Dem
47
GOP
53
The entire right-wing ecosystem (echosystem?) thinks it has found the Rosetta Stone that will answer all their questions about Jeffrey Epstein. And she is conveniently located in a prison in Florida. The only real problem is nobody knows how to pronounce her name (and if you bungle her name, she won't talk to you, naturally). Yes, the person who can unlock all the secrets is Ghislaine Maxwell.
It doesn't take a stable genius to realize that she will say whatever Donald Trump wants her to say in order to get a pardon. Last week she talked to Deputy AG Todd Blanche for 2 days and gave him 100 names of people Epstein knew. The names haven't been released yet, but surely will be soon. We expect that most will be Democrats or other "elites" the base hates. If she is smart, she will also throw in the names of a few minor Republicans (ideally Republicans who are dead) just to add some credibility.
Now Blanche and AG Pam Bondi have to decide what to do with the list. If they just publish it, many voices on the right will cheer and say the story is now finished and, see, Trump wasn't involved. Case closed. If they go further and try to indict people, it will get messy, fast. A grand jury will have to be assembled and given the evidence. If the only evidence is testimony from a known criminal and perjurer who is highly motivated to lie some more, the grand jury may not be convinced. Grand jury proceedings are secret, but if there are no indictments, the base may turn on Bondi and keep asking: "Why aren't these people in prison?" An answer like: "Because the grand jury didn't think the evidence was worth much" isn't going to make the base happy.
There is one piece of hard evidence the House Democrats very much want: the actual birthday book The Wall Street Journal said exists and which Trump denies. A prominent lawyer who has represented hundreds of Epstein's victims, Brad Edwards, said that the book exists and the lawyers for Epstein's estate have the book. House Democrats have no power to subpoena it. House Republicans definitely have the power to subpoena it and also the power to make it somehow unfindable after they have it. Needless to say, Trump does not want the book to be shown to the media. It is not known if other copies exist.
Trump visited Scotland to play some golf at his Turnberry golf course and also talk to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (more below). But even there reporters asked him about a potential pardon for Maxwell. Trump's likely game plan here is straightforward: Maxwell testifies that many top Democrats knew Epstein well and participated in his illegal activities but that while Trump and Epstein were friends, Trump never participated in the activities. In return, Trump promises to pardon Maxwell on Jan. 20, 2029, at 11 a.m. Of course, Maxwell has to trust that he will deliver. He has a very poor track record on keeping his promises. Maybe she will demand getting the pardon now, but dated Jan. 20, 2029. She might also demand a less remote date; she doesn't particularly want to waste 3 more of her remaining years rotting in a women's prison.
It could also go the other way, where Maxwell says: "If you don't give me a pardon now (possibly dated Jan. 20, 2029, or sooner), I will tell everyone what you actually did and drive you from the White House." Of course, doing that might result in her being suicided, but that wouldn't help Trump. It would just make it worse. It could be a game of chicken, and we may soon find out who wins the cockfight.
Many right-wing pundits and podcasters are looking forward to hearing Maxwell's story. They clearly all expect she told Deputy AG Todd Blanche what he wanted to hear in return for a pardon. Among others champing at the bit for Maxwell's story are Alan Dershowitz, Benny Johnson, and Charlie Kirk. However, far-right activist Jack Posobiec was actually on the mark when he said that Maxwell has no interest in getting at the truth. Her interest is in getting a pardon and she will do and say whatever is necessary to get one. Interestingly enough, when asked about a possible pardon for Maxwell, Trump refused to rule it out.
Another aspect that hasn't been discussed much is that Epstein wasn't the kind of guy to celebrate his 50th birthday by having a quiet dinner with Maxwell somewhere. There was undoubtedly a big bash with many invitees. Some of them may have seen the book and could testify about having seen Trump's card. If enough of them say they saw the card, that could negate Maxwell's saying there was no such card.
It is getting hard to keep track of Epsteingate so Politico has compiled a convenient timeline of the major events, as follows:
For more detail about each item, see the article linked to above.
As we noted last week, the existence of the thousands of videos is not really in dispute. The DoJ specifically mentioned them on page 9 of a court filing made in the SDNY on July 8, 2019. It would seem to us it would be interesting to have a neutral party with a strong stomach watch them and see who is in them. This would be far more valuable than listening to who Maxwell fingers. We suggest you don't hold your breath until this happens (unless NY AG Letitia James decides she wants to see them). (V)