What the Epstein Scandal Tells us About the #MeToo Movement
But even though demands for the President to release the full, un-edited Epstein files grow louder by the day, no one is demanding that the survivors Epstein trafficked come forward. This admission reflects a new era of the #MeToo movement—and remarkable shift in who we believe as a society bears the responsibility for addressing the aftermath of sexual violence.
It is as though our society has finally conceded, at long last, that it is incredibly difficult to speak up about sexual misconduct. That understanding, in and of itself, signifies progress.
Epstein allegedly trafficked dozens of young girls over the years. When former U.S. Attorney and Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta controversially gave Epstein a non-prosecution agreement in 2007, the deal also extended to 'any unnamed co-conspirators.' To this day, we still do not know who they are and the Department of Justice refuses to say. But it is very likely that the survivors recognize the high-profile men to whom they were trafficked.
For some, this might beg what seems, at first glance, an obvious question: Where are the survivors? And why have they not come forward to tell us who is on the list?
But in fact there are a number of reasons why victims of such crimes might choose not to come forward, all of which speak to the challenges women face when they speak out about abuse. First, it is terrifying to take on powerful people in the full glare of the spotlight. We should know. Nearly a decade ago, we filed lawsuits against Fox News and its then-chairman and CEO Roger Ailes. At the time, Ailes was the most powerful man in media and one of the most powerful men in the world.
We were each put through the wringer, becoming avatars for those who wanted to weaponize our stories for their own ends. Coming forward had a personal toll that went beyond a cost to our careers. It was lonely to be in the center of a maelstrom. The lives we built suddenly became off-kilter. We felt like strangers to ourselves, even as we followed the same daily routines. Many of our family and friends sympathized with us—but couldn't completely understand.
We were both adults when we filed our lawsuits, each with successful careers, stable personal lives, and considerable privilege. Even for us, the balance of power between ourselves and the people we accused of wrongdoing was a gaping chasm. How much worse is it for survivors who were trafficked as young girls to wealthy middle-aged men, some of whom likely were and continue to be immensely powerful?
For once, it feels like society knows the answer to that question, which may be why no one is asking survivors to come forward at this moment.
This progress is due, in part, to the many survivors who have bravely shared their stories over the past several years, including talking about why it is so hard to do so.
Despite these difficulties, there is incredible power in telling one's story. As much as coming forward cost us in some ways, it was also the bravest thing we've ever done, and we'd do it all over again if given the choice. For every cowardly troll who tried to bully us, there were dozens of friends, family, colleagues, and complete strangers who reached out to show their support and share their own experiences. It was overwhelming and beautiful. There is nothing like the freedom and peace that comes with speaking up.
Today, there are many courageous organizations and individuals doing transformative work to help survivors seek justice, speak their truths, and ultimately change how people think about these issues. This is why we are committed to eradicating the silencing mechanisms that protect predators at the expense of survivors, including the non-disclosure agreements that some of these survivors may have signed when they were younger. We helped get two landmark federal laws passed that give survivors more protections to speak up at work.
Some have downplayed the impact of the #MeToo movement and questioned its impact. But the shift in public discourse around the Epstein case shows the subtle but profound way our culture has changed. Today, the pressure is rightly placed on those in power—those who enabled abuse or participated in it—and not on the survivors. That is real progress. We have so much more work to do, but let's also acknowledge this progress as well.
The decision to speak about trauma is personal, and every survivor deserves to make that choice on her own terms. To the women and girls abused by Jeffrey Epstein: you owe nothing to anyone. But you deserve a world that believes you, supports you, and protects you. And there is an army of people who will continue working to build that world with you.
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Boston Globe
17 minutes ago
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Vice President JD Vance is on the road again to sell the Republicans' big new tax law
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Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Vice President JD Vance is on the road again to sell the Republicans' big new tax law
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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Analysis: Trump lands another big win with EU trade deal, but he can't dodge the Epstein saga
Donald Trump European Union Tariffs FacebookTweetLink President Donald Trump claimed another win for his campaign to transform the global economy and American life, but he still can't escape intensifying questions over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein controversy. The United States clinched a framework deal with the European Union on Sunday that averted a damaging trade war. Trump believes such moves will revive US manufacturing. But the resulting 15% tariff on EU goods entering the US likely means American consumers will face higher prices in the long term. This is a significant step. So Trump's insistence that it was not simply a bid to distract from the Epstein saga is reasonable. 'Oh, you have got to be kidding with that,' the angry president told a reporter. But his irritation underscored his failure to shrug off weeks of revelations about the case and his own past friendship with the accused sex trafficker, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial. Mystery surrounds the administration's motives after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, met last week with Epstein's imprisoned accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Her lawyer implied that Maxwell was open to a presidential pardon. Trump's record of using such power for political purposes has critics warning he may be seeking a deal that would politicize justice. The storm back home isn't abating. Two lawmakers, one Democrat and the other Republican, vowed Sunday to force a vote on the House floor on the release of Epstein case files. Such a vote could embarrass the administration and create a major political showdown. This came on a typically frenetic weekend that Trump spent in Scotland and that served as a metaphor for his turbulent influence on America and the globe. He juggled the highest-level diplomacy — talks with the EU's top official, Ursula von der Leyen — with a trip promoting his business empire, in this case his portfolio of exclusive Scottish golf clubs. His visit was greeted with street protests by caustic Scots and featured outbursts of extreme rhetoric — including his social media call for the prosecution of former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump will come face-to-face Monday with pressure to force Israel to do more to mitigate a growing famine in Gaza. He'll see British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his Turnberry resort in southwest Scotland before traveling with Starmer to Aberdeenshire, where Trump will inaugurate a new course at another club. Starmer last week said of the crisis in Gaza that 'we are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.' Much is unknown about the scope of the trade deal with the EU, which will see a 15% tariff imposed on most of the bloc's exports and billions of dollars in purchases of US energy. But it extends a winning streak and a record of implementing campaign promises for a president who is imposing personal power and often idiosyncratic beliefs — for instance in the effectiveness of trade tariffs — on the US and the world. 'This was the big one. This is the biggest of them all,' Trump said Sunday after meeting von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Von der Leyen followed the accepted wisdom that praising Trump personally can provide political payoffs. 'He is a tough negotiator, but he is also a dealmaker,' she said. Trump has recently announced framework deals on trade with Japan and the Philippines — which both include higher tariffs that represent a fracturing of the 21st-century global free-trade arrangements. Trump believes that this system, which helped make the US a dominant global power, is nevertheless unfair on American workers and industries. And he rejects economists' arguments that raising tariffs increases prices for already-stretched US consumers. Trump is flexing power everywhere. He is gutting the federal government, dominating Congress, and exerting unprecedented pressure on law firms and universities to impose his right-wing ideology, all while seeking to intimidate media outlets. These are wins for his populist 'Make America Great Again' movement and its program to buckle what supporters see as liberal power. But as with Trump's outlier belief in tariffs, the long-term impacts that his actions could have on American society, the economy and democracy are alarming critics. Trump has politicized the legal system; his government funding cuts have hampered vital scientific research on critical subjects such as cancer; and his expanding of presidential power often tests the Constitution. 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'We still have too much Russian LNG (liquid natural gas) that is coming through the back door again to our European Union, and some Russian gas and oil still in the European Union, which we do not want anymore,' von der Leyen said. Trump's frustration that a key political achievement has been overshadowed by the Epstein saga is unlikely to dissipate in the coming days. The controversy started because of conspiracy theories among Trump's base that claimed the disgraced financier did not take his own life in prison but was murdered, and that he left behind a client list of rich and powerful Americans who'd taken advantage of his alleged sex trafficking. These claims were promoted by Trump and allies including Pam Bondi and Kash Patel. When all three assumed positions of great power (Bondi is attorney general, and Patel is FBI director), their failure to release the files as promised caused a rupture in Trump's MAGA base, which the administration has failed thus far to repair. The political uproar explains why Blanche's meeting with Maxwell last week caused such consternation. Maxwell's lawyer told reporters after her second day of meetings with Blanche in Tallahassee, Florida, that she had answered every question truthfully and honestly. He also noted that the president has the power to pardon those convicted of crimes. 'We hope he exercises that power in a right and just way,' the attorney, David Oscar Markus, said Friday. Blanche has so far not offered a detailed public account of the meetings. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Trump in his relationship with Epstein, and the president appears to have severed the friendship long before the accused sex trafficker was charged with federal crimes. But the Justice Department's unorthodox approach is raising concerns that it goes beyond a public relations effort to convince MAGA voters the administration is doing something. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison term, has an incentive for providing information that could ease her situation — and Trump has the power to do so. Questions over the president's motives became even more important when CNN and other outlets reported last week that Trump's name was mentioned in the Epstein files, along with those of some other prominent Americans. This does not mean that he or anyone else is guilty of wrongdoing. In fact, Bondi might have made the correct decision legally in refusing to release information that could harm the reputation of people not accused of crimes. But beyond a joint Justice Department and FBI statement on the rationale for not releasing the files, the administration has rarely attempted to justify a policy that has put it at odds with its own supporters in the MAGA movement. 'I'm concerned that the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, is meeting with (Maxwell) supposedly one-on-one,' Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday. 'Look, I agree … that she should testify. But she's been indicted twice on perjury. This is why we need the files.' Republican leaders hoped the case might simply disappear over the summer recess. But Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, a co-sponsor with Khanna of a House bill demanding the release of the files, isn't giving up. 'This is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms. The voters will be apathetic if we don't hold the rich and powerful accountable,' Massie said on NBC. 'I think when we get back, we can get the signatures required to force this to the floor.' The Trump administration has asked the courts to release grand jury testimony pertinent to the Epstein case. But one federal judge refused last week, in a ruling that may have given the DOJ political cover. 'We want them to release the files. However, we can't make them release it because of separation of power,' Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin told Jake Tapper on CNN's 'State of the Union.' That may be the case. But grand jury testimony is believed to be only a fraction of the evidence against Epstein that the government holds — and hasn't made public. And the entire controversy has been worsened by the administration's clumsy approach and unwillingness to confront the anger of the MAGA base. 'I think that part of this problem is that there were some false expectations that are created, and that's a political mistake,' Missouri Republican Rep. Eric Burlison told CNN's Manu Raju.
