Take it from me, who has studied numerous sex abuse coverups, there aren't many more mistakes the Trump administration can make in its cover-up of the president's close relationship with sex trafficking magnate Jeffrey Epstein. It has been all too predictable, but let's pause for a moment to take stock now that we have the lewd and disgusting 50th Birthday Book on view. I must admit I've never seen a fully illustrated compendium of the abusers' universe, but it is there for all to see. It is a collection of missives from self-satisfied, self-anointed masters of the universe glorying in Epstein's depravity. It's not fit for children or anyone who doesn't want disgusting images in their minds. This community enabled Epstein in a revolting frat-boy way.
The first government official to participate publicly in covering up Epstein's crimes was Alex Acosta, who let him off in a sweetheart deal in Florida. Then there was Donald Trump. The Trump administration's cover-up began when Trump spent his campaign promising transparency. He must not have known what was in the files. That's why his Attorney General Pam Bondi had to take FBI agents off their criminal investigations to pore through the government's files to see where Trump is mentioned. At the beginning of the unraveling of a cover-up, it is not uncommon for the ones who fear the truth to pledge transparency to prove their character. Trump followed suit.
Obviously, there was troubling material from their perspective, because all of a sudden, the cover-up went into hyperdrive. Trump ordered Bondi to release whatever was "credible," which is a classic phrase of discretion that permits keeping secrets at will. Then they started on their campaign of distraction, "Look here, look there!" They sought grand jury transcripts that no judge was going to release and met with Epstein's felon friend and abuser, Ghislaine Maxwell, fishing for her to say Trump is clean. Both were ineffective, and when Maxwell was moved to a less restricted prison camp immediately after her vacuous interview, survivors started to appear in force. At the same time, Trump told people to stop talking about it on his social media page and started calling the matter a "hoax" and a "Democratic hoax." He has further politicized it, leading Republicans in Congress to pretend they haven't seen the Birthday Book or to issue opinions about whether his signature was authentic. One boneheaded move after another to distract, but it backfired.
The basic problem for the Trump administration is that sex abuse and assault cover-ups in this era really insult the victims and mobilize them to show the world they aren't liars. To the contrary, they are heroes who are putting up with walking into a politicized spotlight and likely re-traumatization to stand for the simple truth. At this point, they want one thing and one thing alone -- release all of the files, with appropriate redactions to protect them, from everywhere, and let the people see what really happened. Let the world learn the details of this sick, twisted world so the victims are vindicated and the bad guys finally pay a price.
This is where we need to step in for their sake: there needs to be legal reform to ensure the survivors receive the legal opportunities they deserve. Don't let these brave stances end without ensuring they find justice.
How to Make Epstein's Universe of Support Pay the Price for What They Did
Epstein operated primarily in four venues: New York, Palm Beach, New Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The key to whether his aiders and abettors, co-conspirators, buddies, and colleagues can be held accountable for this trafficking ring is access to justice: will the sex abuse and assault statutes of limitation let the survivors prosecute and sue at this point? The answer is complicated, but let's focus on New York for now and those who were abused under the age of 18.
New York famously opened a "window" for child sex abuse victims in 2019 to be able to sue their perpetrators and the institutions that enabled them. It was enacted to expire after a year, but due to COVID-19, it was extended so that it was open for two years. Roughly 11,000 victims came forward, many of them suing Catholic dioceses. Given that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 13 boys -- about 14% of children overall -- will be sexually abused by the age of 18, this was a relatively small number in a state of nearly 20 million people. Some of Epstein's survivors came forward in time to fit into the narrow opening provided, but a number did not, including some who are now speaking their truth in response to the Trump administration's apparent cover-up. They are likely excluded from justice in New York now that the window is closed.
The problem with these set-term SOL windows like New York's Child Victims Act is that a victim can only come forward when they are ready, and they face a mountain of barriers due to the trauma, shame, and humiliation of child sex abuse, so it's easy to miss the deadline. In CHILD USA's survey of Boy Scout survivors, over half came forward after age 50. The legal system needs to come to terms with how long it takes to tell others, and that is through a permanently open window. Get rid of the statutes of limitations for child sex abuse backwards and forwards. Basically, it would say to survivors, when you're ready, come forward, there won't be an artificial barrier to justice. Of course, they will need evidence, and over time, that can get harder, but it makes no sense to deny them their day in court because the bad actors got lucky enough to outwait the victim.
The other avenue is through criminal prosecution. In New York, that is even more difficult, though not impossible. The issue is that the state has had short SOLs for sex abuse and assault until relatively recently, and no criminal SOL can be revived. That means that the greatest amount of justice for them will likely lie in the civil justice system. In fact, the civil system is a better place for the public to learn the truth, because it is more effective at uncovering how complex systems lead to many children being sexually abused.
The big question we all await the answer to is this: which of these men participated in sexually abusing the girls in Epstein's orbit? That's the truly dirty secret that is at the heart of the ongoing Epstein cover-up. Answers to that question may well be in the government's trove of documents. A tiny number of those documents have been supplied so far. Yet, the Birthday Book alone should be driving prosecutors and civil attorneys' will to investigate. If the cover-up fails, then there will be even more evidence for them to learn. Their efforts will be enhanced by open SOLs but hampered by short ones.
The same questions need to be asked about access to justice in Florida, New Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. You can learn more at CHILD USA. Then we need to discuss the survivors of abuse when they were young adults.
The Trump Administration's cover-up motivated the survivors to take heroic stands in the media and at the U.S. Capitol. There is a lot more that needs to happen for them to receive justice. We owe it to them.