Five Craziest Things About the Epstein Case, Vol. 1

On Jeffrey Epstein and the word, "pedophile."

Today is the (presumed) statutory deadline for release of the so-called “Epstein Files” — although the common expectation that this means the full scope of relevant “files” will actually be released is extremely misguided, given the demands of purported victims and their lawyers to redact, withhold, or otherwise conceal what could turn out to be an enormous cross-section of records in the government’s possession. We’ll have to see what transpires. In any event, Matt Taibbi and I thought now would be a good time for a collaborative series examining some of most mind-bending, yet chronically ignored, aspects of this sprawling Epstein mega-drama — many of which drastically complicate popular assumptions around what the story actually entails. A miasma of jaw-dropping misconceptions have been allowed to proliferate almost entirely without challenge, and it’s had a cascade of awful consequences that get nowhere near enough attention: moral panic, mass hysteria, stunning media failures, infringement of civil liberties, widespread misdiagnosis of genuine political problems -- among others. So somebody’s got to provide an overdue corrective, even if it guarantees we’ll both be slimed for doing the basic journalistic inquiry that should’ve been done all along. I already have plenty of experience with the nasty blowback this undertaking will inevitably engender, and I commend Racket for having the gumption to follow suit. It’s very much needed. What follows is part one of my list of the five craziest parts of the Epstein story:

If there’s a single word the average news consumer calls to mind when they hear about some new micro-development in the interminable Jeffrey Epstein saga, it would have to be “pedophile” — that most fiercely radioactive of words, upon hearing which, approximately 99% of the population instantly de-activates whatever might be left of their critical faculties.

Media outlets from the Daily Beast, to TMZ, to the New York Post and Business Insider continue to eagerly plaster coinages like “pedophile island” in their unrelenting torrent of Epstein-related headlines; the term can also be routinely found in CNN segments, WIRED features, and God knows how many viral social media posts. Just this week, The Nation published an article matter-of-factly asserting that Epstein was the mastermind of a “global pedophile ring,” as author Greg Grandin tries to grapple with recent revelations that his legendary mensch Noam Chomsky once had a series of (supposedly) disturbing dalliances with Epstein. Nowhere is the slightest indication given that Grandin has ever actually examined the underlying evidentiary basis for this extraordinary assertion: that Chomsky, of all people, completely lost his mind and decided to consort with the villainous architect of a “global pedophile ring.” More likely, Grandin has simply absorbed the ambient assumptions swirling around the Epstein affair, and repeated them back in print. Which would be par for the course, as the topic seems uniquely exempt from any standard fact-checking requirements.

Since the renewed Epstein rancor really exploded last summer, fueled by a bombardment of accusations that some massive undelineated coverup was being orchestrated by the Trump Administration, Democrats in Congress have taken to charging that their Republican colleagues are afflicted with “Pedophile Protection Syndrome; that they’re running a “Pedophile Protection Program”; and even that the Grand Ol’ Party should formally change its name to the “Pedophile Protection Party.” As though systematically shielding pedophiles from punishment is now understood to be the core organizing principle of the GOP. These gleeful partisan excoriations were of course partly enabled by a sequence of “own goals” from top Republican officials: case in point, the infamous video of Kash Patel, as a private citizen on the podcast circuit, raging at then-FBI Director Christopher Wray to “put on your big boy pants and tell us who the pedophiles are!” Then, having not “told us who the pedophiles are” after Patel himself became FBI Director, it wasn’t exactly surprising that his political adversaries would eventually take notice of the outlandish contrast. And so back and forth the “pedophile” accusations are flung, like a cursed partisan ping pong ball, with the out-of-power party always seeming to newly discover the joy of encouraging everyone else to believe that the in-power party is letting their fugitive pedo pals off the hook.

In this sense, Epstein is only the current iteration of the morbid bipartisan fascination with Perpetual Pedo Panic — the gift that keeps on giving. Which is not to deny that the strange particularities of the Epstein story also supply a bottomless goldmine of material. Central to the story’s enduring appeal is an unwavering belief, repeated ad nauseum by politicians and journalists, that Epstein was a “convicted pedophile” — and thus the legal predicate has already been established for whatever sordid extrapolations people may care to make. From this presumed starting point, the ever-wilder and salacious theories freely spring. Hence why it’s now taken for granted that anyone who was ever in proximity to Epstein — no matter how peripherally — is forever tarnished by that wicked association. Even the Trump White House, in its cantankerous defensive crouch, has occasionally tried to parry Democratic attacks by retorting that it’s actually their party bigwigs who are most damningly implicated by past relations with this world-renowned “convicted pedophile.” Because if Epstein was a “convicted pedophile,” that’s the worst thing anyone can ever be — right? And an indiscriminate wrecking ball should therefore be taken to any institution or individual who can be found to have tolerated his rancid behavior, however passively or unwittingly. Right?

So then… was Jeffrey Epstein a “convicted pedophile”? Do the facts even matter anymore? Because what’s so weird about this whole thing is that the relevant facts are readily available — despite the near-universal lack of interest in actually examining them. Here’s what the facts show: the only time Jeffrey Epstein was ever convicted of a crime, on June 30, 2008, in the circuit court of Palm Beach County, Florida, he pleaded guilty to two state-level offenses. Conveniently, the full transcript of that plea hearing is accessible to all who wish to read it (and whose attention span is superior to that of a fruit fly.) Here’s the transcript, in all its glory — feel free to knock yourself out.

One of the first things attentive readers will notice is that the word “pedophile” (or “pedophila”) appears nowhere in this transcript. Rather, the statutes Epstein pleads guilty to violating are “Felony Solicitation of Prostitution” and “Procuring Person Under 18 for Prostitution.” Only the latter could even conceivably relate to “pedophila,” as the former contained no age-specific provisions.

In the plea hearing, Judge Deborah Pucillo asks the Palm Beach prosecutor, Lanna Belohlavek, if the “victims under age eighteen” are in agreement with the State’s disposition of charges against Epstein. “That victim is not under age 18 any more,” says Belohlavek, but reports she had conveyed her agreement through counsel. Note: only one “victim” — singular — is identified as having been under the age of 18 at the time she was allegedly victimized by Epstein. This representation is accepted by Judge Pucillo.

Who was this victim, you might ask, and what could that tell us about whether Epstein can be rightly described as a “convicted pedophile”? Massive volumes of investigatory records from the relevant time period (2005-2008) were finally released in 2024, pursuant to a law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, but copious redactions still shroud much of the material bearing on purported victims. So it might be difficult for the average records-peruser to ascertain the identity of this one particular victim, despite how integral she ended up being to the wider Epstein legal odyssey — the reverberations of which continue today with such force. More dogged researchers among us, however, can decipher that the alleged victim in question was a female named Ashley Davis.

Why name Ashley Davis? Not because there’s anything especially remarkable about her — in fact, to the degree she stands out for anything, it’s only for her striking normalcy. Of course her sexual history should be of no special interest for any crude or gratuitous reasons. Ashley Davis happens to be relevant solely for one bizarre reason: that by a macabre accident of fate, she was thrust into a crucial yet largely unknown role in this epochal American mega-drama, which she could’ve had no possible reason to anticipate would still be convulsing the political and media landscape all these years later — with no sign of easing up. Furthermore, she was named in public records, even if the johnny-come-lately FOIA authorities were unsuccessful in fully obscuring her identifying details. So for as long as the Epstein story remains such a red-hot story, it behooves us all to know what actually happened with Ashley Davis.

Noticeably, she has not appeared in any of the Netflix specials, Hulu documentaries, glossy magazine treatises, cable news hits, “true crime” podcasts, or any other of the infinite entertainment products germinated by the Epstein saga. Nor has she attended any of the political rallies, PR campaigns, or press conferences. Based on what I can surmise, she doesn’t even seem to have ever filed a lawsuit. Which is certainly conspicuous, given how many other “victims” have chosen to make their purported Epstein victimhood a defining character trait.

Ashley Davis was interviewed by Detective Joe Recarey of the Palm Beach police department on November 8, 2005. She was 18 years old at the time. Ashley acknowledged traveling to Epstein’s house in Palm Beach on approximately 15 occasions, for the purpose of providing a “massage,” and that she was 17 years old when this all went down — though she did tell Recarey, and later the Grand Jury, that she wasn’t 100% sure about the timing of her first visit, and it was possible it could’ve been just before her 17th birthday. No overt sexual contact occurred during that first visit — she simply performed an amateur massage in her underwear. In subsequent visits, she would’ve been 17.

Asked by Recarey to describe her interactions with Epstein, Ashley volunteered the following: “He never asked me to touch him in any sort of inappropriate way.” She received cash, usually $200, for each “massage” session, during which she would be in various stages of undress. Sometimes she would bring along a female friend, earning her an extra $150. Not bad for an hour’s work for a 17-year-old. She also received gifts from Epstein, like a photography book and a digital camera. Anyone who’s had the misfortune of studying Epstein’s “massage” proclivities in any great depth will know that Ashley’s account so far is banally common; many other similar-aged females reported virtually identical experiences. But there were two key ways in which Ashley was importantly unusual.

First: she said on one occasion, she had full-blown intercourse with Epstein. Again, if you’ve been burdened with learning the intricacies of Epstein’s sexual gratification preferences, you’ll know this was relatively rare for him. Epstein would typically service himself during the dubious massage sessions, and even when some sexual activity would be initiated, seldom did it rise to the level of intercourse. But according to Ashley — and for the record, she seemed entirely credible — there came a time when Epstein sought to have intercourse with her, and she obliged. “It was the day before my 18th birthday,” she said. Asked by Recarey if the intercourse had been consensual, she said it was.

Another way in which Ashley’s account was unique among the sea of other “victims” in this Palm Beach “massage” cohort: many confessed to lying about their ages to Epstein if they were not yet 18, and advising their friends/acquaintances to do the same. As one “victim” recounted, the instructions they’d give each other were as follows: “Make sure you tell him you’re 18… Jeffrey doesn’t want any underage girls.” Ashley, on the other hand, consistently said Epstein was fully aware of her true age (17) at the time of their sexual contact. In other words, she did not lie to him about her age, as others did. This could explain why Ashley ended up being the one person whom Epstein ultimately pleaded guilty to “procuring as a minor for prostitution.” Also, with other purported victims, Epstein’s lawyers pulled out all the stops to dissect and discredit their stories. But not Ashley. In fact, it’s difficult to find any record of Ashley’s veracity ever being challenged. Numerous females in the Palm Beach fiasco had drug problems, erratic personal lives, or were already “dancers” in local strip joints. By comparison, Ashley seemed articulate, well-adjusted, intelligent, and “normal.”

Ashley Davis interviewed by Detective Joe Recarey on November 8, 2005 (she was 18 by this time)

Ashley received a subpoena to appear before the Grand Jury in Palm Beach County on July 19, 2006. In that compulsory appearance, which she only complied with under duress, she emphasized that she did not wish to testify against Epstein. “I would like to put it behind me for the most part,” Ashley said. “I was successful until about two days ago.” (That is, when she’d been served with the subpoena two days earlier.) She came across as far more troubled by the investigation itself — and her involuntary ensnarement in it — than by anything that went on between her and Epstein. If there was any harm she claimed to be enduring, it was because of worry that friends or family could end up hearing about the embarrassing ordeal. “You understand that you in effect were committing prostitution yourself?” a grand juror asked her. “Yes,” she replied.

After the testimony that day, Ashley essentially vanished from the public record. And with that, the only Epstein “victim” below the legal age of consent to actually be adjudicated as such in a bonafide court proceeding really did “move on” — rather than turn her onetime Epstein entanglement into a lifelong personal and professional endeavor, as innumerable other “victims” have done.

So that’s it. That’s the lone person Jeffrey Epstein was ever convicted of engaging in unlawful sexual activity with, when that person was below the age of 18. Of course, countless other accusations against Epstein have been made over the years, especially through avalanches of lucrative civil litigation. He was also charged with additional crimes in 2019, but died in federal custody, so those were never adjudicated. When all was said and done, in terms of any proceeding with the requisite affordances for due process, Ashley was the sole “victim” whom Epstein was ever convicted of having non-adult sexual contact with. And the gravamen of that contact was one instance of consensual intercourse — literally a day before her 18th birthday.

Before anyone asks: yeah, of course Epstein was reckless and impulsive. He was pathologically obsessed with receiving these nonstop “massages,” and had a constant procession of girls coming in and out of his house to perform them, often multiple times a day, with varying degrees of sexualization. No doubt that was a disaster waiting to happen, whether or not the girls were just above or just below the legal age of consent, and even if some had misrepresented their ages so they could swing by and get the easy cash. It was an insane situation for Epstein to put himself in, and especially insane behavior for a wealthy man in his 50s, as anyone of sounder mind would have presumably recognized. (For what it’s worth, Ghislaine Maxwell said in her July 2025 proffer interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that Epstein was ingesting disturbingly high doses of testosterone around this time, and Maxwell had observed concerning personality changes in him. Which would make a lot of sense physiologically.)

No one’s being asked to condone Epstein’s overall behavior, or act like it’s a good idea for 50-year-old men to be seeking transactional sexual encounters with 17-year-olds. But seriously — in the grand scheme of things, is the conduct for which Epstein was convicted in 2008 really a sufficient basis for the entire political and media class to be frantically proclaiming, day after day, that the United States circa 2025 is in the throes of a giant “pedophila” crisis? Because this deceased “convicted pedophile” had consensual sex with a girl in Palm Beach on the literal eve of her 18th birthday, twenty years ago? And as a result, anyone who ever so much as chortled with Epstein in an email thread must now be permanently banished from polite society? Figures as varied as Noam Chomsky, Steve Bannon, Ehud Barak, and Larry Summers are to be reviled as craven pedo enablers — merely for having socialized with Epstein, a decade after he completed his criminal sentence?

Come on people: this is pure hysteria. Again, no one has to endorse Epstein’s skeevy lifestyle to observe that if the intercourse with Ashley Davis had taken place in New York, or Massachusetts, or one state north in Georgia, she would have been above the legal age of consent in those jurisdictions, and the entire legal trajectory of this debacle would have been drastically different. But as fate would have it, the intercourse took place in Florida, which has the highest legal age of consent (18) virtually anywhere in the world. So we’re all obliged to babble like maniacs about the unpunished “pedophilia” catastrophe supposedly ravaging our nation. None of it makes any sense logically, legally, factually, or otherwise — but then again, could that be the whole point? Because the Epstein phenomenon has long ago entered the realm of post-rational myth, immune from ordinary modes of empirical reasoning. The myth-making prevails even in places where one might have at least hoped more of a premium would be put on rational thought. In a court order this month relating to deliberations over the forthcoming release of “Epstein Files,” federal judge Paul Engelmayer conclusorily describes Epstein as a “notorious pedophile” — as though that were a matter of uncontested legal fact. But at least he didn’t say “convicted pedophile.” Because it’s true enough that mindless applications of the word “pedophile” have become, let’s say, “notorious.”