Epstein case: A blight on U.S. justice

Editor's note: Anthony Moretti, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University in the U.S. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of either CGTN or Robert Morris University.

Imagine for a moment that a corrupt and immoral individual was living in plain sight, although he was able to keep what he was doing secret. Even the hints and whispers linking him to awful crimes were muted for a significant number of years.

Eventually, though it took far too long to get to this point, the situation changed, and it became clear what this man had been engaged in. Soon, he and his girlfriend began to face prosecution for what they had done, but he then mysteriously died in prison and she began refusing to answer questions regarding what she knew about the bad guy.

This is no Hollywood-created fiction movie in which good and evil fight it out. This took place, and continues to take place, in real life. And serious questions need answers as to why the victims and the public are still waiting for justice, which might not ever come.

In 1996, the late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein was first accused of trafficking underage girls and young women who then had sex with influential men. Now, 30 years later, Epstein is dead; the government says he committed suicide while in prison, but a plurality of Americans believe he was murdered. Regardless, he will never face real and full legal scrutiny.

Why is that? How is it possible in a country that links its perceived exceptionalism to an open, fair and honest legal system that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell avoided justice for close to 25 years before he died? Perhaps worse, how is it that none of the many influential people who traveled or partied with him have ever been arrested? It appears they never will be.

The latest attempt at pressing charges ran into a brick wall when the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that newly released documents were insufficient to support criminal charges against others. Even more egregiously, the department indicated that no further prosecutions against anyone will be pursued.

The FBI reported in 2025 that it had reviewed photos and videos from Epstein's homes and they showed neither violent nor abusive acts against any person, making them irrelevant in pursuing charges against anyone. That became one of the justifications for closing down any further investigations. Likewise, the agency said that allegations made by one victim stating Epstein "lent her" to some of his friends could not be verified.

Needless to say, the decisions to quickly and seemingly forever close the case do not align with America's professed adherence to the law. And let's not forget that the public is not happy either. Meanwhile, at least one member of Congress says he has read the unreacted reports about Epstein and believes the DOJ is in "cover-up mode." Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin bluntly said, "There's no way you run a billion-dollar international child sex trafficking ring with just two people committing crimes: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It doesn't work like that."

In other words, was Epstein able to carry on his debauched life while avoiding justice because those influential people – coming from politics, entertainment, higher education and more – ensured nothing was done to him because of fear that their immoral acts with girls and women would become public?

And is the DOJ attempting to scupper justice because of the many instances in which the President of the United States appears in the so-called Epstein files? According to the New York Times, which also reviewed the files, Donald Trump's name appears more than 38,000 times. Thus, there are public concerns that the president is again showing his willingness to weaponize the law to benefit himself and his cronies.

But even if he is, there are other reasons to explain what happened over more than three decades. First, there must be recognition that wealthy and influential Americans operate in a different world from millions of their fellow citizens. Convenient tax laws, which allow the rich to avoid many taxes, are just one example. So, too, are the well-financed lobbying efforts and campaign donations that ensure the interests of the wealthy are heard, while the corresponding needs of the middle class and the poor go unheard.

And in Epstein's case, Trump had friends in the media who he could ask for favorable coverage. To those who agreed, the uncomfortable question "why" must be asked. Do not expect answers to be forthcoming.

Put it all together and the wealthy have the wallet and the ear of the political class. That allows them to ask for what they prefer to move forward quickly and for what they do not prefer to stall, if not die out.

One is left with a troubling conclusion: Anything that happens now, including public hearings called by Congress, might be mere performative acts, designed to lead the public to believe something is actually being done to uncover the depths of Epstein's depravity.

Performative acts can never equal justice. But they do allow for more deflection from the real story. Of course, Congress would never do that to the American people, right?

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on X, formerly Twitter, to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)