The Epstein Commission?

The situation took a troubling turn when Elon Musk, once a close ally of Donald Trump and now the world’s wealthiest man, urged the former president to release documents related to the Epstein case. Trump initially agreed but failed to follow through, fueling suspicions about his ties to the convicted pedophile, who moved in elite circles before being found dead in his New York jail cell in August 2019—before he could testify about the underage sex trafficking ring he allegedly operated.

The only person currently serving time in connection with the crimes is Epstein’s former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, sentenced in 2021 to 20 years for conspiring with him over nearly a decade. Authorities believe Epstein ran an extensive network, though its full scope remains unclear.

Now, Democratic Representatives Ro Khanna and Robert García are seeking access to Epstein’s 50th birthday guestbook as part of an effort to probe Trump’s links to the disgraced financier. "We write with deep concern regarding potential public corruption, abuse of power, and federal failures in the Epstein case response," they stated, according to Microsoft News. Previous reporting by The Wall Street Journal revealed that Trump had contributed a poem and a sketch of a nude woman to the book.

Meanwhile, Maxwell has reportedly provided the Justice Department with information on roughly 100 individuals connected to Epstein. Those named allegedly include Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, former Victoria’s Secret CEO Leslie Wexner, former President Bill Clinton, attorney Alan Dershowitz, investor Leon Black, and other high-profile financiers, Daily Mail reported. "There were Silicon Valley names alongside world leaders, non-British royalty beyond Andrew, and famous figures from entertainment," a source added. Notably, Musk and his brother Kimbal were also mentioned—despite Musk’s recent accusations that Trump blocked Epstein document disclosures.

Following these revelations, Maxwell is set to be transferred "for her own safety," with one MSN source warning, "They don’t want what happened to Epstein to happen to her. Recent events have made her America’s most notorious prisoner."

A Murky Archive

The Epstein case files exceed 300 gigabytes of data—documents, videos, photos, and audio stored in the FBI’s Sentinel system. These records include investigative reports from the bureau’s Miami and New York field offices, search warrants, subpoenas, and hundreds of FD-302 forms detailing witness, victim, and suspect interviews.

While civil case disclosures, Maxwell’s trial, and media reports have already exposed some documents, many questions linger. For years, politicians (including Trump) and celebrities have been publicly tied to Epstein—through flight logs or event appearances—though all deny criminal wrongdoing. Epstein’s jailhouse death, ruled a suicide before trial, sparked conspiracy theories and denied accusers a public reckoning.

The Justice Department has asked federal judges to unseal grand jury transcripts from the Epstein-Maxwell investigations. On July 18, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell at a Florida prison, stating, "If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who committed crimes against victims, the FBI and DOJ will listen." This contrasts with a July 8 memo seeking to close the Epstein probe, in which the DOJ and FBI claimed a "thorough review" found "no evidence warranting charges against unindicted third parties."

A Pattern of Obfuscation?

Partisan tensions and efforts to capitalize on Trump’s declining approval ratings have intensified calls for a commission to uncover the full truth. But history suggests such panels often obscure more than they reveal.

The 9/11 Commission, tasked with investigating the 2001 attacks, left unanswered questions about the attacks’ masterminds. Similarly, the Warren Commission’s probe into JFK’s 1963 assassination ignored glaring inconsistencies, including evidence of multiple shooters and the president’s body bearing five bullet wounds. The alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was then publicly shot—and his killer later died under suspicious circumstances. In total, 47 individuals linked to the case died unnaturally, yet the commission, in a nation that proclaims itself a beacon of democracy, never addressed these irregularities.

If an Epstein commission materializes, skepticism will be warranted—not just about what it finds, but what it buries.

Translated by Sergio Paneque / CubaSí Translation Staff