain access to the highest levels of Silicon Valley and the worlds of artificial intelligence, supercomputers, and the internet. This, at a time when Vladimir Putin has asserted, “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere (artificial intelligence) will become the ruler of the world.”

• How Epstein had ties to Russia through sex-trafficking. Epstein partnered with Jean-Luc Brunel, head of MC2 modeling agency and a major sex trafficker, who, in turn, had worked with Peter Listerman, the celebrated procurer, or “matchmaker” as he prefers, for Russian oligarchs.

• How John Mark Dougan, a former deputy sheriff in Mar-a-Lago’s Palm Beach County, says he acquired 478 videos confiscated from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, fled to Moscow, became only the fourth American to win asylum in Russia, and immediately gained access to Putin’s inner circle, showing the ongoing power that comes from kompromat and how its value is highest before it is “used.”


electric_blue68

(22,337 posts)
51. Er...It's MORE Than "Scandalous" having undeage sex with girls especially in those conditions! I also get your other...
Tue Jul 15, 2025, 12:44 AM
Yesterday

important salient point.

KentuckyWoman

(7,113 posts)
14. I don't care how deep it goes
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:27 PM
Monday

Those children deserve justice. Period. This should not even be a conversation.

EllieBC

(3,508 posts)
15. I don't care whose names are on it.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:30 PM
Monday

Doesn’t matter what political affiliation they are. Pedophiles should be exposed and jailed.

And of course there are politicians and celebs and whatnot from both sides. You think there aren’t these fucking perverts in our tent? Of course there are. They are everywhere.

Expose them and jail them for as long as possible. Far away from any creature comforts as well.

kentuck

(114,374 posts)
17. I agree that there are politicians and celebs, etc...from both sides.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:39 PM
Monday

And one might wonder how much political contributions they get from the billionaires on the "list" or in the "files".

Amishman

(5,893 posts)
20. yup, too many people with too many connections and dollars
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:56 PM
Monday

We'll never get the full story and all the names.

My guess is some politicians on both sides of the aisle, but also quite a few megadonors and connected powerful individuals in other countries.

The system is rotten.

leftyladyfrommo

(19,875 posts)
19. There's something huge there if they'll kill
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 06:52 PM
Monday

to protect themselves. One person I read who knew the playboy Trump said he was an animal. There's some pretty serious stuff there.

Maybe they were into Snuff films. Or something really wacko like that.

sheshe2

(92,856 posts)
25. Thanks for the link, B.See.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 08:19 PM
Monday

I wish I could have copied the shot of the fireplace...exactly like the one tsf installed in the Oval Office. It's gaudy, overdone and tacky as hell.






some_of_us_are_sane

(1,571 posts)
30. here's the startling comparison sheshe2
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 08:40 PM
Monday


Epstein's fireplace



the REDECORATED Oval Office fireplace
(that looks like a bordello)

sheshe2

(92,856 posts)
33. Thank you !
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:02 PM
Monday

Yes, it certainly does look like a bordello or to put in simpler words, a whore house.

AntiFascist

(13,494 posts)
23. I notice that M$NBC is now warning Democrats....
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 07:03 PM
Monday

"nothing to see here, move along" and hiring an NSA consultant to give this message. Fox News has already gotten the memo.

BlueTsunami2018

(4,486 posts)
24. This goes far beyond petty U.S. party politics.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 07:11 PM
Monday

That’s the problem with this, each “side” wants this to come out for gotcha purposes. The people involved with this are almost certainly the elite of the elite, the people who really run the world. The nameless international businessmen, bankers, media moguls, royalty and, of course, politicians from all over the world. It might be the biggest international blackmail scheme in history.

That’s really why this can’t come out.

snot

(11,168 posts)
29. I believe it is.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 08:38 PM
Monday

Why did Epstein receive little more than a wrist-slap after his first conviction for sex-trafficking and raping multiple minors – who else gets that kind of treatment? How did he go from teaching high school to becoming a wildly wealthy billionnaire, owning among his other homes a 19,000 s.f. townhouse in Manhattan – without even a college degree? Why were multiple rooms in the homes in which his sex parties with minors took place wired for video recording? Why all the anomalies surrounding his death? Etc.

Given the urgency of the question of whether Epstein's sex parties might have been part of some kind of spying/blackmail operation, why has it taken 6 years for our government to examine his files and tell us there's "nothing to see" there?

Wiz Imp

(5,968 posts)
47. It wasn't really just a wrist slap after his conviction. It was a plea deal.
Tue Jul 15, 2025, 12:06 AM
Yesterday

The "conviction" was obtained by getting him to plead guilty to procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute. Epstein agreed to the plea deal precisely because it was part of a Non Prosecution Agreement (NPA) deal that was later determined to be illegal. Alex Acosta, later Trump's first Secretary of Labor, was the primary US Attorney on the case. He's never adequately explained why he agreed to the deal. It's pretty clear Acosta was compromised. From Wikipedia: "Acosta later said he offered a lenient plea deal because he was told that Epstein "belonged to intelligence", was "above his pay grade" and to "leave it alone"". Alan Dershowitz was one of Epstein's lawyers. Dershowitz was later accused of raping a woman at Epstein's island.

For more back story, In May 2006, Palm Beach police filed a probable cause affidavit saying that Epstein should be charged with four counts of unlawful sex with minors and one count of sexual abuse. Presented evidence from only two victims, the grand jury returned a single charge of felony solicitation of prostitution. In July 2006, the FBI began its own investigation of Epstein that resulted in a fifty-three page, 60-count indictment in June 2007. That indictment included multiple counts of Sex Trafficking. Acosta, then the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, then agreed to the previously mentioned plea deal, to grant immunity from all federal criminal charges to Epstein, along with four named co-conspirators and any unnamed "potential co-conspirators". According to the Miami Herald, the non-prosecution agreement "essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people who took part in Epstein's sex crimes". At the time, this halted the investigation and sealed the indictment. The Miami Herald said: "Acosta agreed, despite a federal law to the contrary, that the deal would be kept from the victims."

SoFlaBro

(3,542 posts)
37. I don't give a motherfuck which side of the so-called political aisle a fuckstain pedophile resides on. Fuck that shit.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:43 PM
Monday

Blue Full Moon

(2,423 posts)
42. Funny how 2 were supposed to testify and ended up dead.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 11:27 PM
Monday

The lawsuit for Trump and Epstein. Ivana and Epstein were both supposed to testify. Then a MAGA trying to kill the judge, killed her son instead and the case was dropped. Nothing to see here.

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