The Epstein papers: what do they reveal?

On Christmas Day, Prince Andrew walked behind his older brother as the royals made their way to church at Sandringham, said Jenny Hjul on Reaction – signalling the "tentative rehabilitation" of the disgraced duke. Friends of the King attributed this to his "typical kindness", and a promise he'd made to his mother to look after Andrew. Alas, the gesture was "badly timed", coming only days after a court in the US had ruled that a trove of papers relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein should be made public. 

The documents have contained no bombshells; but they've added new detail to existing claims (which Andrew denies) such as that the teenage girl he was alleged to have had sex with said that she had been paid $15,000 to do so. And the publicity has caused a new furore. Charles is said not to want to banish his brother, but he may have to: Epstein sleaze continues to tarnish the duke, and the Palace by association.

Andrew 'distracts attention'

Andrew's supporters claim he is being used to distract attention from other Epstein associates with more to hide, said Victoria Ward in The Daily Telegraph. And while his name does loom large he is by no means the only person named in the papers (all from a libel case brought by Andrew's accuser Virginia Giuffre against Epstein's procurer Ghislaine Maxwell), said The Times. 

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Stephen Hawking comes up, in an email in which Epstein offered a reward for information to disprove claims that the physicist had taken part in an orgy on his private island. (Hawking had visited it while attending an Epstein-funded conference.) There are also references to Bill Clinton: Epstein told one of his victims that the former president (who denies any involvement in Epstein's crimes) "likes them young", and he's mentioned in connection with sex tapes that Epstein allegedly recorded. 

But most of the references to VIPs are not related to improper behaviour. The papers are mainly about Epstein.

'No stranger to blackmail'

Rich and powerful men flocked to Epstein, said Camilla Long in The Sunday Times, because he promised excitement, money and – crucially – access to young girls. 

These women behaved like honey traps. When Maxwell ordered them to give "erotic massages" (code for sex) to Epstein's guests, were they being filmed? Only one of Epstein's victims is known to have mentioned sex tapes; but there were cameras in the rooms at his homes, and Epstein was "no stranger to blackmail". 

So you wonder: did he use compromising footage to get away with his abuses when he was alive? And how are the men who visited his "sex island", and made use of trafficked girls, still getting away with it now?