Transcription
We've got a brand new Epstein update that, surprise surprise, implicates Donald Trump. Here's Caroline Levit being asked about this development at today's press briefing.
"According to newly released files, the president had a conversation with the Palm Beach police chief in the early 2000s. According to the police chief in 2019, um, the president has gone on record before and he's told reporters that he said that Jeffrey, that he had no idea about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. During this um conversation with the police chief, however, um, he did say, according to this uh recounting of it, that 'Thank goodness you're stopping him.' He also called Ghislaine Maxwell evil. So, my two questions are: Did that conversation with the Palm Beach, Palm Beach police chief happen? And can you explain the discrepancy?"
"What I will say is that the president has always remained consistent and that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club at Mar-a-Lago because, frankly, Jeffrey Epstein was a creep. And unlike many other people who are named in these files, uh, President Trump cut off his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, uh, and was honest and transparent about that for years and years. And so, I think what the president has said all along has always remained true. And the release of more than three million documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous, disgusting crimes just shows the level of transparency that this president and administration has committed to uh, in in bringing, u, these files to light. But did he call the chief in 2006? Caroline, did he call the chief?"
"Look, that it was a phone call that may or may not have happened in 2006. I don't know the answer to that question. What I'm telling you is that what President Trump has always said is that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club because Jeffrey Epstein was a creep. Uh, and that remains true. And this call, if it did happen, corroborates exactly what President Trump has said from the beginning. And I'm sure many of you, when you read that that alleged FBI report, probably thought to yourself, 'Wow, this really cracks our narrative that we've been trying to push about this president for many years.'"
"Which is to say, Trump knew a whole lot more about Jeffrey Epstein than he's been letting on. So, here's what we know. According to this document from a 2019 FBI interview with former Palm Beach police chief Michael Ryder, Donald Trump called the police department back in 2006, right when the Epstein investigation became public and said, quote, 'Thank goodness you're stopping him. Everybody has known he's been doing this. Everyone has known.' Now, if you're thinking, 'Wait, didn't Trump say that he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago because Epstein was poaching his employees?' You'd be absolutely right to ask that, because Trump has spent years telling this story about how the falling out was over Epstein hiring away people from his spa. Just a regular old business dispute. Nothing to see here. In fact, he told reporters just last July, quote, 'The concept of people taking people that work for me is bad. People were taken out of the spa, hired by him.' He even said that he believes one of the people taken was Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's most prominent survivors. But according to this FBI document, Trump told the police chief that people in New York knew Epstein was disgusting, that Ghislaine Maxwell was Epstein's operative and evil, and that he once got the hell out of there when he was around Epstein and teenagers were present. So, which is it? Because those are two very different stories. Either Donald Trump kicked Epstein out because he was stealing his employees, or Trump kicked him out because he knew Epstein was a predator. And if it's the latter, why has Trump been pushing the employee poaching narrative all this time? What's the point of obscuring the real reason unless you're trying to hide something? Because here's the thing. If Trump genuinely kicked Epstein out because he recognized that he was a danger to young women, that would actually make Trump look better. 'I saw what Epstein was doing and I banned him from my property.' That is a defensible position. But instead, Trump has consistently framed it as a petty business dispute about employee poaching. Why downgrade your moral high ground unless the full truth makes you look even worse?"
"But here's where it gets even more problematic. Trump told police in 2006 that everybody has known about Epstein's behavior. Okay, if everyone knew, why did Trump wait until the police were already investigating to actually say something? Especially since he was obviously close enough to the police chief to have that conversation. Why was he one of the very first people to call after the investigation became public rather than reporting what he knew before that? That's not heroic. That is opportunistic. That's someone trying to get ahead of a story that's already breaking. I mean, let's be honest about what's happening here. Trump is claiming that he recognized Epstein was dangerous enough that he 'got the hell out of there' when teenagers were around. That means he saw something that made him uncomfortable enough to leave in the first place. But instead of going to the police right then and there, he waited. And then when the cops were already on it, he decided to call and pat himself on the back and provide commentary about how Ghislaine Maxwell was evil. Unless you think I'm being unfair, remember that Trump has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. He said the falling out was about business. Caroline Levit tried to spin this by saying the 2006 call, if it even happened, corroborates Trump's story. But does it really? Because Trump's story has always been that he thought Epstein was a creep and cut ties in the early 2000s. What this document suggests is that Trump knew specifically what Epstein was doing, knew that everybody was aware of it, and still didn't report it to the police until they were already investigating. And by the way, let's talk about the Ghislaine Maxwell piece of all of this. Trump called her evil and Epstein's operative in 2006, but when Maxwell was arrested in 2020, Trump could only bring himself to say this."
"I just wish her well, frankly. Uh, I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. Uh, but I wish her well."
"And worse, he doubled down when pressed on it."
"President, the other day, a reporter asked you about Ghislaine Maxwell. You said, quote, 'I just wish her well. Frankly, I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, but I wish her well, whatever it is.' Mr. President, Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested on allegations of child sex trafficking. Why would you wish such a person?"
"I don't know that, but I do know that she has. She's been arrested for that. Friend or boyfriend, Epstein was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She's now in jail. Yeah. I wish her well. I'd wish you well. I'd wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty. I mean, you do, you know that she..."
"So, you're saying you hope she doesn't die in jail. Is that what you mean by 'wish her well'?"
"Her boyfriend died in jail. And people are still trying to figure out how did it happen? Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well. I'm not looking for anything bad for her. I'm not looking bad for anybody. And they took that and... I mean, she's a child sex, alleged child. Big deal. I just wish her well."
"That is quite the transformation, isn't it? From 'she is evil' to 'I wish her well.' So, what changed between 2006 and 2020? I'll tell you what changed. One statement was made privately to law enforcement and the other was made publicly on camera. So, the question we all should be asking is this: If Trump knew enough to call Ghislaine Maxwell evil, if he knew enough to flee when teenagers showed up, if he knew that everyone was aware of Epstein's crimes, why didn't he do something about it before the police started investigating? Why did he wait until it was already common knowledge? What about the reason for their falling out ever since? Because here's what this looks like to me. This looks like someone who knew about serious crimes, did nothing, and then tried to rewrite history to make himself look better. And now that the receipts are coming out, the entire story is falling apart."
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