New York Times columnist David Brooks has been identified in a batch of photographs from the estate of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, released by US congressional investigators. The images, made public on Thursday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, show Brooks seated next to Google co-founder Sergey Brin at what appears to be a lunch or dinner event.
Context and Contradictions in the Epstein Case
The release of these photographs places Brooks in a potentially awkward position, given his recent public commentary on the Epstein saga. In a column published just last month, Brooks expressed profound disinterest in the long-unfolding scandal, questioning why it had become a top issue in American life. He characterised the public and media fascination with the case as akin to a salacious obsession fuelled by short-form news cycles and even drew comparisons to the QAnon conspiracy theory.
A spokesperson for The New York Times confirmed the event took place in 2011, which was three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor. The newspaper stated that Brooks, who did not respond to a direct request for comment, attended the event in his professional capacity as a journalist and had no further contact with Epstein before or after.
Timing and Transparency Questions
The timing of the photo release is particularly notable. It follows Brooks's column where he criticised Democrats for, in his view, opportunistically "hopping on this bandwagon" by pushing for more transparency into Epstein's associations. He argued that such efforts undermined public trust and fostered an atmosphere where right-wing populism thrives.
Furthermore, in a July appearance on PBS NewsHour, Brooks was openly dismissive, labelling the Epstein story a "stupid" seasonal distraction for Washington. The emergence of photos showing his own proximity to an Epstein-linked event has prompted observers to question why he did not disclose this attendance when writing about his lack of interest in the case.
Jacob Shamsian, a journalist at Business Insider, noted on social media platform X: "To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with attending the same event as Jeffrey Epstein. I just find it odd to not write about the topic when you’re a journalist and he’s the biggest story on the planet."
A Wider Cast of Figures
The latest tranche of images released by House Oversight Democrats did not solely feature Brooks. Other prominent figures pictured include Microsoft founder Bill Gates, filmmaker Woody Allen, and academic Noam Chomsky. The batch-by-batch release of these photos, orchestrated by the committee's minority Democrats, has been criticised for lacking crucial context such as specific dates and locations.
This development underscores the ongoing and complex fallout from the Epstein case, which continues to ensnare high-profile individuals from media, technology, and politics, and fuels intense debate over transparency, elite networks, and public accountability.
