I don't generally point out qualifications for writers, but it's relevant in this case.
Ankush Khardori is a senior writer for POLITICO Magazine and a former federal prosecutor at the Department of Justice. His column, Rules of Law, offers an unvarnished look at national legal affairs and the political dimensions of the law at a moment when the two are inextricably linked.
The release of the Epstein files was supposed to quell the controversy over whether the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein committed child sex crimes with a host of wealthy, prominent men. But more than a month after the release, something like the opposite has happened.
A variety of public figures in the U.S. have incurred professional and reputational consequences as a result of socializing with Epstein after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution with a minor. So far, however, none of these people have been credibly accused of any criminal wrongdoing or being aware of Epstein’s subsequent child sex trafficking.
In Europe, things are only slightly different. Law enforcement authorities across the continent have opened investigations into prominent political figures concerning their dealings with Epstein, but thus far, those investigations appear to concern alleged political misconduct — like sharing confidential government information with Epstein or receiving gifts from him — not sex crimes.
Meanwhile, as entirely new conspiracy theories have begun to flourish, pretty much no one in America is happy — not the victims who were insulted by Attorney General Pam Bondi during her latest daylong series of outbursts on Capitol Hill; not President Donald Trump, who effectively created this mess by fueling Epstein conspiracies as a presidential candidate and who remains the subject of intense scrutiny based on unverified allegations against him in the documents that he has strenuously denied; not the American public, most of whom believe that the government is still hiding information; and not the lawmakers who drafted and ultimately passed the law requiring disclosures with the near-unanimous consent of their colleagues in both houses of Congress. In a remarkable bipartisan rebuke, the House Oversight Committee voted last week to subpoena Bondi to testify with five Republicans joining the Democrats on the committee over the objection of Chair James Comer (R-Ky.).
Where there is smoke, there is often fire. But in this case, Americans should brace themselves for the very real prospect that there will be no more credible criminal prosecutions in the U.S. in the wake of the Epstein files release.