Podcast Summary: WE CAN DO HARD THINGS

Episode: Epstein Survivors’ Attorney Who Exposed Government Conspiracy: Brad Edwards
Hosts: Glennon Doyle (Treat Media), Amanda Doyle
Guest: Brad Edwards
Release Date: February 12, 2026

Overview

This episode features an extensive, revealing conversation between Amanda Doyle and Brad Edwards, the attorney who has represented over 200 survivors of Jeffrey Epstein over nearly two decades. Edwards details the systemic governmental failures and conspiracies that shielded Epstein and his associates from accountability, the courage and perseverance of the survivors, the repeated trauma inflicted by the justice system, and what must change to support survivors and ensure true justice.

Key Discussion Themes & Insights

1. The Courage and Resilience of Survivors

• Courtney Wilde’s Story: Edwards recounts meeting survivor Courtney Wilde in 2008, describing her as the linchpin in exposing the Epstein case and government cover-up. Despite a traumatic life, Wilde’s determination never wavered, and she fought tirelessly for accountability.

  “She’s just doing everything right…she’s just doing everything right…she’s a badass…this girl's been thrown down a million times and will always get up ready to fight.”
  —Brad Edwards [07:14-08:54]

• Wider Impact: Many survivors, including Wilde, endured not just Epstein’s crimes but systemic abandonment, being mislabeled as "prostitutes" by the justice system, and enduring profound, lifelong consequences.

2. Blatant Government Collusion and the Secret Non-Prosecution Deal

• Conspiracy Details: Against all evidence and the recommendations of federal prosecutors, the DOJ and US Attorney’s Office secretly entered a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) in 2007 with Epstein, immunizing him and his named and unnamed co-conspirators from federal prosecution.

  “It was a conspiracy, on paper, indefensible, between the government and Jeffrey Epstein against the victims. There’s no other way to categorize it.”
  —Brad Edwards [15:20-18:19]

• Process Subversion: The NPA was never shown to a judge, was hidden from victims (in violation of the Crime Victims Rights Act), and the DOJ deliberately misled survivors for months about the active status of the federal investigation.
• Impact: This deal allowed Epstein to be prosecuted solely on state charges, which resulted in minimal jail time and ensured public records/press scrutiny were avoided.

3. Consequences for Survivors

• Labeling and Silencing: By only charging prostitution-related offenses, the U.S. government further harmed survivors, branding them as “prostitutes” — a stigma that persists.
• Immunity for Co-Conspirators: The broad immunity deal also prevented key witnesses from testifying, as their immunity could be revoked if Epstein violated his agreement in reaction to their testimony.
• Secrecy: All elements of the deal, including the existence of detailed indictments and memos, were sealed for years, only coming to light through relentless legal action from Edwards and colleagues.

4. The Judicial Battle for Justice

• Groundbreaking Lawsuit: Edwards describes “making up” the victims’ rights lawsuit, Jane Doe vs. United States of America, to force disclosure of the secret deal and advocate for survivor rights.

  “I made up the lawsuit in terms of title and everything, called it an emergency, got an emergency hearing, explained the situation and the judge learned it the first time too.”
  —Brad Edwards [27:33]

• DOJ and Epstein United: For more than a decade, the government and Epstein’s team coordinated to resist these lawsuits and maintain the NPA.
• Public Apologies and Findings: The culmination of these legal efforts included a public apology from Epstein to Brad Edwards (timed with journalist Julie K. Brown’s Miami Herald exposé), and a federal judge ultimately finding in 2019 that the federal prosecutors violated crime victims’ rights in collusion with Epstein.

5. Ongoing Intimidation and Surveillance

• Survivors, their families, and attorneys were surveilled, harassed, and intimidated for years by Epstein’s private investigators.
• Edwards describes being personally sued by Epstein, trailed, and followed for years until his own countersuit forced a public reckoning.

6. The 2019 New York Case and Epstein’s Death

• After years of legal fighting, Edwards worked undercover with the Southern District of New York, aiding the operation that finally arrested Epstein in 2019.
• Epstein was denied bail (in part due to survivor testimony), but died by suicide less than a month later in jail — an outcome devastating to Edwards and survivors but partially mitigated by Judge Berman’s decision to let survivors address the court:

  “For Judge Berman to…make sure that victims could come in and get a chance to actually speak in court was something that most judges don’t have the compassion or time to do. But it meant a lot…we’ve already lost at least five victims to suicide. It would have been more.”
  —Brad Edwards [47:29-49:21]

7. The DOJ’s Mishandling of Document Releases and Survivor Trauma

• Epstein Transparency Act: Intended to ensure the release of investigation records with necessary redactions, so survivors could access their files and be protected.
• Catastrophic Redaction Failures: In late 2025 and early 2026, the DOJ released tens of thousands — ultimately 3.5 million — documents without properly redacting survivor identities, names, addresses, and sensitive personal information.

  “This is very, very standard procedure. A literal classroom of fifth graders can get this right. All the government’s proven is they’re not smarter than a fifth grader here…or they are.”
  —Brad Edwards [57:36-57:44]

• Irreparable Harm: Survivors exposed to new dangers: media harassment in home countries, risk of arrest, mental health crises, and suicide risk — with DOJ refusing to simply pull the files and re-redact, despite urgent warnings from lawyers.
• Selective Redaction: Edwards notes the meticulous redaction of powerful individuals’ names in contrast to the negligence with survivor information.

8. Obstacles to Further Accountability

• Government Inertia: Despite the documentation of wrongdoing, no prosecutors have faced any consequences, and the DOJ (regardless of administration) has insisted the case is closed, refusing to pursue further investigation or prosecutions even as foreign governments act.
• Ongoing Legal Paths: Civil suits, such as those against banks that enabled Epstein’s operations, have provided some measure of justice and compensation—a model for pursuing accountability outside the DOJ’s inaction.

9. Legislative Efforts & Hopes for Systemic Change

• The Courtney Wilde Reinforcing Crime Victims Rights Act: Seeks to establish real penalties for prosecutors who violate victims’ rights and to provide attorneys’ fees for those who take up these cases, ensuring history doesn’t repeat itself.
• Call to Action: Edwards urges Americans to avoid politicizing the issue, to resist spreading conspiracies that harm survivors, and to act as upstanders:

  “There are great Republicans, there are great Democrats, but we’re all Americans and these are real people. Do your job, have a heart, and be a good person. Don’t spread this stuff in the media and spread online because you’re hurting people….”
  —Brad Edwards [82:15-83:21]

• Whistleblowing: Encourages employees at banks and institutions who saw and enabled Epstein’s crimes to come forward.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Survivor Strength:

  “She just cared about the right thing happening and could not even fathom that because this guy was rich or powerful, the system worked a different way for him…So if you’re all in, I’m all in.”
  —Brad Edwards on Courtney Wilde [07:14-08:54]

• On DOJ Collusion:

  “What does Jeffrey Epstein want? What punishment will he take? What crimes does he want to plea to? I mean…it was a conspiracy, on paper, indefensible, between the government and Jeffrey Epstein against the victims.”
  —Brad Edwards [15:20-18:19]

• On the Harm of Labeling Survivors:

  “It allowed Jeffrey Epstein and his defense team to have cover…labeling everybody as prostitutes. A label that to some degree is still being attached to them by some and maybe always will. Because…it’s been endorsed by the U.S. government.”
  —Brad Edwards [18:19-20:16]

• On Intimidation:

  “All of the survivors that were either trying to pursue justice, their houses were surveilled. They had private investigators shining lights into the bedroom…You had to move your own clients to other states…to protect them during this whole period.”
  —Krista Tippett [42:59-43:32]

• On DOJ’s Redaction Failure:

  “When they published the 3.5 million documents there were more than 10,000, I want to say more than 20,000 missed redactions of victims. It’s incomprehensible.”
  —Brad Edwards [57:34-58:38]

• On Why Justice Failed:

  “Alex Acosta wanted to get ahead in life…so did some of the subordinates to him, but very high up in the office. And they did…they made this go away in the way that Jeffrey Epstein, his team, wanted to…The rest of them were willing to hurt the victims…if it could promote their career.”
  —Brad Edwards [36:09-38:54]

• On What Americans Must Do:

  “Let’s for once, if everybody else won’t do their job, do your job, have a heart and be a good person. And don’t spread this stuff in the media…you’re hurting people to the point that it’s causing massive emotional distress.”
  —Brad Edwards [82:15-83:21]

Important Timestamps

• [01:59–10:11] Introduction of Brad Edwards and Courtney Wilde’s story
• [13:10–16:29] Details of the secret non-prosecution deal and its impact
• [18:19–24:46] The broader consequences for survivors and witnesses
• [27:33–32:26] The legal war to expose the conspiracy and enforce victims’ rights
• [42:14–47:29] Personal intimidation by Epstein and the 2019 arrest
• [51:43–64:38] Epstein Transparency Act and catastrophic DOJ redactions
• [69:15–73:30] Missing documents and DOJ refusal to pursue further investigation
• [79:37–80:51] Courtney Wilde Act and the fight for systemic accountability
• [82:15–85:15] Edwards’s call for individual responsibility and civic courage

Conclusion

This episode exposes, in granular and deeply human terms, how the justice system, across both parties and multiple administrations, worked to shield Jeffrey Epstein and his enablers at the expense of hundreds of vulnerable girls and women. Brad Edwards and the survivors he represents embody heroic courage and persistence. The message is clear: true accountability for such crimes must come not just from government, but from collective public courage, legislative action, support for survivors, and a refusal to tolerate institutionalized abuse of power.