The “Epstein class,” explained

The Trump administration says it’s done with its release of the Epstein files. But that doesn’t mean the issue is going away: Just last week, NPR and other outlets reported that the Justice Department may have withheld interview materials potentially touching on an allegation of sexual abuse by Donald Trump. 

Congress is also continuing to hear testimony on Epstein’s crimes, including from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And Democrats like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) are still calling for accountability. 

Recently, Vox’s Astead Herndon sat down with Khanna for the Today, Explained podcast; an excerpt of their conversation, edited for length and clarity, is below. 

There’s much more in the full episode, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.

Can you give us a status update [on the Epstein files]? How much is still out there?

At least 50 percent still has been hidden, covered up. But what has been released is shocking. [Rep. Thomas] Massie and I didn’t think we’d get this far. 

They’ve released a fair amount. They’re keeping the worst stuff, but what they’ve released is not a good look at our elite class. It’s not a good look at the Epstein class. 

These are powerful people in business and Silicon Valley and Hollywood who were visiting Epstein’s island, knowing young girls are being abused, knowing young girls are being raped. And every day a shoe drops. 

Now other countries are prosecuting. They are prosecuting Lord Mandelson. They’re prosecuting former Prince Andrew and the former prime minister of Norway. We are seeing resignations of powerful people at law firms and banks, but we have not yet seen investigations and prosecutions.

I’ve also heard over the last couple of weeks increasing concerns about whether this has amounted to something of a witch hunt. 

Do you have any concern that the kind of internet sleuthing of it all is painting a group of people that you call the “Epstein class” with too broad of a brush?

I’m more concerned about the predators who aren’t being prosecuted. If there was a balance, there are more people who have gotten away with things that were part of this Epstein class of men who are being branded in a witch hunt. 

I don’t subscribe or want a witch hunt in any way, but the real issue here is the people who are being protected. The real issue is two tiers of justice in America. The real issue is people with power and wealth using it to be above the law and to escape even investigation or prosecution.

Now, do I think that if someone sent an email to Epstein before Epstein was convicted, or if someone showed up to an event before Epstein was convicted, that they should be ashamed? No, there always has to be context. But right now, what I’ve seen is far more on the end of no accountability than on the side of some kind of witch hunt.

How would you define the Epstein class?

Rich and powerful people, who feel entitled that they can use that wealth to be above the law.

That certainly rings true to the behavior we have seen from these files and what we know to be the facts of Epstein, Maxwell, and the people they surrounded themselves with. The question is: How is that different from billionaires or elites or whatever?

There are billionaires who do extraordinary things for the world. Warren Buffett has, by and large, done incredible things. I don’t believe that just because someone is a millionaire or just because they’re a billionaire, that that makes them suspect. 

It is the use of your money and privilege to defy the law, to abuse the law, to think you’re above the law. That is what enrages Americans. Most Americans like people to build wealth and admire economic success. It’s the corrupting influence that is where we draw the line.

I was talking to a journalist last week about the Epstein files. I asked about why Democrats didn’t do this years earlier, and the quote was, it wasn’t politically beneficial for them. 

I wanted to know how true is it that the reason why we didn’t get that push earlier is because the party itself was also wrapped up in it? 

I believe the fact that there’s so many rich and powerful people coming out, and some of them were Democratic donors, certainly disincentivizes the political class from speaking up. 

It’s one of the reasons [Donald] Trump and [JD] Vance ran on this, saying [Democrats are] protecting rich and powerful friends. Trump says this to this day. And there are a lot of Democrats in the files, let’s be honest. There are a lot of those friends that were Democratic donors. 

I don’t think that there was some kind of conspiracy, but the political class wasn’t — let’s just say they weren’t rushing to come to the aid of these survivors. They weren’t rushing to expose all of this.