Transcription
GRATEFUL. THE BEAT WITH ARI MELBER STARTS RIGHT NOW. HI, ARI.
>> HI, NICOLE.
>> HI, NICICOLE.
>> THANK YOU. WELCOME TO THE BEAT.
>> I'M ARI MELBER, AND.
>> THIS WEEK. PRESIDENT TRUMP IS SPOTLIGHTING HIS WAR DIPLOMACY.
>> WHILE THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESS PRESSES ON WITH ITS EPSTEIN PROBE.
>> A PARTIAL REBUKE TO TRUMP'S DEMANDS TO DROP THE ISSUE. CONGRESS DEPOSING TRUMP. ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR, WHO WAS IN CHARGE WHEN EPSTEIN DIED IN CUSTODY.
>> AND TONIGHT WE ACTUALLY START OUR PROGRAM WITH A NEW SPECIAL REPORT FOR YOU.
>> TRACING THE SORDID PATH OF CRIMES, INVESTIGATIONS, CORRUPTION DEALS WITH GOVERNMENT INSIDERS, OFTEN REPUBLICANS. THE SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF EPSTEIN AND CUSTODY OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S FIRST TERM. THE SECRETIVE RESPONSES WE'VE BEEN SEEING FOR YEARS ACROSS THESE ISSUES.
>> WE'RE GOING TO SHOW YOU THE NEW BEAT TIMELINE THAT WE'VE CREATED, REPORTING FOR THE FIRST TIME TONIGHT, RAISING FRESH QUESTIONS FOR TRUMP AND OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. WE ARE GOING TO EXPLAIN THIS. WHAT YOU SEE HERE, COMING UP IN THIS FIRST SEGMENT OF THE SHOW, A TIMELINE THAT ACTUALLY WILL MAKE MORE SENSE, WE THINK, WHEN YOU RECALL THE FACTS, HOW EPSTEIN FIRST PRESENTED AS AN ELITE, WEALTHY PERSON WITH TIES TO OTHER IMPORTANT PEOPLE, BUT THEN HIS WHOLE FACADE SHOWED SUDDEN CRACKS WHEN LOCAL POLICE INVESTIGATED A REPORT OF EPSTEIN MOLESTING A 14 YEAR OLD, LEADING TO GOVERNMENT PLANS TO CHARGE HIM, WHICH WERE THEN WATERED DOWN INTO A LESSER CHARGE UNDER A SECRET DEAL WITH A REPUBLICAN APPOINTEE, ALEX ACOSTA.
>> JEFFREY EPSTEIN WENT TO JAIL JUST BEFORE TEN THIS MORNING. HE PLEADED GUILTY IN OPEN COURT.
>> THERE IS NO ARGUMENT THAT EPSTEIN GOT AN EXTRAORDINARY BREAK.
>> A BACKROOM DEAL, SOME HAVE DESCRIBED IT.
>> WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO THE GOVERNMENT THAT SEX CRIMES DESCRIBED IN THIS AGREEMENT WERE TREATED SO LIGHTLY?
>> BECAUSE OF APPARENTLY SOME VERY HIGH POWERED ATTORNEYS.
>> THEY'VE TREATED MR. EPSTEIN MUCH DIFFERENTLY.
>> VERY DIFFERENTLY. THE BUSH PROSECUTOR WHO DID THAT LARGELY LET THE COCONSPIRATORS THAT WERE UNDER INVESTIGATION GO AND EPSTEIN OFF THE HOOK WITH A BRIEF SENTENCE, THAT PROSECUTOR LATER PROMOTED BY TRUMP. WE'LL GET TO THAT. BUT THE EVASION OF ACCOUNTABILITY THERE UNDER PUBLIC PRESSURE WAS A PROBLEM. AND SO AS THE PRESSURE BUILT, LATER CAREER PROSECUTORS IN DOJ, ONE OF WHOM WHO WAS LATER FIRED BY TRUMP, THEN BROUGHT THE CASE DURING TRUMP'S FIRST TERM, WHICH CHANGED EVERYTHING. AND THEN WE HAD EPSTEIN SUDDENLY DYING IN FEDERAL CUSTODY.
>> NBC NEWS HAS LEARNED THAT DISGRACED FINANCIER JEFFREY EPSTEIN IS DEAD.
>> HIS BODY IN THAT VAN YOU SEE THERE, SEEN HEADING FOR THE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE.
>> FOUND DEAD BY APPARENT SUICIDE IN HIS JAIL CELL. JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S ATTORNEYS QUESTIONING WHETHER HIS DEATH WAS A SUICIDE.
>> WHATEVER HAPPENED WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN IN PRISON BACK IN MID-JULY, STILL HAS NOT BEEN FULLY EXPLAINED. THAT DEATH HAS SPURRED MORE QUESTIONS AND THEORIES THAN JUST ABOUT ANYTHING IN THIS CASE, AND MANY OF THE QUESTIONS ARE VALID. THE TRUMP DOJ WAS IN CHARGE. EVERYONE KNEW EPSTEIN WAS A NOTORIOUS HIGH PROFILE DEFENDANT, AND YET HE DIED. THE TRUMP DOJ PRISON, THEIR SYSTEM, THEIR LOST THE KEY VIDEO FOOTAGE OF EPSTEIN'S CELL DOOR. IT'S NEVER BEEN RECOVERED. THEY ALSO OVERSAW OTHER BLATANT FAILURES, COMPOUNDED BY MORE SECRECY FROM THE TOP ALL THE WAY UP TO TRUMP AND THEN TRUMP. AG BARR TOLD EVERYONE TO TAKE HIS WORD THAT EPSTEIN HAD JUST KILLED HIMSELF. THAT DIDN'T SILENCE THE QUESTIONS THAT BUILT.
>> AS YEARS WENT ON, AND TRUMP CAMPAIGNED FOR HIS SECOND TERM, BASICALLY RUNNING AGAINST HIS OWN EPSTEIN SECRECY IN HIS FIRST TERM, AG BARR'S SUCCESSOR VOWED TO FIX THE TRUMP DOJ'S OWN PAST SECRECY.
>> WOULD YOU DECLASSIFY THE EPSTEIN FILES?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH, I WOULD.
>> WELL, THAT REALLY HAPPENED. IT'S SITTING ON MY DESK RIGHT NOW. THIS IS NOT THE BREAKING NEWS THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT.
>> THE FBI AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAY THEY FOUND NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE OF AN INCRIMINATING CLIENT LIST.
>> EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT CAME NEXT. TRUMP, DOJ BREAKING ITS VOW TO RELEASE MORE MATERIAL, THEN TRYING TO DISTRACT BY RELEASING AFTER THE MEMO THERE AN ALTERNATIVE HALLWAY VIDEO, WHICH HAS BEEN CRITICIZED. BUT OF COURSE, WASN'T THE ORIGINAL VIDEO THAT REMAINS MISSING. ALL OF THAT STOKING THE MORE RECENT QUESTIONS WE'VE HEARD THIS YEAR. TRUMP'S EPSTEIN SUMMER WITH BLOWBACK FROM THE MAGA BASE, ELECTED REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS, VICTIMS, ADVOCATES. SO NOW LET'S APPLY THE FULL FACTS SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THESE QUESTIONS. I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU A TIMELINE HERE AND WHAT WE ARE LEARNING. IN THIS CASE, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THE RECENT SECRECY, THE FAILURES BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, WHY THIS CASE HAS BEEN A FAILURE FOR JUSTICE AND GOVERNANCE AND TRANSPARENCY. AND THE HISTORY HELPS REVEAL LINKS TO THE CURRENT ISSUES, THE QUESTIONS FACING TRUMP AS PRESIDENT AND AS A CIVILIAN, BECAUSE BEFORE HE WAS PRESIDENT, HE HAD A SORDID HISTORY WITH EPSTEIN. AND WHEN WE'RE DONE WALKING YOU THROUGH THIS TIMELINE, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE WHY SO MANY QUESTIONS ENDURE UNTIL OFFICIALS LINKED TO TRUMP, TO OFFICIALS CARRYING OUT HIS PRIORITIES AT DOJ, ALL OF WHICH HAS DRAWN THIS BACKLASH.
>> THE CURRENT DOJ UNDER PAM BONDI IS COVERING UP CRIMES, VERY SERIOUS CRIMES.
>> BUT LAST WEEK, SHE PUT OUT A TWO-PAGE MEMO EFFECTIVELY DECLARING THE EPSTEIN CASE CLOSED, WHICH IS CONVENIENT GIVEN THE SPECULATION THAT TRUMP MIGHT BE ON THE SO-CALLED CLIENT LIST.
>> THREE TIMES.
>> I VOTED FOR THIS MAN. THIS IS BY FAR THE BIGGEST FUMBLE OF THE ADMINISTRATION. IT'S JUST IT'S INDEFENSIBLE. IT'S INDEFENSIBLE THAT THE ANSWERS AREN'T THERE WHEN SO MUCH WAS PROMISED. HE AND HIS ADMINISTRATION KEEP ACTING LIKE THEY'VE GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE.
>> THE EPSTEIN CASE HAS MANY DETAILS AND OPEN QUESTIONS. OUR TIMELINE TODAY FOCUSES ON THE KEY FACTS AND DEVELOPMENTS STARTING IN MARCH 2005, WHEN LOCAL POLICE IN PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, BEGAN A PROBE INTO EPSTEIN INVESTIGATING REPORTS OF ABUSING VICTIMS AS YOUNG AS 14. THE LOCAL CASE LED TO EPSTEIN'S INDICTMENT FOR A SINGLE COUNT OF SOLICITING PROSTITUTION IN 2006, NOT THE MORE SERIOUS ALLEGED CONDUCT. IN FACT, THE LEAD DETECTIVE IN THE PALM BEACH OFFICE REFERRED THE CASE TO THE FBI TO LOOK AT THE MORE SERIOUS CRIMES, AND THOSE FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS BEGAN PROBING ALLEGATIONS.
>> IN 2008, EPSTEIN REACHED A DEAL WITH THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S FEDERAL PROSECUTORS TO TAKE THAT LOCAL FLORIDA CONVICTION FOR SOLICITING PROSTITUTION WITH AN ADULT AND A MINOR. EPSTEIN GOT A LENIENT SHORT PRISON SENTENCE AND AN UNUSUAL AGREEMENT THAT THE BUSH DOJ WOULD NOT PROSECUTE EPSTEIN FURTHER, OR FOUR OF HIS COCONSPIRATORS OR ANY OTHERS. BUSH DOJ PROSECUTORS ALSO AGREED TO KEEP THE DEAL SECRET AND NOT INFORM EPSTEIN'S VICTIMS ABOUT IT. A JUDGE LATER FOUND THE BUSH DOJ SECRECY DEAL WAS ILLEGAL, VIOLATING THOSE VICTIMS RIGHTS. SO THE FACTS SHOW FROM THE START, EPSTEIN GOT THIS UNUSUAL PROTECTION FROM THE GOVERNMENT. AND THIS PERIOD, A REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION. BUSH AND EPSTEIN WAS A RICH, POWERFUL FIGURE. HE HAD TIES TO PEOPLE IN BUSINESS AND POLITICS. HE HIRED A REPUBLICAN CONNECTED LAWYER, FORMER INDEPENDENT COUNSEL KEN STARR, AND SERVED JUST ONE YEAR IN THAT DEAL.
>> NOW, ANOTHER NINE YEARS WENT BY, AND THEN THE MIAMI HERALD REPORTED EPSTEIN EXPOSÉ ON THE ALLEGATIONS OF HIS CONDUCT AND THAT BUSH ERA PROSECUTOR WHO CUT THE SWEETHEART DEAL. THAT INVESTIGATIVE REPORT GAINED TRACTION PARTLY BECAUSE OF A TIE TO TRUMP, WHO PROMOTED THE VERY PROSECUTOR, ALEX ACOSTA, TO HIS CABINET. THE HEADLINE AT THE TIME HAMMERING HOW A NOW TRUMP OFFICIAL GAVE A SERIAL SEX ABUSER THE DEAL OF A LIFETIME AND THAT PUBLIC PRESSURE FROM THE HERALD DROVE A NEW FEDERAL PROBE. INTERNAL DOJ REVIEWS WOULD SHOW ACOSTA HAD POOR JUDGMENT IN THE CASE, AND THAT THE BLANKET IMMUNITY OFFERS FOR EPSTEIN AND OTHERS WERE JUST INDEFENSIBLE, LEADING TO A FAIRLY SWIFT FEDERAL INDICTMENT OF EPSTEIN ON FAR MORE SERIOUS SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES. AND THE PRESSURE DROVE THE ORIGINAL PROSECUTOR. TRUMP HAD PROMOTED ACOSTA TO RESIGN AROUND THIS TIME, AND IN A KEY DECISION, A JUDGE DENIED EPSTEIN BAIL, FORCING HIM TO BE INCARCERATED BEFORE ANY TRIAL.
>> IT WAS JUST OVER A MONTH LATER, AUGUST 2019, WHEN EPSTEIN WAS FOUND DEAD IN HIS CELL. THE SITUATION WAS SUSPICIOUS. OFFICIALS THERE BROKE SEVERAL PROTOCOLS. EPSTEIN WAS A HIGH PROFILE DETAINEE. HE'D BEEN PLACED ON SUICIDE WATCH, WHICH WAS THEN QUICKLY LIFTED. GUARDS FAILED TO DO REQUIRED INSPECTIONS THE VERY NIGHT OF HIS DEATH, AND A LOT OF QUESTIONS WERE HANGING OVER ALL OF THIS.
>> SO LET'S GO EVEN FURTHER AHEAD, ALL THE WAY UP TO 2019. AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT? BECAUSE KEY VIDEOS WENT MISSING. TRUMP, ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR EVEN ADMITTING THE PRISON MADE MISTAKES THEN, BUT CLAIMING THAT HE PERSONALLY REVIEWED PRISON VIDEO WHICH SHOWED NO ONE ENTERING THE CELL. AND WITH EPSTEIN DEAD, PROSECUTORS TURNED TO A COCONSPIRATOR WHO MIGHT HAVE BENEFITED FROM THAT ORIGINAL FLORIDA CASE BEING SHUT DOWN. WHAT I TOLD YOU ABOUT THEY WENT AHEAD AND INDICTED GHISLAINE MAXWELL FOR HELPING EPSTEIN SEX TRAFFICKING, A CASE BROUGHT BY A CAREER PROSECUTOR, MAURENE COMEY, DAUGHTER OF FORMER FBI DIRECTOR COMEY. AND HER WORK CONTINUED ON WHEN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TOOK OVER. SHE WON MAXWELL'S CONVICTION, AND THIS 20-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE.
>> THEN, DURING THE 2024 CAMPAIGN, THE QUESTIONS AND THEORIES ABOUT EPSTEIN'S CRIMES AND SPECIAL TREATMENT WERE HEATING UP ON THE RIGHT. IT WAS A PROBLEM FOR TRUMP, GIVEN THAT HE PROMOTED THE ORIGINAL PROSECUTOR, THAT HE OVERSAW THE DOJ, WHICH FAILED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS OR HAVE TRANSPARENCY ABOUT WHATEVER HAPPENED IN THAT PRISON CELL. SO TRUMP TRIED TO GO ON OFFENSE, VOWING TO DECLASSIFY AND RELEASE EPSTEIN'S FILES, AND HIS ATTORNEY GENERAL TOOK OVER THAT MESSAGE AND ADVANCED IT IN OFFICE, NOW INFAMOUSLY CLAIMING THAT SHE HAD THE CLIENT LIST ON HER DESK, WHICH SHE LATER CONTRADICTED BECAUSE SHORTLY AFTER THE DOJ RELEASED AN ALTERNATE VIDEO FROM THE PRISON. BUT THE KEY VIDEO THAT SHOWS EPSTEIN'S CELL DOOR IS EITHER LOST OR HIDDEN. IT'S NEVER BEEN RELEASED, AND BONDI NEVER BEEN RELEASED, AND BONDI RELEASED THE NOW INFAMOUS MEMO THAT SAID THEY WOULDN'T PROVIDE ANY OTHER EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS. SO BONDI WENT FROM SAYING THERE WAS A CLIENT LIST TO THERE WASN'T. SHE WAS LYING THEN OR LYING NOW. THE DOJ MEMO THEN SAID THERE WAS NO OTHER EPSTEIN INFO THAT WAS GOING TO BE RELEASED, WHICH IGNITED THAT FIRESTORM OF CRITICISM WE ALL LIVED THROUGH. AND GIVEN THE BROKEN VOWS THAT COULDN'T HOLD, TRUMP SOON CONTRADICTED HIS OWN DOJ MEMO AND SAYING HE WOULD TRY TO GET GRAND JURY MATERIAL RELEASED. BUT THOSE ARE LIMITED TRANSCRIPTS. A LOT OF THE BIG EPSTEIN INFORMATION IS IN THE TRUMP DOJ. THEY COULD RELEASE IT ANY TIME. ONE JUDGE HAS DENIED THIS. AND AS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S CONTRADICTING CLAIMS DREW MORE HEAT ON ITS SECRECY, THE DOJ THEN SENT THIS FORMER TRUMP CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY TO INTERVIEW MAXWELL IN PRISON AND THEN TRANSFERRED HER TO A BETTER PRISON, AN APPARENT REWARD FOR THE ONE PERSON DOING ANY TIME FOR EPSTEIN'S INDICTED FEDERAL CRIMES. IN JULY, TRUMP'S DOJ ALSO FIRED THE TOP PROSECUTOR WHO WON THE CASE AGAINST MAXWELL, COMEY, AN UNUSUAL OUSTING OF A CAREER PROSECUTOR WITH NO PUBLIC EXPLANATION.
>> SO WHAT DOES THIS TIMELINE SHOW? THAT EPSTEIN GOT HELP AND SPECIAL TREATMENT AND SOMETIMES UNLAWFUL BENEFITS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT CLAIM TO BE INVESTIGATING HIM? IT HAPPENED UNDER THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION, WITH OFFICIALS LATER PROMOTED BY TRUMP. THE TRUMP DOJ ONLY PICKED UP THE CASE IN THE FIRST TERM AFTER JOURNALISTS REPORTED THOSE REVELATIONS. EPSTEIN'S UNUSUAL DEATH MET WITH TOTAL SECRECY BY THE FIRST TRUMP TERM AND THE PROSECUTOR WHO BUSTED EPSTEIN'S COCONSPIRATOR OUSTED IN THE SECOND TERM. WHILE TRUMP AND OTHER OFFICIALS MADE FALSE, SOMETIMES KNOWINGLY FALSE, STATEMENTS ABOUT THIS PUBLIC HISTORY. THIS IS A DAMNING ACCOUNT OF PRESIDENT TRUMP'S APPROACH TO THIS CASE IN GOVERNMENT. NOW, THIS IS A SERIOUS GOVERNING PROBLEM FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE DOJ. AND OBVIOUSLY THE IMPACTED VICTIMS. EVEN IF WE LEARN NOTHING ELSE ABOUT THIS, IT'S AN OPEN SCANDAL FOR THIS ADMINISTRATION.
>> AND THEN THERE ARE THE GLARING AND INCONVENIENT FACTS THAT GO BACK EVEN FURTHER. BEFORE TRUMP WAS IN GOVERNMENT, BEFORE THE LENGTHY TIMELINE WE JUST SAW, BECAUSE AS A CIVILIAN, TRUMP HAD A LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH EPSTEIN, WHO HAD BOUGHT PROPERTY NEAR MAR-A-LAGO, SOCIALIZING WITH TRUMP, ENGAGING IN ACTIVITIES, AND BOTH MEN THEN REFERRING TO EPSTEIN'S SEXUAL CONTROVERSIES. THE TWO MEN PARTIED TOGETHER. THEY APPEARED IN PUBLIC AND BEFORE CAMERAS. THIS IS FOOTAGE FROM A MAR-A-LAGO EVENT. IN 1992. EPSTEIN WENT TO TRUMP'S WEDDING IN 1993, AND WHILE TRUMP FAMOUSLY LIKES HIS OWN JET WITH TRUMP BRANDING, HE FOUND THE TIME AND REASONS TO FLY ON EPSTEIN'S PRIVATE JET AT LEAST SEVEN TIMES, PER THE NEW YORK TIMES. TRUMP PHOTOGRAPHED WITH EPSTEIN AND MAXWELL IN 2000, AGAIN AT MAR-A-LAGO, AND THE JOURNAL REPORTED ABOUT HOW TRUMP DREW THOSE BODY SEXUAL REFERENCES IN A BIRTHDAY CARD FOR EPSTEIN, CITING, QUOTE, WONDERFUL SECRETS. TRUMP DENIES THIS AND IS SUING THE JOURNAL OVER IT. HE NOW CLAIMS HIS EPSTEIN FRIENDSHIP WAS SHORTER THAN REPORTED, THAT THEY CLASHED OVER AN EMPLOYEE EPSTEIN HAD POACHED FROM MAR-A-LAGO, WHILE OTHER ACCOUNTS SAY I'VE SEEN WAS A MAR-A-LAGO MEMBER UNTIL 2007. OVER A YEAR AFTER THAT ORIGINAL INDICTMENT, WE SHOWED YOU TRUMP BREAKING THE VOW TO RELEASE MORE EPSTEIN FILES, BUT HE'S ALSO IN THEM, ACCORDING TO RECENT JOURNAL REPORTING. AND AS FOR EPSTEIN, HE WAS SECRETIVE ABOUT ANY TIME THAT THE TWO MEN MIGHT HAVE SPENT WITH MINORS. WHEN PRESSED UNDER OATH.
>> HE EVER SOCIALIZED WITH DONALD TRUMP IN THE PRESENCE OF FEMALES UNDER THE AGE OF 18. THOUGH I'D LIKE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, AT LEAST TODAY I'M GOING TO HAVE TO ASSERT MY FIFTH, SIXTH AND 14TH AMENDMENT RIGHTS, SIR.
>> LEGALLY, THESE SOCIAL LINKS ALONE ARE NOT EVIDENCE OF A CRIME. THEY ARE EVIDENCE OF A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, THE KIND OF LINK THAT REQUIRES A JUDGE OR PROSECUTOR TO RECUSE FROM A CASE. BUT TRUMP HAS BEEN DOING THE OPPOSITE, COMMENTING AND INTERVENING. HIS DOJ'S ACTIONS ON EPSTEIN REPEATEDLY PUTTING SECRECY OVER FACTS, POLITICS OVER ACCOUNTABILITY. AND AS WE SAW IN THE RECENT CONTROVERSY, A SPECIAL TRANSFER AND LENIENCY FOR AN ACTUAL SEX TRAFFICKER OVER JUSTICE FOR THE VICTIMS. THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT EPSTEIN, AND AT THE CORE, THIS IS A CASE THAT MATTERS SO MUCH TO THE MANY PEOPLE, MANY VICTIMS WHOSE LIVES WERE FOREVER ALTERED BY EPSTEIN AND MAXWELL. BUT YOU DON'T NEED EVEN MORE EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS, THOUGH PEOPLE ARE PURSUING THEM, OR MORE FACTS TO UNDERSTAND THE RAW OUTLINE OF THIS CASE. SOME OF IT PREDATES TRUMP, WITH BUSH ERA PROSECUTORS CUTTING A DEAL WITH A POWERFUL PERSON AND CUTTING OUT THE VICTIMS FROM EVEN LEARNING ABOUT IT. BUT MUCH OF IT INVOLVES TRUMP, FROM THE PERSONAL SOCIAL LINKS TO A GOVERNMENT THAT HE IS OVERSEEING, THAT AFTER ALL OF THE TALK AND CLAIMS FOR JUSTICE AND DEMANDS FOR TRUTH IN THIS SEX TRAFFICKING CASE, THE BIG THING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS DONE IS CONTINUE THE SECRECY, CONTINUE TO CUT THE VICTIMS OUT, AND MOST ASTOUNDINGLY, HELP AND SERVE AN EPSTEIN SEX TRAFFICKING RIGHTS WERE.
>> JEFFREY EPSTEIN, NOW DECEASED, REFUSED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY SUCH SOCIALIZING ALLEGEDLY INVOLVING DONALD TRUMP. ARE TWO EXPERT GUESTS ARE ON HAND TO RESPOND TO OUR NEW TIMELINE. WE WALK THROUGH WHAT WE HAVE SEEN FROM THE VERY FIRST INVESTIGATION AND SPECIAL TREATMENT AND GOVERNMENT CONNECTIONS THAT ULTIMATELY BENEFITED FIRST EPSTEIN AND LATER MAXWELL IN THIS TRUMP ERA. FOR A SPECIAL DISCUSSION ON THIS NEW REPORT, WE'RE JOINED BY NANCY ERIKA SMITH, A CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY WHO'S REPRESENTED VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT, AND FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR AND CONGRESSIONAL COUNSEL JOHN FLANNERY. WELCOME TO YOU BOTH.
>> NANCY, GIVEN YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA, WHAT DOES THIS NOW FULLER TIMELINE TELL US ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED?
>> WELL, IT TELLS US THAT VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE, EVEN PEDOPHILIA, DON'T MATTER IN OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM. AND THEY NEVER HAVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE PERPETRATORS ARE RICH, POWERFUL, CONNECTED, POLITICALLY. THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY HAS IGNORED VICTIMS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME AND CONTINUES TO DO SO. AND EVEN IN THIS STORY, THE VICTIMS, EXCEPT FOR WHAT YOU JUST DID, ARE RARELY EVEN COMMENTED ON.
>> IT'S THE INTRIGUE OF WHAT HAPPENED TO EPSTEIN AND WHO WAS INVOLVED. BUT IT DOESN'T. I HOPE IT MATTERS. THE REASON IT MATTERS IS BECAUSE A LOT OF TRUMPERS WENT DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE OF QANON AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT DEMOCRATS BEING PEDOPHILES AND HAVING A PEDOPHILIA RING IN SOME POLITICAL PIECE.
>> LET ME JUMP IN AND HAVE YOU CONTINUE THAT THE POLITICAL PART, IN A WAY, HAS BOOMERANGED ON ONE PARTY, AND YOU SAY IT SOMETIMES DOESN'T MATTER. THAT'S CLEAR. OTHER TIMES IT COULD MATTER. WE'LL SHOW THE SOME OF THE TIMELINE AGAIN FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. THE FIRST DEAL CUT BY THE BUSH FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, LATER PROMOTED TO THE TRUMP CABINET THAT YOU SEE THERE ON THAT FAR LEFT, WAS CUT AS A SECRET DEAL WHERE THE VICTIMS WERE NOT EVEN INFORMED. AND MANY OF THEM FEEL AND SAY THEY FEEL RETRAUMATIZED BY THE LAST FEW MONTHS, WHERE MAXWELL AND OTHER ACTIVITIES HAVE GONE DOWN WITH THIS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AGAIN, WITHOUT THEM. NANCY.
>> YEAH.
>> AND ALL VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND PEDOPHILIA ARE DAMAGED HERE, NOT JUST EPSTEIN VICTIMS WHO ARE CLEARLY DAMAGED BY WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. I MEAN, MAXWELL ENDS UP AT CLUB FED. IT'S OUTRAGEOUS. IT VIOLATES EVEN THE PRISONS SYSTEM'S OWN RULES. BUT YOU KNOW, KARL ROVE I THINK, STARTED IT, ACCUSED THEM OF WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO THEY SWIFTBOATED A WAR HERO FOR A DRAFT DODGER. AND NOW THEY'VE ACCUSED DEMOCRATS OF PEDOPHILIA WHEN THEY'VE REALLY COVERED UP AND PROTECTED ONE SINCE FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS.
>> JOHN FLANNERY, WE'LL PUT THE TIMELINE BACK UP AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT HERE, BECAUSE AS WE'VE DONE IN PAST, REPORTING WITH YOU, THE FACTS SOMETIMES ARE COVERED UP AND LIED ON, BUT THEY CAN STILL BE POWERFUL WHEN PRESENTED.
>> TRUE. I THINK THAT THE SYNTHESIS THAT YOU PUT TOGETHER IS AMONG THE INVENTORY OF BREAKING NEWS STORIES THAT YOU'VE ORGANIZED IN THE PAST, AND I THINK THAT WHAT THE ANSWER TO NANCY IS THAT SHE MAKES A DIFFERENCE. WE ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WHENEVER WE CLEAR DIFFERENCE. WHENEVER WE CLEAR OUT THESE PEOPLE WHO TAKE