Hacker News Reader

Comment by dlpyt | Hacker News Reader

One common similarity in these cases is that always relatively powerless people are exposed and "face consequences" (don't we all love that phrase by now).

Clinton and Gates also had "connections" to Epstein.

The really interesting part is a) who Epstein worked for and b) the powerful people he collected information about.

I find it hard to believe that visits to this island were just favors to his friends. More likely he took videos and collected compromising information, Hoover style.

View on HN

Don't forget Trump

> Clinton and Gates also had "connections" to Epstein.

You forgot Trump.

Trump, Clinton, Gates, Reid Hoffman, Joi Ito, Naomi Campbell, Dershowitz, Nowak, David Copperfield, Minsky, Bill Richardson, Woody Allen, Prince Andrew, MBS...

Epstein had deep connections to all of these people (and plenty more). It's actually quite terrifying and depressing when you start to look at the big picture.

> Woody Allen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Allen_sexual_abuse_alleg...

I don't read into the connections as a whole too much, though. The rich and famous hang out with the rich and famous.

Epstein was open with his behavior and many of these people have been accused by Epstein victims of also raping them.

The tech people I listed also worked hard to conceal their relationship with Epstein, including lying about it multiple times.

No no but gates is our hero now... It disgusts me how short public memory can be.

My favourite Gates moment of all time is when he got some pie.

> One common similarity in these cases is that always relatively powerless people are exposed and "face consequences" (don't we all love that phrase by now).

Oh, god, the poor, powerless Harvard professors. My heart bleeds.

>I find it hard to believe that visits to this island were just favors to his friends. More likely he took videos and collected compromising information, Hoover style.

Why would favors to friends be 'hard to believe'? Favors among friends seems like a pretty predictable human trait.

You're headed down the tinfoil road here I think.

Except we know his brothel was full of video cameras. He had dirt on a lot of people.

Epstein and his associates have all admitted that there were hidden cameras throughout all of his properties which he used to record the activities of his guests for later blackmail and leverage. Epstein, Maxwell, Guiffre, his staff and many associates have confirmed as much.

Epstein also had known ties to multiple intelligence agencies.

Do we know who they actually blackmailed?

No, and we're unlikely to find out. According to Acosta, he was let go the first time because:

> he was told that Epstein "belonged to intelligence", was "above his pay grade," and to "leave it alone".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Acosta#Non-prosecuti...

Did any of them really admit all that, especially the blackmail part? Not counting Guiffre, as she is the victim.

There's been several interviews with IT people who helped setup the surveillance and networking equipment. It's also documented that the cameras did exist as discovered when his NY home was raided. Maria Farmer talks about this too:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-accuser-maria-f...

But you said Epstein, Maxwell, etc. have confirmed as much. I think you’re right, but I don’t think we have any clear evidence of it yet in public. All I’ve seen is evidence that there were cameras.

The Virgin Islands locals referred to it as "pedophile island." By all accounts Epstein was constantly in the company of girls of dubiously legal age. I could believe someone might go out to the island initially unaware of what was up. I don't believe they could maintain a long association with him (as Nowak did) without knowing or, more likely, participating in the abuse ring.

The timing seems like like he would likely have known about the accusations I agree.

Having said that, I gotta think Epstein (or really anyone up to this stuff) was pretty good about feeling out who he could victimize and who he could rope into his things ... and who he couldn't / it would be risky to do so. That probably means not revealing too much to folks he could use for his own purposes... but would want to avoid involving in the really dark stuff.

I gotta think folks who are up to this kind of thing at scale are reasonably good at sidestepping potential land mines / folks who might not be down with the darker things he was up to. Thus I get a little skeptical about the idea that anyone associated had to have known all the details.

Tinfoil hat would be mentioning Les Wexner’s ties to Southern Air Transport (notorious CIA front company).

My guess: he blackmailed rich people and then funneled money to intelligence services under the guise of “giving tax advice”.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com