Epstein files are bankrupting America's moral authority around the world

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John Stoehr

22 Feb 2026 — 4 min read

I have been so focused on the effect of the Epstein files on American politics that I have stopped to consider their effect on the rest of the world.

If we Americans are humiliated by the failure of our country to hold rich and powerful men accountable, what does it look like from the perspective of our rivals?

How does "the law for thee, but not for me" appear in nations like China, whose leaders are always looking for ways to undermine American credibility?

You will find a partial answer here.

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Courtesy of First Voice.

This is a clip of a broadcast by First Voice, which appears to be state-run English-language media from China. The Epstein files reveal "accountability, western-style." Here's the nut:

So how did the Department of Justice managed to black out the powerful and expose the victims. Here’s the uncomfortable truth that West does not want to face. The Epstein archive is not just one file on one criminal. It is a CT scan of the whole system – the courts, the banks, the politicians, even academic institutions. Not evil in some movie sense, but silent partners in real-world sense. Silent through doing nothing, through convenient forgetfulness, through the quiet belief as some men are too powerful to ever be brought down. Yet these same institutions continue to grade the rest of the world on human rights, continue to issue report cards on judicial reform, continue the act as if they're the world’s moral judge. The lease on that high ground has run out.

Bear in mind that China does terrible things to its own people. These comments do not reflect a government of high-minded principles. What they do reflect is the government's awareness that the Epstein files are an opportunity to cut down whatever is left of America's moral standing around the world.

You can watch the whole clip here. (As you can see from the Reddit poster, the Epstein files are an opportunity for actual communists – sometimes called tankies – who unconditionally revere China and despise American-led capitalism.)

Chinese news on Epstein: Welcome to accountability, Western style.
by u/ilir_kycb in LateStageCapitalism

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