HE LIVED IN THE SEWER, AND IN THE SEWER HE DIED, AND WHEN THEY PULLED HIS BODY OUT

One of the worst human beings on earth is dead.  He took a lot of secrets with him to the grave.  I love a good conspiracy theory, but I’m going to wait and see where the evidence leads before I adopt a theory about the lonesome death of Jeffrey Epstein.

It is a matter of record that Jeffrey Epstein cultivated the rich and famous.  Some of them hung out with him because he gave them money – political donations, but also contributions to charities and scientific research.  Superficially, Epstein was just the sort of person that development officers dream about – a guy with deep pockets and a track record of generosity. 

I’m not going to name any names, but I’ve been involved, in a marginal way, in trying to raise funds for worthy causes.  As long as we’re not talking Al Capone levels of notoriety, you don’t worry too much about the probity of the donor.  Life is complicated, scruples are expensive, and, as Honore de Balzac said, behind every great fortune there is a crime.  If a rich guy writes you a check and it clears, you’re happy.  One of the donors I helped cultivate was an alcoholic racist.  Their posthumous donation is making life better for citizens of Arizona.  I can live with my contribution to that effort.

I don’t doubt that reporters will ferret out what the recipients of Epstein’s largesse did with the money he gave them, and that’s totally fair.  But unless the evidence shows that those donations were misused, I’m inclined to cut them some slack.  After all, if we begin to limit the revenue that comes from private enterprise, our only alternative will be socialism, right?

But there were others who hung out with Epstein because he gave them children to rape.  Those people need to be exposed, and to suffer the consequences for their crimes.   

That could still happen, as I understand it.  Epstein’s death means, at a minimum, that evidence seized in raids on his mansion is not subject to challenge by attorneys for other defendants.  There were unnamed co-conspirators in Epstein’s plea deal in Miami back at the turn of the century, as well as his current indictment.  Those people ought to be worried.

Will they ever be brought to justice?  Hey, not to worry.  Attorney General Bill Barr is on the case.  If he does for the Epstein case what he did for the Mueller investigation – well, I guess we’re screwed.  But burying the evidence a second time may be a bridge too far, even for Bill Barr. 

The Jeffrey Epstein saga is Watergate/Kennedy Assassination level stuff.  In 1963 and 1973, people were reluctant to believe in conspiracies.  Today, everyone’s a cynic, willing to believe the worst about everyone and everything.  The crooked deal that Epstein cut in Florida, his Lolita Express pals, and now his untimely death – everybody knows there’s more to those stories, and sooner or later the truth, or something close to it, will be revealed.

The big question is, when we know the truth, what will we do about it?