Pam Bondi and Kash Patel made an announcement this week about the infamous Jeffrey Epstein client list. Many of us were disappointed to learn that not only was the list not going to be made public, but now the list doesn't even exist. It's just another disappointment because we expected the big talk from the Republicans to turn into big actions. I still hold out hope that we will learn the names of people that visited the island and at least they will be judged in the court of public opinion.
But why after so much fanfare and promises did Bondi and Patel change their tune? I have often opined on the radio show that once a republican got into a position of authority where they could carry through on their promises, someone either came through with embarrassing pictures or enough money to cause them to compromise their principles. There might be another reason.
Remember Bill Barr, attorney general under Donald Trump in his first term? Many of you may not know that he was part of the CIA. His dad was Donald Barr, headmaster at the prestigious Dalton School. He authored a book about oligarchs that like to spend time with little boys. Not in a way that would be acceptable. After writing the book he hired a 21-year-old Jeffrey Epstein to be a math professor. Epstein did not have an education nor a math degree. He lasted about a year, but it was not his utter lack of qualifications that led to his firing. He was spending time with young girls at the school.
He very quickly landed a job as an assistant to a stock trader and investment advisor, again without qualifications or training. Within four years he made partner in the firm, a time frame that was not only unheard of, but it took an average of 10 years for more successful traders to become partner. One year after becoming partner he resigned because of because of because of because of SEC violations.
He then labeled himself as a consultant and quickly landed lucrative contracts with foreign governments and billionaires. He apparently advised them on many things including financial issues, handled social calendars, and made introductions between his clients. Jean Luc Brummel, of Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie fame, signed a power of attorney to Epstein. In 2006, as part of Epstein's birthday party, Brummell flew three triplets, 12 years old, to 'give' to Epstein.
Charges were filed by the Department of Justice. The US District Attorney handling the case was Jim Acosta. He offered Epstein a plea deal which can only be described as unprecedented. Epstein served his time in a private wing of a prison. He was allowed to leave his cell for 12 hours a day, often taking walks on the beach and enjoying the service of a private chef. He was then released and put on house arrest. But Acosta left out a standard provision that would have confined Epstein to one location. This allowed him to travel to any house he wanted, and he spent quite a bit of time in Manhattan. All the while running his private island.
When Acosta was nominated as Secretary of Labor by Trump, he was grilled about the Epstein case. He claimed that he had received calls claiming Epstein was a CIA informant. Those calls came from Bill Barr and others in the intelligence community. Thus the pressure to go easy on Epstein and conclude the case quietly. We do know that Epstein had a fake Australian passport and often used it for travel to Saudi Arabia, England, and Spain. Allegedly in search of, well, you know.
Make of it what you but will, but this sequence of events is too much of a coincidence to be random. Epstein was not a dummy. He certainly kept a book of names. Any person who makes a living off of who they know keeps such a list. Bondi and Patel could have said, there is no evidence that the list was populated by clients that partook of the activities on the island. But they didn't. Trump's name is not on that list; if it had been, the Biden administration would have found a way to use it against him during the campaign.
We can only assume that revealing the list and prosecuting those against whom there was sufficient evidence would have lead to a complete collapse of the intelligence community, putting the United States at great risk. Something Bondi, Patel, and Trump were not willing to do. Maybe they are looking for a plan B, a way to take the bad people out and quickly replace them with people that can keep us safe. That task may be too daunting. It's likely we'll never see anything about the list again. The power brokers have won by making themselves irreplaceable.
