In a Functional Democracy, the Epstein Files Would Already Be Public

It’s fashionable to pretend the question itself is complicated. It isn’t. We are not balancing delicate diplomatic secrets against imminent threats.

Illustration by Abdel Mukhtar

On paper, this should be simple: The government has files tied to a notorious sex trafficker, the public has a right to see them, and survivors deserve more than platitudes. The fact that we have to assemble a coalition just to pry open documents already sitting in government hands says more about the state of our politics t…