Now there are lots of front-page news stories about the birthday book, and lots of names being named. And lot of commentary everywhere, in spite of Trump calling it a “dead issue.” Epstein associated with a lot of famous and influential people, but let’s remember that it’s possible not everyone he associated with is guilty of anything.
Going back to the New York Times story on JP Morgan and Epstein — the nation’s leading lender continued to do business with Epstein while ignoring signs there was something hinky going on –this from the Times story —
During a time when Epstein was regularly sexually abusing teenage girls and young women, JPMorgan processed more than 4,700 transactions, totaling more than $1.1 billion, for him, including payments to his victims. It also wired his money to Russian and Eastern European banks that appeared connected to Epstein’s sex-trafficking operations.
Cash is a currency of criminals, and JPMorgan allowed Epstein to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars a month — amounts that should have set off internal alarms. The bank also opened accounts for Epstein’s victims and assistants, sometimes without conducting proper due diligence and missing warning signs for human trafficking.
The story goes on to say that bank staff did raise alarms, but upper management chose to ignore them. Epstein was generating a lot of business, I guess.
But it’s so often the case that people are righteously opposed to sex crimes like rape and other abuses in the abstract but are less so when confronted by a real-world plaintiff and defendant in a sexual assault case. It’s widely reported that only 4 percent of reported sex crimes in the U.S. result in a conviction. And it’s believed a whole lot of rapes go unreported, in part because the victims just don’t want to deal with going to police; they’d rather blot it all out of their minds. And they fear the police won’t take them seriously, for good reason. And often when someone is convicted, he gets a ridiculously light sentence or no sentence at all. And the judge will say the perp’s future shouldn’t be ruined because of one mistake, or whatever.
I once encountered a fellow who thought rapes would stop if rapists got a death penalty. I told them that if a rape conviction carried an automatic death penalty, no one would ever be convicted. He didn’t believe me.
JP Morgan was blinded by profits, and maybe because Epstein associated with famous and influential people. But what about the USA Gymnastics episode of a few years ago? The team doctor was sexually abusing the athletes, upper management knew it — apparently the U.S. Olympic Committee knew it — yet they allowed it to continue. I wrote back when it happened,
All these officials enjoy the prestige and income of being associated with world-class athletes. You’d think they would care about the athletes. Surely it’s easier to dismiss and replace a team doctor than to replace Olympic gold medal contenders. Yet their first reaction is to protect the doctor and throw the athletes under the bus.
They were protecting the organization, I suppose, and probably their own jobs. But it all came tumbling down anyway. I understand today’s U.S.A. Gymnastics is a different organization with new management and bylaws.
The famous Catholic Church child abuse scandals — again, protecting the organization, which didn’t work — come to mind also. And see my old post Harvey Weinstein Types Pervade the Universe.
Getting back to Trump — the way he’s defending himself makes no sense. As Reason magazine points out, the birthday letter by itself is not defamatory. That much is widely noted in media. If Trump had acknowledged writing the letter and just explained he’d been told to write something risqué there would be much less brouhaha about it now, IMO. But instead he’s calling the thing a hoax and a “dead issue.” He’s terrified, obviously.
See also Axios, Trump and Johnson likely doomed in effort to stop Epstein files vote.
I agree that he's terrified. One person pointed out that "enigmas" is an anagram for "gamines," a specific type of younger woman (and presumably, not of legal age).
To me, this strongly suggests that he sees the letter as a confession, whether "gamines" is a deliberate anagram or just his way of saying "you can always find more hot young chicks!"
So I think Trump is dirty as hell – I think he is just the kind of man who'd have sex with an underage woman, if he knew nothing bad could happen to him as a result, just the kind of guy who'd decide it's better to have *illegal* sex than just get off from plain, ordinary, sex.
Why Much Of Trump’s Emotional Development Froze At The Toddler Stage
He never could've gotten there without a population of fools.
"I told them that if a rape conviction carried an automatic death penalty"
Yep for some reason rape (unless done by a black man) rape is often seen as some sort of indiscretion? When I was in college girls would regularly get abused at frat parties, it was just “part of the scene". I knew a girl who was raped at a frat party, me and a buddy of mine took care of it the next day with a baseball bat to the knees! It was over forty years ago the perp wasn't seriously hurt but he was on crutches for a month or two!
I am your justice; I am your retribution said our fearless leader to the cheering and adoring crowd. Today he has his press secretary selling absurd lies, while obviously covering for clients and possibly himself as a party to the privileged double standard beneficiaries they thought were his targets for justice and retribution.
Meanwhile, prices rise on everything, and the promises, excuses, and blame sound more like the lies about the signature and the birthday book. Seems a lot of the people that can be fooled some of the times are turning fast and all that's left are the all the time fools. With the con fest we have in this country how long will they last? They who are always fools are already drained and running quite dry. Too many leaches with too few not leached out. Life is becoming unsustainable for the parasites. We know what happened to the Downer party. When the food runs out, moral fiber does too. What can we expect from those who showed no moral fiber in times of plenty? The privileged double standard beneficiaries who broke tabus with an air of entitlement because the fix was in. Did they not know that even the best of fixes is only temporary, they just last a bit longer. Time may just have run out on this one.
I saw this quote by jojofromjerz:
"He left his first wife, who accused him of rape, for his second, whom he betrayed with his third, whom he betrayed with a Playmate and a porn star, both bribed into silence with campaign cash. That isn’t a family tree; it’s a pyramid scheme with marriage licenses stapled to it."
Charlie Kirk shot dead….
I figured you'd hear it elsewhere first, but….
Going OT. Two things, unrelated – or are they?
Yesterday, Trump decided to take a victory lap for ending all crime in DC by going to a seafood restaurant a few blocks from the WH. Somehow, Code Ping found out in time to organize – they reserved as many tables at that establishment as they could. A fair number but the militarization has been hell on business in DC. They waited til Trump and his party were seated to jeer him for being a dictator and for the genocide he is complicit in. They nailed Trump from several directions and were escorted (peacefully) from the buolding.
Today, Charlie Kirk was shot dead in Utah at a university where he was speaking. I will not mourn his passing. He was a lying SOS. But I will not celebrate his death. This is the wrong way to settle political differences. So is a lot of the crap the GOP is pulling to steal the next election. But we are not to the point I can endorse political assassination – yet.
How are these related? Both of them have dented the arrogance of the Gestapo. They *got* to Trump last night, peacefully. Kudos to Code Pink and Media Benjamin. Charlie Kirk was one of them and he's dead. They have to travel with Stortroopers, and even then they are not safe. There will be consequences and retaliation. Miller will want to act like Darth Vader, Politically, we want a complete mood shift in a year on the part of voters. Repression will not help the GOP at the polls – IF Democratic voters refrain from violence.