Ezra Klein

is the proof that he is worth dealing with and not beyond the pale.

Because if he was, well, then how would he still have this network?

There's this quote from Staley, the then JP Morgan, later leads Barclays Bank.

Epstein relied on his network for his legitimacy.

And I, as running the largest investment bank in the world, was part of that network for him.

And what is unsaid in that quote is he was part of that network for Staley.

Because it's not just what they're doing for him, it's what he's doing for them.

And so to cut Epstein out...

when he has proven repeatedly so able to introduce you to people you would want to know, is also to cut yourself off from what he might be able to do for you in the future.

And here we're talking about him and other, like, unfathomably rich people.

But also the wealth itself was very impressive to people who offered him different kinds of credibility.

So Peter Tia, the podcaster and doctor and longevity specialist...

He's a bunch of these emails.

And Attia, in explaining why he was in such communication with Epstein in these years, he writes, "...at that point in my career, I had little exposure to prominent people, and that level of access was novel to me.

Everything about him seemed excessive and exclusive, including the fact that he lived in the largest home in all of Manhattan, owned a Boeing 727, and hosted parties with the most powerful and prominent leaders in business and politics."

And there's just such currency, right?

You know, we've been talking about the wealthy, but for the academics, for a lot of the other kinds of people that Epstein cultivated, one thing that is distinctive about him is he cultivated very different kinds of people.

The access to his wealth was very impressive.

He has a very close relationship with Kathy Rumler, who's former White House counselor for President Barack Obama, is now at Goldman Sachs.

And he's constantly buying her wealth.