The Jeffrey Epstein football is still being kicked around the political playground, with passes to and fro, but no goal. Yet while everyone is shouting, the most fascinating play has been ignored. That was when one of the key players kicked the ball out of the field. I’ve been waiting ever since for the referee’s whistle but the ball keeps being passed, play is not interrupted and the shouting continues.
The latest development is Epstein’s convicted partner Ghislaine Maxwell giving a so far unpublished five-hour interview to a DoJ officer in a courthouse not far from her prison.
What am I talking about?
This: ‘I was Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyer. I know the facts, some of which I can’t disclose because it is privileged or subject to court-imposed sealing orders. But what I can disclose makes several important things clear.’
The writer is Alan Dershowitz, the famous Harvard lawyer and author. It is the start of his article published in the Wall Street Journal and republished in The Australian on July 17, 2025. There’s been no mention of it since.
‘Epstein never created a “client list”. The FBI interviewed alleged victims who named several “clients”. These names have been redacted. They should be disclosed, but the courts have ordered them sealed. I know who they are. They don’t include any current officeholders.’
That quashes the fevered speculation about Trump’s casual past connection with Epstein, which Trump has never denied. Why hasn’t Trump quoted Dershowitz?
‘Open records show an acquaintance between Epstein and Donald Trump many years ago. That relationship ended when Trump reportedly banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago, long before becoming President,’ writes the lawyer. ‘I have seen nothing that would suggest anything improper or even questionable by Trump.’
Dershowitz also debunks another favourite conspiracy theory about Epstein: ‘I have absolutely no doubt that Epstein never worked for any intelligence agency. If he had he would surely have told me and his other lawyers, who would have used that information to get him a better deal. (He wasn’t satisfied with the so-called sweetheart deal he got, which required him to spend one-and-a-half years in a local jail and register as a sex offender.)’
Dershowitz concludes: ‘The Epstein case has generated more than its share of such theories, and there is nothing more annoying to gossipmongers than when stubborn facts (or the absence of facts) get in the way of a juicy theory. Sorry to disappoint you, but there is really nothing much to see here, beyond what has already been disclosed.’
Why have these declarations not attracted any interest. Perhaps Dershowitz provides the answer himself. ‘Conspiracy stories attract readers, viewers and listeners. They are also fodder for political attacks.’
