Tag: ghislaine-maxwell

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Every so once in awhile I realize that Donald Trump is a diversion from the real problem. The latest release of Epstein File documents made me focus again on the bigger issue here — the rich and powerful are misbehaving and getting away with it and have absolutely no interest in changing things.

This is apparent because after 20 years of investigations into Epstein, only two people have been convicted of any crime — Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Pretty strange, don’t you think? If you have sexual trafficking going on, there are sellers (Epstein and Maxwell) of the girls and then there are buyers of the girls. The buyers have managed to skirt the justice system so far. Why?

The government is sitting on reams of evidence naming potential customers. None of them, except ex-Prince Andrew, who, poor thing has been stripped of his title, has had any reckoning with the law. It is more than a little telling and also disappointing that four different presidential administrations have gone by since Epstein’s first crimes were discovered, with more and more evidence accumulating with each year and the Department of Justice does nothing to pursue Epstein’s johns. This will change now that the evidence has been released, right?

Apparently no. Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General, says they don’t have any evidence that these gentlemen committed any crimes. Yes, they did socialize with known sex traffickers but that is not a crime. Blanche says this in such a way that suggests if he had some evidence to pursue these men he surely would. Right. They may not have admitted to anything but, Jesus Christ, he has names of people who might have information or, worse still, have committed crimes.

Dragging them into the police station for a few questions seems called for particularly from an administration that has no trouble blowing drug trafficking suspects out of the water without a trial. Hmm. Makes you think doesn’t it. What is the difference between a suspected Venezuelan drug dealer and a suspected Epstein party goer? Let me think.

But these rich powerful men, these best and brightest didn’t know what Epstein is up to. You can’t blame them for not seeing what was going on. They just came for a little R and R. It is possible these men coming to a secluded island with a bevy of adolescent girls didn’t know what was up. It is possible but highly unlikely. One of the more eyebrow raising effects of the released Epstein files is to witness these rich and powerful men squirming awkwardly about their culpability. They just didn’t know what old Jeff was up to.

Does anyone honestly believe that? Given that many of these men have teenage daughters of their own, the idea that they can’t eyeball a girl and gauge her age seems a bit, oh I don’t know, unbelievable. More importantly, if they are too god damn stupid to see what Epstein was doing, should they really be trusted with such important jobs. So to put in bluntly they are either liars and therefore unworthy of their position or stupid which makes them even more unworthy of their position.

The whole Epstein fiasco points to a much bigger problem than just Trump. Biden’s Justice department wasn’t doing anything with the information either and probably for the exact same reason that Trump initially didn’t want to release the files — they were protecting important men from, at the bare minimum, embarrassment and, at the worst, prosecution for sex with minors. This suggests that the system is rotten to the core. Trump going into retirement won’t change that.

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The people who get into an uproar about things, have a new thing to get into an uproar about. Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein pal and sex trafficker, was transferred to a cushier section of her prison. The concern here is she getting special treatment because she is well-connected and rich. This is probably true and is concerning. Why should rich prisoners get better digs than their poorer cell mates? The story is she is being rewarded for good behavior. Nice. I am assuming that the less heeled inmates have this same opportunity.

Although using her influence to get a leg up is troubling, it isn’t as troubling as the indifference to her fellow inmates safety. The Daily Mail describes her new environment as being similar to what Maxwell “experienced when she attended boarding school as a young girl,” This is much better than her present home which is called the “Snake Pit” because inmates in the Snake Pit have a greater risk of experiencing violence. I get that this is the honor section of the prison and that inmates lucky enough to get in have a bit more freedom and possibly comforts. But this is altogether a different problem here. Personal safety should be about the same throughout the prison. Yes, some prisoners will experience violence, it is inevitable. But, come on, anything called the Snake Pit must have an incredible level of violence. This is inherently unfair to the poor and unconnected.

Defenders of the system will say that it is behavior, and only behavior, that matters. Money or influence has nothing to do with it. I don’t think anyone believes that, but OK a perception of fairness has to be presented so the public will think that some effort was made to be fair. It is difficult to create fair processes when some people come from money. Money always gives people an advantage. These people can have lawyers working for them to get better deals, filling out the proper paper work, and do everything to make sure that their client is getting the best deal possible. Being raised in British boarding schools gives Maxwell insight into the type of behavior that is rewarded and the behavior that is punished. She knows how the game is played and has the resources to play it.

Honestly, if personal safety wasn’t involved, I could live with the perks of the honor system and the questionable selection process that unfairly gives the richer inmate a better chance of rewards than the poorer inmate. It is unfair and wrong but you got to choose your battles and, right now, nobody’s much interested in taking the money advantage away from the rich. But there is a difference between a nicer living accommodation and personal safety. Why should one sexual trafficker get a better chance of surviving prison than another sexual trafficker?

This points to a bigger problem than the rich and powerful getting better treatment. Being beat up or raped or killed is not a part of a person’s sentence nor should it be. But it seems to be largely accepted that violence exists in prisons and that if you wind up in one, you are at risk of experiencing it and, as a society, we are largely OK with that. Indeed, the threat of prison rape for men is seen as a possible determent for young men who might be thinking of straying from the straight and narrow. The general public isn’t particularly interested in stopping it and there is some general benefit seen from the threat of it and, really, who wants to pay additional tax money so that prison inmates are safer. We live in a country where Governors turn down federal money to feed poor school children because they don’t believe in the Welfare State. If poor children can’t get money, you can be sure that it is hopeless for prisoners.

In the meantime, congratulations to Maxwell who is now a little safer from violence. She might be a person who could shed some light on this problem and do some good with the rest of her life. But, somehow, I don’t see that happening.