General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIf the Epstein files included significant Democrats,
does anyone doubt that Dufus would have had them on page one of every national newspaper?

mahatmakanejeeves
(65,963 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(57,357 posts)No need to bring it up.
EdmondDantes_
(710 posts)Or any of his other lies.
That said to be clear based on what Bill Clinton released, he did nothing wrong just some flights to Africa for Clinton Foundation business
Bernardo de La Paz
(57,357 posts)brush
(60,771 posts)trump's name is all over those files, audios, videos and testimony by teenage victims. If they had anything like that on Bill Clinton it would've been blasted long ago, 24/7, like what happened to Prince Andrew.
pazzyanne
(6,707 posts)BUT even then I prefaced my statements with, "If I had daughters, I wouldn't let them be within 3 country of him."
notKeith
(154 posts)Well, I can fault him. His penchant for neoliberalism (privatization, reduction of federal spending on social programs, etc.) was basically Republican Lite, and we continue to pay the price for this ideology. Not to mention that in '94 the Republicans took control of both the House and Senate for the first time in 40 years.
OTOH, he appears not to have been as close to Epstein as Mango Mussolini was.
AllaN01Bear
(26,715 posts)H2O Man
(77,560 posts)some kids I know, who are in their 30s and 40s, it is a word coined by republicans to replace "neoconservative" and attempt to discredit some Democrats.
allegorical oracle
(5,446 posts)be anybody's "groupie" -- but in person he definitely exuded a charm. He sandwiched my hand between his two (soft) hands and stared into my eyes like I was the only person in the room. Could see how he could be a successful womanizer.
Mike 03
(18,654 posts)I hope this won't surprise anybody here and doubt it will. I know there are likely to be Dems in the file, since Epstein was friends with so many of them. Nevertheless I want the files released. I'm betting on there being more GOP who are of present concern to us because they are in power now--therefore, relevant. I will accept what the files show. We all know there's risk to us in releasing the files, but we are betting on the fact there will be more damage to this current administration than to us.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Richardson#Allegations_of_corruption
Thank you for this.
Former president Clinton had known Epstein, but that was limited to foundation work. No issues there. Richardson is potentially a different case, but he will not be of any significance in the current national discussion. But the felon sure will continue to be!
bucolic_frolic
(51,634 posts)Equality after all because we're all in this together.
Democrats and Republicans are both classless parties, just in very different ways.
W_HAMILTON
(9,388 posts)Aviation Pro
(14,592 posts)There may be some donors, but thats the extent of Democrats in the files.
And in spite of his past peccadillos, Clintons tastes didnt run to raping 12-year-olds.
FalloutShelter
(13,628 posts)I read that when Clinton was in the presence of Epstein, he had a secret service detail with him.
That ended the salacious speculation.
Polybius
(20,609 posts)It was all over DU.
Martin Eden
(14,676 posts)My biggest question regarding the Epstein files is whether this administration could get away with that kind of selective release; or destruction of incriminating files; or falsifying evidence to implicate his political enemies.
If he could, I believe he would.
Which suggests to me he can't get away with doing that. Agents and prosecutors on that case know better, and might come forward. Firing them may not have been the smartest move.
MadameButterfly
(3,325 posts)That's why the Epstein Recess of the House. To give them more time. Plus a thousand FBI agents flagging mentions of Trump. Do you trust this information in the hands of Trump? I don't.
I hope you are right and he can't. But not every shenanigans but crooked people gets caught.
Martin Eden
(14,676 posts)Last edited Fri Jul 25, 2025, 07:29 PM - Edit history (1)
Can Trumpco trust a thousand FBI agents to go along with the falsification?
MadameButterfly
(3,325 posts)Will lie detector tests keep them in check?
jonstl08
(472 posts)I say expose them all regardless of who they are. Public has a right to know if they are supporting a pedophile,
It is true Trump and the GOP would have released the list if it was only democrats on it but the evidence shows he was part of it. Ever wonder why he bought teenage beauty pageants. Could be recruiting for the Island???

emulatorloo
(46,076 posts)This article is more than 5 years old
In the early 90s, Donald Trump judged the worlds biggest modelling competition - since hit by allegations of abuse. This is how the people who were there remember it
By Lucy Osborne, Harry Davies and Stephanie Kirchgaessner. A special investigation
Sat 14 Mar 2020 02.00 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/14/teen-models-powerful-men-when-donald-trump-hosted-look-of-the-year
Skittles
(166,353 posts)EXPOSE THEM ALL, ALONG WITH EVERYONE WHO HAS COVERED FOR THEM
iscooterliberally
(3,110 posts)Attilatheblond
(6,779 posts)Yeah, 'talent' supplier.
rubbersole
(10,182 posts)Over 4,000 wire transfers worth over a billion dollars between these two perverts. This tip of the iceberg is covering up a dump. tsf has outlived his usefulness to the oligarchs and Murdoch who made him the face of their fascist world view.
iluvtennis
(21,318 posts)If the Democrats in the files are significant or not, don't know. But in my opinion charges need to be brought against all of alleged pedophiles and rapists .
wiggs
(8,323 posts)pedophiles and rapists who have a background of patriarchy, autocratic households, power seeking, spouse abuse, bro-y asshole culture, entitlement, etc. Willing to be corrected...but given the notoriety and number of goprs and religious leaders who have run into abuse issues the starting assumption shouldn't be that things are equal in this aspect.
wiggs
(8,323 posts)Wiz Imp
(6,305 posts)I believe he is the only Democratic politician accused of wrongdoing connected to Epstein that is publicly known. From Wikipedia:
Other accused of wrongdoing that are publicly known include:
Prince Andrew
Alan Dershowitz (supposedly retracted but unclear)
Jean-Luc Brunel (French Model Scout)
David Copperfield
Stephen Hawking
Glenn Dubin (billionaire hedge fund manager)
Les Wexner (billionaire Founder of Limited Brands)
Thomas Pritzker (billionaire chair of Hyatt Hotels)
Marvin Minsky (AI Pioneer)
Other people have been named (like Bill Clinton) but I can't find any specific accusations of wrongdoing against them.
The Madcap
(1,344 posts)Ok. Now I have officially heard it all.
Wiz Imp
(6,305 posts)What Unsealed Jeffrey Epstein Documents Say About Stephen Hawking
As for Mr Hawking, his name was mentioned in an email Epstein sent to his associate Ghislaine Maxwell in January 2015. People Magazine said in a report that Epstein, the convicted sex offender, spoke about offering a reward to disprove a purported allegation made by Virginia Giuffre that Stephen Hawking had taken part in an "underage orgy", as per the documents.
"You can issue a reward to any of Virginia's friends acquaints family that come forward and help prove her allegations are false. The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Steven Hawking participated in an underage orgy," Epstein wrote in the email.
Epstein claimed Virginia Giuffre accused Hawking of participating in an under age orgy. Giuffre never made that accusation publicly but I can also find no evidence she publicly refuted it either. Hawking is confirmed to have visited Epstein's island. Hawking was pictured in several photographs during a visit to Epstein's in early 2006. In the photographs, Hawking can be seen at a barbecue on Little St James, taking a boat cruise and a submarine tour off the island's sea bed. Hawking was among 21 high-profile scientists attending a conference on gravity funded by Epstein at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on neighboring island St Thomas in March 2006. Other scientists attending the conference are known to have accepted Epstein's offer to visit the now-infamous island, where Epstein is known to have taken underage girls for sex.
Epstein's email had another reference to a Clinton dinner. Clinton denies ever having been on Epstein's island. Giuffre, however, did claim to see Clinton on the island once (the dinner Epstein refers to) but Giuffre never accused Clinton of any wrongdoing.
lostincalifornia
(4,024 posts)Deep State Witch
(12,054 posts)How close of a relation to the current governor of Illinois is he?
Wiz Imp
(6,305 posts)Deep State Witch
(12,054 posts)Thanks!
Polybius
(20,609 posts)Wiz Imp
(6,305 posts)For some reason, his name didn't come up when I searched this morning.
Wiz Imp
(6,305 posts)In fact several victims explicitly stated they witnessed no wrongdoing by Trump. In particular, Virginia Giuffre:
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/09/epstein-mar-a-lago-trump-1456221
Giuffre also denied aspects of a reporters claim that she said: Donald Trump was also a good friend of Jeffreys. He didnt partake in any sex with any of us but he flirted with me. Hed laugh and tell Jeffrey, youve got the life.
Donald Trump was also a good friend of Jeffreys. That part is true. He didnt partake in any of any sex with any of us but he flirted with me. Its true that he didnt partake in any sex with us, but its not true that he flirted with me. Donald Trump never flirted with me, Giuffre clarified later.
Note, however that Giuffre effectively said that Trump had to know what Epstein was doing.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/17/trump-epstein-relationship-records/
There have been only 2 accusations of wrongdoing by Trump connected to Epstein that I can find.
The Katie Johnson accusations have remained anonymous unlike the accusations against the other people who have been accused of wrongdoing (most of whom were specifically named by Virginia Giuffre).
The other accusation came from Sarah Ransome who has been discredited.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-round-jeffrey-epstein-court-documents-unsealed/story?id=106174129
Ransome subsequently told the New York Post reporter, who did not publish any story related to the allegations, that she wanted to "retract everything I have said to you and walk away from this," according to an unsealed message from October 2016.
In 2019, The New Yorker reported that Ransome told the magazine she had invented the claims of videotapes to draw attention to Epstein's behavior and to make him believe she had "evidence that would come out" if Epstein harmed her, according to the magazine.
Neither Clinton, nor Trump, nor Branson was accused by Giuffre, or anyone else besides Ransome, of any wrongdoing in the course of Giuffre's defamation lawsuit against Maxwell.
ECL213
(391 posts)I dont care who is in them. Rapeublicans or Democrats. Lock them all up. I like Bill Clinton, but if he fucked a kid FUCK HIM! I wouldnt protect any of them.
MAGAts, though, will gloss over any of Donnie Dipshits transgressions, no matter what proof is placed in front of them. Fuck them all.
FakeNoose
(38,048 posts)Secondly, he has already answered the question of his occasional plane rides on Epstein's airplane. Bill (and occasionally Hillary) were guests on Epstein's plane when they were attending fundraiser events in other parts of the world. When Epstein offered Bill a "lift" because he was going to the same area, Bill graciously accepted the offer. The secret service agents were present at all times, and nothing untoward happened on those plane rides.
Thirdly if something skeevy did happen on Epstein's plane, we would have seen it in newspaper headlines all across the country. Or more likely, Bill would have joined the long list of Epstein's blackmail victims ... but I think he's too smart to let that happen. This was long after Monica Lewinsky, don't forget.
Martin68
(26,241 posts)expense of keeping the issue alive to haunt them once they got into office. But the Teflon Tangerine has wriggled out of worse scenarios. The difference here is that he had already primed his core supporters to believe this is a Democratic cover up, and they don't want to let those damn libs get away with it!!
Warpy
(113,746 posts)We already know about Bill Clinton, he was outed over a decade ago.
There are a few I'd be very disappointed about but I won't be surprised, rich and powerful men seem to feel enetitled to the bodies of girls who still keep their Barbie dolls looking sharp. Epstein just provided domestic instead of foreign sex tours. This is the world girls and women live in, guys, so it's time to rip the lid off and expose what is squirming inside, trying to hide from itself as much as it is from everyone else.
Chasstev365
(5,813 posts)I really don't care if they are Democrats, Republicans, or the powerful: They are sick fucks who need to be held accountable. I wonder how many of them had daughters the same age?
I taught high-school for 35 years and never once did I consider having an inappropriate relationship with a student.
I saw them for who they were: children.
Many sexual perversions I do not understand, but its not my place to judge. However, anything with a minor is never acceptable under any circumstances. End of story.
Polybius
(20,609 posts)Even if it included another President (ahem) and 20 other prominent Democrats were on the list, he would not release it as long as his name was also on it.
republianmushroom
(20,797 posts)AntiFascist
(13,580 posts)with a hand-drawn box around his contact info. I don't know if that matters so much to Democrats, but Epstein victim Maria Farmer pointed out in a recent interview that many Republicans are involved. She also pointed out that Trump was a Democrat at the time that she reported her meeting with Epstein where Trump was present to the FBI, so her report couldn't have been politically motivated against Republicans.
Renew Deal
(84,323 posts)But I have no issue exposing any that are true and truly connected to illegal activity.