3 Things You Need to Know About the Epstein List

On Wednesday, a judge unsealed a brand new set of fillings from a court case linked to the infamous deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. By now, it is commonly known as “the list.” Before their release, the documents brought back the mass media’s attention to the long-gestating conspiracy theories about prominent figures who were once orbiting around Epstein, including former president Bill Clinton and GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. Obviously, now both Democrats and Republicans are presented with a new opportunity to link their opponents with Epstein’s crimes. Given the documents were misinterpreted on social media as “the list” of potential clients and co-conspirators, there was an intense focus on who and what they would expose and if prominent Epstein associates would be explicitly tied to his trafficking of minors. But the truth is that many people who are referenced in this list aren’t accused of wrongdoing. The list doesn’t represent a client list, either. The list represents a dozen documents from a 2015 court case filed by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre against Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who has also been convicted of child sex trafficking. These documents point towards 150 of Epstein’s associates, Clinton and Trump included, but they don’t necessarily provide new information but more like an in-depth look at the people who were once part of his circle. There haven’t been any revelations up until now, but political parties are still eager to use these filings to amplify the conspiracy theories they’ve so long promoted.