The Epstein case and the cost of unproven certainty |
The FBI’s conclusion that it found no evidence of a Jeffrey Epstein–run sex-trafficking network involving powerful figures is not the ending many Americans expected – or wanted. For years, the Epstein case has lived at the intersection of genuine criminal abuse, institutional failure, and a public appetite for definitive villains beyond Epstein himself. The Associated Press report published on February 8 underscores a difficult truth: suspicion, however widespread, is not evidence, and justice systems ultimately operate on proof, not belief.
Jeffrey Epstein was a serial sexual abuser of minors. That fact is not in dispute. His 2008 conviction, his 2019 federal charges, and the conviction of his associate Ghislaine Maxwell establish that reality beyond question. What has remained unresolved – and deeply polarizing – is whether Epstein functioned as a broker for an organized trafficking ring serving elite clients. According to the FBI and the Justice Department, the evidence does not support that claim.
This conclusion will strike many as implausible. Epstein’s wealth, his private jets, his multiple residences, and his access to presidents, billionaires, royalty, and cultural leaders created an aura of untouchability. When he died in a federal jail cell under circumstances later deemed a suicide, public confidence in official explanations eroded even further. In that vacuum, certainty filled the gaps where transparency and trust were lacking.
Yet the AP report........