In law they used to talk about two kinds of wrongs:
1) Malum prohibitum. Something that was wrong because it was illegal. Examples include overtime parking and cheating on your taxes. If you did something like this, you might wind up in jail, but most people would think you had done nothing truly immoral.
2) Malum in se. Something that was illegal because it was wrong. Examples include human trafficking and having sex with a minor too young to consent freely. If you did something like this, you might avoid jail, but most people would think you had done something truly immoral.
The people in the Epstein file are accused of having done something truly immoral. If they are shown to be guilty, but we do nothing about it, that reflects badly on us personally and on our nation. The only question remaining is, do we even care?
