Mainstream Media Covers for #TeamPedophile

The unsealing of court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, the pedophile billionaire and sex trafficker who allegedly committed suicide under suspicious circumstances at a New York City correctional facility in 2019, has generated significant media attention early this new year. However, the mainstream media has taken a firm position defending the high-powered men accused of pedophilia without conducting any of their own investigations into what is and is not true.

Shouldn’t getting answers be the actual job of the media?

Most of the mainstream reporting falls into three broad categories: “denials and defense of the accused,” “nothing new to see here” and/or “crackpot conspiracy theories.”

Denials & Defense of the Accused

The first category is best characterized by a report from the Associated Press, “Court records bring new, unwanted attention to rich and famous in Jeffrey Epstein’s social circle,” in which the AP rallies to the defense of Bill Clinton, Leslie Wexner, Prince Andrew, Jean-Luc Brunel, and others. According to the AP, each of these men are the “subject of a whirlwind of conspiracy theories,” and their denials of the accusations made by the sex trafficking victims are supported by the report.

Comedian Tim Dillon opened up his podcast last week by shining light on this mainstream denialism, with a clip of an NBC anchor making clear that nothing they were reporting regarding the newly released Epstein court documents “suggested any wrongdoing by … former President” Bill Clinton. Later in the same podcast, Dillon played a clip of reporter Nancy Chen on CBS News opening her reporting by stating, “being named (in the Epstein court documents) does not necessarily mean that someone had knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s crimes.”

Why aren’t any of these reporters conducting real investigations to find out what the actual truth is?

Nothing New to See Here

The second category includes two pieces from NBC News: one by Erik Ortiz titled, “Trove of newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents weaves a familiar tale of manipulation and sexual abuse” and another from staff and wire services titled, “Newly unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents reveal big names but few new details.” Ortiz leads with what’s familiar in the latest trove of documents and buries what’s new. During his brief on-air time, he followed the “Denial & Defense” track by reading unsealed witness testimony from a former Epstein employee who said Donald Trump was a frequent guest at Epstein’s mansion, but not for massages since “Trump had his own spa.”

The BBC published a report with this same “nothing new to see here” feeling to it, noting early in the report that the released court documents “contain no major new allegations about Epstein nor revelations about his associates.” However some ten paragraphs into the report BBC breaks shocking news that the Honest Media Project first learned from Alex Gutentag and Michael Shellenberger at Public. According to Epstein victim Johanna Sjoberg, Ghislane Maxwell made Prince Andrew use a puppet of himself to grope the young woman’s breast while Maxwell watched. Do these new details not qualify as major new allegations about Epstein-associate Prince Andrew?

Perhaps one of the “new things” for journalists to explore is that which has been intentionally left out. 86 of a potential 90 names were released from the Epstein court documents. Of the 4 redacted names, Newsweek ran a piece speculating that one of them is Bill Gates, who met with Epstein on at least three occasions after his 2008 conviction and has been reported to have flown on Epstein’s infamous “Lolita Express” on a flight from New Jersey to Palm Beach. When Bill Gates was interviewed on PBS, reporter Judy Woodruff asked if he learned a lesson from his unfortunate relationship with Epstein. Gates replied, “Well he’s dead, so, ah, you know in general you always have to be careful…uh…and you know, you know, I’m, I’m, very proud of what we’ve done in philanthropy, very proud of the foundation.”

Crackpot Conspiracy Theories

The third category is far and away the largest – the claim that these new documents provide fodder for “baseless conspiracy theories.” Stories from MSNBC, NBC News, NewsNation, NPR, and Rolling Stone fall into this category.

MSNBC published a piece by Michael Rothschild titled, “Why it won’t matter that the Jeffrey Epstein ‘client list’ is bound to be a let down.” Rothschild actually attempted to compare investigations to uncover precisely who is, and who is not, a high-powered pedophile to the thoroughly debunked Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo said, “We are in the midst of ‘the hate parade,’” adding that this list, “Works great for the tinfoil hat crowd.” He said he found the timing of the document’s release to be problematic, theorizing that it was political in nature and meant to “find big names” instead of to help the female victims. 

NBC’s Daysia Tolentino took the conspiracy-blaming approach in her article titled, “Latest Jeffrey Epstein document release continues to keep online conspiracy theorists invested.” She offered this pearl of insight: “Since his death, Epstein has taken on an almost mythical status in many online communities prone to conspiracy theories and inspired general skepticism of those in power.”

NPR’s Lisa Hagen took the same approach in an article titled, “The new Jeffrey Epstein files have set off a fresh round of conspiracy theories.” Her piece features quotes from academic “experts” on conspiracy theory, one of whom was particularly alarmed over the “potential for conspiracy theories to influence politics,” citing two recent examples: the January 6 storming of the Capitol and the “resistance to vaccines around COVID and sort of denial about the basic scientific evidence around COVID.”

A Rolling Stone piece from December was particularly noteworthy in raising one theory and giving it credence. Miles Klee’s “Far Right Resurrects Jeffrey Epstein Conspiracy Theories” highlights a cast of right wing activists, GOP politicians, and social media influencers proffering a “grab bag of theories” surrounding Epstein.

None of the theories presented are given credence by the author with the exception of the claim that he was an intelligence asset: “The notion that Epstein was some kind of spy, agent or asset is not totally far-fetched. Some who knew him have said as much. Ghislaine Maxwell's father, Robert Maxwell, was also suspected of having ties to Mossad.” 

In this latest round of Epstein news, this reference appears to be only the second one (Public was the first) in the articles analyzed of a suspicion that could explain many of the mysteries surrounding his story. Klee apparently gives this notion credence thanks to reporting done by Vicky Ward, in particular an overlooked story titled, “Was Jeffrey Epstein a Spy?” 

For “official” confirmation, we need only look to the words of Alexander Acosta, the Labor Secretary under President Trump who was forced out of his position when details of the “non-prosecution agreement” and shockingly lenient sentencing to which he agreed became public. Acosta stated: “I was told Epstein ‘belonged to intelligence’ and to leave it alone.” 

Conclusion

The saga of Epstein feels like a movie plot, based upon the real life story of a former school teacher, convicted pedophile, and registered sex offender who was potentially an intelligence asset rubbing shoulders with the most powerful people on the planet. Yet the mainstream media seems more focused on propagating lurid, sexual details of the plot than uncovering the twisted people responsible for the crimes involved.