If and When the ‘Epstein Files’ Come Out, Expect a Lot More of This

I support releasing the Epstein Files with minimal redactions, but if and/or when they do come out, we should expect at least as much heat as light to be generated by the firestorm. 

And a lot of that heat will be the burning up of reputations based on distortions of what is in the files. Innuendo, outright lies, and knowingly false interpretations of totally anodyne communications. 

The other day, I wrote about the smears against Donald Trump based on recently released emails, and the bizarre attempt of the Democrats to claim that Epstein’s revealing that he absolutely loathed Donald Trump proved…that Donald Trump was a really bad guy. 

It was a bizarre line of attack, given that a day earlier, they had been saying that Trump and Epstein were buddies. But whatever. 

I am sure there are many sleazy people’s names buried in the documents, though I now doubt there is sufficient evidence to prosecute anyone. Probably plenty of other bad stuff, no doubt. Epstein was likely into some very bad stuff in addition to what we already know. 

Appearing in the Epstein Files, by itself, tells us almost nothing other than the social circles somebody moves in. Trump, for instance, appears a lot of times, but as far as we know, that is because Epstein was butthurt that Trump kicked him out of his club. He hated the guys. 

So if somebody says “X appeared 47 times” in those files, by itself, that information means bupkis. 

As much as it annoys me that I have to defend Hakeem Jeffries, his is a good example of how the mere appearance in the files can be twisted out of all recognition. 

Wait so Hakeem Jeffries invited Epstein to a dinner to solicit money from him in 2013, AFTER Epstein was convicted for procuring a child for prostitution???

— Libs of TikTok (@LibsofTikTok) Nov 17, 2025

I’m not thrilled that I have to trash Libs of TikTok, but there it is. Chaya is, likely intentionally, trying to make you believe that Hakeem Jeffries is inviting Jeffrey Epstein to a fundraiser. 

Having seen more than a few of these invitations, I can confidently say that is complete crap. It is true that Epstein is being invited to a fundraiser for Jeffries, but that is an invitation put out by a law firm that is, apparently, sponsoring it. They probably put together the list based on who had given money in the past, and it is quite possible that nobody involved had any clue it was going to him in particular. 

Perhaps somebody along the chain did know, but perhaps not. The invite was likely a result of a merge between one database and a form letter. 

For example https://t.co/uLEGPwjVQG

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) November 19, 2025

It may be interesting to look into who Epstein supported, how much he gave, when he started giving, and whether there were janky connections somewhere along the way, but this particular email says pretty much nothing. Chances are decent that Jeffries, who was relatively young and new at the time, had no idea who Epstein was. Chances are near 100% he had no idea or say in who was invited to the event. 

My point isn’t that Jeffries is pure as the driven snow. I have no idea one way or the other. 

Rather, it’s that we are going to see a lot of this coming soon, and it will even take attention away from the really disturbing cases. And we know they exist. Ask Larry Summers, who is going underground because he is “ashamed” of what has been revealed about his relationship with Epstein, not that I know of any evidence that Summers broke the law. 

There will be so much raw data out there, and so many people who want to make something of it, and so much opportunity to mislead people or outright lie, that it may turn out that we will experience the equivalent of being trapped in a dust storm. Rather than light being revealed, the air will be filled with enough sand and dust that we can see nothing. 

Law firms sometimes do this during discovery. Release so much paper—amounting to tons sometimes—that sorting through it becomes nearly impossible except for massive teams of paralegals wracking up the billable hours and obscuring significant facts among chaff. 

Think of how long it has taken to chip away at the Steele Dossier hoax, or the ‘fine people” hoax. Years. I suspect that this is one of the genuine fears about releasing the files. A lot of innocent people are going to get smeared. 

With the Epstein Files, there has been plenty of that already, mostly aimed at Trump, and much of it is outright lies. 

Democrat Melanie Stansbury on CNN:“We’ve all seen the photographs of Donald Trump with underage girls sitting on his lap.” I’m sorry what? Where are these pictures? Or are we just saying things now?

— Defiant Ls (@@DefiantLs) Nov 13, 2025

Really? We’ve all seen these photographs? Nobody I know has. Yet there it is on CNN as if it were a real thing. 

None of this means that the government shouldn’t release the files. Not in this case, because we are way past the time when not releasing them won’t cause more damage to the public at large. 

But what it does say is that there really was a legitimate reason to at least consider withholding them. A lot of people will be smeared for having done nothing other than existing in the same social class as Epstein. 

Justice demands that as many people who did wrong should be exposed and punished; but justice isn’t served by cutting a swath through innocent people without achieving any reasonable goal. If there are only hints, but no proof, that some people did illegal or immoral things, justice will likely not come to them even if we can be morally certain they deserve punishment. 

That is not the legal standard. 

So if no successful prosecutions come out of all this, but lots of innocent people are hurt, it makes sense for the Justice Department to be loath to release the files. 

That ship has sailed, and probably always was going to depart the shores because of who Epstein consorted with. The public has a right to know whether the elite of the elite were engaged in pedophilia or being blackmailed, even if that can’t be proven in a court of law. 

We need to see what is there. But I suspect the cost to innocent people will be much higher than we would like. 

Hakeem Jeffries won’t be hurt by this email. It is a nothing burger. But that it is being used to smear him acts as a canary in the coal mine. Lots of such attacks will be launched based on nothing burgers for one reason or another. 

Join Hot Air VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.