The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
There is no shortage of political spectacle in America. Every week brings a new fight, a new sensational headline, a new allegation, a new televised hearing designed to make one party look righteous and the other corrupt. But some issues should be immune to this treatment. The crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein, and the ongoing questions surrounding his network, his enablers, and his protectors, belong at the top of that list.
And yet here we are: congressional subpoenas, legal letters, contempt threats and press conferences that feel more like campaign soundbites than a serious reckoning with one of the darkest criminal enterprises in modern memory.
Recently, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to testify regarding Epstein. The Clintons refused, calling the subpoenas “invalid and legally unenforceable” and suggesting the process has veered into political theater. Representative Comer responded by threatening contempt proceedings. Commentators across the spectrum immediately sorted themselves into predictable camps, either cheering or condemning the move.
Here is the part we are missing: this should not be about Republicans versus Democrats, presidents versus committees, or who scores points on cable news.
It should be about the victims, many of them children, who were trafficked, manipulated and treated as disposable property by adults who held money, power and influence at every level of society.
If we cannot handle that issue without turning it into yet another partisan battlefield, that says more about us than it does about Epstein or his circle.
The core questions that actually matter are being muffled beneath the noise:
Why are Epstein’s full files still not public, despite bipartisan calls to release them?
Why has the Department of Justice been so slow and selective in complying with disclosure requirements?
Why is Congress laser-focused on a handful of names instead of demanding answers from every individual mentioned in Epstein-related materials?
And why does it seem easier to score political points than to deliver justice?
If Congress genuinely wants to uncover the truth, then every single name in those files—regardless of political affiliation, wealth, job title, or social status—should be questioned. No exceptions. No protective deals. No partisan shields. Whether you are a former president, a CEO, a foreign royal, a tech investor, a government official, or a celebrity—if you were part of that ecosystem or possessed knowledge and said nothing, you should be under oath.
This should not be controversial. It should be the baseline in a functioning democracy.
Unfortunately, we have trained ourselves to treat every issue as a partisan cudgel. That reflex makes us morally blind. It allows people in high places to hide behind tribal loyalties. It turns real victims into background scenery while adults argue about process and optics.
The victims in this case were not theoretical. They were not political pawns. They were children, kids who should have been safe, protected, and believed. They were exploited by people with more power than they had any hope of resisting. If the law means anything, then enabling that system, actively or passively, should carry consequences.
You can be a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, or someone who writes in Mickey Mouse on their ballot; it does not matter. Child trafficking is not partisan. Accountability shouldn’t be either.
The Epstein case is a test. It asks whether our institutions, Congress, DOJ, the courts, and yes, the presidency, will prioritize justice over optics, and truth over tribal victory. So far, the results are not encouraging.
If Congress wants credibility, it must stop treating Epstein as a selective political weapon and start treating it as a national moral crisis. If DOJ wants trust, it must follow the law and release the files. And if we, as citizens, want better from our system, we must stop cheering for our “side” and start demanding answers from everyone.
Because justice is not justice when it only applies to the other team. And history will not be kind to a country that failed to protect its children because it was too busy protecting its politics.
