Tuesday Open Thread | FBI raids Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘pedophile island’ estate

Posted on August 13, 2019 by SouthernGirl2

On the same day Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on arrival at a New Jersey airporton sex trafficking charges, federal agents bashed in the door of his $77 million Manhattan mansion and seized evidence to aid in his prosecution. But the multimillionaire’s Virgin Islands hideaway, where the wealthy hedge fund manager allegedly trafficked girls for sex and entertained politicians, businessmen and scientists, seemingly remained untouched by the law.

That changed Monday.

FBI agents — accompanied by Customs personnel, local police and New York City officers, according to a Virgin Islands source — fanned out in golf carts across Epstein’s estate on Little St. James Island. They scooped up evidence just two days after Epstein was found dead in his jail cell of an apparent suicide while in federal custody in Manhattan.

The raid underscores that the criminal investigation into Epstein will continue despite his death while awaiting trial in New York City. Ultimately, prosecutors could expose an alleged sex trafficking conspiracy with tentacles across the financier’s vast real estate holdings, including opulent homes in New York, Palm Beach, New Mexico and Paris.

Federal prosecutors had said in an indictment that they intended to confiscate Epstein’s properties if they were used to facilitate the sexual abuse of minors. That hasn’t changed, although Epstein’s death before he could be brought to trial may complicate matters.

The secluded spit of land, sometimes referred to as “pedophile island” in the aftermath of Epstein’s initial prosecution in 2007-2008, has hosted Epstein’s rich and famous friends and associates over the years in addition to his ever-present entourage of young women.

Epstein, who developed an intense interest in scientific discovery, also invited renowned scientists to join him there for conferences.

He bought the island for $7.95 million in 1998, and built an extravagant estate with a 24,000-square-foot private home, swimming pools, cabanas and other structures on a 70-acre swath of oceanfront land studded with palm trees.

Any evidence seized in the raid could prove key to prosecutors as they seek to press charges against Epstein’s associates, as Attorney General William Barr promised they will. The earlier raid of Epstein’s Manhattan home following his arrest yielded a passport under a fake name, assorted diamonds, nude and semi-nude photographs of possible minors and other evidence suggesting a complex criminal enterprise.

It was not clear why authorities waited more than a month between Epstein’s arrest and the raid on his island home.

Epstein, 66, was found dead Saturday morning in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, one day after a federal court unsealed nearly 2,000 pages of Epstein-related documents that offered sordid details of the alleged trafficking of girls by the financier and his ex-girlfriend and purported madam, Ghislaine Maxwell.

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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48 Responses to Tuesday Open Thread | FBI raids Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘pedophile island’ estate

  3. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 1:45 pm

    I have questions..
    Did he do this all in one sitting?
    Do you use different needles?
    How long did this take?
    The attention to detail is amazing 😲😲

    https://twitter.com/DruProductions/status/1161030621768159232

    Reply
  4. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 11:56 am

    Flight data places Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet on Arabian Peninsula on the eve of the 2016 election

    Epstein’s private jet took a flight from Paris, France to a mysterious destination in the Middle East the night before the 2016 election, and then returned to Paris two days later:

    Reply
  6. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 13, 2019 at 11:21 am

    Hong Kong is off the chain. Protesters AIN’T playing.

    Reply
  7. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 10:07 am

    Candidates who have qualified for the September debates in both polling and fundraising:
    Joe Biden
    Cory Booker
    Pete Buttigieg
    Kamala Harris
    Amy Klobuchar
    Beto O’Rourke
    Bernie Sanders
    Elizabeth Warren
    Andrew Yanghttps://t.co/8vz8SQr7D1

    — Manu Raju (@mkraju) August 13, 2019

    Reply
  8. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 9:37 am

    Told you when he was nominated…
    I read the people that I trusted to give me an honest opinion of Barr’s nomination, and they told me:

    There hasn’t been a Black person that Barr didn’t believe DIDN’T belong in jail….
    So, THIS is no shock:

    Kay says:
    August 13, 2019 at 9:45 am
    Just a head’s up- AG Barr is giving speeches where Democrats are weak on crime. It’s key to the race-based conservative campaigns and has been for 50 years- they need to scare people about rampant crime “in urban areas”. He wants a return to the war on drugs.
    He hasn’t done a lick of work other than protecting Donald Trump or campaigning for Donald Trump and that won’t change.

    It’s why he was hired.
    We’ll have to see if political media play along. My bet is “yes they will”, judging by their nutty and embarrassing response to “the caravan” campaign tactic. Barr is an elite. He’s in the club.

    Reply
  9. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 9:20 am

    Found out from watching LarryO that the ‘ACTING’ head of the Federal Prisons has, in fact, never worked in a prison. He’s the typical mediocre White man, who has gone from job to job, with little qualifications for them…continuing to Fail Up.

    Reply
  10. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 9:14 am

    Epstein death may put alleged co-conspirators in new legal peril

    Rachel Maddow looks at questions raised about whether the non-prosecution agreement for Jeffrey Epstein and any co-conspirators he may have had, as well as the non-disclosure agreements Epstein has his employees sign, are still valid after Epstein’s death or whether prosecutors will now have new avenues of inquiry as a result.

    Open questions, alleged accomplices keep Epstein case ongoing

    Julie K. Brown, investigative reporter for the Miami Herald, talks with Rachel Maddow about how Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims reacted to news of his death and how the Epstein investigation is likely to continue as open questions and alleged co-conspirators remain.

    Reply
  15. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 9:04 am

    Trump guts American dream, Endangered Species Act both in one day

    Rachel Maddow reports on the Donald Trump administration announcing its intention to weaken the Endangered Species Act while at the same time announcing new standards for aspiring immigrants to meet that include having private insurance and having a high credit score.

    Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 9:00 am

    Michelle Obama Athletic Complex opens at Whitney Young High School
    By Meghan Kluth
    Monday, August 12, 2019 6:36PM

    CHICAGO (WLS) — A new West Loop sports complex is honoring the former First Lady Michelle Obama.

    Monday Whitney M. Young Magnet High School cut the ribbon on the new Michelle Obama Athletic Complex and the community celebrated with a block party.

    The $4.8 million complex took about four years to complete. School principal Dr. Joyce Kenner said the field has been in the making for the last 10-15 years, adding how much of a privilege it is to name it after their most esteemed alum — the former First Lady.

    “It’s important to me because she really embodies staying fit and being involved,” said Principal Kenner, “and then she was so excited about us presenting the idea to her.”

    Michelle Obama graduated from Whitney Young in 1981, and her friends and classmates couldn’t be more proud.
    ………………………….

    The Michelle Obama athletic complex was funded by tax-increment financing dollar, and replaced the old field that only had a baseball diamond.

    The field is equipped for soccer, football, baseball, softball, lacrosse and track fields so the students and community can stay fit.

    The prestigious CPS selective enrollment school is 44 years old. Alumni and community members said the new facility is long overdue.

    Reply
  17. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 8:58 am

    Promoting White Racism: What Green Cards for the Rich is Really About
    By Spandan

    Donald Trump doesn’t want immigrants from shithole countries because, as he would put it, they are just such a drag on the “modern welfare state”. Poor immigrants don’t deserve a green card, the Trump administration announced yesterday.

    Trump’s acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services and sodomy-obsessed Virginia Republican who lost the governorship in the state in 2013 – the first time in a long time the party opposed to the president had lost the Virginia governor’s race, by the way – announced that, basically, if you meet the qualifications for immigration carved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, you will no longer be eligible for a green card.

    The policy isn’t just cruel and inhumane, and it isn’t just diametrically opposed to the values America has upheld through each wave of immigration. The policy is a lie based on two demonstrably provable falsehoods of immigrants and poor people costing taxpayers too much.

    It has been shown time and again through empirical evidence that immigrants are a net positive to America and to its treasury. In fact, not only do immigrants overall contribute more to the tax base than they receive in benefits, the greatest net plus to the treasury comes from the children of poor immigrants – who, on average, contribute a net $400 more per person to the US tax base than do other native-born Americans.

    The notion that the poor are a drag on our system is equally false. In 2016, for example, the federal government spent $877 billion in benefits and services to low-income individuals and families. That sure sounds like a lot, until you realize that the same federal government in 2017 spent over $1.6 trillion in tax expenditures or deductions that skew heavily to people of means. Keep in mind that this was before even greater tax expenditures kicked in for the rich kicked in under Trump’s tax cuts.

    Let me say that again. The federal government spends TWICE as much to help rich people than it spends to help poor people. At least.

    Reply
  18. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 8:44 am

    Love this :)

    2019 ‘Doodle for Google’ competition winner honors mom with illustration

    A Georgia teen is giving thanks with help from Google.

    You may have noticed Tuesday’s Google Doodle, but this doodle is no regular illustration. It’s a competition winner.

    A Georgia teen is giving thanks with help from Google. Arantza Peña Popo is the winner of Google’s annual “Doodle for Google” competition.

    Arantza Peña Popo is the winner of the search engine’s annual “Doodle for Google” competition.

    The high school senior’s design is called “Once You Get It, Give It Back”.

    Google’s theme for this year’s competition was “When I grow up, I hope…” and Arantza’s design depicts her dream of helping her mother do all the things she hasn’t been able to do yet.

    The doodle shows an order version of Arantza, in the future, caring for her mother in front of framed picture of the two of them in their younger years.

    Arantza says her mother “lights up any room she’s in”.

    More than 200,000 submissions were entered into the 2019 competition.

    In addition to the illustration being displayed as the website’s main image for the day, Arantza will also receive a $30,000 college scholarship as well as a $50,000 technology award for her high school.

    Reply
  19. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 8:25 am

    You get these hints of a sense of entitlement from Sanders, i.e. he feels as though that by virtue of having been the runner-up last time, he’s entitled to the nomination this time, and if he doesn’t win it, it’s only because “the media”/”the establishment” took it away from him.

    — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) August 13, 2019

    Reply
    • majiir says:
      August 13, 2019 at 7:48 pm

      Bernie needs to sit his Trump-sounding @ss down somewhere and do it quick. I got sick of him and his supporters’ whining in 2016. They still seem to think Bernie is some kind of Democratic icon. They need to talk to me about this idea. He wasn’t my preferred 2016 candidate, and I haven’t moved from my 2016 decision about him. I know an entitled j@ck@ss when I see and hear one.

      Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 6:36 am

    How did this moment ever happen? 🤔🤔

    https://twitter.com/dfsparks/status/1161128943736328192

    Reply
  41. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 6:33 am

    But, in a country where they had to bulletproof the Emmit Till sign, are we really surprised?😠

    https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/status/1161030502611972096

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 6:30 am

    Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) Tweeted:
    Our latest Democratic primary tracking data is now live:

    Biden: 33%
    Sanders: 20% (+1)
    Warren: 14% (-1)
    Harris: 9%
    Buttigieg: 5% (-1)
    O’Rourke: 3%
    Booker: 3%
    Yang: 2%

    https://t.co/19xcvc2eMC https://twitter.com/MorningConsult/status/1161091929519611906?s=17

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    August 13, 2019 at 1:20 am

    Good Morning, Everyone 😄 😄😄

    Reply

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