When the Epstein Files are released...

[Innula Zenovka]

I'm not sure the underage girls who were raped, trafficked and prostituted by Epstein would be all that concerned with what you see as a problem. In a court of law, we can certainly deliberate what terminology is to be used. In the court of public opinion, I don't see how anyone regulates the language.



Again, I don't think Epstein's victims will be troubled all that much by this. And that is what this thread is focused on.

I agree. I was commenting on what Megan Kelly said, though. While a psychologist would doubtless say there's a difference between the two, I don't think medical terms like pedophile and ephebophile are particularly helpful in this context.

I suspect, though, that public opinion finds it more reassuring to distinguish between sick monsters and normal people, while I think the distinction is between people who abuse power relationships in a particular situation and those who don't.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

I agree. I was commenting on what Megan Kelly said, though. While a psychologist would doubtless say there's a difference between the two, I don't think medical terms like pedophile and ephebophile are particularly helpful in this context.

I suspect, though, that public opinion finds it more reassuring to distinguish between sick monsters and normal people, while I think the distinction is between people who abuse power relationships in a particular situation and those who don't.

Agreed. Put in a simpler way: Epstein, Trump, and many others who participated are massive creeps. ...and this shouldn't be just now surprising anyone.

What I think is REALLY AWESOME is that this really puts Trump and his supporters on the defensive. In the court of public opinion, it's hard to come out ahead whenever you must defend yourself from someone else's accusations. Trump has often done a good job of making sure he stays on the offensive, but that's harder now.

 

[Zaida Gearbox]

Virginia Congressman Ben Cline stupidly posted something basically worshipping Trump today. So, I asked him if he thinks abusing women and girls and human trafficking is okay. He used to be a prosecutor.

And a link to the actual post in case anyone with Facebook wants to ask him if he thinks human trafficking is okay.

ETA - if you click it it will take you to the FB post in spite of what it says. I just think it's incredibly stupid and tone deaf to post this today of all days.

 

[Cindy Claveau]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

The Guardian Steve Bannon advised Jeffrey Epstein for years on how to rehab his reputation, texts show

Hundreds of texts over almost a year show Maga influencer Steve Bannon and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein workshopping legal and media strategies to protect Epstein from the legal and publicity quagmire that enveloped him in the last year of his life.

The texts, released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, show that as early as June 2018, the pair were devising responses to the gathering storm of public outrage about Epstein’s criminal history, his favorable treatment by the justice system, and his friendships with powerful figures in business, politics, and academia.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Agreed. Put in a simpler way: Epstein, Trump, and many others who participated are massive creeps. ...and this shouldn't be just now surprising anyone.

What I think is REALLY AWESOME is that this really puts Trump and his supporters on the defensive. In the court of public opinion, it's hard to come out ahead whenever you must defend yourself from someone else's accusations. Trump has often done a good job of making sure he stays on the offensive, but that's harder now.

Or, to put it another way, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (as now he is) didn't break any English laws (assuming the late Virginia Guiffre's allegations, which he denies, are true) unless he knew she was being coerced or trafficked for sex, neither of which seems on her account to be the case. Neither does it make him a pedophile, even though he would have been liable to prosecution had the encounter taken place in a US jurisdiction where the age of consent is 18, not 16.

That doesn't make his behaviour any more defensible. Nor would I view Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse and exploitation as any less reprehensible because his victims were all adults.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Or, to put it another way, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (as now he is) didn't break any English laws (assuming the late Virginia Guiffre's allegations, which he denies, are true) unless he knew she was being coerced or trafficked for sex, neither of which seems on her account to be the case. Neither does it make him a pedophile, even though he would have been liable to prosecution had the encounter taken place in a US jurisdiction where the age of consent is 18, not 16.

That doesn't make his behaviour any more defensible. Nor would I view Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse and exploitation as any less reprehensible because his victims were all adults.

Well yeah... there are a million perfectly legal ways to be a scumbag. In the USA, it's very easy to scam people and be immune to persecution if you claim it's your religion! Sometimes it's hard to define in the letter of the law why we see certain behaviors as reprehensible. Pyramid style, multilevel marketing scams are also often legal.

And yes, it's just easier to define it as criminal when it involves minors. Doesn't mean it's okay to traffic adults.

 

[Free]

That's a pretty good question...

 

[Free]

'I want this': Dem donor targeted by Trump calls his bluff over Epstein files

President Donald Trump's initial response to the latest batch of emails from deceased child predator Jeffrey Epstein has been to call for the investigations of Democrats who have been linked to Epstein. But one of the people Trump explicitly mentioned is now firing back.In a series of posts to...

www.rawstory.com

President Donald Trump's initial response to the latest batch of emails from deceased child predator Jeffrey Epstein has been to call for the investigations of Democrats who have been linked to Epstein. But one of the people Trump explicitly mentioned is now firing back.

In a series of posts to his official X account, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman — a prominent Democratic donor with a net worth of roughly $2.5 billion — responded to Trump's call to investigate him with a demand to "release all of the Epstein files," saying "every person and every document" should be known to the public.

"I want this complete release because it will show that the calls for baseless investigations of me are nothing more than political persecution and slander," Hoffman tweeted. "I was never a client of Epstein’s and never had any engagement with him other than fundraising for MIT."

This is how an (assumedly) innocent man responds.

 

[Free]

Apparently Megyn Kelly still has pull at her old stomping grounds.

ONE of the problems with this poll is, most 15-17 year old "women" (and "men") cannot permanently leave the U.S. without parental/custodial consent. So did they consult their moms and dads before answering this question?

 

[Cindy Claveau]

 

[Cindy Claveau]

How much did the GOP remove?

 

[Free]

How much did the GOP remove?

The emails released by the Democrats last week show that Epstein and Trump may have spent time together on Thanksgiving of 2017. You know, during Trump's first term as President. They were close friends for decades.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Jeffrey Epstein warned Prince Andrew was 'disastrous' for his reputation

New documents reveal how Epstein sought to repair his battered public image

metro.co.uk

Epstein’s communications with the PR firm include a memo written in June 2011 – nearly two years after being released from jail in July 2009.

He had served almost 13 months of his 18-month sentence for the solicitation of prostitution and for the solicitation of prostitution with a minor.

The memo gives advice on reputation management and draws attention to his relationship with Andrew Windsor.

When it was written, the pair had recently been photographed walking through Central Park together in December 2010, just five months after Epstein’s release.

The memo says ‘it is disastrous for you to be seen in any way to facilitate his lifestyle, or to help with his well documented issues.’

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Can someone please explain what the significance is, other than the purely symbolic, of the discharge petition concerning the Epstein files that's so much in the news?

As far as I can tell, and I may well be mistaken, the only effect it will have is to move out of committee and on to the floor of the House of Representatives a bill requiring the Department of Justice to release all their files on Jeffrey Epstein. Assuming that passes, though, the bill still has to be passed by the Senate, and is then subject to presidential veto, and even after it becomes law, assuming that ever happens, the DoJ could, if they were so minded, delay things still further by mounting legal challenges.

And it's not going to affect material sealed as part of Grand Jury hearings or anything held by the FBI or the CIA.

Or am I missing the point somewhere?

 

[Veritable Quandry]

You have an accurate summary. in fact by announcing criminal investigations of Trump's foes who may be mentioned in the files they are creating fresh grounds to block the public release of the files during an active investigation.

The thing to watch is how many Republicans vote for the release. This is the first issue where Trump has not been able to get Congressional Republicans to vote as he demands, and his change of heart telling them to vote in favor is probably intended to cover that fact.

 

[Free]

 

[Free]

Must. Normalize. The behavior.

 

[Free]

Wow.

 

[Soen Eber]

Trump Weakens Enforcement

Trump isn't suddenly innocent, he just doesn't like to look like he's on the losing side

www.youtube.com