NYT Discovers Epstein 'Bantered' With Powerful Men, Not Just Girls
When the Times reports on Jeffrey Epstein and Larry Summers – a former Treasury Secretary, Harvard President, and key economic advisor to multiple presidents – they focus on their 'banter.' What they omit is the systematic coddling Epstein received from powerful institutions and individuals, allowing him to operate with impunity for years. Summers, like many others, maintained a relationship with
Epstein long after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor (as detailed in numerous public documents and exposés that the Times itself has published). This isn’t a story of 'banter' between peers; it’s a failure of accountability among the elite who enabled a predator. One might wonder if the esteemed journalists at the Times would describe interactions between a convicted sex
trafficker and, say, a plumber with the same delicate euphemism. Or does the term 'banter' only apply when powerful men engage with someone who had access to private jets, young women, and vast sums of untraceable money? Public figures aligning themselves with such individuals raises questions about judgment, integrity, and the pervasive culture that protects wealth and influence.