Editorial: As long as [REDACTED] has his thumb on the scales of justice, the Epstein files were always going to be [REDACTED]

The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec 29, 2025

Published in Op Eds

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Of course, not all of the Jeffrey Epstein files were released.

Even some files made available late Friday were quickly removed. Large portions were heavily redacted. Some portions contained boldfaced names, but there was little mention of Donald Trump.

As long as Trump keeps his thumb on the scales at the U.S. Department of Justice, no one should ever expect a fair shake — let alone an honest accounting of the yearslong connection between a convicted sex offender and a convicted president who is a congenital liar.

This is life under a brazenly corrupt administration that rewards billionaire cronies, punishes hundreds of political enemies, kills in broad daylight, and tramples the Constitution.

Better to prepare for how to defend against three more years of authoritarian rule mixed with kabuki theater.

In normal times, the Trump administration’s continued cover-up of the Epstein files would be an epic scandal, prompting hearings, investigations, and accountability.

But the Republicans who control the House and Senate have been a profile in cowardice. Until enough voters wake up, Trump and the GOP will continue to provide misdirection, denials, and a flouting of the law.

Trump has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, but his enablers — including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, and most Republicans in Congress — inexplicably continue to protect him.

Doing so obliterates any trust in the justice system and the rule of law.

The main tragedy involves the yearslong sex trafficking, rape, and abuse of hundreds of underage girls, including one alleged 11-year-old, and young, vulnerable women by Epstein and his many rich and powerful friends.

Epstein’s survivors have demanded that the files be released so there can be at least some public accounting of the horror they endured. But instead, the survivors have had to relive the trauma and fear of death threats.

One survivor who Epstein recruited from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago spa when she was a teen took her own life earlier this year. In a telling admission of how Trump views women as objects, he said earlier this year that Epstein “stole” her from him.

A recent story by the New York Times detailed how Trump and Epstein “pursued women in a game of ego and dominance” where “female bodies were currency.”

But the American people have been misled and abused, as well, while other pressing issues have been ignored or made worse.

Trump’s disregard for women has been well documented.

More than two dozen women have accused Trump of sexual abuse. He was caught on tape bragging about grabbing women by their genitals.

A separate video showed Trump and Epstein partying at Mar-a-Lago, while Trump patted a woman on her behind. In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing a woman.

Everyone knew Trump was a lout, but more than 77 million Americans, including millions of women, voted for him anyway. And the Republicans in Congress have dutifully stood by him for years, bringing repeated shame to themselves and the country.

During last year’s election campaign, Trump used the Epstein files to stoke conspiracies and rally his supporters. He promised to release the files if elected, but after returning to the White House, called them a hoax.

(Trump also promised to lower prices, but that is a separate editorial, just as is his promise to end the war in Ukraine in one day.)

After mounting pressure from his base, and a 427-1 House vote last month to release the Epstein files, Trump ultimately signed a bill to make them public by Dec. 19.

The deadline passed, and all the files have yet to come out. Expect more gamesmanship and Truth Social rants.

The Epstein saga is a microcosm of Trump’s modus operandi. Lie, steal, cheat. Deny, deflect, delay, and degrade. Blame, complain, pressure, and sue. Line pockets whenever possible. Always overpromise and underdeliver.

Truth, honesty, humility, compassion, or responsibility are nowhere to be found.

Trump’s sinking poll numbers indicate that many supporters are finally catching on. The midterms loom, but so do three more years of hell.

But could the end of our long national nightmare be near?

_____