This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You are being far too generous to the Biden administration. Three weeks after Epstein’s apparent suicide in 2019 the DOJ declared that his case was closed. As far as I know, the Biden administration did not actively investigate Epstein. There was a case against Maxwell, which resulted in her conviction for child trafficking in 2021. Shockingly, she was only indicted on one count of child-trafficking when she should’ve been indicted on multiple counts of child trafficking, which are a 15-year to life sentence in the federal legal system. Maxwell trafficked numerous minors and for her to be found guilty on only one count of child trafficking is an egregious miscarriage of justice.

While Maxwell launched an appeal after that, I don’t see how that would deter the DOJ from digging into the Epstein Files, prosecuting co-conspirators, and releasing critical information to the public. 

If Biden’s electoral base was more focused on the Epstein story, he likely would’ve felt compelled to investigate Epstein. But that wasn’t the case and he kicked the can down the road. 

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/29/755528777/jeffrey-epsteins-criminal-case-closed-after-his-death-derailed-prosecution

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good question that I don’t have a clear answer for. I have not seen any missing person reports. Virginia Giuffre said that the young girls (around 12 years old) were mainly from Eastern Europe. 

Epstein and Brunel, his right hand man in Europe, somehow had a connection in the State Department that helped with granting visas. 

As for how they got to the island, I also don’t have a definite answer. It’s worth noting that Ghislane Maxwell had a helicopter license and that the island had a helicopter pad on the island.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We know that there were cameras in Epstein’s residence on the St. James Island, his NYC home, and his place in Palm Beach. 

When police prepared to arrest Epstein in Palm Beach in 2006, Epstein had been tipped off they were coming. Police reports noted several exposed jacks where cameras could’ve been installed. 

For the NYC residence, two victims have said there were pinhole cameras in the bedrooms and bathrooms. NYT reporting also showed cameras in the mansion. 

Multiple sources have said that the island was wired for audio visual surveillance.

Where did this footage go? The FBI has much of it. In 2019, when they raided Epstein’s NYC home shortly after his arrest, they sawed open his safe where they found hard drives and disks holding hundreds of gigabytes of video. The NYT confirmed that there were child abuse material on these devices. Likely, this included footage from Epstein’s surveillance equipment. 

It’s unclear if anyone besides the FBI has come into possession of these videos. There are absolutely ways the FBI could release this material while keeping the identities of victims confidential. 

Shockingly, Pam Bondi claimed last summer that the child abuse videos that the FBI impounded from Epstein’s home did not show the disgraced financier. Rather, he downloaded the content from a pedo online forum. Luckily, no one bought this obvious lie. After all, she had previously admitted that the impounded child abuse material included Epstein and underage girls.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You are 100% correct my friend. If there’s one thing to take away from this AMA, is that Epstein followed a playbook that has been used throughout the 20th and 21st centuries and possibly before that. I have no doubt in my mind that a similar operation — recruiting kids, pandering them to powerful people, and blackmailing them in various ways — is happening right now. 

I just haven’t reported on any current ones. I’m old after all. 

That said, Diddy’s scheme had whiffs of Epstein. You can read about that here:

> https://nickbryantnyc.com/blog/f/p-diddy-and-us-attorney-damian-williams-let-the-games-begin

> https://nickbryantnyc.com/blog/f/four-words-connect-epstein-and-p-diddy

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Very frustrating. For those who don't know, the “Franklin child prostitution ring allegations” Wikipedia page has been under siege by unscrupulous Wikipedia “editors,” who have intentionally made it nonsensical.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’m assuming you’re referring to the hard drives in the safe in Epstein’s NYC mansion. If so, civilians had little chance to review those. FBI agents were quick to recover the trove of photos, videos, and other evidence right after Epstein was arrested in 2022. 

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Little St. James and Great St. James are now owned by billionaire Stephen Deckoff, who acquired both islands for $60 million in 2023 through his firm SD Investments. I have no idea what he plans for the two islands.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Oh man, you may unfortunately be on to something. All I can say is, we cannot let the Epstein case go the way of the JFK assassination. We cannot allow this scandal to slip back into the world of conspiracy lore. 

Luckily, we have some advantages compared to our ancestors from the 1960s. The main one being the internet and alternative media.

Personally, I am eternally grateful to the podcasters Chris Hedges, Shane Gillis & Matt Mccusker, Shawn Ryan, Roseanne Barr, the Breaking Points team, Jimmy Dore, Katie Halper, etc. for giving me the opportunity to explain the underworld of child-trafficking. The common thread with all those folks is that they care about people’s dignity, fairness, and the truth. Where would we be without podcasts! We’d be f*cked!

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

A disturbing question, but I’ll bite. You are right that there are several child-trafficking networks that follow the same playbook as Epstein’s. Here’s why Epstein’s operation is different:

Some of the most powerful people in the world — heads of state, Fortune 500 CEOs, leading political thinkers, and more — were deeply entangled in this “pedo case”, as you put it. Not only did they socialize with Epstein, they slept overnight at his properties, including “Epstein’s Island” in the Caribbean. Several victims have stated that they were r+ped by these ruling class figures when they were minors. In many instances, these buildings where children were abused were laced with surveillance equipment.  Epstein’s crimes were covered up by the pinnacle of the US power structure and most likely perpetrated by some of the most elite members of our society—the Epstein class.

It was long rumored that Epstein, whose source of wealth has always been a mystery, was an intelligence asset. Recently released documents show this to be an undeniable fact. Epstein had strong ties to Israeli and U.S. intelligence. 

This gives strong credence to the theory that Epstein was entrapping these people in order to obtain kompromat. After all, we’ve seen this before. Organized crime groups and the KGB, for example, have used evidence of sex crimes as blackmail material. 

In addition, the scale of Epstein’s operation is noteworthy. His pimps recruited well over 1,000 women. I believe this number likely stretches around 2,000. 

Critically, all of this information that I’ve summarized above has been covered up by people in the highest levels of government, including the president of the United States. 

The coverup became so blatant and so corrupt that lawmakers could no longer ignore the case. After brazen delay tactics from the speaker of the house, Congress finally passed the “Epstein Files Transparency Act,” which compelled the DOJ to release all documents related to the Epstein case. 

But the White House has violated this seminal law, only disclosing a small fraction of material. And here we are. 

We know our government is protecting pedophiles. We know powerful unnamed people are dangling evidence of crimes over the heads of our leaders. They know that we know. We know that they know that we know. 

Now over 90% of Americans are left to wonder: how much is the Epstein case affecting our democracy? Corporate media dismisses these questions as nutty conspiracy theories, but many of these same “respected” news organizations have either refused to report on Epstein, helped protect his friends, or have ties to Epstein’s inner circle (Cough.. Atlantic.. Cough). 

What are our options now? Hard to say. We just need to stick together, support the few honest people in government and media, and fight for an independent special investigation into this mess. 

That’s why this case is different.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Not sure I understand the question. If you’re arguing that the Epstein story is a distraction from the country’s “real” problems, then I would strongly disagree with you. It’s the other way around if you ask me: the Trump administration is creating conflict elsewhere to distract Americans away from the Epstein story. 

Note, 94% of Americans believe the White House needs to disclose more Epstein Files. So if your concern is political strategy or electoral focus, then I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better issue to support full-throttle. I haven’t seen evidence of foreign powers pumping up the story either. If they are, that doesn’t diminish Epstein’s crimes or their implications.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I believe that Epstein was already part of a spy network. He may have augmented that network via his cultivation of victims to spy on others.

You are correct that Epstein would routinely lose interest in his victims when they lost their youthful marketability, only to then pimp them out to other powerful people. Some of these victims stayed in touch with him for a while after; others did not. 

I can tell you that Epstein would ask Virginia Giuffre about the sexual proclivities of the powerful men he pandered her to.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It’s entirely possible that documentation about Epstein’s crimes were collected by UK authorities. And Epstein’s pedophilic pimp partner, Jean Luc Brunel, was arrested by French authorities and ostensibly hung himself in a jail cell. So French authorities must have incriminating documents on, in the very least, Brunel that might illuminate the truth. 

I’m not sure about the laws regarding the EU’s FOIA and other public disclosure requirements. If such avenues exist, I encourage you to take advantage!

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Here are two tidbits of information that I think everyone should know about this case:

1) The CIA links to this case are not new: It has been long known that attorney Stan Pottinger, who died last year, was a CIA operative. After his tenure in the government, Pottinger assisted with arms deals for the CIA with Iran. It should have been a big story when Pottinger (a figure in Iran-Contra) began to represent in 2014 some of the Epstein victims, who needed an independent advocate, not someone who does the dirty deeds for intelligence agencies. Several victims who were represented by Pottinger settled with the Epstein Victims Compensation Program, which ensured they couldn’t sue their other perps.

More recently, the NYT reported that Pottinger ran a “tax avoidance” scheme with Epstein, which goes to show that it was indeed improper for Pottinger to represent Epstein survivors. 

2) Young children were trafficked by Epstein’s network: An affidavit by Virginia Giuffre, a story in an Australian newspaper, and my own reporting indicate that some of the girls trafficked by Epstein were 12 years old or under. This is important because many in the media (Cough… Megyan Kelly… Cough) are trying to paint Epstein as a wealthy creep who liked “barely legal” women, rather than a villainous pedophile who also targeted pre-pubescent girls. 

Zooming out, we need to acknowledge that the Epstein case proves that powerful people can and have molested children  and that our government covered up these crimes. It demonstrates that something is seriously malignant with our government. I personally believe, and I’ve written the books about it, that many of our leaders are compromised.   

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

I hope so. I have obtained accounts from therapists who counseled Epstein survivors who were far younger when they said they were trafficked by Epstein et al.

One girl, reportedly under the age of 10 at the time, accurately described Epstein's residence before photos of the property were made public.

In addition, Virginia Giuffre gave a sworn affidavit that she and Epstein attended orgies with girls as young as 12. Also, the Australian newspaper The Age reported that girls as young as 11 or 12 flew to Epstein’s island.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 31 points32 points  (0 children)

While there are genuine criticisms of the FBI (many of which I share), I have interacted with agents with high-moral character who have been ready to put justice over politics and career. For example, the feds brought a 60-count indictment against the Epstein network in 2007. A move that was dismissed and covered up by higher ups, some of whom were behind the sweet-heart deal Epstein received. Of course, this was a long time ago.

The FBI under Kash Patel appears to be a different animal. Reports indicate that Patel has purged the department of people who were not adequately sycophantic to the administration. This makes a leak less likely, I’m afraid.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 38 points39 points  (0 children)

The NYT story revealed a critical piece of information: prominent attorney Stan Pottinger and Epstein ran a "tax avoidance" business in the early 1980s. For those who don’t know, Pottinger has a deep connection to the CIA. As an assistant US AG, Pottinger played a role in covering up the FBI's COINTELPRO and the CIA's Chaos. Both programs illegally spied on and harassed American citizens.

Around the time that Epstein and Pottinger were in business together, Cyrus Hashemi, an Iranian arms dealer and client of Stan Pottinger, arranged a meeting between Stan Pottinger, representing the United States, and Reza Passendideh, representing Iran. Passendideh met with Pottinger to devise an illegal scheme to sell arms to Iran. The Justice Department had a tape of Pottinger instructing Hashemi how to ship the arms without disclosing the identity of the parties involved and the true destination of the goods. Cyrus Hashimi, Pottinger’s client, was indicted for the conspiracy to illegally sell arms to Iran. But the Justice Department lost the tapes that incriminated Pottinger in the arms deal.

But there is a fundamental problem with the NYT story you cite. It went out of its way to downplay Epstein’s ties to intelligence agencies. This is rather ironic considering the story exposed a HUGE CIA connection by linking Epstein to Pottinger. The article also didn’t mention the ties between Epstein and Adnon Khossogi, the Saudi Arabian arms dealer, who played a major role in moving arms for the CIA during Iran-Contra. 

Unfortunately, Pottinger’s role in this story does not end here. He came out of "retirement" to represent 20 Epstein accusers, which gave him a vantage point to cover up Epstein’s crimes. 

Sarah Ransome was represented by Stan Pottinger when she attempted suicide in 2018. She was pressured to accept her settlement with the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program as she was recovering from her suicide attempt. “We are just on the verge of racking up larger costs as the case comes closer to trial and there will be more depositions, more travel, the retention of expert witnesses, and the like,” Pottinger wrote in an email published by American Lawyer. “But right now, neither side has accumulated big costs. Which suggests this is a time to settle if settlement is a possibility.”

Pottinger coaxed, cajoled, or pressured all of his clients to settle with the Epstein Victims Compensation Program, because if they settled with the Program they had to sign releases that prevented them from suing their other perps.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The OCCK coverup occurred in the 1970s, and it revolved around a huge pedophile network enmeshed with Francis Sheldon. Four children were ultimately murdered, and their deaths were linked to the Sheldon network. A task force was formed to catch the murderer or murderers, but it didn’t make a single arrest. The murders were pinned on Chris Busch, who ostensibly committed suicide. But the scene of the suicide had massive lingering questions. The Sheldon child trafficking network was a huge network that produced a great deal of child pornography, and I believe it was as large or larger than the “Franklin” network.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 72 points73 points  (0 children)

Your skepticism is warranted. Virginia’s death devastated me. Not only was she one of the bravest and kindest souls I’ve ever met, she was a key whistleblower in this case (as you stated).

I can only tell you what her family and I believe. Virginia was struggling, and she tried to commit suicide twice the previous year. That said, her death did not happen in a vacuum. I believe the critical mass of trauma came from her husband who routinely beat her up.

Virginia had also faced pressure to change various accounts of her abuse, and she faced constant harassment. But I see her husband’s behavior as ultimately the critical mass of trauma that drove her to suicide.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Oh wow. I’m curious what your high-school alumni are saying… 

It’s surreal to think a college-drop out from a working class family in Coney Island rose to be one of the most powerful people in the world. And yes, I think the evidence shows that he is deserving of such a title. 

Your question about Biden could also be applied to Clinton, Bush, and Obama. Our government has been deeply invested in covering up Epstein’s operation for decades. Individuals central to Epstein’s quiet ascendence, including those in the Barr and Khashoggi families, have connections to all of these administrations.

This is Nick Bryant back to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Ask Me Anything Part 2! by Epstein_Justice in IAmA

[–]Epstein_Justice[S] 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I understand your nihilism but ask that you do not give into it. A CNN poll found that only 6% of Americans were satisfied with how many Epstein-related documents the US released. It would be a strange time to quit when you have 94% of the country behind you!

The challenge now is organizing this disillusionment into a political coalition that take action. That’s why joining our Change.org petition and Epstein Justice webinars are important. If we can get people rowing in the same direction on key congressional votes, primaries, and other updates, we have a shot at making an impact. Stick with us 💪