Judge releases Epstein grand jury records from criminal case in Florida
Washington PostJun 19
Florida Judge Releases Jeffrey Epstein Grand Jury Records
The Facts
A Florida judge has released the grand jury transcript surrounding the 2006 investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's charges of abusing minors, which saw him receive a more lenient plea deal on prostitution charges rather than sex trafficking and rape.
While grand jury documents are typically kept secret, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in February to make an exemption for cases like Epstein's. The transcript shows how prosecutors attempted to paint his accusers as prostitutes rather than victims.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
It took authorities almost two decades to reveal how these prosecutors maligned teenage victims rather than their pedophile abuser. Every attorney involved in this case should be ashamed of themselves for who they hurt, not to mention who they let off scot-free. While it's important that the public is finally hearing about this, the fact of the matter is that the victims will never truly get the justice they deserved in 2006.
Establishment-critical narrative
The far more nefarious side of this story is that Epstein was able to form close relationships with the world's most powerful billionaires and politicians while getting away with raping children. From presidents, prime ministers, CIA officials, and British royalty traveling to Epstein's island to his closest mentor and father of his girlfriend having alleged ties to Israeli intelligence, the disgraced pedophile appears to have been part of a larger organization.