Opinion

Epstein Files Miss Deadline, Arrive Smothered in Redactions

A court-ordered, law-mandated release of Jeffrey Epstein-related records has arrived in public view looking less like transparency and more like a ransom note written in censor bars. The Justice Department says the redactions are necessary to protect victims and to review hundreds of thousands of pages, but lawmakers from both parties have accused the administration of slow-walking and selectively releasing material that spotlights rivals while leaving key investigative documents missing. Reuters noted the release contains only scant references to Trump, while Bill Clinton appears far more frequently in photos and materials, fuelling accusations that the production is as political as it is procedural. Trump has alternated between promising disclosure and dismissing the entire saga as a “SCAM” pushed by Democrats, while Bondi has publicly signalled eagerness to unseal grand jury transcripts — a move experts say may not answer the central question the public keeps asking: who else, if anyone, was involved, and why has so little ever been charged.

The Trump administration has released a heavily redacted tranche of Epstein-related files that critics say answers almost nothing while somehow finding time to make Trump barely visible. Officials insist the black ink is about protecting victims; sceptics say it’s also doing a remarkable job protecting the President.

A Royal Rinse: Charles Scrubs Andrew, but the Stain Remains

After years of scandal, King Charles III has finally stripped Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, of all titles and booted him from his Windsor home — a move billed as a clean break for the monarchy. But behind the official statements and sympathetic nods to “victims,” the institution remains an unaccountable, publicly funded theatre of dysfunction. From Elizabeth and Margaret’s sisterly drama to Charles and Andrew’s modern banishment, the Windsors have long recycled the same moral pageant to stay relevant. This piece asks whether Britain’s royal family is anything more than an inherited soap opera — one financed by half a billion pounds a year, defended by nostalgia, and applauded by habit.

King Charles’s decision to banish Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, may look like moral hygiene, but it’s really a centuries-old pantomime: one royal falls, another redeems, and Britain keeps paying for the encore.

American financier and convicted sex trafficker whose criminal network involved numerous high-profile figures.