Jeffrey Epstein's suicide makes it even more compelling to dig deeper into that sordid affair. His upcoming trial would have shed light onto the many aspects of his crimes and the cover-ups. The victims, who now will never get the bittersweet satisfaction of facing him in a courtroom, cannot be deprived of the knowledge of how this atrocity of a case happened.
Jeffrey Epstein, in death, is not the victim.
This was a man who deftly avoided accountability. In fact, he had never been truly punished for his sexual abuse of dozens of young girls. Epstein was aided and abetted not just by other rich and powerful people, not just alleged twisted enablers, not just his attorneys, who were paid to defend him, but, egregiously, by the criminal-justice system itself.
The victims of Epstein's sexual abuse need to have the facts as to why he was allowed to do what he did to them with relative impunity.
It's encouraging that several lawmakers in Congress have called for investigations. U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, rightly insists that the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform quickly launch its own probe into the ridiculously lenient plea deal between then U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta's office in Miami and Epstein's hard-charging attorneys more than a decade ago.
It's imperative that this happen.
Congress must conduct an investigation rooted in transparency. So far, there has been little.
Epstein was in control of every aspect of his case. He exercised it over young girls, prosecutors, wealthy peers and, finally, his exit from this life.
Now, Jeffrey Epstein is dead. But the truths of this awful case must not die with him.
Editorial on 08/13/2019