In the tiny town of Castlewood, S.D., where everyone knows the Noems, the prevailing sense was that people can’t help but feel bad for Bryon Noem after a tabloid photo leak.

© Ben Brewer for The New York Times

After lawmakers left Washington for a two-week spring break with the Department of Homeland Security shut down, the Hollywood tabloid began publishing photographs of them living it up around the country.

© Pete Marovich for The New York Times

Epstein flourished by helping elite men reconcile their private desires with their public appearances.

Epstein flourished by helping elite men reconcile their private desires with their public appearances.