Epstein Files: A Roadmap of Post-Cold War Corruption and Geopolitical Chaos
Troves of documents released by the Department of Justice over the past several months reveal the extent to which convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was a central figure in international politics. Epstein was a global power broker, helping to facilitate security agreements and arms sales for Israel, working with powerful Emiratis to further their interests in Africa, establishing a backchannel between Israel and Russia during the Syrian Civil War, and much much more.
Epstein and his network are emblematic of a powerful transnational elite in which relationships were in many cases built on greed, manipulation, secrecy and corruption. These documents offer a rare window into the inner workings of how these elites — dubbed the “Epstein Class” — quietly infected and influenced the diminishing post-Cold War world order for decades. How can we benefit from our new knowledge and understanding of this, and what was Jeffrey Esptein’s role in it all?
Kelley Vlahos, editor-in-chief at Responsible Statecraft and senior advisor at the Quincy Institute, spoke with Murtaza Hussain, who has been engaged in deep investigative reporting on the Epstein Files for Drop Site News, Harrison Berger, correspondent at The American Conservative, and Ana Kasparian, host and producer of The Young Turks.
Program
Entities
Panelists
Murtaza Hussain
Murtaza Hussain is an investigative journalist and reporter at Drop Site News, specializing in national security, foreign policy, and human rights. Formerly with The Intercept, he focuses on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia, including coverage of surveillance, state violence. He has reported from Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Pakistan, and other countries and covered top secret national security leaks from Pakistan, Iran, India, as well as the FBI and NSA.
Harrison Berger
Harrison Berger is a correspondent at The American Conservative. He has contributed to Drop Site News, The Nation, and Responsible Statecraft. Previously, he was a researcher and producer for System Update with Glenn Greenwald. His work focuses on civil liberties and U.S. foreign policy. He studied Political Science and Russian Studies at Union College (NY).
Ana Kasparian
Ana Kasparian is an American independent political commentator, media host, and journalist. She is a host and producer of the online news show The Young Turks, having begun working as a fill-in producer for the show in 2007. She also appeared on the television version of the show that aired on Current TV. She formerly hosted The Point on the TYT Network and co-hosted a Jacobin YouTube show, Weekends with Ana Kasparian and Nando Vila.
Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
Kelley Beaucar Vlahos is editor-in-chief at Responsible Statecraft and a senior advisor at the Quincy Institute. Previously she was executive editor of The American Conservative magazine. Before joining TAC in 2017, Vlahos served as a contributing editor to the magazine, reporting and publishing regular articles on U.S. war policy, civil liberties, foreign policy, veterans, and Washington politics since 2007. She spent 15 years as an online political reporter for FOX News at the channel’s Washington D.C. bureau, as well as Washington correspondent for Homeland Security Today magazine