i wonder what is more effective in stopping terrorist attacks, sending them pallets full of cash or taking out players high up in the chain, my bet is on Trump here.

This is actually the most plausible explanation, considering that Epstein is not the head of the snake, he was an operative working for an organization that extorts influence, political and otherwise through blackmail, Epstein was simply the guy who procured that material. The simple fact that NONE of that material surfaced in an insurance policy Epstein no doubt has stashed away can mean two things, either his handlers were ahead of him and found all of it before they suicided him, or, more likely, they didn't take that risk, and snatched him from a prison that is proven to be ran by the same people he worked for.