What, Exactly, Do People Want from the Epstein Files?

Mindless activism risks the mental health of victims

The Epstein Files fiasco has, I think, brought undue criticism to the offices of Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. Both Trump appointees, eminently qualified, have faced widespread criticism and, frankly, scorn from Trump voters on social media after the “Phase 1” release of the Epstein Files contained little more than publicly available documents already released as part of the Ghilaine Maxwell trial.

Given that both officials have only been in office for a matter of weeks, I think it’s wrong to say that they should both have so much control over their agencies – which, remember, are staffed by people who hate them – that they are able to release anything they like at the snap of their fingers. Releasing these files is not simple; first, they need to gather all relevant documents relating to the case, second, they need to review the files to ensure that sensitive data is not released (and yes, this is important), and third, they need to coordinate the release of the materials with the press. I think the only valid criticism of their conduct so far is that Bondi shouldn’t have promised to release the files so soon, and that they shouldn’t have given those binders to some of the dumbest people on the Internet.

This was always going to take time, and now Bondi is facing the heat – and that heat could prompt her to make mistakes as she tries to deliver what she promised to the mobs of angry Trumpers on Twitter.

But criticism aside, I can’t help but wonder what exactly people are hoping to see in these files. The redaction of names in the list of masseuses in the Phase 1 files, for example, was considered controversial online. Social media activists complained about the documents containing huge sections of black Tippex, with names still protected even after Trump officials promised to release the files. It seems to me that, after decades of our government not being entirely honest about everything from, say, the war in Iraq to COVID, has left people wanting full transparency all of the time. But I don’t think that’s a reasonable demand, at least when it comes to sensitive legal cases that involve victims as well as abusers.

Remember, the Epstein Files do not only contain the names of people who flew on Epstein’s plane, who perhaps abused underage girls, or who engaged in other illicit or illegal behaviour. Those files also contain the names of people who could never be charged with crimes because of a lack of evidence, as well as the names of underage victims who have, hopefully, moved on in their lives. And by the way, when I say “names of people who could never be charges with crimes because of a lack of evidence,” I’m not implying that they committed a crime but cannot be charged because authorities couldn’t quite piece the puzzle together. I mean there are people who knew Epstein, who never committed a crime, but who also appear in these documents because of their proximity to the case. Releasing these names would ignite a Los Angeles-level wildfire of new conspiracy theories that would not only muddy the waters of the Epstein case but tarnish the names of innocent people.

I can give you a good example of this. My wife is an artist, and in a life before we met, she spent some time in Hollywood. She has told me stories from that world that would truly shock you, and being the gossip I am, I’d love to tell you about them. Alas, I am not allowed - but I say this to make the point that, yes, Hollywood can be a sick place and I do know that. But I also know that there are good people in Hollywood – my wife, during her time there, for example – who see what goes on and decide “nope, not for me.” She was one of them, and she also had a romantic life before we met. She admitted on Twitter just a few days ago that she had, in fact, dated somebody who is in Epstein’s “Black Book.”

So does that mean my wife is part of the Illuminati? Implicated in Epstein crimes? No. It means she had proximity to Hollywood, in the same way that Hollywood had proximity to Epstein. This man knew a lot of people, networked with everyone he could, and did favours for rich, famous, and influential people in the hope that he’d get favours in return. In many cases, he did. In others, he didn’t.

I’m not entirely convinced the Epstein files are the bombshell people think they are. It’s a fascinating, if tragic, story – and it makes for great television and social media talk. But I think the more we talk about it, and the more we theorise, the more trauma we cause victims. Imagine waking up every day to see new demands that your name, as a victim of these crimes, should be released to the public. Think about how these women might feel knowing that, in a matter of days or hours, hordes of online activists might pressure the heads of the FBI and the Justice Department to release your names and expose your tragic story to the world after you’ve spent years trying to heal.

Instead of demanding these files be released, I think we should be asking for something much more specific. What, exactly, are we looking to see, here?