Ideas

What Everyone Assumes About Jeffrey Epstein

The theory that Epstein was blackmailing his rich contacts was always based on speculation.

First published in The Atlantic on February 7, 2026.

by Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic

February 12, 2026 | reading time: 10 Min.

In the case of Jeffrey Epstein, association seems to imply guilt. And so the release of the so-called Epstein files is generating a wave of firings, resignations, and public apologies.