Description: Around three million pages, 180 thousand images and over 2 thousand videos related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Public figures such as Bill Gates, Andrew Mountbatten – Windsor, Elon Musk, the national security adviser to Slovakia’s Prime Minister Miroslav Lajcak and others came under severe scrutiny for their complicity in the criminal acts perpetrated by Epstein and his circle of collaborators. US President, Donald Trump, was also repeatedly mentioned in the latest batch of documents without any criminalizing context, however, the files had once again stirred the public and caused outrage. The DOJ has ultimately stated that all the files related to the investigative material in the Jeffrey Epstein case have been released, a statement heavily criticized by the Democratic party which replied that more than 3 million documents were yet to be released.
Impact: The Epstein case has implicated high – level government officials and forced immeasurable repercussions to the image of public figures, politicians and businessmen. The US President, despite not being implicitly related to the criminal activities of Epstein and his circle, has lost a large amount of support within the public while his personal ratings as President of the US have also suffered considerable repercussions. The crisis arrives in a difficult period for the Trump administration which faces growing unrest from protests in Minneapolis and is engaged in an international standoff with Iran. The DOJ has so far managed to sterilize the effects of the release of the files, although politically the objective effect would be exhibited through the results of the mid – term elections in the US, where the Republican party would most definitely suffer losses.