Having followed your entire Epstein saga, I think this is the best single piece you’ve done on the entire matter, specifically for proving how flimsy the process was for Epstein “victim” compensation funds to be doled out.
It’s probably impossible to overstate the impact those payouts had to the epistemic approach many people took to the Epstein matter, treating the payouts as proof of the kinds of crimes that were alleged. That argument is totally destroyed now, having undeniable proof of how fraudulent the entire system was including the administrators and judges presiding over it.
Your reporting has done a lot to make me reconsider my position on Epstein nearly entirely, at least in terms of the sexual blackmail/crimes angle. I always believed you took your hard line on this topic for totally valid reasons of genuine skepticism or disbelief, which is essentially the exact opposite of how the mainstream media has handled this topic.
The ultimate irony is while you’re being called a pedophile and an Epstein associate, essentially all mainstream media actually does have motivated reasoning on this issue but is never called on it or acknowledges it. Good work.
The settlement payout vehicles are the main reason for the grossly inflated total number of "Epstein victims" that still constantly gets cited by journalists and politicians -- "over 1,000"
I read the Guardian article the day before this dropped.
O. M. F. G.
How shameless is that publication, the blatant lies and fraud by both Ms. Doe and the ambulance chasing lawyers are glossed over whilst still positing her as a “Victim-Survivor”.
If the Trump admin learn that Kirsty implicated Trump... then that is probably the fastest way to get her investigated for her fraud. Start sending Tracey's article to pro-Trump influencers, outlets and tabloids.
You should write a book on Epstein Mania, including some of your adventures in uncovering this crap. Maybe call it "Surviving the 'Survivors'".
This remains my favorite news topic for its moral panic and media/judicial failure aspects:
On a small scale, a crazy guy in my neighborhood posts Epstein related screeds in our local coffee shop. On a larger scale, foreign governments with which we're at war refer to western elites as "The Epstein Class".
A hoax of massive proportions! With no partisan interest to push back on it.
Well to be sure autism has become a prestige diagnosis, whether self- bestowed or whether finagled by parents wanting to access the cavalcade of benefits available to their otherwise reasonably normal children. The actually autistic live lives of great suffering and their parents and other closely-related family endure the same in the desperate attempts to access the extremely costly services the autistic child genuinely need, the supply of which is rapaciously plundered by the unneedy.
“Ugh, I hate writing in pencil but that was all I could find and now I will be like this forever for consistency.”
I can't believe this is a real quote. I'd say I'm surprised lawyers took the case of someone so obviously delusional but I guess it almost worked so the incentive does make sense.
Yeah, that quote made me literally laugh out loud. This reminds me so much of the satanic ritual abuse frenzy of the 80s and 90s. There was no accusation too ridiculous to be believed. If you expressed skepticism about any of it you were looked at as possibly complicit. After all that’s come out I still have no idea what happened in the Epstein case, though I have a hard time believing Ghislaine would get 20 years for absolutely nothing. But who knows? Miscarriages of justice have happened before.
Great article that seems tightly sourced. We will never make progress towards the truth in sex crimes until we accept the fact that the percentage of false allegations is much higher than is commonly cited, especially where massive financial awards are on offer to anonymous accusers.
Edwards role in rescinding her settlement award was interesting, especially his quotes from the Guardian article
“Brad Edwards told the Guardian reporter “Not one piece of [Doe’s] story could ever be corroborated and a lot of what she says just definitely could not have ever happened,” He said “the timeline” of Doe’s claims “can’t make sense for many reasons”, but when pressed for details he said he could not say more, because it could “expose other clients (ie victims)”.”
Wow. What a read! This morning I was listening to Miranda Devine interview Allan Dershowitz and he specifically stated that much of the Epstein pedophile allegations were false and that many of the so called survivors were not. He did say that there was plenty of nasty stuff about Epstein and that he was sorry to have ever worked for him. Thank you. Kathryn from Brooklyn.
Hey MT! Is this case single-handedly making you reconsider your philosophy on incarceration? 😂 You made me rethink about it last week and you have again made me flip flop back to pro-incarceration! Orange jumpsuits for these racketeers!
I must say I find it humorous the way they processed Chiraju Rana - unmasked him and called him a liar faster than you can spit - while they’re still handing out Epstein settlements like candy
There's NO evidence Sandusky raped children. This has never been witnessed or proven, just accusations. With all the hidden camera's now a days you'd have to be a fool to believe rape claims with no evidence
Correct. And he’s in a Supermax to this day. Same with Gian Ghomeshi, he was in fact (miraculously) acquitted but the media (especially the US media) decided to destroy him after the trial anyway.
YES, Weinstein was FRAMED! Only the lowest info MORONS don't know Weinstein was FRAMED. FACT: There was ZERO proof/forensic evidence of anything resembling rape. FACT: ALL of Weinstein's accusers were B actors who did the deed to get parts in movies. Trading sex for favors is NOT rape. It is QUID PRO QUO. FACT: Weinstein was on trial for TWO accusers and others were allowed to testify who weren't even part of the case. FACT: The TWO main accusers were emailing Harvey for FIVE YEARS inviting him to their MOTHERS house for dinner, >personal haircuts, inviting him to film festivals, restaurants, posing for selfies... FIVE YEARS of this AFTER the alleged incidents... NO dates, NO times, PERJURY from start to finish, WHY do you think his NY conviction was overturned? The supreme court determined Havey Weinstein was denied DUE PROCESS and there was a myriad of injustices committed against him. For one: The judge instructed the bailiff to "OPEN THE COURT ROOM DOORS" Then instructed the jury to "listen' to the w0e-MEN protesting outside the courthouse" "Then make your decision accordingly" FACT: The judge passed on a form to the jurors: CHECK ONE: Harvey is guilty of: check box 1. Harvey is guilty of: check box 2. Harvey is guilty of: check box 3. THAT is called Sheparding the jury. Harvey's 2 main accusers were PERSUING HIM for FIVE YEARS... emails proved AFTER the alleged incidents. Ps. Praise be to Jesus Christ/GOD incarnate. "YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS" Why did the most high give us that commandment?
I remember thinking that a lot of Weinstein's "victims" were just dumb broads.
I kept wondering why they didn't just grab the hotel phone, or start screaming, or run out of the hotel room (which they'd visited alone after 10 pm). When Weinstein answered the door wearing a loosely tied bathrobe, with no assistant in sight, what did they suppose was about to happen? Harvey may have been a grotesque slob, with no seduction skills, but what you posted makes sense.
THANK YOU. ONE of Havey's accusers... the one that had a bit part in the Sparanos and never to be seen again, she said: "I didn't go to the police because "I didn't think I got raped" "I always thought rape was a stranger jumping out of the bushes so I didn't know I had been raped" ! Apparently 20 years later she decided it was rape. NO lie!
The first two “survivors” who got the ball rolling (and the #metoo hashtag), Argento and McGowan, never testified, just like Giuffre. There is a formula that all these cases follow. For example, there is never a contemporaneous police report, many/most claims are made much later after the alleged fact, often years later. Any behavior on the part of the accuser that might rationally be considered as exculpatory to the defendant is explained away under the umbrella of trauma or imbalance of power - which effectively means there is no defense (bar an alibi). There is a whole industry of “experts” who rationalize and legitimize all these nebulous and unfalsifiable psychobabble theories.
Both Asia Argento and Rose McGowan carried on a relationship with Weinstein for years after their alleged rapes. Argento her self was accused of (statutory) rape and grooming and her BF (Bourdain) was paying off her accuser (before he killed himself). Interestingly, the boy who accused Argento was basically dismissed by the media, and that despite the fact there was photographic/text evidence and she knew him since he was six years old.
Thanks for proving you've adopted menopausal w0e-MAN'S thinking. COWARDS like you are the reason for the pandemic of FALSE rape accusations. COWARDS like you are the reason MEN have lost their due process rights. COWARDS like you don't care about justice or truth or facts. Or maybe you are menopausal w0e-MAN.
Mr Tracey, do you have any comment on the propriety of the Special Citation given to Julie K Brown by the Pulitzer committee for her investigative reporting into l’affaire Epstein and do you have a message for them?
Brilliant article Michael. Granular analysis, that lays bare the facts. I really appreciated the part about decoding “trauma informed”, which as you say, has almost 0 robust empirical foundation. You should be nominated for awards foe humanitarian & journalistic endeavours. Sadly, that's unlikely to be fruitful in the current political climate.
And this has implications FAR beyond, Epstein.Sex offender crime category is rapidly expanding, along with associated civil rights violations.
Paradoxically while pretending to be about feminist issues, this movement is about individualism, post modernist ideas that move beyond the material, social and class control. Example, in 18th century, the petit bourgeois were seen as purveyors of morality that the middle classes could aspire to ( * NB not the blue-blooded artistocracy, who were suspected of debauchery).
I also note, writing style here is super accessible, almost plain language. Everyone needs to read and understand this. Although I enjoy using the thesaurus to learn new words in some of your other pieces.
I diverge from you in one respect; these survivors are not all mentally ill. They are products of a system of lawfare, neoliberalism, trauma culture etc. Plenty of women with serious diagnoses don't make this kinda shit up.
Sadly The Files are part of a broader phenomenon. Imagine how many folk are in prison for crimes that never happened. The Innocence Project in Australia (attached to my former uni) will not investigate sex crimes at all.
See attached article for ths far reaching implications of trauma informed victimology
Having followed your entire Epstein saga, I think this is the best single piece you’ve done on the entire matter, specifically for proving how flimsy the process was for Epstein “victim” compensation funds to be doled out.
It’s probably impossible to overstate the impact those payouts had to the epistemic approach many people took to the Epstein matter, treating the payouts as proof of the kinds of crimes that were alleged. That argument is totally destroyed now, having undeniable proof of how fraudulent the entire system was including the administrators and judges presiding over it.
Your reporting has done a lot to make me reconsider my position on Epstein nearly entirely, at least in terms of the sexual blackmail/crimes angle. I always believed you took your hard line on this topic for totally valid reasons of genuine skepticism or disbelief, which is essentially the exact opposite of how the mainstream media has handled this topic.
The ultimate irony is while you’re being called a pedophile and an Epstein associate, essentially all mainstream media actually does have motivated reasoning on this issue but is never called on it or acknowledges it. Good work.
The settlement payout vehicles are the main reason for the grossly inflated total number of "Epstein victims" that still constantly gets cited by journalists and politicians -- "over 1,000"
See: https://www.mtracey.net/p/government-deceiving-epstein
I read the Guardian article the day before this dropped.
O. M. F. G.
How shameless is that publication, the blatant lies and fraud by both Ms. Doe and the ambulance chasing lawyers are glossed over whilst still positing her as a “Victim-Survivor”.
It's gut wrenching
Yes and that’s why I find this specific article by you to be more impactful than probably any other you’ve written on the topic.
If the Trump admin learn that Kirsty implicated Trump... then that is probably the fastest way to get her investigated for her fraud. Start sending Tracey's article to pro-Trump influencers, outlets and tabloids.
You should write a book on Epstein Mania, including some of your adventures in uncovering this crap. Maybe call it "Surviving the 'Survivors'".
This remains my favorite news topic for its moral panic and media/judicial failure aspects:
On a small scale, a crazy guy in my neighborhood posts Epstein related screeds in our local coffee shop. On a larger scale, foreign governments with which we're at war refer to western elites as "The Epstein Class".
A hoax of massive proportions! With no partisan interest to push back on it.
Well to be sure autism has become a prestige diagnosis, whether self- bestowed or whether finagled by parents wanting to access the cavalcade of benefits available to their otherwise reasonably normal children. The actually autistic live lives of great suffering and their parents and other closely-related family endure the same in the desperate attempts to access the extremely costly services the autistic child genuinely need, the supply of which is rapaciously plundered by the unneedy.
Anyway I enjoyed this piece greatly,
“Ugh, I hate writing in pencil but that was all I could find and now I will be like this forever for consistency.”
I can't believe this is a real quote. I'd say I'm surprised lawyers took the case of someone so obviously delusional but I guess it almost worked so the incentive does make sense.
It worked to the tune of $200K!
Yeah, that quote made me literally laugh out loud. This reminds me so much of the satanic ritual abuse frenzy of the 80s and 90s. There was no accusation too ridiculous to be believed. If you expressed skepticism about any of it you were looked at as possibly complicit. After all that’s come out I still have no idea what happened in the Epstein case, though I have a hard time believing Ghislaine would get 20 years for absolutely nothing. But who knows? Miscarriages of justice have happened before.
"Ugh I hate writing in the chemically undatable instrument!"
Great article that seems tightly sourced. We will never make progress towards the truth in sex crimes until we accept the fact that the percentage of false allegations is much higher than is commonly cited, especially where massive financial awards are on offer to anonymous accusers.
If this doesn't convince normies that we must investigate all of the anti-Epstein lawyers and their clients, nothing will.
Wow.
"Yikes," indeed.
Next thing ya know, she'll be concocting some hideous thing about you.
Excellent article.
This deeply mentally-ill woman is a victim - but not of Jeffrey Epstein or Leon Black.
"Epstein" is basically the 21stC equivalent of the "Satan" of the Salem Witch trials.
Edwards role in rescinding her settlement award was interesting, especially his quotes from the Guardian article
“Brad Edwards told the Guardian reporter “Not one piece of [Doe’s] story could ever be corroborated and a lot of what she says just definitely could not have ever happened,” He said “the timeline” of Doe’s claims “can’t make sense for many reasons”, but when pressed for details he said he could not say more, because it could “expose other clients (ie victims)”.”
https://pete843.substack.com/p/update-on-leon-black-jane-doe-case
She sounds like someone who was created exactly so that this kind of article could be written
Created by who? Her adoptive mother?
Bwahahahahaha!
Wow. What a read! This morning I was listening to Miranda Devine interview Allan Dershowitz and he specifically stated that much of the Epstein pedophile allegations were false and that many of the so called survivors were not. He did say that there was plenty of nasty stuff about Epstein and that he was sorry to have ever worked for him. Thank you. Kathryn from Brooklyn.
Hey MT! Is this case single-handedly making you reconsider your philosophy on incarceration? 😂 You made me rethink about it last week and you have again made me flip flop back to pro-incarceration! Orange jumpsuits for these racketeers!
Sounds like Munchausen syndrome all the way down for poor Kristy; that, and a few acid trips.
97% of rape claims are FALSE. Cosby & Weinstein were also FRAMED
I must say I find it humorous the way they processed Chiraju Rana - unmasked him and called him a liar faster than you can spit - while they’re still handing out Epstein settlements like candy
And Sandusky and Ghomeshi
There's NO evidence Sandusky raped children. This has never been witnessed or proven, just accusations. With all the hidden camera's now a days you'd have to be a fool to believe rape claims with no evidence
Correct. And he’s in a Supermax to this day. Same with Gian Ghomeshi, he was in fact (miraculously) acquitted but the media (especially the US media) decided to destroy him after the trial anyway.
Weinstein was framed?
YES, Weinstein was FRAMED! Only the lowest info MORONS don't know Weinstein was FRAMED. FACT: There was ZERO proof/forensic evidence of anything resembling rape. FACT: ALL of Weinstein's accusers were B actors who did the deed to get parts in movies. Trading sex for favors is NOT rape. It is QUID PRO QUO. FACT: Weinstein was on trial for TWO accusers and others were allowed to testify who weren't even part of the case. FACT: The TWO main accusers were emailing Harvey for FIVE YEARS inviting him to their MOTHERS house for dinner, >personal haircuts, inviting him to film festivals, restaurants, posing for selfies... FIVE YEARS of this AFTER the alleged incidents... NO dates, NO times, PERJURY from start to finish, WHY do you think his NY conviction was overturned? The supreme court determined Havey Weinstein was denied DUE PROCESS and there was a myriad of injustices committed against him. For one: The judge instructed the bailiff to "OPEN THE COURT ROOM DOORS" Then instructed the jury to "listen' to the w0e-MEN protesting outside the courthouse" "Then make your decision accordingly" FACT: The judge passed on a form to the jurors: CHECK ONE: Harvey is guilty of: check box 1. Harvey is guilty of: check box 2. Harvey is guilty of: check box 3. THAT is called Sheparding the jury. Harvey's 2 main accusers were PERSUING HIM for FIVE YEARS... emails proved AFTER the alleged incidents. Ps. Praise be to Jesus Christ/GOD incarnate. "YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS" Why did the most high give us that commandment?
I remember thinking that a lot of Weinstein's "victims" were just dumb broads.
I kept wondering why they didn't just grab the hotel phone, or start screaming, or run out of the hotel room (which they'd visited alone after 10 pm). When Weinstein answered the door wearing a loosely tied bathrobe, with no assistant in sight, what did they suppose was about to happen? Harvey may have been a grotesque slob, with no seduction skills, but what you posted makes sense.
THANK YOU. ONE of Havey's accusers... the one that had a bit part in the Sparanos and never to be seen again, she said: "I didn't go to the police because "I didn't think I got raped" "I always thought rape was a stranger jumping out of the bushes so I didn't know I had been raped" ! Apparently 20 years later she decided it was rape. NO lie!
The first two “survivors” who got the ball rolling (and the #metoo hashtag), Argento and McGowan, never testified, just like Giuffre. There is a formula that all these cases follow. For example, there is never a contemporaneous police report, many/most claims are made much later after the alleged fact, often years later. Any behavior on the part of the accuser that might rationally be considered as exculpatory to the defendant is explained away under the umbrella of trauma or imbalance of power - which effectively means there is no defense (bar an alibi). There is a whole industry of “experts” who rationalize and legitimize all these nebulous and unfalsifiable psychobabble theories.
Both Asia Argento and Rose McGowan carried on a relationship with Weinstein for years after their alleged rapes. Argento her self was accused of (statutory) rape and grooming and her BF (Bourdain) was paying off her accuser (before he killed himself). Interestingly, the boy who accused Argento was basically dismissed by the media, and that despite the fact there was photographic/text evidence and she knew him since he was six years old.
BRILLAINT summary! I couldn't have said it better myself! SHARED!
These Jew rape protectors have no shame.
There have been plenty of innocent goy convicted or otherwise destroyed. You may not realize it but you’re laying a perilous foundation for yourself.
Shut up pedo defender. Zyklon B is too kind for your ilk.
Thanks for proving you've adopted menopausal w0e-MAN'S thinking. COWARDS like you are the reason for the pandemic of FALSE rape accusations. COWARDS like you are the reason MEN have lost their due process rights. COWARDS like you don't care about justice or truth or facts. Or maybe you are menopausal w0e-MAN.
Mr Tracey, do you have any comment on the propriety of the Special Citation given to Julie K Brown by the Pulitzer committee for her investigative reporting into l’affaire Epstein and do you have a message for them?
Brilliant article Michael. Granular analysis, that lays bare the facts. I really appreciated the part about decoding “trauma informed”, which as you say, has almost 0 robust empirical foundation. You should be nominated for awards foe humanitarian & journalistic endeavours. Sadly, that's unlikely to be fruitful in the current political climate.
And this has implications FAR beyond, Epstein.Sex offender crime category is rapidly expanding, along with associated civil rights violations.
Paradoxically while pretending to be about feminist issues, this movement is about individualism, post modernist ideas that move beyond the material, social and class control. Example, in 18th century, the petit bourgeois were seen as purveyors of morality that the middle classes could aspire to ( * NB not the blue-blooded artistocracy, who were suspected of debauchery).
I also note, writing style here is super accessible, almost plain language. Everyone needs to read and understand this. Although I enjoy using the thesaurus to learn new words in some of your other pieces.
I diverge from you in one respect; these survivors are not all mentally ill. They are products of a system of lawfare, neoliberalism, trauma culture etc. Plenty of women with serious diagnoses don't make this kinda shit up.
Sadly The Files are part of a broader phenomenon. Imagine how many folk are in prison for crimes that never happened. The Innocence Project in Australia (attached to my former uni) will not investigate sex crimes at all.
See attached article for ths far reaching implications of trauma informed victimology
Eleanor Williams jailed for eight and a half years after rape and trafficking lies | Crime | The Guardian https://share.google/hcv4eI9m623tQbW4m