End The Witch Hunt
The release of the Epstein Files was laudatory but many of the cancellations are unjust
The release of the Epstein Files by the US Department of Justice is a historically significant act. The files offer an extraordinary glimpse into the degraded morality of our governing elites.
At the same time, the Files have brought with them a #MeToo Part II moral panic and witch hunt that is resulting in unjust cancellations. The most recent Epstein cancellation was a few hours ago of the influential medical doctor Peter Attia, who resigned from his position as a CBS News contributor. Others include former Obama White Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, Thomas Pritzker, Sarah Ferguson, Brad Karp, Larry Summers, Lee Smolin, Miroslav Lajčák, George J. Mitchell, David A. Ross, Joanna Rubinstein, and Casey Wasserman.
While many might view the behavior and comments of those individuals as ugly, nothing has yet emerged to suggest they did anything sufficiently wrong or criminal to merit losing their jobs. There is no clear evidence to conclude that any of them were complicit in Epstein’s crimes.
This is not a defense of anything any of those individuals said in their correspondence with Epstein, nor a dismissal of law-breaking. There are cases, including those of former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who police arrested Friday, and Peter Mandelson, who police arrested today, that may have involved disclosing secret financial information to Epstein. The same may be true for Thorbjørn Jagland, Mona Juul, Terje Rød-Larsen, and Jack Lang. And if new evidence emerges that suggests real criminal guilt for others, we will update this piece.
But as of today it appears that these are mostly cases where people are losing their jobs, being forced to step down, or facing severe reputational damage simply because they knew and corresponded with Epstein. Many people did not know the details of Epstein’s crimes until a 2018 Miami Herald article series brought attention to them. Epstein was charismatic and manipulative, and his friends likely believed his version of events.
The argument that any communication with Epstein was equivalent to condoning predatory behavior sets a troubling precedent. We have a criminal justice system to decide guilt and innocence and mete out the appropriate punishment precisely so that we need not live under rule by the mob.
The witch hunt currently underway is similar to the excesses of the #MeToo era. In one case, people falsely accused a professor at UCLA of pedophilia because he emailed Epstein a study that found “a newborn will suck on a pacifier more vigorously” when it hears its mother’s voice. But the email was not sexual. The study was relevant to the professor’s research into the effects of music on premature babies. The professor had been introduced to Epstein by Harvard’s Provost and had no knowledge of Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
Consider the demand last week by NBC Sports columnist Mike Florio for the NFL to investigate “whether [New York Jets owner Steve] Tisch engaged in quid pro quo sexual harassment” in a case unrelated to Epstein but inspired by Epstein appearing to encourage a young woman to date Tisch.
