The Jeffrey Epstein Lesson: Predators Don't Survive Without Protectors

The Real Scandal Isn't The Predator. It's The Institutions That Protects Them

Everybody remembers the predator. Almost nobody remembers the people who protected him (99% of the time it’s “him”). For profit. For politics. For a promotion. Or for promotional reasons.

That last one is why amoral news-hoarders Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan held onto Epstein stories exposing the Trump Administration’s treachery for a year. Sharing these stories may have saved lives. Prevented political catastrophes to come.

But saving these stories scored them a huge book deal! And, c’mon, they’re corporate media! They got bank to earn by withholding key information when it could help. I know I read somewhere that was the purpose of a free press being included in the 1st Amendment.

Yes, I could go on ripping these nepo-cretins further. But how about we let the Epstein survivors, who released a statement in response “journalists” turning news tricks, do the talking here:

Today, on behalf of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse and trafficking network, we are responding to the release of Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s book and the reported inclusion of disturbing Epstein-related information that was not made public when it was first known. For survivors, this is not about politics, media competition, publishing, or book sales. This is about justice. Information connected to Jeffrey Epstein, his associates, the people who enabled him, and the institutions that protected him belongs in the hands of survivors, investigators, law enforcement, Congress, and the public. It should never be withheld for months and then revealed as part of a commercial book release.

Survivors have already endured decades of silence, delay, sealed records, broken promises, and institutional failure. They have watched powerful people avoid accountability while the truth has been selectively released, buried, or timed for someone else’s benefit. That pattern must end. If journalists, publishers, government officials, law enforcement agencies, courts, political institutions, or any other individuals possess Epstein-related information that could help expose the network, identify those who enabled abuse, or bring accountability to survivors, it must be disclosed responsibly and without unnecessary delay.

Survivors are not storylines. Their trauma is not content. Their pursuit of justice should never be timed around a publishing schedule, media rollout, or financial gain. Survivors have waited long enough. There can be no more selective transparency. No more delay. No more profit from survivors’ pain while accountability remains out of reach.

The truth must come out now.

Lisa Phillips

Lara Blume McGee

Sharlene Rochard

Audra Lynn Fasano

Marina Lacerda

Wendy Pesante

Jena-Lisa Jones

Jane Doe

Jane Doe

Jane Doe

Amen.

Again, predators couldn’t do nearly as much damage. Last nearly as long in the shadows. Cultivate nearly as many victims. Without powerful protectors shielding them. And in this case also shielding Trump’s inner-sanctum of political protectors.

But to the ethically bereft gazing into their magic mirror to inquire who’s the fairest in all the land, the “it’s just one terrible man” horseshit is easy to sell. Why?

Because we love monster stories. They let the rest of us off the hook.

If Jeffrey Epstein is the whole story, then we’re not talking about the billionaires who socialized with him. The universities that welcomed him. The institutions that knew—and still took his money. The corporate chieftains, law partners, and other elites who covered for him—including Haberman and Swan, who profited from burying parts of the story til their release fit nicely with their scheduled book-tour.

Then there are those who remained Epstein friends, clients, business partners, or investors. Even after Epstein was judged guilty in Florida almost exactly 18 years go, on state charges of procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.

Unlike these protectors, I won’t allow the horrors to be buried.

I remind you of the role of one of the most powerful Republicans of the 21st Century in covering up a pedophile ring of Congress members and underage pages—and his eventual implication in the same crimes.

And even though it was difficult for me, I name names from my high school, Horace Mann, who engaged in/covered up pedophilia, including my onetime mentor. And share a rarely seen report by a first of its kind Manhattan DA Sex Crimes Prosecution Bureau.

I won’t be a protector: I remind you of the pedophilia and its protection by one of the most powerful Republicans. Though uncomfortable, I name names at Horace Mann—including my mentor.

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