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People who have been following the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking saga are waiting to see just who is on the infamous list of 175 of Epstein’s associates. Some of the names we already know, like Prince Andrew and Bill Gates. Others are surprising: fashion designer Vera Wang; model Naomi Campbell, former CIA director William Burns, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
But the one name that has everyone on the edge of their seats is that of former President Bill Clinton.
However, just because a name is on Epstein’s list doesn’t mean they were part of his sex trafficking activities. Since Epstein was a notorious con artist, some of the individuals probably didn’t know how he was using them. As Brittany Henderson, one of the attorneys representing Epstein accusers, told the Wall Street Journal:
He used the powerful people he was intermingling with to further facilitate his sex trafficking scheme, whether those people knew it or not. He was using everyone around him to create this facade of legitimacy.
Yeah, I can’t see Vera Wang knowingly participating in the trafficking of young girls. But … Bill Clinton! Why, he must’ve been involved with Epstein’s underage sex trafficking, right?
Oh, yeah? say liberals. What about Donald Trump, huh?
As is usual these days, it all depends on whose ox is being gored.
True crime documentaries are the current rage on streaming platforms. They range from tales of Ted Bundy serial killer types to Lori Vallow killer moms (with a twist of cultism thrown in). Viewers also crave sordid tales of the exploitation of women and children.
So what viewers want, streaming services provide. Netflix, for example, just dropped the third season of Surviving R. Kelly, which documents how R&B singer R. Kelly abused both girls and women for decades. In 2022, however, a New York court found him guilty of eight counts of sex trafficking. Then, some months later, a Chicago jury found him guilty of child sexual abuse.
In 2019 a documentary claiming that Michael Jackson sexually abused boys emerged. Two of his alleged victims peddled that story.
Of course the biggest, most salacious tale of sex trafficking is that of Jeffrey Epstein and his gal pal and facilitator Ghislaine Maxwell.
Do an IMDb search of “Jeffrey Epstein” and you’ll find a plethora of documentaries and podcasts telling the tale of this sociopathic predator. Ghislaine Maxwell’s numbers at the site aren’t far behind. The saga has everything that fits into the popular true crime format: sex, girls, money, power, sleaze — all capped off with Epstein’s mysterious death in a New York prison. And as long as no political icons of either right or left were named as having directly benefited from Epstein’s sex trafficking, both sides could agree that Epstein and Maxwell were monsters. After all, we’re talking children as victims here.
But then along came The Sound of Freedom.
Last summer the low-budget film The Sound of Freedom became a surprise hit, raking in over $250 million. It also became one of the most successful independent movies ever. The film recounted how a federal agent set out on his own crusade to save children from South American sex traffickers. While based on true characters and actual events, the film, like every other “based on a true story” movie, contains both truth and fiction in its narrative arc.
However, progressives went into a fit. This is pushing QAnon sex trafficking conspiracies, they said. There is no crisis.
Sound of Freedom: the QAnon-adjacent thriller seducing America https://t.co/tbDjYCxU3C
— Guardian US (@GuardianUS) July 6, 2023
Hold on — I watched this film last weekend on Amazon Prime. I saw no reference to QAnon or the “Pizzagate” conspiracy. No mention of Hillary Clinton, either.
But, as Rolling Stone breathlessly reported, the protagonist, Tim Ballard, has dabbled in these conspiracy theories. So has actor Jim Caviezel, apparently.
On top of that, Angel Studios released The Sound of Freedom — the same studio responsible for the popular series The Chosen, which follows the ministry of Jesus and His disciples. That series, which will soon be in its fourth season, is also much beloved among Christian audiences, so gasp! The Sound of Freedom must be tainted with the same Christian pestilence in the minds of progressive journalists.
The other problem for the Left is Joe Biden’s wide open borders, where trafficking cartels profit off the bodies of women and children. One study estimated that 60% of unaccompanied minors are snagged by cartels and sexually exploited through pornography and drug trafficking.
The Sound of Freedom, anyone?
Suddenly the sex trafficking of women and children was no longer a problem for progressives anymore. Move along, we need to indict Donald Trump for something.
The State Department reports that in 2021 there were 6.3 million international victims of sexual exploitation, of which 1.7 million were children. And that was before Joe Biden threw the doors of the borders wide open.
Women everywhere see examples of the impact of this menace. Ask any woman who has entered a public restroom, perhaps at an interstate rest stop or in an airport, and she’s seen posters inside bathroom stalls inviting trafficked women and girls to call hotline numbers for rescue. “You are not alone,” these posters implore.
So maybe the Department of Justice should go after traffickers with the same verve that they target parents at school board meetings. Maybe Democrats should also get onboard with legislation to put teeth into trafficking laws, as happened in California in July, 2023. Democrats in the CA statehouse dragged their feet on voting for a bill to reclassify sex trafficking as a felony rather than a misdemeanor. Pressure on social media finally got the recalcitrant Dems to go along, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it.
So while both sides will be waiting to see which names drop from the notorious Epstein associates list, that’s not the biggest issue. It’s the continuing sexual exploitation of women and children. Legislators and media need to stop playing tribal games and focus on the real horrors that confront these victims of true crime.
Featured image: “UNODC Mexico: Rally on human trafficking prevention for children” by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped.
Skillyboo says: The closer we get to the release of the list the more fervent the media’s attempts to make their case that Trump was Epstein’s number one client. And the same media is in total lockstep avoiding mentioning every prominent democrat and their lackeys relationship with Epstein.
A reader says: https://youtu.be/wq17yH_31XI?si=NawRsaTv4RXEcwrZ
There’s more but I assume you’re capable of using Google even though you seem incapable of research.
People who actually investigated Angel Studios and Sound of Freedom have stated that much of the movie is grossly inaccurate. And Tim Ballard is far from the hero he claims to be. Also you do realize that sex trafficking is a big buzz phrase for QAnon right? (Hello PizzaGate!) That’s why there’s so much association there. And the movie wasn’t nearly as popular as it claimed due to how the seats in theaters were sold, but whatever. Not to mention that most cases of child sex trafficking happen by people who know the child. https://www.savethechildren.org/us/charity-stories/child-trafficking-myths-vs-facts#:~:text=MYTH%3A%20Traffickers%20target%20victims%20they,family%20member%20or%20romantic%20partner.
Also: https://love146.org/learn/
But since those doesn’t fit into your nice little narrative let’s ignore it shall we?
The fact is there will be all kinds of names on Epstein’s list. And some will be liberals and some will be conservatives. Evil doesn’t care about one’s political affiliation.
Kim Hirsch says: Oh. You again.
There’s more but I assume you’re capable of using Google even though you seem incapable of research.
Oh, honey, I do a helluva lot more research and spend a lot more time than you did on your fallacy-ridden rant you posted disguised as a “comment.” Let’s analyze them, shall we?
“Tim Ballard has been accused of sex assault.” Red herring, much? First of all, I knew this. Secondly, this has nothing to to with the fact that children and women are sex trafficked at an alarming rate. And again, these are allegations, right? Kind of like the Biden family corruption charges are, at this point, allegations as well.
People who actually investigated Angel Studios and Sound of Freedom have stated that much of the movie is grossly inaccurate.
Yet another red herring. But I stated as much in the post, anyway: “While based on true characters and actual events, the film, like every other “based on a true story” movie, contains both truth and fiction in its narrative arc.”
Also you do realize that sex trafficking is a big buzz phrase for QAnon right? (Hello PizzaGate!) That’s why there’s so much association there.
Wow, another red herring! But again — I mentioned it in the post: “However, progressives went into a fit. This is pushing QAnon sex trafficking conspiracies, they said. There is no crisis. Hold on — I watched this film last weekend on Amazon Prime. I saw no reference to QAnon or the “Pizzagate” conspiracy. No mention of Hillary Clinton, either.” (I wonder, did you even watch the film? I’m guessing not.)
. And the movie wasn’t nearly as popular as it claimed due to how the seats in theaters were sold, but whatever.
Yeah, whatever indeed. Red herring again. To quote Hillary Clinton: What difference does it make?
Not to mention that most cases of child sex trafficking happen by people who know the child.
And that means…what, exactly? That we should just ignore it? But then you follow up with links that demonstrate how alarming the situation really is. From Love146: “It’s estimated that over 3 million children are being victimized into sex trafficking and labor trafficking.” From Save the Children: “Child trafficking affects every country in the world, including the United States. Children make up 27% of all human trafficking victims worldwide, and two out of every three identified child victims are girls[i].”
And finally —
But since those doesn’t fit into your nice little narrative let’s ignore it shall we?
So what is my “nice little narrative,” huh? Tell me. I’ll wait.
Maybe you should re-read my conclusion: “So while both sides will be waiting to see which names drop from the notorious Epstein associates list, that’s not the biggest issue. It’s the continuing sexual exploitation of women and children. Legislators and media need to stop playing tribal games and focus on the real horrors that confront these victims of true crime.”
Or better yet — maybe you should just learn to read for comprehension rather than venting your spleen and demonstrating how little you know about researching and debating topics.
GWB says: The fact is there will be all kinds of names on Epstein’s list.
Do you have any follow-up since the list dropped?
You seem really defensive concerning this is a pretty anodyne post, not saying much other than “Some people seem to be less interested in crimes when it’s their ox being gored.”
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Kevin says: Removing politics from the discussion of sex trafficking (every political leaning scum bag … left, right and center … are on Epstein’s list) … here’s the problem with the sex trafficking laws (as well as the child abuse laws, domestic violence and stalking laws, and other crimes against children and women) … men create the laws. There is no way in hell a legislature filled with men are going to create laws that support children and women when men are 98% the ones perpetrating the crimes. In addition, it’s usually a man (a judge) that’s going to hear the case if it goes to court.
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