Lack of Epstein accountability in the U.S. exposes the GOP as morally bankrupt

This is an adapted excerpt from the Feb. 19 episode of “Morning Joe.”

On Thursday, in an extraordinary move, U.K. authorities arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The former prince’s arrest comes after he was stripped of his titles last year over his decadeslong association with Jeffrey Epstein.

Mountbatten-Windsor isn’t the first high-ranking British official to face consequences for their ties to Epstein. The U.K.’s former U.S. ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson is currently being investigated for alleged misconduct in public office related to his relationship with the late convicted sex offender. (Andrew and Mandelson have denied wrongdoing.)

It’s clear that the release of the Epstein files has shaken the British establishment. Yet the same can’t be said for the one here in the United States.

In America, the same party that ran on releasing those files now appears willing to give anyone who had close ties to Epstein a free pass — as long as they’re also Republicans.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was caught downplaying his relationship with Esptein, yet he still has a job in the administration.

After the files were released, the commerce secretary was forced to acknowledge he had traveled to Epstein’s private island and maintained contact with the disgraced financier years after he claimed to have cut ties with him.

Then there’s Les Wexner, the businessman widely considered key to Epstein’s rise and his growth. After he was featured prominently in the files, the retail billionaire, who was one of Epstein’s most lucrative financial clients for roughly two decades, was called in for a closed-door deposition by Congress. (Wexner has repeatedly denied knowledge of Epstein’s illegal activity.)

That deposition took place in Ohio on Wednesday, with several Democrats making the trip to attend in person. No Republicans attended.

Republicans are gearing up for a show trial with former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, two Democrats who have agreed to go on the record about their association with Epstein, but when it comes to Wexner, a major GOP donor, no Republicans bothered to even show up at his deposition. (The Clintons have denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s crimes.)

That tells you how hypocritical and how morally bankrupt Republicans are on the Epstein issue.

Vice President JD Vance is always looking down the end of his nose at Europe. But at least they have shame there. The Epstein saga has proved that across the world, moral gravity still holds — just not here in the United States.

Allison Detzel contributed.