# The Epstein Files Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 17, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997 "2025-07-17T23:21:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/201 "2025-09-27T17:06:35Z")
Apparently, Epstein was meeting with Peter Thiel, Elon Musk and Steve Bannon in 2019, before his arrest. [https://www.axios.com/2025/09/26/elon-musk-peter-thiel-steve-bannon-epstein-files](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/26/elon-musk-peter-thiel-steve-bannon-epstein-files) Thiel is, of course, Vice President JD Vance’s principal financer and pal. Elon Musk was a large donor to Trump and special appointee to reform the government. Steve Bannon was President Trump’s advisor, charged by the Bill Barr for defrauding MAGAs, and then pardoned by the President without any apparent contrition. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/202 "2025-09-27T17:17:27Z")
As long as this thread popped up again, can someone verify how to pronounce ‘Epstein’? I always hear ‘Ep-steen’, but it’s spelled ‘Ep-stine’. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/203 "2025-09-27T17:20:20Z")
The -stein suffix can go either way, like Albert Einstein or Diane Feinstein. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/204 "2025-09-27T17:21:19Z")
Thanks. I took through German 4, so it catches me every time. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/205 "2025-09-27T17:24:30Z")
BTW, I think the original Yiddish pronunciation is actually “-schten”. That’s how all of those names are pronounced in Hebrew. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/206 "2025-09-27T17:28:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I always hear ‘Ep-steen’, but it’s spelled ‘Ep-stine’. That’s because that’s how his mother signed her name on his excuse notes for school. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/207 "2025-09-27T18:01:09Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The -stein suffix can go either way, like Albert Einstein or Diane Feinstein. And sometimes it changes during one’s lifetime, like when “Leonard Bern-steen” became “Leonard Bern-stine.” ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/208 "2025-09-27T18:07:20Z")
From what I’ve heard the MAGA hope seems to be the files will have details of Bill Clinton running amok with young girls on Epstein Island. They of course expect no information implicating their Dear Leader. In their wildest fantasies they believe there will be sex crimes committed by Obama as well. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/209 "2025-09-27T18:28:04Z")
After the MAGAites are done cutting, pasting, and burning, there may well be exactly that. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/210 "2025-09-27T19:14:52Z")
Obama would really surprise me, even the most tangential mention. I would be relieved if there is no Bill Clinton in there. I voted for that guy twice. (Different elections, Republicans! When there was no Epstein talk.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/211 "2025-09-27T19:19:51Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I would be relieved if there is no Bill Clinton in there. I would be amused. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/212 "2025-09-27T19:27:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@bobot](#): > > > > I would be relieved if there is no Bill Clinton in there. > > I would be amused. . I would be surprised. But “getting Bill Clinton” is not exactly the younger right-wingers’ first priority. They don’t even remember him. The older MAGA folks would get a kick out of it, of course. Of more concern to Trump and his enablers is the list of rich GOP guys who aren’t really in the public eye, but who will NOT be happy if their names come out. Their unhappiness could manifest itself in ways that could inconvenience Donald et al. An example: John Paulson. Not famous, but he gave a TON of cash to Donald: > **[Major Trump donor found in Epstein's "black book"—Thomas Massie](https://www.newsweek.com/trump-jeffrey-epstein-little-black-book-thomas-massie-john-paulson-2125070)** > > Republican Representative Thomas Massie said billionaire Trump donor John Paulson was in Jeffrey Epstein's contact book. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/213 "2025-09-27T19:28:30Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I would be relieved if there is no Bill Clinton in there. You might want to consider: [https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/new-photos-bill-clinton-trump-melania-227945](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/new-photos-bill-clinton-trump-melania-227945) > **[1996 United States campaign finance controversy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_United_States_campaign_finance_controversy)** > > The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy, sometimes referred to as Chinagate, was an effort by the People's Republic of China to influence domestic American politics prior to and during the Clinton administration and also involved the fundraising practices of the administration itself. While questions regarding the U.S. Democratic Party's fundraising activities first arose over a Los Angeles Times article published on September 21, 1996, China's role in the affair first gained public... [https://time.com/4276988/jim-comey-hillary-clinton/](https://time.com/4276988/jim-comey-hillary-clinton/) (Section about Whitewater destruction of evidence) In general, it’s not too surprising that Trump would be friends with the Clintons nor that he’d take the actions that he has taken, given that. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/214 "2025-09-27T19:35:11Z")
I know that Bill Clinton was a shady, adulterous guy. I was referring to Epstein, pedophilia stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/215 "2025-09-27T19:54:30Z")
Like I posted about Trump, years ago, you look at some 13-14 year old girls, their bodies developed to full maturity, precosciously. It’s not the norm, but it does happen. Knowing that a guy prefers ladies of apparent adulthood is not too much protection when looking at guys with sex addiction and a sense that they’re above the law or otherwise stymie it. If a girl looks like an adult, they might not ask too many questions and someone smart and unprincipled might take advantage of it. So when we see things like Trump visiting Moscow and people sending girls to his room, you really need to question what choices he might have made. Or, likewise, with Clinton visiting Epstein and Trump socializing with Epstein. If someone does have proof of something, trusting that it will just come out on its own, and not be held securely in a place only known by one powerful and patient person, is foolhardy. That’s not evidence that there is such a thing, but you do need to do more digging than assuming that Comey is or was a Republican hack, willing to invent accusations against the Clintons. And likewise, the Republicans should have noted that Trump’s friends were being sentenced and jailed by his own appointees. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/216 "2025-09-27T19:58:37Z")
Yeah, ok. I merely said that I would be relieved if Clinton wasn’t in there. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/217 "2025-09-27T20:02:37Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Like I posted about Trump, years ago, you look at some 13-14 year old girls, their bodies developed to full maturity, precosciously. Bear in mind that 16 or 17 is also considered underage in (most of?) the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/218 "2025-09-27T20:28:08Z")
Yeah, but there’s the legal factor and then there’s the public sentiment factor. There might be little legal difference between getting a handjob during a massage from a fully developed 17 year old, and asking a flat chested 13 year old girl to put on baby diapers and having full penetrative sex with her. The public is liable to view those differently. I’m not sure of the statute of limitations - I’d expect that it varies by state - but I’d generally presume that political damage is the greater threat than criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/219 "2025-09-27T21:23:32Z")
As Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards once bragged: > The only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997/220 "2025-09-27T22:49:52Z")
Great news! Trump has agreed to release all the files! [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G1zOxa0XsAEvDCc?format=jpg&name=large) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G1zOxa0XsAEvDCc?format=jpg&name=large) Oh wait, Earhart? Yeah, that’s the files that we’ve all been clamoring for! 🙄 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epstein-files-question/1020997.md?page=12)