The Epstein Files: How One Case United America's Left and Right

3.5 million files. That's how many Epstein-related documents the Department of Justice released over the weekend. But instead of providing closure, this massive data dump has only deepened America's most unifying conspiracy.

The confirmed facts about Jeffrey Epstein are damning enough. The disgraced financier sexually abused and trafficked dozens of girls and women over several years, all while maintaining close relationships with an extraordinary range of powerful people—politicians, business executives, and prominent journalists.

Yet around these documented crimes, something remarkable has happened: a conspiracy ecosystem that transcends traditional political boundaries.

When Left Meets Right

Typically, conspiracy theories follow partisan lines. But Epstein has achieved something rare in polarized America—he's become a bipartisan obsession. On the right, his case validates beliefs about a "pervasive, evil, pedophilic cabal" among coastal elites, as Ashutosh Varshney, a Brown University political scientist, notes.

But here's what's fascinating: the left has embraced Epstein conspiracies too. Over the weekend, social media buzzed with claims that the latest document release seriously implicated Donald Trump. While Trump's name appears over 1,000 times in the files, those viral allegations came from unvetted accusations submitted to a public FBI tip line.

This bipartisan suspicion isn't accidental. As Julien Giry wrote in Le Monde, "conspiracy theories reveal the state of our societies." In America, they reflect "a pervasive distrust of political, media and judicial elites."

The Real Victims Get Lost

Amid the conspiracy noise, actual victims are suffering anew. Lawyers representing Epstein's victims are currently petitioning the government to remove the latest document tranche, which failed to properly redact victims' names and images in thousands of instances.

This oversight highlights a troubling pattern: the more documents released, the more questions arise about institutional competence and accountability. Rather than resolving skeptics' concerns, each revelation provides fresh ammunition for distrust.

The Perpetual Motion Machine

The Epstein case has become a self-perpetuating cycle of suspicion. On Friday, Democrats accused the Trump administration of withholding millions of additional pages. On Monday, Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to testify before a House committee investigating Epstein, ending a months-long standoff.

Each development feeds the narrative that powerful people operate with impunity. Whether it's document redactions, delayed testimonies, or incomplete investigations, every procedural hiccup becomes evidence of a cover-up.

What This Says About America

The Epstein phenomenon reveals something profound about contemporary America: institutional trust has eroded so completely that conspiracy and skepticism have become the default response to elite behavior. This isn't just about one financier's crimes—it's about a society that no longer believes its most powerful institutions tell the truth.

Unlike typical partisan issues that divide Americans, Epstein unites them in suspicion. Republicans and Democrats may disagree on everything else, but they share a conviction that wealthy, connected people escape consequences for their actions.