I am skeptical of the blackmail claim. He just had to many rich people willing to hang out with him freely. Word that he was a black mailer would travel fast, no one would associate themselves with him. Think of the depth of that, many of these people could have easily had him taken out if he threatened blackmail against them. People with power and status usually don't go up against one another unless you want to be crushed or your reputation lost so even if some were in disagreement with what was going on they stayed silent. One hand turns another among the elites. Claiming blackmail would be a great excuse for those who found themselves soured about something they went along with for years and/or work as a good excuse for those being accused of being complicit in their silence. You'd have to become more powerful than all of them combined , an untouchable of sorts to bring a man like that down. I can't help but think that's what happened here with Trump, Trump had a dislike for Epstein that was well known. I think he brought in Acosta to his administration and used him to find leverage that laid a underground network that helped propel the cases against him forward. These cases that languished for years under previous administrations who wouldn't go up against the Clinton machine, Trump had no quarrels about exposing the Clintons for who they really were. Plus if you are going to find yourself having to play some dirty pool it surely doesn't hurt to have the low down on your opponents, actual evidence doesn't hurt either. My self assessment is when it came to the Clintons and Epstein Trump came in like a wrecking ball.