The Epstein Stain

 Just to feature somewhere among the 3.5 million pages of records related to the late financier-turned-sex and child-sex offender Jeffrey Epstein released to date by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) under the Epstein Files Transparency Act—or the roughly three million pages still withheld by the DoJ—is not a crime. And yet, the monstrosity of the man and his criminal partner-in-chief Ghislaine Maxwell is such that everybody seems tainted by association. Epstein was a fixer to use a native cliché of power corridors and he was needed for certain kinds of access. Nevertheless, there are those whose names will live in infamy and borderline cases which may remain nebulous but never more beyond reproach.

Here’s a look in descending order of a few famous men impacted by the Ep­stein files, though there are others who have come out worse, barring one man.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

The man formerly known as Prince Andrew has undergone the severest downgrade in status and reputation. Deprived by his brother King Charles III of his royal titles and earlier by his mother the late Queen Elizabeth II of his military affiliations and royal patronage, Andrew is an institutional pariah. Before the latest tranche of Epstein papers released on Janu­ary 30, which included pictures of Andrew on all fours bending over a woman on the floor(reportedly in Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse), he had lied about his continued correspondence with Epstein after the latter’s release from house arrest following a 2008 sex offence conviction. While Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson is last known to have corre­sponded with Epstein in 2009, Andrew was discussing women as well as being “in it together” as late as 2011. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called upon him to testify before US investigators.

Bill Gates

The worst allegations against the Microsoft co-founder have not been verified by investigators and are found only in Epstein’s own drafts, including an email he sent himself about Gates contracting a sexually transmitted disease from “Russian girls” and the procure­ment of illegal drugs. The files men­tion Epstein discussing Gates’ “illegal trysts” and Adderall dispatched to his bridge tournaments. While Gates’ office has dismissed the claims as of a “disgruntled liar”, Melinda Gates had cited her then husband’s relationship with Epstein as an important contribu­tor to their divorce in 2021. Gates’ halo is extinguished and questions have been raised about his role in global health leadership. Most damagingly, Gates met Epstein many times beginning 2011, well after the 2008 conviction.

Bill Clinton

The former US president has always de­nied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, but the latest revelations included a secret investigation the FBI had conducted into their relationship. The newly released old images of Clinton in a hot tub and on Epstein’s pri­vate jet include a woman (face redacted) sitting on Clinton’s lap since identified as a victim by the DoJ, along with pictures of Clinton with Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross at Epstein-Maxwell social dos. Interestingly, in 2016 Epstein had invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than a dozen times when asked about his re­lationship with Clinton. The Clintons, under pressure, have agreed to testify in the House investigation.

Postscript

• Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s political comeback never took off because of his frequent visits to Epstein’s townhouse and private island. Barak is not accused of any wrongdoing, but why did he hide his face from the cameras?

• Leon Black was forced to resign as CEO and Chairman of Apollo Global Management and former Barclays CEO Jes Staley’s career in high finance was killed because of the Epstein taint.

• Peter Mandelson was sacked as British ambassador to the US in September 2025 and forced to resign from the Labour Party on February 2, 2026. The Mandel­son saga ran long, with allegations of leaked government plans and periodic payments made to him and once to his husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva.

• For Donald Trump, too, the story is personal and political. He went back and forth and had to watch as the DoJ was compelled to release the papers. The latest tranche includes thousands of ref­erences to him as well as some serious al­legations of wrongdoing. But these have been dismissed by the authorities.