What do the newly released Epstein files reveal?
The publication of further files in the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to raise new questions. Dozens more prominent names appear in the more than three million pages of documents, thousands of videos and well over 100,000 photos most recently released by the US Department of Justice. Commentators discuss the connections between these individuals and Epstein and what consequences they will have.
Institutions on the brink of collapse
The Epstein files mark another low point for the US administration's credibility, US correspondent Boris Busslinger stresses in Le Temps:
“The published documents are incomplete, the names and photos of anonymous young people have been recklessly disclosed to the whole world, while the president has been carefully protected. ... The disappointment is immense, but it was predictable from an administration whose Department of Justice seems to exist primarily to further political goals. ... The idea that genuine transparency could be achieved in a matter in which the name of the commander in chief appears several thousand times was nothing more than a pipe dream. Bill Clinton's involvement completes the enormous disillusionment with the ruling elites in a country whose institutions seem more than ever to be on the brink of collapse.”
Independence of the judiciary has its limits
Some are more equal than others before the law, fears news website TVXS:
“The deputy attorney general has declared, almost with relief, that 'it's unlikely that anyone else will be prosecuted'. ... As if it were self-evident that one of the biggest scandals involving sexual exploitation of minors, with international ramifications, should end without any political or criminal consequences for those in power. The case shows that the independence of the judiciary has its limits - and those limits are set by the elite. When the perpetrators wear suits, when they have access to presidential palaces and private islands, the system bows to them. It asks the victims to be patient and remain silent. And it gives the wealthy a green light to do the same thing again with impunity.”
Take a closer look at EU politicians
Brussels correspondent Augustin Palokaj criticises in Jutarnji list the way the EU seems to be shrugging off the revelations:
“If what EU institutions officially claim regarding the Epstein files is really true, it's shocking. When asked by journalists, they usually respond with 'we know as much as you do' or 'we only know what's published in the media'. I hope they're not telling the truth and there is a serious analysis of the documents within the EU institutions, because there is the risk that the strategic and security interests of the entire EU are being compromised. ... Europe, and the EU in particular, must examine the potential consequences more closely given the references in the files to politicians who have been entrusted with key positions by member states.”
Norway illusion shattered
One European country was particularly hard hit by the new wave of revelations, European Pravda observes:
“The Norway case in the Epstein files came as a shock to those who considered Scandinavian democracies a model of transparency and immunity to corruption. The documents reveal how the Epstein network infiltrated the highest circles of power in Oslo, with Crown Princess Mette-Marit as its central figure. Her close correspondence and meetings (and possibly even an affair) with the notorious 'investment banker' continued even after his first prison sentence - a sign of astonishing institutional blindness on the part of the royal security service, as well as disregard for reputational risks.”
Democracy's enemies are delighted
The scandal only reaffirms the views of opponents of democracy and the rule of law, Karar observes:
“If you ask them, they will say the Epstein scandal has not only exposed a handful of perverted elites but above all Western democracy itself. The defence of human rights and the rule of law is being used to legitimise the perversions of these ultra-rich. So now everything has become clear. As if Western democracy, the defence of human rights and the rule of law were responsible for Epstein's perverse network. As if it were not precisely Western institutions - with their democracy, freedom and legal system - that put a stop to these perverse elites and exposed them.”
A honey trap set by the Russian secret service?
Corriere della Sera sees a trail that leads to Moscow:
“The network of relationships built up by Jeffrey Epstein is looking more and more like one of the most sophisticated espionage operations of recent decades, a scheme that took the tried-and-tested Russian art of 'kompromat' - putting key figures in compromising situations in order to gain leverage against them - to unprecedented heights. As intelligence sources pointed out to the Mail on Sunday, it is becoming increasingly clear that the American paedophile magnate staged the world's largest 'honey trap' operation on behalf of the KGB. Epstein is said to have procured girls for heads of state on behalf of Russian and possibly also Israeli intelligence services in order to expose them to blackmail.”
King's brother must break his silence
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor must finally come clean, demands The Sunday Times:
“Newly released documents showing the closeness of his friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein - most notably a disturbing photograph of him crouching over a woman lying supine on the floor - will reignite questions over his conduct and that of many other wealthy men. It will also revive demands that he come clean about what he knows. ... Andrew should now end his evasions. He has remained mute since his 2019 Newsnight interview. ... Andrew denies wrongdoing, so he should be prepared to give evidence, if not to a congressional committee then to some other inquiry.”
Failure of the rule of law
For the news website TVXS the justice system has failed across the board:
“The crucial question arising from the publication of the files is not whether all they describe is true. The crucial question is why we don't know what was investigated, what was rejected, and based on what criteria. When allegations as serious as these are levied against those at the pinnacle of political and economic power, the lack of a thorough, independent and transparent investigation is not just an institutional failure. It constitutes a breach at the very core of the rule of law and the definition of civilisation.”
Acid test for Trump and his morals
El Mundo writes:
“The recent publication of three million declassified documents points in so many directions that an attitude of 'every man for himself' has spread among the world's most powerful. ... It's clear to all that in the United States a political and legal strategy aimed at cornering the current occupant of the White House has been pursued for months. ... A little over a year ago, Americans elected a man with two convictions related to sexual misconduct. ... Trump boasts that 'his morals' are the only limit on his administration's actions. But perhaps the Epstein case will be the acid test of where the bar for ethical responsibility lies in 2026, especially for those in the highest positions of power.”