The rot, the corruption that’s infused the Trump administration’s efforts to sweep the whole Epstein mess under the rug runs deep. That’s the thing about rot, you don’t know how deep it goes until you’ve cleaned all the way down past it. Even the famed SDNY is infected with Epstein rot, as U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton who heads it has been exposed as having a personal interest in the sordid mess.
According to reporting from Raw Story a top DOJ official (Clayton, nominated by Trump last November) charged with ‘leading investigations into Epstein was accused yesterday of having “a very personal interest” in limiting, if not quashing probes into Epstein and his co-conspirators:
“Jay Clayton has a very personal interest in seeing the Epstein story as a cabined-off story involving a mysterious ‘who could have ever known it’ villain, rather than the story of interconnected immoral elites it appears to be to impartial people,” said Jeff Hauser, the executive director of Revolving Door Project, a government watchdog group, speaking with The Lever.
“That’s a really paralyzing bias to bring to the role of prosecutor. We should want professional skeptics to serve our prosecutors, not the credulous.”
From what we know at this point for Clayton it’s not a matter of committing any sex crimes, but rather potential financial ones. A series of newly released emails from the DOJ reveal his communications with Epstein and Apollo Global Management. While the focus is and should be on the sex trafficking crimes almost as important is how Epstein acquired the wealth to do all the things he did and maintain a large real estate and financial empire. It’s fair to ask anyone who helped Epstein with financial management knew who and what he was, or had heard enough rumors to say to themselves ‘I should stay clear of this guy.’ It’s also worth noting that Clayton’s communications continued through 2016 – ten years AFTER Epstein became known as a sex offender.
Perhaps a dogged investigative journalist will do a deep dive into Clayton’s history looking for any connections between him and Alex Acosta. Acosta of course is the one who killed the first Epstein investigation and engineered that state level sweetheart deal. Acosta would as you recall move up to being a Cabinet member in Trump’s first administration but was tossed overboard when the scandal broke. Ah, the good old days when Trump would get rid of people, if only because they made him look bad! Well, perhaps there’s no meaningful connection but it’s an interesting thread someone should pull on.
In the meantime Clayton SHOULD damn well resign or get fired. As I said, while so far there’s no accusations involving sexual stuff he’s got a clear financial conflict of interest that at one time wouldn’t have been tolerated in a U.S. Attorney. Especially at the famed SDNY but he does:
And, according to financial disclosures, Clayton continues to hold somewhere between $1.5 million and $6 million in Apollo holdings, as well as tens of thousands of dollars in stocks from banks currently being investigated for potentially facilitating “suspicious financial transactions tied to sex trafficking crimes committed by Epstein.”
Those investments, litigation expert Chris Tobe alleged, created a “clear conflict of interest” for the prosecutor, and to such an extent that he should resign, Tobe told The Lever.
Since Clayton holds arguably the top legal job other than Attorney General of the United States it’s a blow to a vaunted branch of our government. The Southern District of New York is the largest and most important jurisdiction in the country. It developed a reputation for being almost as powerful and influential as main DOJ, and has often been referred to as the “Sovereign” SDNY. Now, with the cloud suddenly enveloping Clayton the SDNY’s reputation will take a hit. ETTD, because of the Epstein Investigation – which should be called the Epstein/Trump investigation.
Given rumblings that career prosecutors at the SDNY have been unhappy over sand being thrown in the Epstein gears we now have reason to think that sand didn’t just blow in from nowhere. Will Clayton get fired? Doubtful – he’s been protecting Trump after all. Sadly, the worst that will probably happen to him is, when his tenure is done he won’t be able to parley it into nearly as big a payday as a partner at a top law firm as he would have. Oh, he’ll land on his feet. However if this blows up enough in the news Clayton won’t get the “star” treatment and money he has been assuming would be his payoff in a few years. It sucks that will be the worst he faces, not becoming as rich as he was planning on being but sometimes that’s the way it goes.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
