At long last, the much-desired release of the Jeffrey Epstein files—a key goal of the MAGA movement (previously) and the Democratic Party (currently)—is underway. On Friday, the Department of Justice made millions of files available, including partially redacted emails, photos, and investigative reports, many of which have now flooded social media.
The release has been a long time coming. This past November, in the face of overwhelming congressional support for disclosure, President Donald Trump dropped his stated opposition to the Epstein Files Transparency Act and signed the measure.
In the House of Representatives, the vote had been 427–1. The lone dissenter, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), expressed his doubts in stark terms. “As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people—witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc.,” he wrote on X. “If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt. Not by my vote.”
Perhaps we should have taken his concerns more seriously. It’s been just days since the majority of the files were released, and a vast campaign is already underway to embarrass, harass, or smear anyone tangentially associated with Epstein—a serial sexual predator—no matter how slight or incidental the connection.
