Holly BaltzIn Palm Beach County, the first prosecutor to pursue criminal charges torpedoed his own case, but the reading room might be exhibited in Fort Lauderdale.
The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Bookmobile and Reading Room, which has been traversing the country for months, is making its final stop in South Florida, site of the first failed criminal prosecution of Epstein, arguably the world’s most prolific known sexual predator.
The reading room, stopping in West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale from Nov. 1 to 4, features the 3.5 million documents released by the Justice Department under the Epstein Transparency Act, bound into more than 3,400 volumes. The bookmobile’s volumes are micro-printed. Organizers have not yet announced where the bookmobile and reading room will be set up.
The tour, sponsored by a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit called The Institute for Primary Facts, has featured some Epstein survivors, whom the DOJ says number about 1,200. Visitors can leave notes on a reflection wall. The goal of the tour, organizers say, is to demand the full release of the remaining millions of documents.
South Florida is one of only five stops that has set up a reading room in bigger venues such as community centers. Registrations are required for the bookmobile and reading room.
Goal of the bookmobile, reading room
What they’re saying: “We are bringing the Epstein files on the road — across dozens of cities and states — to remind Americans everywhere: accountability matters and justice delayed is justice denied,” said David Garrett, executive director for the Institute for Primary Facts.
- “The millions of files in the Reading Room and Bookmobile represent deep institutional failures, years of ‘turning blind eyes’ to Epstein and his enablers, and the pain survivors have carried in isolation for so long. Across this tour, we will continue to demand the release of the remaining files, call out redactions that protect the powerful, and open dialogue between survivors and the American public.”
How the Epstein case unfolded
Why it matters: Had then-Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer followed the recommendations from the yearlong 2005 Palm Beach Police investigation and had Epstein been convicted, he could have spent decades in prison, raising no controversy about interactions with President Trump and other well-heeled friends.
Catch up quick: Palm Beach police investigated after a 14-year-old girl came forward to say a wealthy man on the island had sexually abused her. They found dozens of victims, mostly from local schools.
- Krischer did not file charges directly but, in an unprecedented move, put the sex crimes case in front of a grand jury.
- The Palm Beach Post prevailed in a nearly 5-year-long lawsuit that made the grand jury transcripts public in 2024. The two victims who testified were called prostitutes by prosecutors.
- Only a solicitation of prostitution charge without any indication that a minor was involved emerged from the grand jury.
- Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter, who had openly questioned whether Krischer should be the prosecutor on the case, sent his evidence to federal authorities.
- Then-U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Alex Acosta, along with Krischer, made the “deal of the century” that required Epstein serve 18 months in jail, not prison, of which Epstein served 13.
- During most of that time, Epstein was let out on work release six days a week for 12 hours a day.
- Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges involving minors by New York federal authorities in 2019. Three weeks later, he was found strangled to death in his Manhattan jail cell.
Allegations regarding Trump:
- The Department of Justice released documents this year in which a woman told the FBI that Trump raped her in situations involving Epstein.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the accusations completely baseless and said they came from a “sadly disturbed woman who has an extensive criminal history.”
- Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee claim in a report issued Monday saying five women claim Trump sexually assaulted them in the presence of or close proximity to Epstein.
