BY MEGAN SCHRADER
MSCHRADER@DENVERPOST.COM / @MEGANSCHRADER

Two Colorado men dated women who emailed Jeffrey Epstein to keep the known sex-trafficker informed about their relationships (in a very creepy, checking in with the boss-type of way). The men's names got caught up in the release of Department of Justice files this month, and The Denver Post reported the context of their ties, or lack thereof, to Epstein.

Boulder restaurant owner Kimbal Musk and Denver developer Chad McWhinney both say they dated women who were over the age of 18 and able to have consensual sexual relationships. There is no indication in the files that Musk or McWhinney engaged in the rape of children, like other Epstein associates who used the multi-millionaire to procure victims of rape.

The Denver Post did report this week, however, that the woman Musk was dating was trapped by Epstein in a cycle of abuse that stretched over the course of years.

Let me say it again, however, not every man mentioned in the Epstein files is a pedophile or a rapist. Someone has to provide the scum of the Earth with legal counsel, and it's not like Epstein was going to use a public defender.

But also, let me be clear, many of the men who were corresponding with Epstein were aware that he was sex trafficking children, and some were active participants in the rape.

Had the U.S. Department of Justice done its job, we would know who is who. Instead, all the public can do is try to glean information from the correspondence of a borderline illiterate man who spent a good chunk of his brain power influence peddling. A look at Epstein’s correspondence is a glimpse at how the wealthy and vapid operate.

Since the release of the Epstein files will not lead to justice, what it can lead to is a bonfire of vanities — a public scorning and rejection of those who live in these circles of depravity. The men in the Epstein files are not idols of wealth and prosperity. They are meager beggars in a popularity contest.

We don’t have to know whether the women Musk and McWhinney were with were 18 or to know if Epstein was trafficking them to the wealthy and powerful Colorado men. Because what we do know is the kind of people Musk and McWhinney like to hobnob with, and that is enough for me to know I'd rather not support any Colorado venture the two are working on, whether it's a restaurant or real estate.

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