The redaction travesty

Trump with children at Epstein party (Source: here)

Complying in part with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the US Department of Justice this evening began to release the so-called Epstein files. Not all of the files were released; the Department of Justice says the remaining files will be released over the coming weeks, although this remains to be seen.

As expected, large sections of the released files have been redacted in accordance with standards that are usually applied to Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), according to the Department of Justice.

Let us just remind ourselves why the full release of the Epstein files is important. The scale of child abuse was simply mind-blowing. The Department of Justice itself confirmed in an earlier press release that the number of victims is known to exceed one thousand. To quote the press release:

         "Consistent with prior disclosures, this review confirmed that Epstein harmed over one thousand victims. Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials. This includes specific details such as victim names and likenesses, physical descriptions, places of birth, associates, and employment history." (Source: here)     

Give that some thought. More than 1,000 children were raped and otherwise sexually abused, many as young as 12 or 13 years of age. The perpetrators were rich and powerful men, not least political leaders.

As the heavily redacted Epstein files are released over the coming weeks and months, we will all see that there were surprisingly few perpetrators! Moreover, we will see that the perpetrators were all left-wingers and enemies of Donald Trump! The likes of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Mick Jagger.

We will be also be able to see, if we believe what we are told that is, that not a single Right-winger within the American political establishment hung out with Epstein!

Which brings me to my main message. There are two really big problems with the selective release of redacted Epstein documents.

For one, the released information is clearly politically biased. We will not see pictures and read about Trump's own paedophilia and the paedophilia of his friends. Nor will we be able to confirm or disprove whether Trump's close friends on the Supreme Court also participated in Epstein's organised child abuse.

Of course, we will be all aware that we are not being given the whole truth. Clearly, only the complicit would oppose full disclosure of crimes of this severity and magnitude. However, without evidence - names and faces - there is no evidence upon which to base prosecutions and hence full justice for the abused cannot be served.

My personal hope is that perpetrators who are exposed will be prosecuted, because this will incentivise them to reveal what they know about the redacted paedophiles in the Epstein files as part of plea bargains to reduce their sentences. In that way, at least, there is a possibility that cases can be built against the redacted rapists and paedophiles.

The other - even bigger - problem is that our legal system allows redactions at all. In allowing redactions, our legal system covers up for politicians who commit heinous crimes. Our current legal system literally lets our elected leaders rape children and get away with it.

It is one thing to cover up paedophilia, which is clearly a very serious crime. However, what if redactions were applied to evidence of systemic crimes, such as insurrections, coup d'etats, political murder, corruption, treason, and the like?

The Epstein redaction travesty exposes in the clearest possible terms how our political system continues to allow those in the highest echelons of public office to operate with shocking levels of impunity.

It is not acceptable. Politicians are elected on act on our behalf to deliver on election promises, not to rape children. I don't remember any politician who ran on platform of paedophile rape. Once elected, politicians are given enormous powers, so they should be held to the same, if not higher legal standards than the rest of us.

In my view, the dysfunction of our system of political accountability is now the single biggest constraint to the continuing progress of Western societies. The West has made great strides in bringing prosperity to their societies. It has entrenched rule of law, constructed powerful and relatively effective institutions to deliver public services, and made massive investments in infrastructure. However, our systems of political accountability leave much to be desired. They have barely evolved since democracy was first introduced.

I propose root and branch reform of Western democracies to purge its feudal legacies. We must change the incentives facing politicians to make them focus on doing the jobs for which they are elected. The best way to do this is to hold them criminally accountable with respect to their chosen election promises - with big (think bank CEO) bonuses when they deliver and big fines or even jail time when they don't.

Sharper incentives would induce an entirely new cadre of capable people to enter politics instead of the current crop of dilettantes and charlatans. It would make politicians focus on delivering on election promises instead of raping children. I have written extensively on how this vision of a modernised democratic system would operate and how it can be brought about. Take a look here!

The End