Prophets, Presidents, and the Cover-Up: What Jeremiah Would Say About Epstein

Shabbat shalom!

What a joy it is to be home in Israel! Thank God, I slept through the night. Always a good sign when coming back this way. In a few hours, we head to Tel Aviv to be with the people of Tiferet Yeshua. Please don’t forget that we desperately need to raise $70,000 for the congregation, but that is not what this email is about.

The Jeffrey Epstein scandal has never been just a salacious tale—it is a test of national conscience. On Wednesday, survivors of Epstein’s crimes stood on Capitol Hill, demanding that all government records be released and threatening to name names (they know the names of the people who sexually abused them). Their courage put the nation on notice: this is not about politics, but about justice.

Haley Robson, one of the survivors, declared, “This is not a hoax. We are real human beings. This is real trauma.”

Another, Anouska De Georgiou, looked straight to the White House: 

"The days of sweeping this under the rug are over. We the survivors say 'no more,'" she said. "I'm no longer weak, I am no longer powerless and I'm no longer alone. And with your vote, neither will the next generation. You have so much influence and power in this situation. Please use that influence…we need it now.” 

Their pleas should resonate deeply within our national heart.

The Prophets’ Cry

What would the prophets of Israel say if they were alive today? Jeremiah would not mince words. He would grieve for leaders who minimize the sins of the powerful: “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14). A redacted file dump is not peace. Survivors silenced by bureaucracy is not righteousness. A trafficking madame moved from a prison to a country club is not justice.

And yet, in America, nearly every moral crisis is reduced to partisan bickering. If Epstein’s client list threatens one party, the other points fingers—and vice versa. Lost in the shouting are the voices of the abused. Micah’s timeless words still hold: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Justice is not Republican or Democrat. It is a divine command. Robson declared, “Mr. President, Donald J. Trump, I am a registered Republican -- not that that matters, because this is not political -- however, I cordially invite you to the Capitol to meet me in person so you can understand this is not a hoax.”

Power and Proximity

Meanwhile, many religious leaders treat proximity to presidential power as proof of spiritual favor. A photo in the Oval Office becomes a badge of honor. But Scripture gives a sobering reminder: it was the false prophets who sought the king’s approval. Elijah was branded a “troubler of Israel” by Ahab (1 Kings 18:17). Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern (Jeremiah 38:6). The true prophets were rejected precisely because they confronted power, not flattered it.

Imagine Elijah at yesterday’s press conference. He would thunder as he did on Mount Carmel: “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21). In our time, “Baal worship” could be replaced with the sin of ignoring the vulnerable while protecting the powerful. Where are the voices of charismatic leaders who rail against the murdering of unborn children (and rightly so), but are terrified to take a public stand on this—not because they are not disgusted by the sexual abuse of minors—but because they don’t want to offend the president? We expect as much from the cowards in Congress, but not from men and women of God.

We would think that the “Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders” would have some word from heaven when the cries of the violated rise like smoke into heaven? Do they not discern that this is more than a scandal? (I have searched the Internet in hopes of finding someone in that group, addressing the cover-up, but in vain). What was whispered on private islands now is being covered up in the White House. Where are Paula White and Franklin Graham? It’s not enough to do the obvious thing and condemn the abuse of minors, but confront the cover-up. That’s what these religious leaders are sadly terrified to do ... and risk losing political influence.

“Is there not a cause?” Should not the prophets, whose call is to uproot and to tear down, have perceived the stench of this corruption before it reached the nostrils of the nation? Where is the God who sent Nathan to David, who raised Jeremiah against the princes of Judah? He has not changed, but are we listening to his demand for justice? Why are you not using your influence for these victims of violent abuse?

The Survivors Speak

Lisa Phillips, another survivor, made it clear: “We know the names.” If the Department of Justice, the FBI, or even the presidency resists transparency, then they are complicit in shielding predators. Survivors have even warned they may release their own “client list” because the system continues to fail them. Please understand how terrifying this is for them. Instead of having the government protect them, they are putting their lives at risk by releasing the names. Is it not enough that they were brutally sexually assaulted?

Annie Farmer was 16 when flown to New Mexico to spend a weekend with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It was supposed to be a weekend of mentoring, but ended with both Maxwell and Epstein sexually abusing her. See was interviewed yesterday.

I’m guessing that most of my readers don’t watch MSNBC, but shockingly, I’m hard-pressed to find much reporting on this from conservative networks. Fox News cut out of the press conference of survivors when Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took aim at her own president and his DOJ and FBI.

It's grieved me to watch the arguments and debates take place among my colleagues and even the administration. The shame does not fall on these brave, courageous women. The shame falls on every single person that coldly turned a blind eye to their abuse. The shame falls on every single person that enabled it. The shame falls on every single person that took money to continue it. And the shame falls on the people in power over the past several decades that protected the monster Jeffrey Epstein and his cabal that continued a nightmare.

She is just one of a handful of Republicans who are defying the White House, even as the White House, for whatever reason, is desperately trying to keep its base from talking about this issue. Over 89% of all Americans want the files released.

Listen to the Epstein survivors calling for justice:

These women have done what the prophets once did—stand in the gap, naming truth, demanding justice. They are refusing to be silenced, even as the institutions of power tremble and many powerful people are panicking.

A Call to the Church

For believers, this is a moment of reckoning. Will we continue to cozy up to political leaders for validation, or will we recover the prophetic voice that cries out for righteousness? If we align with power to protect our tribe, we betray the God who defends the widow, the orphan, and the oppressed.

The prophet Amos declared, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24). That is the standard. Not who gains politically, but whether the vulnerable receive justice.

Conclusion

The Epstein scandal exposes not only the root of abuse, but also the corruption of cover-up. Yesterday, survivors reminded us that the stakes are not partisan—they are human. As Robson said, “We are real human beings. This is real trauma.”

If Jeremiah were alive, he would lament a nation that can no longer blush (Jeremiah 6:15). He would rebuke the powerless prophets and confront the priests who are consumed by political influence.

We must heed the prophetic heart of Jesus, who grieves for the victims. The powerful will not hesitate to lay survivors of abuse upon the altar of political expediency.

In the end, it will not matter whether we stood close to presidents. It will matter whether we stood close to the heart of God, whether we helped the hurting or put our hands over our ears so we cannot hear the bleating sheep.