Epsteined All to Hell

It’s been a busy week for me. I’m exhausted and it’s only Wednesday, but I figured I’d darn well better get at least one column off before Friday. So, I sat down this morning with my coffee at my elbow to peruse the headlines, which is never a good thing to do without taking my Dramamine. 

There was, as always, a veritable cornucopia of alarmist links from which to choose. One site had two such links, one of which was titled “Did Charlie Kirk Get the Call?” The other read, “Did Dinesh D'Souza Get the Call?” They are both Rumble videos, which frankly are a pain to embed and usually begin with multiple ads that are often longer than the actual clips, so if you want to watch them, you can see them here and here.

 Kirk said he was done discussing Epstein for the time being and that he would trust his friends in the administration and the government to do what needed to be done, adding that there was serious news to address. D'Souza told his viewers that it was time to move on with maturity and balance in the spirit of supporting the team.

Kirk had a point in that there are dire developments in the nation and world, and the headlines were designed to make one think that perhaps someone had reached out to the two of them and told them to back off. That, of course, only fuels the rumors that Trump is covering up something monstrous. 

The Left has been making hay out of this, not because it actually wants to see a list released, but because it knows the issue is dividing MAGA and conservatives, something that will come in handy with the midterm elections on the horizon. And that's to be expected; it’s a savvy political move. I keep saying that the Left is smarter than conservatives give it credit for being. 

On the other hand, we have had no shortage of people on the right speaking out vehemently, demanding complete disclosure, in opposition to people like Ben Shapiro, who has been vocal about letting the administration handle it. And now, if the above clips are taken at face value, Kirk and D'Souza have joined the chorus. 

Here’s the thing: Whether you are a site like PJ Media, a news outlet, one of the thousands of podcasters out there, or someone who haunts X as a full-time job, you don’t owe any political party or leader your fealty, even if you agree with them on 99% of the issues. 

Years ago, when I was a small-town reporter, our county commission voted on something — it has been so long that I don’t even recall what it was — but the decision was going to make plenty of people mad. Since it was a news story, I didn’t offer an opinion; I just reported the facts. Now, I knew these commissioners and was on friendly terms with all of them. I did not have an axe to grind, but I was going to run the piece. My boss stuck his head in my newsroom and said, “Don’t you think that’s going to make the commission look bad?” I replied, “It’s not my job to make the commissioners look good. It’s my job to report what they do. If they want me to make them look good, they can put me on the payroll as their PR specialist.” Journalists and columnists should not give themselves the luxury of covering up a newsmaker’s bad decision just because they are sympathetic to that person’s cause. I know in the real world, they indulge themselves, particularly in the MSM, but in a perfect world, that should not be the norm.

So the duty, when it comes to public discourse, is to the truth. Yes, it may be cathartic and rewarding to let the innuendos and speculations fly, but the duty is to the truth. That said, to execute that duty, you need the truth. The more someone ducks and dodges, the worse they look. And the wilder the speculation can become. 

Same radio station, different day: I was wrapping up my workday and was about to leave in search of a scotch on the rocks when I began to get news tips. According to my breathless informants, a man had been found in the oil patch south of town, beaten, naked, staked to a road, and covered with satanic symbols that had been carved into his skin. Since I knew that the truth is rarely as interesting as the rumor, I called a buddy of mine at the sheriff’s office. As it turned out, a man had forgotten to take his meds, wandered off into the brush, and collapsed. He was in the hospital being treated for minor injuries, dehydration, and heat-related problems. Now, “Man Falls Down” is not nearly as enticing a headline as “SATANIC CULTS INFEST THE BOOK CLIFFS!” but you can guess which one people were running with. 

The administration might be able to quash much of the controversy simply by being upfront about the matter, and I am not talking about round two of Pam Bondi’s binders. Although, to her credit, she at least didn’t use Comic Sans font and angry emojis when she designed the cover. The administration could say, “This is what we have to work with, this is what we can tell you now. This is what we plan to do.”

As of yesterday, ABC News was reporting that Trump had told Bondi to release whatever is “credible” about the case. At this point, it is unclear how much good that would do, as the binder fiasco will still impact people’s opinions about what is credible. So don’t expect the clickbait to go away anytime soon, and don’t expect people to stop raging about this for media street cred. And there will be more rumors about Bongino, Patel, Bondi, and Trump, and who is covering for whom. And now, it appears  Trump is calling the uproar a Democrat hoax. 

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I’ve covered plenty of sex abuse cases. There are no adequate words to describe the trauma and misery that are produced by that kind of abuse, not to mention the wounds that never completely heal. Testimony in these cases can make a person step outside the courtroom and punch a wall, cry, or throw up. Sometimes, you do all three. You can’t sit through those cases without being moved. There is no accurate metric for gauging the carnage that sexual abuse causes.

Whatever remains of the truth should be exposed, while ensuring the safety and well-being of the victims. It should be brought to light without the clickbait, conspiracy theories, subterfuge, political grandstanding, or rants. We are talking about something very serious that has, by some accounts, reached into government, business, and beyond. And we are also talking about people abusing other people. Let us move forward with sobriety, solemn purpose, and yes, with dignity.

 Epstein’s victims deserve no less.

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