Where the hell is the Epstein client list?
At first, Attorney General Pam Bondi indicated that such a file, containing not just the names, but also embarrassing details, was “sitting on my desk.” When press secretary Karoline Leavitt later was asked a follow up question about the existence of such a list at a cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump interrupted and said:
Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy has been talked about for years. You’re asking … we have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. Are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable!”
As if to back up the unscripted Trump response a Justice Department memo stating a “client list” doesn’t exist. Furthermore, the memo declared that Epstein died by suicide.
No, Mr. President, this story is not going away and any reporter who asks about it ought not to be dressed down. After you talk to reporters at the drop of a hat and praise your “transparency,” you’re suddenly silent. Can not someone suspect that some name on the list will look bad?
Here’s why the list is important: It’s not just a matter of the public’s curiosity, the list raises question whether public officials were involved in sexual exploitation of children. And if so, why are they not being prosecuted?
But the Epstein scandal involved legal proceedings, so we know that such lists exis in court documents. Those lists are long and fascinating. The Independent proclaimed, “The Epstein List: Full list of names revealed in unsealed court records.”
The accuracy of those records have been disputed by Politifact. It concluded that such a list is not accurate because it was compiled years ago. It said:
The list is not accurate. One-hundred and twenty-nine of the 166 people listed are not mentioned on any of the newly unsealed documents. Perusing Epstein’s private jet flight logs and his address book that were already publicly available, we found that 99 of the names were not on the flight logs, and 131 of them were not in the address book. (View our findings in this spreadsheet.
Its methodology is complicated, but you might want to look it up yourself.
Meanwhile, the story is not going away. Nor should it.