In a searing interview, Chris Hedges and journalist Nick Bryant rip open Jeffrey Epstein’s web of sexual blackmail, implicating elites like Donald Trump in a decades-long bipartisan cover-up that shields child traffickers and mocks justice.

Why it matters: The influence of Epstein’s network persists, extending its reach into the highest levels of power. This network enables abuse and manipulation, undermining democracy, shielding predators, and betraying victims. It calls for accountability to dismantle the impunity enjoyed by the elite.

Driving the news: Hedges and Bryant provide an in-depth analysis of Epstein’s operations. They delve into tactics like covert surveillance of elite gatherings and governmental obstruction of seized evidence, exposing a system intended to compromise and manipulate influential individuals.

• Bryant details FBI raids yielding child abuse material and blackmail tapes, withheld despite promises.
• The duo highlights Epstein’s Lolita Express orgies involving Trump, Clinton, and others with underage victims.
• Bryant reveals Dershowitz‘s Epstein defense and age-of-consent advocacy, linked to Israeli interests.

Catch up quick: The 2019 “suicide” of Epstein came after his arrest for child sex trafficking, yet his black book and flight logs—leaked by Bryant in 2015—implicated numerous elites. The Trump administration promised full transparency but instead offered heavily redacted reports, reminiscent of historical cover-ups like the Franklin Scandal. Victims, some as young as 10, recount widespread trafficking that authorities neglected.

The intrigue: Bryant uncovers Epstein’s Mossad links via Ghislaine Maxwell’s father and Ehud Barak‘s 36 visits, suggesting intelligence ops to blackmail U.S. leaders, while Trump’s 15-year friendship included shared women and photos of topless girls on his lap per Michael Wolff.

Between the lines: The system’s “yacht” analogy—once compromised, elites stay aboard for career boosts—explains rapid rises like Dennis Hastert‘s, with intelligence agencies like CIA and Mossad as enforcers, turning democracy into a puppet show.

Once you’re compromised, it’s like you’re on a yacht. It’s a beautiful yacht. And it’s a beautiful day. And you can have anything you want on that yacht. But if you decide to get off that yacht, the people on the yacht are going to make sure that you drown.

What they’re saying:

• “The Trump administration’s refusal to release files… puts to rest the absurd idea Trump will dismantle the deep state,” Chris Hedges told the audience, blasting elite protection rackets.
• “Pam Bondi proclaimed transparency, then served a nothing sandwich… explain what child molesters have to do with national security,” Nick Bryant charged, exposing DOJ lies.
• “Dershowitz argued to lower the age of consent to when a girl gets her period… while consorting with Epstein,” Bryant revealed, linking him to Netanyahu and lawfare bullying.
• “Epstein trafficked girls for 25 years… victims under 10 were denied compensation,” Bryant disclosed, slamming the Victim Fund NDAs silencing survivors.
• “Kompromat is as old as our republic… three countries excel: US, Israel, UK,” Bryant explained, tying blackmail to historical elite control.

The bottom line: Epstein’s empire endures through silence and power—Hedges and Bryant’s exposé demands we dismantle this blackmail machine, or watch as elites continue preying on the vulnerable while justice rots in the shadows.