The Epstein Hysteria Is a Moral Panic | Michael Tracey

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It’s undeniable that the Jeffrey Epstein case has become a cultural obsession. How could it not? We’ve been sold a story of a multimillionaire financier who ran a global pedophile ring, supplied children to be abused by presidents, prime ministers, and princes, and secretly recorded powerful men in compromising positions to blackmail them on behalf of intelligence agencies.

But as the nation has been gripped by political infighting, federal document dumps, and sordid tales, it has become increasingly difficult to sort the facts from a swelling tide of conspiracy theory, AI-fabricated images, and moral hysteria.

I sat down with journalist Michael Tracey, who has followed the Epstein saga closely and argues that we are in the midst of a moral panic. Tracey was an early skeptic of the Trump-Russia collusion story, and he turned out to be right on the money about that. While he’s facing accusations of being a “pedophile apologist” for pushing back against what he sees as mythmaking, I think a similar vindication is awaiting him on the Epstein story.

Stepping back from the frenzy, I asked Tracey to help me understand what we actually know and what remains contested. What was Jeffrey Epstein actually convicted of? What did the people who socialized with him really know about him? Who were his victims, and what did they say under oath? Why has no verified “client list” ever been produced? What evidence do we have to support the claim that he did not commit suicide?

None of this is to sanitize Epstein, who engaged in reprehensible behavior. But it is important—and fascinating—to track how his story has taken on a life of its own in the public imagination.