At Least Europe Cares About the Epstein Files

At least eight countries in the EU have since launched nine investigations. Meanwhile, the U.S. launched a war on Iran.

Photo: Getty Images

Politics

The moon’s done a full, dizzying lap since the Justice Department released millions of pages exposing just how deep Jeffrey Epstein’s ties were with pretty much any man with any type of power in the U.S., and at least eight countries have since launched nine investigations into the disgraced pedophile, with at least three arresting and/or charging people for their alleged ties to Epstein. The U.S., meanwhile, launched a war on Iran.

In the U.K., former Prince Andrew (now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor) and former Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson were arrested based on “misconduct in public office”; in Norway, former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland was charged with “gross corruption”; and in France, an official investigation is under way into former Culture Minister Jack Lang. Man, if we could arrest people for misconduct in public office here…

Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Turkey, and Slovakia also launched their own investigations, with some of them investigating instances of human trafficking. The European Union’s anti-fraud office is also investigating Mandelson. Outlining the ties between Russia and Epstein, Polish PM Donald Tusk said he considered the current narrative around the files “a planned operation by the Russian KGB.”

Meanwhile—aside from an extremely belated investigation into one of Epstein’s ranches—the Trump administration has all but ignored the files, particularly when it comes to Republicans. No one seems interested in deposing Elon Musk, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, or Donald Trump—who is mentioned more than 5,000 times. On the contrary, a spokesperson for the White House hilariously claimed last week the president’s “done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him.”

Yet the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee grilled both Hillary and Bill Clinton for over six hours each last week. The Clintons both asked that the transcripts from their respective depositions be made public, but we’re not holding our breath that the committee Chairman, James Comer, will comply.

As of mid-February, New Mexico lawmakers launched a “truth commission” into Epstein’s ranch, which he owned for 26 years. But various locals have called for repeated investigations into the space for years, and Eddy Aragon, a radio host who spent years looking into Epstein, said “not only has [the ranch] been overshadowed, it’s been completely ignored.” In 2019, the FBI also received an anonymous tip from someone who said they worked at the ranch, and claimed that Epstein covered up two girls’ deaths by burying them in the nearby hills. There’s no evidence whether the FBI actually looked into the claim, and speaking to the New York Times, they declined to say whether the property was ever searched. As the outlet reported, the investigation may unfortunately be “too late.”

So far, the U.S. has only arrested two people connected to the Epstein Files—Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein himself. The committee also subpoenaed ten former officials for their ties to the files—six of whom were Democrats and none of whom were Trump. On Saturday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tweeted: “PSA: Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won’t make the Epstein files go away.”

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