The UK and Other Democracies Hold the Epstein Elite Accountable

America’s tolerance of Epstein associates is a national disgrace

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was arrested last week for his conduct in connection with child rapist Jeffrey Epstein. (“Documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act revealed that Andrew leaked details he learned from meeting with bank executives in the wake of a $45 billion bailout,” wrote Julie K. Brown, who revived the coverage of the Epstein story she began for the Miami Herald roughly 10 years ago. “Andrew also allegedly passed on other sensitive information he learned to a banker friend, according to the Telegraph.”)

Other members of the Epstein class have faced punishment. Thorbjørn Jagland, a former prime minister of Norway, was charged with “gross corruption.” Former British Ambassador Peter Mandelson was fired, and Morgan McSweeney, the former chief of staff to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, was forced out. French, Slovak, and Latvian officials are under investigation and/or have been forced to resign. Academics and businesspeople have been cut loose after their ties with Epstein were revealed.

Britain’s former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (left), was arrested last week on charges that he might have shared improper financial information with Jeffrey Epstein. (Department of Justice)

And yet in the United States, Donald Trump remains in office, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appears secure in his job, and cover-up stooges Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche have faced no consequences for failing to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act (or their preferential treatment of convicted child sexual abuser Ghislaine Maxwell). Longevity guru Peter Attia remains employed by the Trump-subservient CBS News, which purports to cover the Epstein story.

This disgraceful lack of accountability underscores the rise of a malignant oligarchy that has attained far too much wealth and power in the United States. The New York Times reported:

In unsparing detail, the documents lay bare the once-furtive activities of an unaccountable elite, largely made up of rich and powerful men from business, politics, academia and show business. The pages tell a story of a heinous criminal given a free ride by the ruling class in which he dwelled, all because he had things to offer them: money, connections, sumptuous dinner parties, a private plane, a secluded island and, in some cases, sex.

The chasm is vast between how functional democratic societies (even ones with a monarch) are responding and how the United States is coddling the Epstein elite. As Brown put it, “It’s astonishing how much accountability seems to be possible once you cross the Atlantic.” She observed, “Meanwhile, neither the U.S. Justice Department or the Treasury Department seems to have made an effort to ‘follow the money’ involving some of Epstein’s friends and associates.”

At least two factors may account for the abhorrent lack of consequences for MAGA political elite. Most critically, the entire Republican Party, which controls all three branches of government (yes, the Supreme Court, too) has been captured by a corrupt, authoritarian movement in which loyalty to Trump supersedes any legal or moral obligations. Every Republican who continues to support Trump and Lutnick — e.g., refuses to call for independent legal investigation and for their resignation (at the very least for dissembling to voters about the extent of their Epstein ties) or countenances Bondi and Blanche — is an Epstein enabler. Only when the MAGA Republican Party is forced from power and compelled to reconstitute as a normal, pro-democracy party embracing the rule of law and simple decency can we hope for accountability for the Epstein elite.

Second, the legacy media has utterly failed to hold the MAGA political elite accountable, insisting on maintaining a pose of “objectivity” even in the face of a pedophile coverup, authoritarian repression, and abject corruption. So long as they refuse to confront Trump, other MAGA officials, and Epstein-connected characters at every opportunity on Epstein, the patina of business as usual will continue.

This phenomenon need not persist. Democrats, responsible media outlets, civil institutions, and all decent Americans need to lay down some markers. First, there should be broad-based, bipartisan agreement that Lutnick, Bondi, and Blanche must resign, be fired, or face impeachment (the need for the latter alone would justify booting out MAGA GOP majorities in both chambers of Congress). Second, a fully independent and credible investigation (e.g., a bipartisan committee of Congress or state or local prosecutors) must investigate Trump’s relationship with Epstein, find out what he knew and when he knew it, and determine whether he lied about his association. If, as some documentation suggests, Trump knew or should have known about Epstein’s pedophilia ring and/or misled Americans about the extent of his relationship or knowledge, Americans should demand that Trump — like so many other world leaders — leave office in disgrace. (Will that happen? Don’t count on it, but then consider what that says about our broken legal and political system.)

In sum, the persistence of the untouchable political Epstein elite is the most vivid evidence of the decrepit state of our democracy. If we want the rich and powerful to be held to account (i.e. everyone is treated equally under the law), then we need to replace a system dominated by authoritarian-minded oligarchs with one responsible to the voters.

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