Following the announcement that Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein would have over 1 million documents in his defense against sex trafficking charges, speculation about what would happen next became pretty wild. Few news sites would speculate on the defendant would die before it would happen. One of the exceptions was USABusinessRadio.com, which wrote, in an article entitled “Epstein is Causing Earthquake for the Rich and Powerful, Wild Speculation on His Future”:
“It appears, with ‘millions’ of documents, Epstein took copious and frequent notes of his encounters and associates. These are some of the most powerful people in business and politics. There has already been speculation about his well being since Epstein was found unconscious in his jail cell. With so many notes and (almost) 100 page ‘black book,’ one gets the sense that if Epstein goes down for (essentially life), he will take others with him.
“Speculation on the case includes him getting off of the charges because of ‘Double Jeopardy’ to him literally being in danger because of the powerful people he can destroy. For Epstein, the release of these documents over a year puts pressure on others to make something happen. Speculation is that it will be several months before documents begin to be transferred to the state, much can happen in that timeframe.” We now know he would die first.
Who are some of the major players on that list? USA Business Radio reports:
- Bill Clinton. “Clinton said he knew nothing of Epstein’s ‘terrible crimes’ and that the two hadn’t spoken in a decade. But the picture of their relationship painted by the former president doesn’t square with flight logs that put Clinton on Epstein’s jet, dubbed the ‘Lolita Express,’ 26 times between 2001 and 2003. Or with Gawker’s 2015 report on Epstein’s little black book, which included “21 contact numbers and various email addresses for Clinton.” The former President claims he only went on a total of four trips on Epstein’s plane.
- Donald Trump. “Trump has also been accused of assaulting a woman on Epstein’s property. During the 2016 election, an anonymous California woman filed a lawsuit alleging that Trump and Epstein raped her at the latter’s New York City mansion in 1994, when she was 13. Several journalists expressed confusion or skepticism after looking into the story. Trump denied the allegations and the woman dropped her suit weeks before the election.”
- Prince Andrew. “The Duke of York, Prince Charles’s younger brother, is a longtime personal friend of Epstein’s and has been directly accused of having sexwith at least one underage girl. In 2015 court documents, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, seen here in a photo with Prince Andrew, said she was coerced into having sex with the British royal. She also said she was forced to participate in an orgy with other underage girls and the Prince. Buckingham Palace has denied the claims.”
- Other prominent names mentioned on the article:
- Famed defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, who also represented Epstein.
- Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of the famed British publisher and one time girlfriend of Epstein.
So what happen’s next?
The Daily Beast reports:
“Southern District U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement Saturday afternoon that ‘Today’s events are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein’s many victims their day in Court.” He pointedly noted that “our investigation of the conduct charged in the indictment — which included a conspiracy count — remains ongoing.’
“The financier’s sudden demise comes only a day after newly unsealed court documents show one of his accusers claimed that he and socialite Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to powerful men for sex. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who says Maxwell recruited her as a 16-year-old during her summer job at Mar-a-Lago, testified that Epstein and Maxwell lent her out for kinky sex with foreign heads of state, a wealthy Wall Streeter, a former U.S. senator, a highly-regarded scientist, and Britain’s Prince Andrew.”
The proverbial “cat is out of the bag.” This story will continue to unfold and the number of people facing their day in court will continue to rise in spite of the death of Epstein. It will likely dominate the headlines for months, if not years.
Editor’s note: USA Business Radio is part of the Price of Business Digital Network.