Aisha Sultan | Post-Dispatch
Columnist and features writer
President Donald Trump supporters who genuinely believed he would release all the government files about child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and who keep pushing for answers, deserve bipartisan support.
I appreciate the demands from his base that Trump release more details surrounding the investigation into Epstein鈥檚 multiple sex crimes and potential clients. Still, I don鈥檛 understand how his supporters ever came to believe he was on the side of the victims.
These are the publicly known facts about the Epstein scandal, as recapped in a recent :
More than 20 years ago, in March 2005, police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating Epstein after the family of a 14-year-old girl reported she was sexually abused at his mansion. Multiple underage girls later told police that Epstein sexually trafficked and abused them.
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Palm Beach state attorney Barry Krischer made some strange decisions at the time. Despite police signing paperwork to charge Epstein with several counts of unlawful sex with a minor, Krischer called a grand jury, which only indicted him with a single count of soliciting prostitution.
The FBI began its own investigation.
Again, another public official made unusual decisions involving Epstein. Despite federal prosecutors preparing charges, the U.S. attorney in Miami, Alexander Acosta, made a secret deal in 2008 that allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution. Why would he do such a thing? Acosta is the same guy Trump would pick years later to head the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Epstein scandal could have ended decades ago if it weren鈥檛 for the dogged reporting of Julie K. Brown, an investigative reporter at the Miami Herald. This journalist deserves the credit for reigniting public interest in the Epstein case a decade after the Acosta deal, which she did by from 80 of his victims and by describing the wealthy, powerful network around Epstein. The men known to be in this orbit include presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, the U.K.鈥檚 Prince Andrew and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Other than Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein鈥檚 girlfriend, no one else has been charged or convicted of crimes connected to him.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate still voted for Acosta to become Trump鈥檚 labor secretary. Once his connection to the Epstein scandal made headlines again, Acosta resigned; Trump praised him and expressed regret at his resignation.
Trump has publicly said he and Epstein were friends and multiple photos document this friendship.
鈥淚鈥檝e known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,鈥 Trump told in 2002. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.鈥
This was during the time period in which dozens of young girls allege they were victimized and trafficked by Epstein. Trump also appears multiple times in Epstein鈥檚 private jet flight log, and his name is circled in Epstein鈥檚 鈥渓ittle black book.鈥 recently revealed that Trump allegedly gave Epstein a birthday card with a drawing of a naked woman that said, 鈥渕ay every day be another wonderful secret.鈥
Trump denies that he sent the card and sued the Wall Street Journal.
Epstein died in jail in 2019 while Trump was president. Officials say he committed suicide. He was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Who knows what details he may have revealed in a trial or who else might have been implicated?
Earlier this month, Trump鈥檚 Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo declaring there was no further incriminating evidence to release about Epstein鈥檚 crimes or death. From then on, she and Trump have faced intense backlash from some of his most vocal supporters.
Trump, with a long history of allegations of sexual crimes and a jury finding him liable for sexual abuse, called the continued furor over Epstein a 鈥渉oax鈥 and 鈥渂oring.鈥
Given the public history, I wonder what made his supporters believe Trump wanted full transparency and accountability for those involved in Epstein鈥檚 crimes. He has a with Epstein, and those files could very well contain revelations that damage Trump himself. In fact, Bondi told Trump in May that his name appears in the Epstein files, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Some of those who voted for Trump may not care if he committed sexual crimes against young teenage girls. Some of those who have voted for Bill Clinton may feel the same way.
But there鈥檚 still a contingent of us who believe character matters in the people who lead our nation. We don鈥檛 want a predator-in-chief in the White House.
It鈥檚 hard to admit when we鈥檝e been duped. But that anger and disappointment can be channeled into a greater purpose.
The righteous anger of Trump supporters could help bring justice to all those who enabled or participated in Epstein鈥檚 crimes.
That鈥檚 something everyone, of all political persuasions, should get behind.
The Department of Justice wants to interview Jeffrey Epstein鈥檚 former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of helping the financier sexually abuse underage girls and is now serving a lengthy prison sentence.
