And with it, a chance for men who give a damn to show up better than last time.
Do you remember the Me Too movement?
With the partial release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, we are heading toward a similar cultural reckoning. And this time, I hope that men across the country learn enough about the details of the situation to take on the task of holding the guilty accountable.
If you are anything like me, you may have thought the scandal is about a sick man, Jeffrey Epstein, who ran a sex trafficking ring, and the files contain the lurid details of who his “customers” were.
The actual story is much darker, broader, and damning. Evidence in the files shows that a large network of powerful men in both the public and private sectors – current and former government officials and law enforcement professionals was either actively involved in covering up evidence of what happened, unable or unwilling to indict the guilty, or both. The situation is not solely about today’s prominent and powerful men. Evidence shows that law enforcement has been covering up the facts, protecting some men as far back as 1996.
Thousands of girls were involved in what appears to be a complex pyramid-style recruiting and exploitation scheme. Some have since committed suicide; others prefer to stay anonymous as they put their lives back together. Notably, many have courageously banded together to demand justice for the crimes against them.
As a refresher, the “@MeToo” movement was ignited when some of the women who worked for movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and other powerful men—mostly in the entertainment industry— stepped forward to share their own stories of being harassed, sexually assaulted, and raped.
Me Too became a widespread social and cultural reckoning, eventually involving thousands of women. It brought increased public attention to issues of sexual harassment in the workplace and how women were, for generations, forced to endure being sexually objectified, pressured, and attacked, while large portions of our society – especially men – willfully ignored and excused themselves and others for what was happening.
With the partial release of the Epstein files, we are heading toward a similar reckoning. This time, men – you and I – have an opportunity—I would call it an “obligation”—to show up in support of the women in our lives with more empathy and validation, along with a sustained commitment to hold the culprits accountable and to untangle and expose the web of corruption in the Department of Justice, government, and other branches of law enforcement.
Another important difference is that the alleged culprits this time are not just private citizens like Weinstein; they include legislators, political advisors, current and former cabinet members, and the current President of the United States. As new information continues to come to the surface, we are discovering that many of these public servants and political figures knew the extent and depravity of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, yet lied to Congress and to us about what they knew.
The way the Department of Justice is releasing and redacting the files shows a disturbing level of intentional collusion.. Despite AI tools that can redact victims’ names from millions of documents in minutes, their names continue to be “accidentally” released. At the same time, the names of the powerful men associated with Epstein are also “accidentally” redacted, yet the Justice Department continues to resist un-redacting them only after someone points out each independent error. The trickling out of the files over time, rather than being released all at once as they should have been, also appears to be evidence of the DOJ’s shady role. According to many who are reading them, the released files appear to have been shuffled and intentionally disorganized, making it very difficult to build coherent narratives and timelines of Epstein’s crimes and the actions of accomplices.
Like the Me Too movement, I am humbled and frankly, a little embarrassed not to have seen or understood the scope of the Epstein scandal until I decided to delve deeper into it.
To find out more on your own,, the most comprehensive treatment I have found is listening to Amanda ad Glennon Doyle’s excellent summary of the Epstein files of their recent podcasts on “We Can Do Hard Things”: “THE EPSTEIN FILES, EXPLAINED: Everything You Need to Know (Amanda’s You’re Not Gonna Believe This B.S.)” and the subsequent episode, “EPSTEIN SURVIVORS’ ATTORNEY WHO EXPOSED GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY: Brad Edwards.”
The podcasts are not speculative “takes” on the files. As the description explains: “This is not about conspiracy theories or salacious details. What we have instead is a documented record showing how, for more than a decade, the justice system worked to protect Jeffrey Epstein and his associates while survivors, advocates, and journalists fought to expose the truth.”
If podcasts aren’t for you, Al Jazeera’s visual guide and accompanying details is also excellent.
The women in your life may not be interested in the Epstein investigation, but make no mistake: the crimes associated with it reveal a massive international scandal with significant political and legal consequences. How we respond to the scandal – our willingness as men to understand the scope and impact of the crimes on women – matters. While we can’t change what happened to the thousands of girls—many of whom are now grown, mature women—we can learn from what happened and demand that our legislators hold those responsible to account.
I’ll follow up on this article with a more detailed “how to” guide, including suggestions for what else we men can do to support justice and reconciliation in the wake of these horrible events.
Interested in doing more? Our Men at the Crossroads learning cohort launches at the end of February. Sign up!