A few days ago new documents from Epstein’s papers were published. Thousands of pages that have flooded social networks and are leaving the world with its mouth open because they highlight very relevant profiles of people around the world.
There is still a lot to know and, in fact, there are still people interpreting what has been published: “I have the feeling that, despite the seriousness of what the documents contain, it seems that the world is taking it as gossip, as a frivolity that seems extraordinarily dangerous to me. Because when one gets to the bottom of the matter, what we are seeing is indigestible,” says Julia.
Eduardo Saldaña and Alba Leiva believe that everything that is coming out of the topic has been normalized due to the amount of information that has been published, there is “overinformation” and “a lot of noise” that means that we are not able to discern what is true and what is a lie. That, added to the number of conspiracy theories that exist on the subject, means that many people are not giving it the importance it really has.
What is the ‘Epstein case’?
To put it in context, the ‘Epstein case’ refers to a case of pedophilia and child trafficking in which numerous public figures at an international level are linked.
It dates back to 2000, when Jeffrey Epstein, who was a financial magnate, was accused of paying minors in exchange for having sexual relations with him. In 2005, several minors denounced him and he ended up sentenced to prison.
He spent only 13 months there – it is rumored that his contacts with the elites could have helped him – and years after leaving, in 2018, the Miami Herald brought to light more than 60 testimonies from women who had been victims of this sex trafficking network. At the head of the network were Epstein and his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was in charge of “recruiting” minors for the magnate and his friends.
They went to trial in 2019 and Epstein committed suicide that same year. Since 2023, documents related to the case have been published, which has also been closely linked to conspiracy theories by social media users. The latest leak has brought to light three million pages, 2,000 videos and more than 180,000 photographs.
The most heard theories
Alba Leiva explains that Epstein has been surrounded by many conspiracy theories since its inception, partly due to a lack of information and also due to the relationship he had with the United States elite. Among them, the Clintons, singers and personalities from the country and Europe, “the whole world knew him or had had some kind of contact with him.”
“The most important theory defends the existence of a list of Epstein’s clients who participated in his sex trafficking network and that would include important politicians, businessmen and celebrities. According to it, the country’s elite, involved in the scandal, would be trying at all costs that this list is not made public,” he says.
Epstein’s death in prison also gave rise to another derivative of this theory. The official version is that the tycoon committed suicide, but others believe that he was murdered so that the names would not be revealed, due to his involvement in the case.
The fact is that there are many conspiracy theories that are either too convoluted or have parts that are not true, but when so many documents are revealed and there is so much information, things are seen that seem to be verified:
- The network existed.
- Surely, many businessmen, tycoons and celebrities participated in this sex trafficking network.
But the key is who participated, how they did it and to what extent? What is true and what is not? “That’s what’s muddying everything up.
The four groups into which those that appear in the papers are divided
There are different groups of people who had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which does not mean that they are guilty of having committed any criminal act. Eduardo Saldaña divides these people into four groups:
- Those who appear in the videos and photos, like former Prince Andrew of England.
- People who had a relationship with Epstein and were at the parties, but there is no evidence or accusations: Donald Trump or the Clintons.
- Not so famous people, profiles out of focus, such as businessmen, politicians or ambassadors, of whom we are now seeing resignations and dismissals.
- Another group in which names appear: King Juan Carlos I, José María Aznar. They appear in the papers, but it is not known what type of relationship they had.
“What’s happening? Since there is so much information and since so much new information is being generated as a result of the papers, it is very difficult to know what is true and what is a lie,” they say.
“Trump uses the case to attack his rivals”
What is clear is that Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump had some type of closer relationship, since the financier supported Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016. In fact, Trump himself has ended up using the case throughout all these years to “attack his rivals”, there is the ‘Pizzagate’ against the Clintons.
“I didn’t see it personally, but I was told by some important people that not only are they absolving me, but it’s the complete opposite of what people expect. You know, the radical left. That Wolf was a third-rate writer and he was conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to harm me politically or otherwise. And that came across loud and clear. So, we’ll probably sue Wolf,” Trump said a few days ago. Michael Wolf is a journalist who has written many books about the president, Eduardo and Alba explain.
The victims and the importance of language: “They are not minor women, they are girls”
Julia has focused on the role of social networks in the whole ‘Epstein case’ issue and has shown her anger at some comments from Internet users who refer to the victims as “better women.”
“The minor women are girls, okay? They’re teenagers,” he explains. “If we call them minor women, it seems that we are hiding that we do not give it seriousness. They are girls. Some of 13 and 14 years old. They are girls, not minor women. Each thing is called correctly. Because that is the dimension of language, the words we choose are never innocent.”
And he adds that in the leak it seems that the abusers are “protected” more than the victims because their names are blacked out, but not theirs. Alba explains that the reality is that the victims have been fighting for years to prosecute the culprits and have been slow in making progress in the case because “for a long time, the authorities – both Democrats and Republicans – have done everything possible to delay the case.”
“Many of the names appear unredacted and there we enter a process of revictimization. This entire process is secret and how to handle a case like this, so complex and so painful for them, now they are completely exposed to the dangers,” he says.
