In 2019, Jeffrey Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell under circumstances that still fuel public scepticism.
For the better part of six years and through a global pandemic, we’ve been consumed by one question: who was on Epstein’s so-called “client list”? The elusive roster of powerful associates allegedly involved in or complicit with Epstein’s abuse of women and girls. We’ve speculated, theorised and waited for the moment when names would be revealed and justice would be served.
Now, in a stunning twist, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI have concluded that no such list exists. According to a memo released this week, the investigation “did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties”. This comes despite Attorney General Pam Bondi’s February claim that the Epstein files were “on my desk” and her promise of a public release. At that same event, Bondi handed out folders labelled “Phase 1” to pro-Trump social media influencers at the White House folders that, it turns out, contained little new information.
Let’s pause here. Is this the same Epstein who was charged with procuring underage girls for sexual exploitation? The same man whose accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking minors in connection with Epstein’s crimes? The same case where Prince Andrew paid £12 million to Virginia Giuffre, a woman he claimed never to have met, who accused him of sexual assault and later died, reportedly due to trauma-related complications?
The DOJ memo insists that one of the government’s “highest priorities is combatting child exploitation and bringing justice to victims,” while also stating that “perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends”. But how can we reconcile that with the fact that Maxwell is in prison for trafficking girls to… no one?
This isn’t just about conspiracy theories. It’s about accountability. It’s about the survivors, many of whom have bravely come forward, only to watch the system fail them in real time. Sexual violence and trafficking leave lifelong scars. Survivors deserve more than vague memos and political theatre. They deserve answers. The DOJ and FBI reportedly reviewed over 300 gigabytes of data, including more than 10,000 videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material. They conducted physical searches of locked cabinets, hard drives, and other storage areas. And yet, they found no evidence of a client list, no grounds for further charges and no indication of blackmail involving high-profile individuals?
So, what was all this for? Why did Bondi say the files were ready for release and why were influencers given folders at the White House in a production fit for Broadway? Why did the public get strung along for years only to be told, essentially, “there’s nothing to see here”?
This kind of institutional gaslighting is dangerous. It sends a chilling message to survivors of gendered violence: even if your abuser is caught, even if they’re convicted, even if their accomplice is imprisoned, justice may still be out of reach. The powerful may still walk free.
And let’s be honest the public’s interest in Epstein’s case wasn’t just about salacious details. It was about the possibility that the rich and powerful might finally be held accountable. That maybe, just maybe, the system would work for the vulnerable instead of shielding the elite.
Instead, we’re left with a memo that reads more like a PR statement than a conclusion to one of the most disturbing sexual exploitation criminal cases in recent history. The government says it wants to combat child exploitation, but it also seems eager to shut down any further inquiry into Epstein’s network. That contradiction is hard to ignore. We may never know the full truth. But we do know this, survivors deserve better. The public deserves transparency. And when officials promise accountability, they need to deliver not retreat behind bureaucratic language and political convenience. If the Epstein case teaches us anything, it’s that justice delayed is justice denied.
And in this case, justice may have been buried alongside the truth and we have failed those who live with the trauma everyday of what they were exposed to and the bravery of speaking out.
Feature image: Pam Bondi. Shuttertock.
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