Archive of paywalled Atlantic article

Peter Mandelson, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Washington, was recalled Thursday after the extent of his friendship with the disgraced financier became impossible to deny. In a 10-page message in the now-infamous 2003 scrapbook, he called Epstein his “best pal” and included several photos of himself. Describing the financier as “mysterious,” Mandelson said that he would often be left alone with Epstein’s “interesting” friends—an assertion that appeared over a picture of an unknown young woman in her underwear.

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Americans might be tempted to look at the situation in Britain and think: Consequences for misguided actions—remember them? That’s the right impulse. In the United States, the Epstein scandal has devolved into a mere political soap opera, in which the victims are largely forgotten and Trump is so far unscathed. British voters who are angry with their government might find some small consolation in the fact that on their side of the Atlantic Ocean, ethical lapses can still carry a serious political price.