Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Cleanup On The Epstein Files

The best point about the fallout from the final tranche of Epstein files was made by Eric Florack at PJ Medioa last week: Backfire: Epstein Files Hitting Everyone Except The Left's Original Target. If anything, one of the documents released by the Justice Department went further to exonerate Trump:

CNBC reports Trump personally called the then-Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter “to tell him ‘thank goodness you’ [are] stopping [Epstein], everyone has known he’s been doing this,” Reiter told the FBI in October 2019, according to the FBI document, known as a 302.

The document stated whistleblower Trump “was one of the very first people to call” the police when word spread Epstein was under investigation.

. . . The outlet notes, “Reiter’s name is redacted from the 302. But the document identifies the interview subject as the person who had been Palm Beach’s police chief at the time of the department’s investigation of Epstein, who was Reiter.”

Reiter told the Miami Herald, which first reported the document, Trump called him in 2006, after the police department’s probe of Epstein became publicly known.

Trump told Reiter he had thrown Epstein out of his club, Mar-a-Lago, which is located in Palm Beach, the summary said.

Rep Thomas Massie, who was originally behind the drive to force the Justice Department to release all the Epstein files, has seen his efforts fall flat, and he's been reduced to attacking Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick:

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Sunday [February 8] pushed for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to resign after his name appeared in files linked to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Trump’s Commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said that he and his wife decided around 2005 to cut ties with Jeffrey Epstein,” host Manu Raju said on CNN’s “Inside Politics.”

“But the latest release shows that there was some correspondence after that, even after Epstein pleaded guilty to sex crimes in 2008. What questions do you have about Lutnick’s ties to Epstein, and should he come before Congress and testify?” Raju asked.

“No, he should just resign. I mean, there are three people in Great Britain that have resigned in politics. The ambassador from Great Britain to the United States, the prince lost his title for less than what we’ve seen Howard Lutnick lie about,” Massie told Raju in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

But Lutnick easily deflected the issue in his testimony two days later: Ben Whedon at Just the News provides a good summary of the latest, and likely the last, victims:

The most clear example is perhaps former Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whose email exchanges with Epstein along with pictures of him next to women appeared in a recent batch of publicly released files.

King Charles III late last year formally stripped Andrew of all royal titles, and he was evicted from his residence as a consequence. The move followed long-time concerns and controversy about Andrew's personal and official diplomatic relationship with the wealthy Epstein, which resulted in the Royal Family retiring him from public life years ago, largely after a following a botched interview in which Andrew attempted to defend himself. Still, he is not expected to face criminal prosecution.

But allegations against Andrew were nothing new, and apparently King Charles has even been a moderating influence in the family's efforts to expel him:

"In a clear sign of his wish for further harmony in his family, Charles invited his former sister-in-law, Sarah, Duchess of York, to join the royal family and walk alongside her ex-husband Prince Andrew to church at Sandringham," [Russell] Myers wrote [in a recent book].

"It would be the first time she had participated in this tradition in 32 years. The King’s decision to bring his brother back into the family fold was an issue William fundamentally disagreed with, to such a degree that he challenged Charles directly.

"A source with knowledge of the conversation said that William was 'very much put in his place', and that while he did not agree with the view that Andrew's exile should be limited, he did not provoke his father further."

The UK's ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, was fired once his Epstein connections were revealed, and days later, Prime Minister Starmer's Chief of Staff, Peter McSweeney, resigned.

Two Norwegians were Epstein casualties. Mona Juul, the Norwegian ambassador to the UK, resigned following revelations that her husband received $10 million in Epstein’s will. Also, via the Just the News link,

The former prime minister of Norway was charged with “aggravated corruption” last week in connection with a criminal probe over his ties to Epstein. Jagland led Norway from 1996 to 1997 and served as Secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019.

Jagland also chaired the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2009 to 2015 and the investigation stems from his possible receipt of gifts, travel, loans, and other perks in connection with his post, the Associated Press reported.

The revelations have left Americans largely untouched. The most prominent, as already noted here, has been Kathryn Ruemmler, head counsel of Goldman Sachs, who sent flirty e-mails to Epstein following his conviction. She submitted her resignation effective this coming June, although her ability to stay in the job that long suggests it wasn't as severe a penalty as it could have been. Via the Just the News link,

No major political figure appears to have lost his or her job since Trump signed into law in late-2025 Congress's Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the DOJ to publicly release nearly all documents, records and files related to the investigation and prosecution of Epstein and Maxwell.

. . . However, the recent Epstein revelations have . . . forced Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to admit that he did visit Epstein’s private island in 2012, years after Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution.

Lutnick has denied wrongdoing and Trump has not sought his resignation. He previously claimed to have fully severed his relationship with Epstein in previous years.

Lutnick followed the correct crisis management strategy of releasing full details of his 2012 contacts, which seem trivial, and this has allowed him to keep functioning as a key Trump negotiator.

The biggest name omitted from the Just the News summary is Noam Chomsky, 97, covered in the Rich Lowry YouTube embedded at the top of this post. According to, Wikipedia,

Emails related to the activities of convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein released by the House Oversight Committee in November 2025 revealed that Chomsky befriended him after Epstein's 2008 conviction and remained in touch with him at least through 2017. In a letter, he wrote that he considered Epstein a "highly valued friend and regular source of intellectual exchange and stimulation". In December 2025, Congress released a photo of Chomsky with Steve Bannon from Epstein's estate and another showing him flying with Epstein in Epstein's private plane. Before the files' release, he had said he received around $270,000 from an account connected to Epstein while sorting through common funds after his wife Carol's death.

. . . In 2026, [second wife] Valeria Chomsky wrote that Chomsky's relationship with Epstein was a "grave mistake" and apologized on Chomsky's behalf, writing, "It was deeply disturbing for both of us to realize we had engaged with someone who presented as a helpful friend but led a hidden life of criminal, inhumane, and perverted acts."

The connection with Steve Bannon hinted at in the link appears to have included an extensive e-mail correspondence in the years following Epstein's guilty plea:

In several emails in 2018, Epstein advised Bannon on his political tour of Europe that year after Bannon forwarded Epstein a news clip that the German media underestimated Bannon and that he was "As Dangerous as Ever."

"luv it," Epstein responded.

Epstein wrote that he'd just spoken to "one of the country leaders that we discussed" and that "we should lay out a strategy plan. . how much fun."

However, Bannon left the Trump administration in August 2017 and appears never to have been an especially good fit.

But among those not affected by the Epstein files, we should note one prominent name:

This is not to say that Musk's judgment was especially good, but, but it was certainly better than Reid Hoffman's or Bill Gates's. We'll leave terraforming Mars aside for now.

posted by test @ February 18, 2026   0 Comments