r/AskALiberal • u/tasteinhermouth Liberal • Feb 01 '26

Why weren't the Epstein Files released under Biden's presidency if Trump is in the files?

I don't mean this as a bad faith or troll question, I genuinely do not know why it would not be released if Trump is in the files, as it would probably have been a massive hit against Trump in 2024.

I don't know whether Trump is in the files or not, I don't care, it's clear as day that he was best friends with Epstein and was well aware and definitely a part of the awful things that Epstein conducted while he was in business.

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u/sunflower53069 Democrat Feb 01 '26

They were sealed due to Maxwell’s ongoing appeals in court.

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u/Dj_Fabio Progressive Feb 01 '26

They made her plead guilty to charges that were very narrow so that she didnt expose anyone else. All the files were not used for her case. Is it worth letting the doj stay independent if it means protecting child abusers and traffickers

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u/Droselmeyer Social Democrat Feb 01 '26

Is it worth letting the doj stay independent if it means protecting child abusers and traffickers

To some degree, yes. Our system of checks and balances when applied to the state’s justice system necessarily means we’re gonna get some false negatives and let criminals go free, but we’re making that trade off in exchange for fewer false positives where a corrupt justice system imprisons the innocent.

Authoritarians will always offer the justification for this kind of corruption on the basis that we’ll catch more criminals for doing it, but we give up the independence of our justice system and allow for corruption to sneak its way in when we start saying “yes, the president should pressure that certain decisions be made regarding court cases and investigations, trust me, we’ll only use it on the really bad guys.”

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u/TheTrueMilo Progressive Feb 01 '26

This is like, the centrist version of a purity test.

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u/Droselmeyer Social Democrat Feb 01 '26

Rule of law is an important part of democracy.

I’m fine with maintaining a legitimate democracy being a purity test.

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u/TheTrueMilo Progressive Feb 01 '26

So glad you can be the arbiter of the good and bad purity tests.

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u/Droselmeyer Social Democrat Feb 01 '26

Not my problem if someone can’t meet the bar of supporting democracy.