Jeffrey Epstein Update: Will We Ever Know The Truth? Florida Investigation Seems Mysteriously Stalled
In just two months it will be the one-year anniversary of the death of Jeffrey Epstein. A bombshell event took place days before Epstein took his own life in a Manhattan Federal detention center. It was August 6 of last year when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a special Florida Department Of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation into the infamous 2008 plea deal. The deal was both shocking and unprecedented, particularly since it was approved without the knowledge of the victims. Epstein committed suicide only four days later. I am not a believer in coincidences, especially when they relate to this case.
The vast amount of evidence and allegations against Epstein could have sent him to prison for life in 2008, but he was sentenced to a mere 18 months (and served only 13). He was granted work release, which allowed him to spend days at his office away from the jail. Instead of going to state prison on the charges, they housed him in a private wing of the Palm Beach County jail.
After the FBI took Epstein into custody on a slew of fresh charges on July 6 of last year the 2008 sweetheart deal again gained attention. It also resulted in the swift resignation of Trump’s Labor Secretary, Alex Acosta. Acosta resigned on July 12, less than a week after the Teterboro Airport FBI raid on Epstein’s plane. If you are unfamiliar with the events of 2008, Acosta was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Of Florida at the time. The unprecedented and appalling non-prosecution agreement took place on his watch.
Despite being designated as a registered sex offender by the State of Florida, Epstein operated for years with impunity. After serving just over a year in jail, he freely traveled the world on his private jet, spending time at homes in New York, Florida, New Mexico, Paris, and his private island near St. Thomas. The non-prosecution agreement allowed Epstein to re-offend and violate the terms of his probation countless times. The optics were horrendous for Acosta, but his resignation still came as a shock both inside and outside of Washington. Trump praised Acosta and he was considered a valued member of the cabinet.
The Acosta resignation seemed to signal that damning details were about to emerge, but the other shoe never dropped. What really transpired in 2008? What were we going to learn about why Acosta went along with the deal? Why was it so important that he immediately leave his post as Labor Secretary? What influential figures pulled strings? The most fascinating revelation was Acosta’s justification for backing off the federal prosecution of Epstein - He was told Epstein ‘belonged to intelligence.’
As a freelance reporter and radio host based in Florida, I have been in touch repeatedly with the FDLE. They confirmed with me again yesterday that the matter is still open and ongoing, adding that there is no timeline as to when the investigation will be completed. I won’t hatch yet another conspiracy theory here, but the pattern of obfuscation is all too familiar. It is no wonder that the ‘Jeffrey Epstein Didn’t Kill Himself’ meme has become a permanent fixture in American culture. It seems that at every turn efforts to uncover the truth are blocked. Most people seem to have accepted this as another story that goes into a secret vault alongside the JFK assassination. We move on to the next shiny thing that captures our attention — Joe Exotic. No, even though they both lived in Florida, not a single connection has been established between Carole Baskin and Jeffrey Esptein.
As we approach nearly a year into the Florida investigation, I am holding out little hope that it will lead to anything. Several months ago I did an expanded episode of my radio show discussing the case with James Robertson, co-author of Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales and at that time the FDLE investigation seemed promising. All of us covering this story have been hoping for just a small crack that would provide a path to the truth - that one string that unravels the whole ball of yarn. So far the DeSantis investigation has yielded nothing. All the credit in the world goes to Julie K. Brown and the Miami Herald for their dogged reporting on the case. If not for Brown, it is likely that Epstein would still be walking around today exploiting young girls.
I am not sure we will ever know the truth about Jeffrey Epstein, his powerful friends and co-conspirators, the sweetheart deal, where his wealth really came from, whether or not he was an asset of U.S. intelligence agencies, and how he was able to openly operate as a pedophile for decades. Count me as another dupe for believing that DeSantis might have actually helped to shed some new light on the case. Nearly a year after his death we still don’t have answers, and I doubt we will get them any time soon. I hope I am wrong.
