Trump Flies Epstein Air, aka the Lolita Express

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Name: KATIE JOHNSON
Address: 6634 DESERT QUEEN AVE.
TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA. 92277
Phone: (760) 401-0192
Fax: NO FAX OR E-MAIL
In Pro Per

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

KATIE JOHNSON,
Plaintiff,
v.
DONALD J. TRUMP and JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN,
Defendants

Case Number: ED CV16-00797 (DMG)

COMPLAINT FOR CLAIM RELIEF DUE TO:
1. SEXUAL ABUSE UNDER THREAT OF HARM
2. CONSPIRACY TO DEPRIVE CIVIL RIGHTS

Plaintiff Katie Johnson, for causes of actions against Defendants Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, alleges as follows:

JURISDICTION

1. Jurisdiction is pursuant to the law of Diversity, 28 U.S.C; 1332, as plaintiff resides in the state of California while defendants reside in the state of New York and the action is for damages above $75,000.

VENUE

2. The venue is established as the Eastern Division of the United States Court Central District of California because the plaintiff resides in San Bernadino County, State of California.

PARTIES

3. The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, resides in the State of California.

4. The Defendants, Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, each reside in the State of New York.

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

5. The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, alleges that the Defendants, Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, did willfully and with extreme malice violate her Civil Rights under 18 U.S.C ; 2241 by sexually and physically abusing Plaintiff Johnson by forcing her to engage in various perverted and depraved sex acts by threatening physical harm to Plaintiff Johnson and also her family.

6. The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, alleges that the Defendants, Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, also did willfully and with extreme malice violate her Civil Rights under 42 U.S.C.; 1985 by conspiring to deny Plaintiff Johnson her Civil Rights by making her their sex slave.

7. The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, alleges she was subject to extreme sexual and physical abuse by the Defendants, Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, including forcible rape during a four month time span covering the months of June-September 1994 when Plaintiff Johnson was still only a minor of age 13.

8. The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, alleges she was enticed by promises of money and a modeling career to attend a series of underage sex parties held at the New York City residence of Defendant Jeffrey E. Epstein and attended by Defendant Donald J. Trump.

9. On the first occasion involving the Defendant, Donald J. Trump, the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, was forced to manually stimulate Defendant Trump with the use of her hand upon Defendant Trump's erect penis until he reached sexual orgasm.

10. On the second occasion involving the Defendant, Donald J. Trump, the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, was forced to orally copulate Defendant Trump by placing her mouth upon Defendant Trump's erect penis until he reached sexual orgasm.

11. On the third occasion involving the Defendant, Donald J. Trump, the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson was forced to engage in an unnatural lesbian sex act with her fellow minor and sex slave, Maria Doe age 12, for the sexual enjoyment of Defendant Trump. After this sex act, both minors were forced to orally copulate Defendant Trump by placing their mouths Simultaneously on his erect penis until he achieved sexual orgasm. After zipping up his pants, Defendant Trump physically pushed both minors away while angrily berating them for the "poor" quality of their sexual performance.

12. On the fourth and final sexual encounter with the Defendant, Donald J. Trump, the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, was tied to a bed by Defendant Trump who then proceeded to forcibly rape Plaintiff Johnson. During the course of this savage sexual attack, Plaintiff Johnson loudly pleaded with Defendant Trump to "please wear a condom". Defendant Trump responded by violently striking Plaintiff Johnson in the face with his open hand and screaming that "he would do whatever he wanted" as he refused to wear protection. After achieving sexual orgasm, the Defendant, Donald J. Trump put his suit back on and when the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, in tears asked Defendant Trump what would happen if he had impregnated her, Defendant Trump grabbed his wallet and threw some money at her and screamed that she should use the money "to get a fucking abortion".

13. On the first occasion involving the Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, was forced to disrobe into her bra and panties and to give a full body massage to Defendant Epstein while he was completely naked. During the massage, Defendant Epstein phYSically forced Plaintiff Johnson to touch his erect penis with her bare hands and to clean up his ejaculated semen after he achieved sexual orgasm.

14. On the second occasion involving the Defendant, Jeffrey Epstein, the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson was again forced to disrobe into her bra and panties while giving Defendant Epstein a full body massage while he was completely naked. The Defendant, Donald J. Trump, was also present as he was getting his own massage from another minor, Jane Doe, age 13. Defendant Epstein forced Plaintiff Johnson to touch his erect penis by physically placing her bare hands upon his sex organ and again forced Plaintiff Johnson to clean up his ejaculated semen after he achieved sexual orgasm.

5. Shortly after this sexual assault by the Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, on the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, Plaintiff Johnson was still present while the two Defendants were arguing over who would be the one to take Plaintiff Johnson's virginity. The Defendant, Donald J. Trump, was clearly heard referring to Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, as a "Jew Bastard" as he yelled at Defendant Epstein, that clearly, he, Defendant Trump, should be the lucky one to "pop the cherry" of Plaintiff Johnson.

16. The third and final sexual assault by the Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, on the Plaintiff, Kati Johnson, took place after Plaintiff Johnson had been brutally and savagely raped by Defendant Trump. While receiving another full body massage from Plaintiff Johnson, while in the nude, Defendant Epstein became so enraged after finding out that Defendant Trump had been the one to take Plaintiff Johnson's virginity, that Defendant Epstein also violently raped Plaintiff Johnson. After forcing Plaintiff Johnson to disrobe into her bra and panties, while receiving a massage from the Plaintiff, Defendant Epstein attempted to enter Plaintiff Johnson's anal cavity with his erect penis while trying to restrain her. Plaintiff Johnson attempted to push Defendant Epstein away, at which time Defendant Epstein attempted to enter Plaintiff Johnson's vagina with his erect penis. This attempt to brutally sodomize and rape Plaintiff Johnson by Defendant Epstein was finally repelled by Plaintiff Johnson but not before Defendant Epstein was able to achieve sexual orgasm. After perversely sodomizing and raping the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, the Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, attempted to strike her about the head with his closed fists while he angrily screamed at Plaintiff Johnson that he, Defendant Epstein, should have been the one who "took her cherry, not Mr. Trump", before she finally managed to break away from Defendant Epstein.

17. The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, was fully warned on more than one occasion by both Defendants, Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, that were she ever to reveal any of the details of the sexual and physical abuse that she had suffered as a sex slave for Defendant Trump and Defendant Epstein, that Plaintiff Johnson and her family would be in mortal danger. Plaintiff Johnson was warned that this would mean certain death for herself and Plaintiff Johnson's family unless she remained silent forever on the exact details of the depraved and perverted sexual and physical abuse she had been forced to endure from the Defendants.

1 MATERIAL WITNESSES

18. Tiffany Doe, a former trusted employee of the Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, has agreed to provide sworn testimony in this civil case and any other future civil or criminal proceedings, fully verifying the authenticity of the claims of the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson. Witness Tiffany Doe was employed by the Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, for more than 10 years as a party planner for his underage sex parties. Despite being subject to constant terroristic threats by Defendants Epstein and Trump to never reveal the details of these underage sex parties at which scores of teenagers, and pre-teen girls were used as sex slaves by Defendant Epstein and Defendant Trump, witness Tiffany Doe refuses to be silent any longer. She has agreed to fully reveal the extent of the sexual perversion and physical cruelty that she personally witnessed at these parties by Defendants Epstein and Trump.  


19. Material witness Tiffany Doe fully confirms all of Plaintiff Katie Johnson's allegations of physical and sexual abuse by Defendants Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein. Tiffany Doe was physically present at each of the four occasions of sexual abuse by Defendant Trump upon the person of Plaintiff Johnson, as it was her job to witness all of the sexual escapades of Defendant Epstein's guests at these underage sex parties and later reveal all of the sordid details directly to Defendant Epstein. Defendant Epstein also demanded that Tiffany Doe tell him personally everything she had overheard at these parties explaining to her that "knowledge was king" in the financial world. As a result of these underage sex parties, Defendant Epstein was able to accumulate inside business knowledge that he otherwise would never have been privy to in order to amass his huge personal fortune.

20. Material witness Tiffany Doe will testify that she was also present or had direct knowledge of each of the three instances on which Defendant Jeffrey E. Epstein physically and sexually abused the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson. Tiffany Doe will testify to the fact that the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, was extremely fortunate to have survived all of the physical and sexual horrors inflicted upon her by Defendants Epstein and Trump.

21. The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, asks the court for relief against the Defendants, Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, in the amount of $100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Dollars) as a result of the Defendants aforementioned acts upon which they willfully and maliciously violated the Civil Rights of the Plaintiff as stated in 18 U.S.C ; 2241 by sexually and physically abusing the then 13 year old Plaintiff Johnson under threat of harm to her and her family, and 42 U.S.C ; 1985 by the Defendants conspiring to deny the Civil Rights of Plaintiff Johnson by making her their sex slave.

Dated: April 26, 2016

KATIE JOHNSON

By _______________

Plaintiff Katie Johnson
Appearing In Pro Per
 

“I loudly pleaded with Trump to stop,” she said in the lawsuit about being raped. “Trump responded to my pleas by violently striking me in the face with his open hand and screaming that he could do whatever he wanted.”

Brown continues:

Johnson said that Epstein invited her to a series of ‘underage sex parties’ at his New York mansion where she met Trump. Enticed by promises of money and modeling opportunities, Johnson said she was forced to have sex with Trump several times, including once with another girl, twelve years old, whom she labeled ‘Marie Doe.’

Trump demanded oral sex, the lawsuit said, and afterward he “pushed both minors away while angrily berating them for the ‘poor’ quality of the sexual performance,” according to the lawsuit, filed April 26 in U.S. District Court in Central California.

Afterward, when Epstein learned that Trump had taken Johnson’s virginity, Epstein allegedly ‘attempted to strike her about the head with his closed fists,’ angry he had not been the one to take her virginity. Johnson claimed that both men threatened to harm her, and her family if she ever revealed what had happened.

The lawsuit states that Trump did not take part in Epstein’s orgies but liked to watch, often while the thirteen-year-old “Kate Johnson” gave him a hand job.

It appears Trump was able to quash the lawsuit by buying her silence. She has since disappeared.

In 2008, Alex Acosta, who at the time was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, negotiated a plea deal for Epstein. The deal granted immunity from all federal criminal charges to Epstein, four named co-conspirators and any unnamed “potential co-conspirators.” The agreement shut down the FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful figures who took part in Epstein’s sex crimes. It halted the investigation and sealed the indictment. Trump, in what many consider an act of gratitude, appointed Acosta as Secretary of Labor in his first term.

Trump contemplated pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell after she was arrested in July 2020, fearing she would reveal details of his decades-long friendship with Epstein, according to Trump biographer Michael Wolff. In July 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

“Jeffrey Epstein’s closest relationship in life was with Donald Trump…these were two guys joined at the hip for a good 15 years. They did everything together,” Wolff told host Joanna Coles on The Daily Beast Podcast. “And this is from sharing, pursuing women, hunting women, sharing at least one girlfriend for at least a year in this kind of rich-guy relationship with each other’s planes, to Epstein advising Trump on how to cheat on his taxes.”

The legal anomalies, including the disappearance of massive amounts of evidence incriminating Epstein, saw Epstein avoid federal sex-trafficking charges in 2007, when his attorneys negotiated the secret plea deal with Acosta. He was able to plead guilty to lesser state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution.

The prominent men accused of engaging in Epstein’s carnival of pedophilia, including Epstein’s attorney Dershowitz, viciously threaten anyone who seeks to expose them. Dershowitz, for example, claims that an investigation which he has refused to make public, by the former FBI director Louis Freeh, proves he had never had sex with Epstein’s victim Virginia Giuffre, who was trafficked at 17 to Prince Andrew. Giuffre, one of the few victims to publicly take on her abusers, said she was “passed around like a platter of fruit” among Epstein and Maxwell’s friends, until at the age of 19 when she escaped. She “committed suicide” in April 2025. Dershowitz has sent repeated threats to Brown and her editors at The Miami Herald.

Brown continues:

[Dershowitz] kept referring to information that was contained in sealed documents. He accused the newspaper of not reporting “facts” that he said were in those sealed documents. The truth is, I tried to explain, newspapers just can’t write about things because Alan Dershowitz says they exist. We need to see them. We need to verify them. Then, because I said “show me the material,” he publicly accused me of committing a criminal act by asking him to produce documents that were under court seal.

This is the way Dershowitz operates.

What disturbs me the most about Dershowitz is the way that the media, with few exceptions, fails to critically challenge him. Journalists fact-checked Donald Trump and others in his administration almost every day, yet, for the most part, the media seems to give Dershowitz a pass on the Epstein story.

In 2015, when Giuffre’s allegations first became public, Dershowitz went on every television program imaginable swearing, among other things, that Epstein’s plane logs would exonerate him. “How do you know that?” he was asked.

He replied that he was never on Epstein’s plane during the time that Virginia was involved with Epstein.

But if the media had checked, they could have learned that he was indeed a passenger on the plane during that time period, according to the logs.

Then he testified, in a sworn deposition, that he never went on any plane trips without his wife. But he was listed on those passage manifests as traveling multiple times without his wife. During at least one trip, he was on the plane with a model named Tatiana.

Epstein donated money to Harvard and was made a visiting fellow in Harvard’s Department of Psychology, although he had no academic qualifications in the field. He was given a key card and pass code, as well as an office in the building that housed Harvard’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. He referred to himself in his press releases as “Science Philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein,” “Education activist Jeffrey Epstein,” “Evolutionary Jeffrey Epstein,” “Science patron Jeffrey Epstein” and “Maverick hedge funder Jeffrey Epstein.”

Epstein, replicating the pretensions and vacuity of the characters who were parodied in the “Dinner with Trimalchio” chapter of Satyricon, organized elaborate dinner gatherings for his billionaire friends, including Elon Musk, Salar Kamangar and Jeff Bezos. He dreamed up bizarre schemes of social engineering, including a plan to seed the human species with his own DNA by creating a baby compound at his sprawling ranch in New Mexico.

“Epstein was also obsessed with cryonics, the transhumanist philosophy whose followers believe that people can be replicated or brought back to life after they are frozen,” Brown writes. “Epstein apparently told some of the members of his scientific circle that he wanted to inseminate women with his sperm for them to give birth to his babies, and that he wanted his head and his penis frozen.”

The Epstein story is a window into the moral bankruptcy, hedonism and greed of the ruling class. This crosses political lines. It is the common denominator between Democratic politicians, such as Bill Clinton, philanthropists, such as Bill Gates, the billionaire class, and Trump. They are one class of predators and grifters. It is not only girls and women they exploit, but all of us.

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https://cdn.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles ... awsuit.pdf

Doe v. Trump (2016) (case 1:16-cv-07673-RA, United States District Court Southern District of New York, filed October 3, 2016).

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

JANE DOE, proceeding under a pseudonym,
Plaintiff,
v.
DONALD J. TRUMP and JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN,
Defendants.

Case No.: 1:16-cv-07673-RA

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

COMPLAINT FOR RAPE, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, CRIMINAL SEXUAL ACTS, SEXUAL ABUSE, FORCIBLE TOUCHING, ASSAULT, BATTERY, INTENTIONAL AND RECKLESS INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, DURESS, FALSE IMPRISONMENT, AND DEFAMATION.

Plaintiff Jane Doe, proceeding under a pseudonym, brings this action against Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, and alleges that:

PARTIES

1. Plaintiff is an individual residing in and a citizen of the State of California.

2. Upon information and belief, Defendants Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. E0pstein each reside in this District and are citizens of the State of New York.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

3. Plaintiff is a citizen of the State of California for purposes of diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

4. Defendants are citizens of the State of New York for purposes of diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

5. This Court has original subject matter jurisdiction with respect to this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 as there exists complete diversity of citizenship between Plaintiff and Defendants and the amount in controversy exceeds Seventy Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of interest and costs.

6. Defendants are each subject to the jurisdiction of this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 with proper venue pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391 as both defendants are residents of and/or are domiciled in this district and the events giving rise to the claims occurred in this district.

RAPE, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, CRIMINAL SEXUAL ACTS, SEXUAL ABUSE, FORCIBLE TOUCHING, ASSAULT, BATTERY, INTENTIONAL AND RECKLESS INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, DURESS, AND FALSE IMPRISONMENT

7. Plaintiff was subject to acts of rape, sexual misconduct, criminal sexual acts, sexual abuse, forcible touching, assault, battery, intentional and reckless infliction of emotional distress, duress, false imprisonment, and threats of death and/or serious bodily injury by the Defendants that took place at several parties during the summer months of 1994. The parties were held by Defendant Epstein at a New York City residence that was being used by Defendant Epstein at 9 E. 71st St. in Manhattan. During this period, Plaintiff was a minor of age 13 and was legally incapable under New York law of consenting to sexual intercourse and the other sexual contacts detailed herein. NY Penal L § 130.05(3)(a). The rapes in the first, second, and third degrees; sexual misconduct; criminal sexual acts in the first, second, and third degrees; sexual abuse in the first, second, and third degrees; and forcible touching (and, on information and belief, predatory sexual assault) detailed herein are unlawful under New York law, e.g., NY Penal L § 130.20-130.52, and 130.55-130.65 (and, on information and belief, 130.95) and constitute the torts of, inter alia, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress, including threats of force and serious bodily harm, under New York law. In addition, 18 U.S. Code § 2255 provides Plaintiff with a civil remedy for personal injuries because Plaintiff, while a minor, was a victim of violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591, 2421, 2422(b), and 2423(a) and she suffered personal injury as a result of such violations. Declaration of Plaintiff Jane Doe, Exhibit A hereto; Declaration of Tiffany Doe, Exhibit B hereto; Declaration of Joan Doe, Exhibit C hereto; Jane Doe, Tiffany Doe, and Joan Doe are each pseudonyms as each woman wishes anonymity. Tiffany Doe, a witness, was an employee of Defendant Epstein. Exh. B. Joan Doe, a witness, was a childhood classmate of Plaintiff who, in the 1994-95 school year, was told by Plaintiff that Plaintiff was subject to sexual contact by the Defendants at parties in New York City during the summer of 1994. Exh. C.

8. Courts have discretion to allow proceeding anonymously where the need for privacy outweighs the public’s interest in knowing their identity and any prejudice to the defendants. Sealed Plaintiff v. Sealed Defendant, 537 F.3d 185, 189 (2d Cir. 2008). This litigation involves matters that are highly sensitive and of a personal nature, and identification of Plaintiff would pose a risk of retaliatory physical harm to her and to others. Exh. A. All of the ten factors that the Second Circuit articulated as relevant to this analysis favor anonymity, especially factors 1-4, 7, and 10 (e.g., factors one and two: “whether the litigation involves matters that are ‘highly sensitive and [of a] personal nature,’” and “’whether identification poses a risk of retaliatory physical or mental harm to the ... party [seeking to proceed anonymously] or even more critically, to innocent non-parties’”.), or are neutral with respect to anonymity. Protecting Plaintiff’s anonymity is also appropriate as she is a rape victim.

9. Plaintiff was enticed by promises of money and a modeling career to attend a series of parties, with other similarly situated minor females, held at a New York City residence that was being used by Defendant Jeffrey Epstein. At least four of the parties were attended by Defendant Trump. Exhs. A and B. On information and belief, by this time in 1994, Defendant Trump had known Defendant Epstein for seven years (New York, 10/28/02, “’I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,’' Trump booms from a speakerphone. ‘He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it -- Jeffrey enjoys his social life.’”), and knew that Plaintiff was then just 13 years old. Exhs. A and B.

10. Defendant Trump initiated sexual contact with Plaintiff at four different parties. On the fourth and final sexual encounter with Defendant Trump, Defendant Trump tied Plaintiff to a bed, exposed himself to Plaintiff, and then proceeded to forcibly rape Plaintiff. During the course of this savage sexual attack, Plaintiff loudly pleaded with Defendant Trump to stop but with no effect. Defendant Trump responded to Plaintiff’s pleas by violently striking Plaintiff in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted. Exhs. A and B.

11. Immediately following this rape, Defendant Trump threatened Plaintiff that, were she ever to reveal any of the details of the sexual and physical abuse of her by Defendant Trump, Plaintiff and her family would be physically harmed if not killed. Exhs. A and B.

12. Defendant Epstein had sexual contact with Plaintiff at two of the parties. The second sexual encounter with Defendant Epstein took place after Plaintiff had been raped by Defendant Trump. Defendant Epstein forced himself upon Plaintiff and proceeded to rape her anally and vaginally despite her loud pleas to stop. Defendant Epstein then attempted to strike Plaintiff about the head with his closed fists while he angrily screamed at Plaintiff that he, Defendant Epstein, rather than Defendant Trump, should have been the one who took Plaintiff’s virginity, before Plaintiff finally managed to break away from Defendant Epstein. Exhs. A and B.

13. The threats of violence against Plaintiff and her family continued, this time from Defendant Epstein, who again reiterated that Plaintiff was not to reveal any of the details of his sexual and physical abuse of her or else, specifically, Plaintiff and her family would be seriously physically harmed, if not killed. Exhs. A and B.

14. While still under threats of physical harm by coming forward and having no reason to believe that the threats have ever been lifted or would ever be lifted, Plaintiff, who has suffered from stress, emotional distress, mental pain and suffering, among other problems, ever since the assaults, was subjected to daily painful reminders of the horrific acts of one of the perpetrators, Defendant Trump, via mass media coverage of him starting on or about June 16, 2015 that, over a short period of time, became continuous and unavoidable. Exh. A.

15. As a direct and proximate result of the sexual assaults and rapes perpetrated by Defendants upon her, Plaintiff has suffered stress, emotional distress, and mental pain and suffering, as well as adverse physical consequences.

16. As a direct and proximate result of the sexual assaults and rapes perpetrated by Defendants upon her, Plaintiff has suffered physical pain and suffering.

17. As a direct and proximate result of the sexual assaults and rapes perpetrated by Defendants upon her, Plaintiff has been subjected to public scorn, hatred, and ridicule and has suffered threats against her life and physical safety.

18. As a direct and proximate result of the sexual assaults and rapes perpetrated by Defendants upon her, Plaintiff has incurred special damages, including medical and legal expenses.

19. The sexual assaults and rapes perpetrated by Defendants upon Plaintiff were intentional acts.

20. The conduct of Defendants demonstrates willful, reckless and intentional conduct that raises a conscious indifference to consequences.

21. At the appropriate time in this litigation, Plaintiff shall amend her complaint to assert a claim for punitive damages against Defendants in order to punish Defendants for their actions and to deter Defendants from repeating their conduct.

TOLLING OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

22. Any statute of limitations applicable to rape, sexual misconduct, criminal sexual acts, sexual abuse, forcible touching, assault, battery, intentional and reckless infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment of a minor, if any, is tolled owing to the continuous and active duress imposed upon Plaintiff by Defendants that effectively robbed Plaintiff of her free will to commence legal action until the present time. Cullen v. Margiotta, 811 F.2d 698, 722 (2nd Cir.1987); Ross v. United States, 574 F. Supp. 536, 542 (S.D.N.Y. 1983). More particularly, Plaintiff was unrelentingly threatened by each Defendant that, were she ever to reveal any of the details of the sexual and physical abuse caused to her by Defendants, Plaintiff and her family would be physically harmed if not killed. The duress has not terminated and the fear has not subsided. The duress is an element of or inherent in the underlying causes of action complained of herein. The duress and coercion exerted by Defendants has been such as to have actually deprived Plaintiff of her freedom of will to institute suit earlier in time, and it rose to such a level that a person of reasonable firmness in Plaintiff's situation would have been unable to resist. Exhs. A and B.

23. Both Defendants let Plaintiff know that each was a very wealthy, powerful man and indicated that they had the power, ability and means to carry out their threats. Indeed, Defendant Trump stated that Plaintiff shouldn’t ever say anything if she didn’t want to disappear like Maria, a 12-year-old female that was forced to be involved in the third incident with Defendant Trump and that Plaintiff had not seen since that third incident, and that he was capable of having her whole family killed. Exhs. A and B.

24. The duress had prevented Plaintiff from starting litigation before this year. However, as soon as she surfaced, she received threats. More specifically, shortly after her first complaint was filed in California on April 26, 2016, she started receiving threatening phone calls on her cell phone. Exh. A.

25. Defendants are equitably estopped from arguing that any statute of limitations has not been tolled as Defendants wrongfully forced Plaintiff to refrain from timely commencing this action by threats, duress, and other misconduct. Exhs. A and B. Zimmerman v. Poly Prep Country Day School, ___ F.Supp.2d ___ (2012), 2012 WL 3683393; General Stencils, Inc. v. Chippa, 18 N.Y.2d 125, 127 (1966)(“a wrongdoer should not be able to take refuge behind the shield of his own wrongdoing.”).

26. Moreover, this action has been brought before the facts giving rise to the estoppel have ceased to be operational (i.e., while still under threats of physical harm by coming forward and having no reason to believe that the threats have ever been lifted or would ever be lifted) and since Plaintiff has decided to seek redress at this time, Plaintiff seeks an order of protection in favor of Plaintiff and all associated with her so as to protect them from harm and harassment from Defendants and their agents and associates. Exh. A.

DEFAMATION

27. On information and belief, on or about April 28, 2016, Defendant Trump provided the following statement to American Media, Inc. and/or Radar Online LLC for publication on at least their website RadarOnline.com regarding Plaintiff’s complaint ED CV 16- 797-DMG (KSx) filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California: “The allegations are not only categorically false, but disgusting at the highest level and clearly framed to solicit media attention or, perhaps, are simply politically motivated. There is absolutely no merit to these allegations. Period.” The statement provided for publication by Defendant Trump was published by said website and has been republished elsewhere in whole or in part numerous times (and similar statements of an attorney for Defendant Trump were also published, including on September 22, 2016 by Courthouse News Service). The statements provided for publication by Defendant Trump and his agent and that were published by said websites are false as they pertain to Plaintiff.

28. The published statements are libelous on their face, and clearly expose Plaintiff to hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy.

29. As a proximate result of the above-described publications, Plaintiff has suffered loss of her reputation, shame, mortification, and injury to her feelings, all to her damage in an amount to be established by proof at trial.

30. The above-described publications were not privileged because they were published by Defendant Trump and his agent with malice, hatred and ill will toward Plaintiff and the desire to injure her.

31. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Trump’s defamation of Plaintiff, Plaintiff has been subjected to public scorn, hatred, and ridicule and has suffered other injury.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendants and for the following relief:

A. That judgment be entered against Defendants for special damages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages in an amount which shall be shown to be reasonable and just by the evidence and in excess of Seventy Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of interests and costs;

B. That all costs of this action be assessed against Defendants, including all reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and expenses of this action;

C. That an order of protection in favor of Plaintiff and all associated with her be issued so as to protect them from harm and harassment from Defendants and their agents and associates; and

D. Such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff demands a trial by jury of all issues properly triable by jury in this action.

Dated: September 30, 2016 Respectfully submitted,

By: /s/
Thomas Francis Meagher Of Counsel:
J. Cheney Mason
Law Office of J. Cheney Mason, P.A.
250 Park Avenue South, Suite 200
Winter Park, Florida 32789

Thomas Francis Meagher
SDNY Bar Code TM6707
One Palmer Square
Princeton, New Jersey 08542
Telephone: (609) 558-1500
[email protected]

DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S REQUEST FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER

I, Jane Doe, the Plaintiff in this matter proceeding under a pseudonym, state as follows:

1. I am a competent adult over 18 years of age able to testify as to personal knowledge. The facts in this declaration are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, and I am competent to testify to them if called upon to do so.

2. I was subject to extreme sexual and physical abuse by the Defendants, including forcible rape, that took place at several parties of Defendant Epstein during the summer of 1994 in New York City at a residence used by Defendant Epstein. During this period, I was 13 years old.

3. More particularly, I traveled by bus to New York City in June 1994 in the hope of starting a modeling career. I went to several modeling agencies but was told that I needed to put together a modeling portfolio before I would be considered. I then went to the Port Authority in New York City to start to make my way back home. There I met a woman who introduced herself to me as Tiffany. She told me about the parties and said that, if I would join her at the parties, I would be introduced to people who could get me into the modeling profession. Tiffany also told me I would be paid for attending.

4. The parties were held at a New York City residence that was being used by Defendant Jeffrey Epstein. Each of the parties had other minor females and a number of guests of Mr. Epstein, including Defendant Donald Trump at four of the parties I attended. I understood that both Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein knew that I was 13 years old.

5. Defendant Trump had sexual contact with me at four different parties in the summer of 1994. On the fourth and final sexual encounter with Defendant Trump, Defendant Trump tied me to a bed, exposed himself to me, and then proceeded to forcibly rape me. During the course of this savage sexual attack, I loudly pleaded with Defendant Trump to stop but he did not. Defendant Trump responded to my pleas by violently striking me in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted.

6. Immediately following this rape, Defendant Trump threatened me that, were I ever to reveal any of the details of Defendant Trump's sexual and physical abuse of me, my family and I would be physically harmed if not killed.

7. Defendant Epstein had sexual contact with me at two of the parties that summer. On the second occasion involving Defendant Epstein, Defendant Epstein forced himself upon me and proceeded to rape me anally and vaginally despite my loud pleas to stop. Defendant Epstein then attempted to strike me about the head with his closed fists while he angrily screamed at me that he, Defendant Epstein, should have been the one who took my virginity, not Defendant Trump, before I finally managed to break away from Defendant Epstein.

8. Immediately following this rape, just like Defendant Trump, Defendant Epstein threatened me not to ever reveal any of the details of Defendant Epstein's sexual and physical abuse of me or else my family and I would be physically harmed if not killed.

9. Both Defendants had let me know that each was a very wealthy, powerful man and indicated that they had the power, ability and means to carry out their threats. Indeed, Defendant Trump stated that I shouldn't ever say anything if I didn't want to disappear like Maria, a 12-year-old female that was forced to be involved in the third incident with Defendant Trump and that I had not seen since that third incident, and that he was capable of having my whole family killed.

10. The duress imposed on me by Defendants not to ever reveal any of the details of the sexual and physical abuse caused to me by Defendants has not terminated and the fear it has instilled in me has not subsided. Unfortunately, making matters worse for me, I was subjected to daily painful reminders of the horrific acts of Defendant Trump via mass media coverage of him starting last summer that, over a short period of time, became continuous and unavoidable.

11. The duress had prevented me from starting litigation before this year. However, as soon as I surfaced, I received threats. More specifically, shortly after my first complaint was filed in California on April 26, 2016, I started receiving threatening phone calls on a cell phone I then owned. The calls were never for more than 20 seconds or so before they hung up and they were always from a blocked or unavailable phone number according to my caller ID feature. Since I changed phone numbers, the threatening calls have completely stopped.

12. This litigation involves matters that are highly sensitive and of a personal nature, and I believe that identification of me would pose a risk of retaliatory physical harm to me and to others.

13. I have no reason to believe that the Defendants' threats have ever been lifted or will ever be lifted and so I request that the Court issue an order protecting me and my family from harm and harassment by the Defendants.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

DATED: June 18, 2016

DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S REQUEST FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER

I, Tiffany Doe, a pseudonym, state as follows:

1. I am a competent adult over 18 years of age able to\testify as to personal knowledge. The facts in this declaration are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, and I am competent to testify to them if called upon to do so.

2. I originally met Jeffrey E. Epstein in New York City in 1990 when I was the age of 22. I attended a series of parties in that same year of 1990 where I was paid to entertain various guests of Mr. Epstein.

3. In the year 1991, I was promoted to the occupation of party planner in which my duties were to get attractive adolescent women to attend these parties.

4. I was hired by and paid directly by Mr. Epstein from the years of 1991-2000 to attract adolescent women to attend these parties, most of which were held at what is known as the Wexner Mansion located at 9 E. 71st St. in New York City.

5. In June, 1994 while performing my duties as a recruiter of adolescent women to attend Mr. Epstein's parties, I met a 13-year-old adolescent woman, the Plaintiff in this matter, at the Port Authority in New York City who said that she had come to New York City in the hope of starting a modeling career.

6. I persuaded the Plaintiff to attend a series of parties of Mr. Epstein that took place during the summer of 1994. I told her that, if she would join me at the parties, she would be introduced to people who could get her into the modeling profession and she would be paid for attending.

7. It was at these series of parties that I personally witnessed the Plaintiff being forced to perform various sexual acts with Donald J. Trump and Mr. Epstein. Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein were advised that she was 13 years old.

8. I personally witnessed four sexual encounters that the Plaintiff was forced to have with Mr. Trump during this period, including the fourth of these encounters where Mr. Trump forcibly raped her despite her pleas to stop.

9. I personally witnessed the one occasion where Mr. Trump forced the Plaintiff and a 12-year-old female named Maria perform oral sex on Mr. Trump and witnessed his physical abuse of both minors when they finished the act.

10. I personally witnessed or was made immediately aware of the two occasions where my boss Mr. Epstein attempted to rape and sodomize the Plaintiff. I personally witnessed Mr. Epstein sexually and physically abuse other minor females even younger than her.

11. It was my job to personally witness and supervise encounters between the underage girls that Mr. Epstein hired and his guests.

12. I personally witnessed Mr. Trump physically threaten the life and well-being of the Plaintiff if she ever revealed any details of the physical and sexual abuse suffered by her at the hands of Mr. Trump.

13. I personally witnessed Mr. Epstein physically threaten the life and well-being of the Plaintiff if she ever revealed the details of the physical and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Mr. Epstein or any of his guests.

14. I personally witnessed Defendant Trump telling the Plaintiff that she shouldn't ever say anything if she didn't want to disappear like the 12-year-old female Maria, and that he was capable of having her whole family killed.

15. After leaving the employment of Mr. Epstein in the year 2000, I was personally threatened by Mr. Epstein that I would be killed and my family killed as well if I ever disclosed any of the physical and sexual abuse of minor females that I had personally witnessed by Mr. Epstein or any of his guests.

16. I am coming forward to swear to the truthfulness of the physical and sexual abuse that I personally witnessed of minor females at the hands of Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein, including the Plaintiff, during the time of my employment from the years of 1990-2000 for Mr. Epstein. I swear to these facts under penalty of perjury even though I fully understand that the life of myself and my family is now in grave danger.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

DATED: June 18, 2016

___________________
Tiffany Doe, a pseudonym

[admin]

Author who Trump ATTACKED and BANNED gets FINAL WORD
by Ben Meiselas
MeidasTouch
Mar 16, 2025 The MeidasTouch Podcast

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas interviews author Michael Wolff about his new book “All or Nothing” and the secrets he knows about Trump and Trump’s darker connections.



Transcript

let's talk about someone who Donald
Trump attacks over and over again
probably almost more than anyone uh it's
a reporter and author by the name of
Michael wolf and I'm sure you've seen
Donald Trump attack him like this
so-called author Michael Wolf's new book
is a total fake job just like the other
junk he wrote he called me many times
trying to set up a meeting but I never
called him back because I didn't want to
give him credit ability of an interview
blah blah blah there's so many other
posts like this and Michael Wolf's out
with the new book called All or Nothing
how Trump recaptured America and frankly
because of posts like that he's kind of
persona non gr when it comes to
corporate media and normally you do a
book tour you talk about your book
Michael wolf wrote about it in The
Hollywood Reporter Michael wolf Trump
scared the news networks into Banning my
book it's a guest column in the
Hollywood report and does it shock you
that the corporate media oligarchs who
went and kissed the ring at maral Lago
would not want someone like Michael wolf
on their Network they used to have him
on the network all the time to talk
about his reporting I think there may be
another reason as well that Trump
attacks wolf more than anybody what can
it be I thought for a second they were
going to release those Epstein files
remember all of those Maga influencers
they they went outside and they were
holding their binders up saying that
they had those those Epstein files and
it turned out it was just like Epstein's
phone list by the way which has Trump's
name on it which was released many years
ago in connection with the various uh
cases involving Epstein but if y'all
remember Wolf's got a lot of tapes of
Epstein talking about Donald Trump like
you may recall this one that we and The
Daily Beast reported but almost no one
else was uh reporting before the
election seems like a big deal me but
you remember this let's play it I think
we have a snippet from one of the
conversations that I recorded with
Epstein and I think this was in a
restaurant in
2017 his people fight each other right
uh and then have
Outsiders he sort of poisons the well
outside he will tell 10 people bannon's
a
scumbag and priest is not doing a good
job and Kelly has a big mouth what you
think Jamie Diamond says you're a
problem and I shouldn't keep
you and I spoke to K icon and call
thinks I need a new spokesperson so
Kelly even though I hired Kelly
an's
husband Kell is just too much of a
wild let's bring on Michael wolf since
we now have a platform bigger than
corporate media platform and they don't
want to have him on let's have him on
the author of All or Nothing how Trump
recaptured America First Mr Wolf my
question for you is how have you
uncovered that you're pretty much banned
from being on corporate
media you know it was so this this book
came out and this is my this is my
fourth book and uh all of the other
books you know they come out and
everybody invites you on to talk about
Donald Trump because it's Donald Trump
and uh and Donald Trump gets ratings so
um and my books and I sell a lot of
books so therefore it seems unnatural
for television and then so this book
came out um or we began planning for it
and it was crickets out there everybody
was going well no I don't you know we'll
we'll get back to you um and MSNBC which
of course would book this want me on to
talk about this book because what else
do they talk about besides Donald Trump
um and and and disliking Donald Trump
and they had booked me for that first
publication week which was I guess two
three weeks ago um and um but then just
as the as the as the White House started
to attack me uh excerpts began to leaks
began to appear about the book and then
the White House attacked me and they
cancelled they canceled everything um
and it was like well it's now with we're
we're it's it's with our
standards um committee or some some
strange thing which I've never heard of
um and you know clearly and then
actually somebody from the White House
called up to threaten me and said you
know it's a new climate um and and then
cited the ABC settlement um this ongoing
negotiations with CBS to settle over
over the way they edited the kamla
Harris interview on 60 Minutes and um
and then and then actually MSNBC the
people there were fairly straightforward
in saying well you know it's a new
climate uh so um so I I thought um it
was time for someone to um acknowledge
that uh things had changed in this new
Trump World Order and um and that
included
uh you know the media running incredibly
scared must have shocked you I mean you
spent your whole career as a reporter
you write these books you read a lot of
books that before I even got into
quitting my law practice and doing this
uh full-time I I read I read your books
I read fire and fury um just this idea
that you would be told it's it the
climate has shifted where you can talk
about your book and like I know the
exhausted process I mean you go through
hours and hours of of interviews and and
fact checks and they're being told
because you're writing a book critical
you can't go on the networks and then
Trump's people are saying it's a
different climate which you perceived I
think rightfully so as a
threat well I I mean I I might say that
nothing about television ever surprises
me um um but I think at this moment in
time is a very precarious moment um
virtually Trump is out there threatening
anybody he perceives as an enemy and the
media companies are very vulnerable here
they all have I me that we're we're
suddenly in this media environment where
where everybody is looking at at some
consolidation play and they're all going
to need um regulatory imp approval from
the FCC and Trump is holding this over
their heads I mean very clearly and very
you know this is not even even a soft
suggestion it's an outright threat um we
can we can block your business future
now all of these media comp I mean there
are there are the news news channels and
news divisions which I'm I'm talking to
but those are those are owned by these
very large companies um um uh Comcast uh
Warner Brothers Discovery Disney um who
have
many who where the stakes are much
higher than just their news division
yeah well you're going to be stuck with
me right now for this interview Michael
so let me ask you one question and and
we get more viewers than a lot of them
so and I think all of them so let let me
let me start here um I want to go talk
about your book in a moment but I I I
did show that clip of the Epstein tapes
and I think it's in the news a lot
because Trump's putting it in the news
his regime people are saying we've got
the files we're going to release the
files and then they release nothing they
give binders to influencers who then say
these are the Epstein files and then
they blamed it on like FBI in New York
and said that's the reason why and then
I think they're just hoping that
everybody like just forgets about it
just can can can you remind us and let
us know the the amount of one why do you
have these the audio recordings like
that how many do you have and just
remind the audience of like a general
flavor of of what they are so people so
people know what it is that I even
showed him um in
2014 um Epstein who I who I knews
through some New York
connections uh asked me if I would be
interested in writing a book about him
um and and I was like well you
know I I don't know I said I don't know
and I probably wasn't but he was there
there there was something about
Epstein you might even call it his charm
I mean there there is a reason so many
people were around him um uh so many
well-regarded powerful people were
around him um and it was partly his
expansiveness and he said and he said to
me well you decide if you want to write
a book about me but you can
come my house at my at my um at this
dining room table where where uh people
came from morning till till uh till
evening incredibly famous people and sat
around and um and just discussed the
state of the world really um and while
he fed them and his Cooks brought out
all kinds of food I mean really kind of
incredibly peculiar um scene to witness
in which I witnessed over and over again
and um and uh ran the tape recorder and
and he sat for many many hours of
discussion with with me um I mean
certainly certainly 80 90 probably a 100
hours I have of Epstein on tape and and
one of the discussions because this was
occurring Trump became the president in
in
2017 I began writing writing about about
Trump and so we spent a lot of time
talking about Donald Trump and Epstein's
relationship with with with Trump which
was went on for a good certainly 15
years and was incredibly close close
they were I you know each other's
closest friend for a very long time um
and Epstein I you know I think Epstein
is one of those people who truly knew
Donald Trump knew many secrets about
Donald Trump um and was threatening to
Donald Trump so and and actually so at
this moment in the in in the White House
you know the the the whole Mega people
think oh Epstein and this is a
conspiracy and the you know pedophilia
all Democrats are or pedophiles or um
but at the same time Trump is totally
freaked out about the Epstein thing and
you know I mean he they they were very
close friends um there's a moment in in
my last last book where um uh where I
talk about Trump talking to his people
about about what G Maxwell might have on
him and what she might say and should he
pardon
her how many hours would you say is
about audio uh you said there's like
maybe 80 100 hours total but of that
what do you think would be of trump
related conversations you know I I can't
I mean Trump weaved in and out of all
conversations and and remember and and
also there's a lot in these tapes tape
of Steve Bannon who was very F became
very friendly with Epstein so it's
Bannon in Trump Bannon in Epstein also
talking about Trump which was their kind
of bond I mean they both they both uh um
they're both kind of incredulous about
the character of Donald Trump and that
this character became the president of
the United States are you planning on
ever releasing I I saw the Snippets uh
on Daily Beast the other portions
released yeah you know this is a funny
thing because I have I have really tried
to try to find venues for this material
for quite a number of years now and um
um and everybody kind of gets excited
about it because it's it's kind of
riveting stuff and then everybody goes
oh but you know it's Epstein we can't do
Epstein because he's Epstein um and um
and project after project kind of kind
of meets its it's an an untimely end
well well we'll chat afterwards and uh
I'll make a I'll I'll make a pitch to
you but let's talk about the book All or
nothing right now um tell us what's in
this book tell us why people should get
it and why this is um kind of the
evolution of your books whether it was
fire and fury where where does this I
mean this is this is the campaign I mean
I started writing this book in in um um
in 2022 so it's it really the is the
campaign the Trump campaign from the
beginning right till the um till till um
till the election and um you know and I
think it's it's interesting again
because this is just another window into
who this guy is this is this is the
character of Donald Trump I mean you and
I often point out I'm not a political
reporter I'm I'm a writer I'm interested
in in character I'm interested in
getting the guy on the page so to be
able to see him through this campaign uh
really day by day day after day to be
talking on a constant basis to the
people around him I mean I think I think
offers just this this this Vivid window
into um into
a how this happened how he comes back
from Total disgrace after January 6 to
winning the presidency again and also
the the just the just the peculiar of
this guy um you know it's um
um you know it's a kind of story in
which in which he veers between this
kind of
mania um um and this depressive rage so
this is Donald Trump
raw you know there's something too
though about your legacy as a writer of
these types of
biographies that I think scares him it's
peculiar and particularly focused on on
you and and I think it's because you
know and and it's this is a compliment
to you that you're one of the kind of
remaining old school biographers kind of
out there and in his own
mind he respects your work in a sense
and he knows your process so when you're
giving that lens his fragile ego can't
accept it I I don't know if there's
parts of that but it's something unique
about you that pisses him off there's
lot yeah I mean I think it's because
because again I'm not a political
reporter I'm I don't you know I'm you
know all most other reporters people
covering Donald Trump are seeing him in
a political
context that's not really the the way I
see him or the way I want to see him I
want to see the guy as as as real as
possible as as as personally as possible
you know when I wrote my biography of
rert Murdoch um he called me up he was
enraged by it and um and he called me up
yelling and I said ruper just just
please tell me what's wrong with this
and he kind of sputtered and he says
it's just so personal and I said well
rert it is a biography um and and and I
think that's part of what happens with
with uh with Trump it's it's very
difficult for these guys to see them to
see themselves in a
uh you know um through someone else's
eyes and seeing
them with with some degree of the
emperor with no with no clothes and
finally what what I I don't want to ruin
the book for everybody so they should
all get it here Flash the book One More
Time salty so people can see it All or
Nothing by Michael wolf how Trump
recaptured America and thanks to your
team for sending it my way and I'd
recommend everybody to read it but what
do you make right now obviously you're
you know you're observing I think the
way the rest of the world is these this
manic Trump of tariffs no tariffs
tariffs no tariffs him sitting in front
of the these world leaders in the Oval
Office talking about annexing this
country annexing that country how does
your research on him maybe inform people
on this moment that they're seeing right
now are you seeing something different
right now in his pathology or is this
consistent with who you who you've
covered so I it completely consistent I
mean Donal Donald Trump I don't think
has changed the way he operates or what
he wants or how he sees things um in
decades um and and these these these
first weeks of the new Administration
which are actually rather like the first
weeks of the first Administration all
goes back to what does he want and he
wants headlines headlines headlines
headlines he doesn't care about policy
he doesn't care about legislative agenda
he cares about about dominating the news
cycle every day so you can read the New
York Times today and literally every
story is a trump related story that's
what he wants um and there's some method
to this madness which is to say that if
if um um if if he gets airtime or or or
headlines uh nobody else does therefore
he is the only thing that matters he's
the only person on the stage and that's
how he has run his political life that's
how he ran his real estate life that's
how he ran his entertainment business
life um and um um and it doesn't matter
if he if he contradicts the headlines
the next day tariffs on tariffs off
because it it just gives him another
headline no as I like to say now we are
all somewhat trapped as kind of
non-consensual participants in this
dystopian reality show that he's um you
know that that that he's created you
gonna do any more books what are you
thinking what's the next one you know
after every book I say I say I I say I I
certainly hope not and I swear off any
possibility so and that's that's where I
am today in this moment so we will see
well you've written a lot of books after
swearing it off so we'll come back in a
year we'll check in on you Michael wolf
thanks for everything and everybody
check out the book All or Nothing how
Trump recaptured America I appreciate
you Michael for coming on thanks so much
can't get enough Midas check out the
Midas Plus substack for adree articles
reports podcasts daily Recaps from Ron
Philip cowsky and more sign up for free
now at Midas plus.com
[Music]

[admin]

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1930727302566174971

Elon Musk Reacts to Epstein List Report: 'Final Straw'
by Shane Croucher
newsweek.com
Published Jul 07, 2025 at 4:30 AM EDT
Updated Jul 07, 2025 at 9:37 AM EDT
https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-reac ... aw-2095317

Elon Musk has said an Axios report that the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had concluded there was no evidence of a Jeffrey Epstein client list was the "final straw."

The report also said the agencies had concluded there was no credible evidence the disgraced financier and pedophile blackmailed high-profile and prominent individuals, and confirmed that surveillance footage showed Epstein had killed himself in prison.

It comes amid a renewal of the feud between billionaire Tesla CEO Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, who were political allies until recently.

The two men dramatically fell out over Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, and a claim by Musk that Trump was not releasing the Epstein files because his name was in them. Musk later said he had gone too far with the remark.

"So... umm... then what is Ghislaine Maxwell in prison for?" Musk posted to his X platform, referring to Epstein's former girlfriend and associate who procured underage girls for him to abuse.

"Stuff like this does not improve people's faith in government."

[x]
Left, Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Right, the mug shot of Jeffrey... More Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Kypros/Getty Images

Epstein Files Delay

Trump and his allies promised to release the Epstein case files in full amid suspicions of a cover-up about the latter's illicit sexual activities and the involvement of powerful people.

But delays to their release, and now the conclusion that Epstein was not blackmailing people or maintaining a related client list, have angered many Trump supporters, who expected a different outcome. Some believed he had been murdered while awaiting trial.

In February, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, responding to a question on Fox News about Epstein's alleged client list, had said it was "sitting on my desk right now to review."

Musk posted a meme showing the Trump administration's evolving position on the issue, ending with: "There is no Epstein list."

"This is the final straw," Musk wrote in reply to another user of X, formerly Twitter.

Elon Musk Touts New America Party

Musk earlier said he planned to form a new America Party for the 2026 midterms, which would target a handful of winnable Senate and House seats in an attempt to control the balance of power in Congress and break the two-party domination of U.S. politics.

"I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks," Trump posted to his Truth Social platform on Sunday, July 6.

"He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them.

"The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds!"

****************************

"This Is The Final Straw": Elon Musk Has Logged On, Seen The Epstein Memo, And Entered Full Chaos Mode
by Alana Valko
buzzfeed
Mon, July 7, 2025 at 3:24 PM MDT
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alanavalko/elo ... memo-memes

Elon Musk is back online (though, let's be real, he doesn't really ever log off), stirring the pot with Donald Trump.


Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

If you recall, a month ago, amidst a feud and falling out with Donald Trump, Musk took to his platform X, formerly Twitter, to drop a bomb, accusing Trump in a now-deleted tweet of being "in the Epstein files," and saying that was "the real reason they have not been made public." He later deleted the tweet, saying he "went too far."

Elon Musk @elonmusk
Time to drop the really big bomb:
@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.
Have a nice day, DJT!
2:10 PM Jun 5, 2025

Well, now, in a report first shared by Axios, the US Department of Justice and the FBI have released a review concluding that there is no secret "client list" of individuals with whom Jeffrey Epstein conspired with or blackmailed to exploit young women. The review also reaffirmed that Epstein died by suicide. Both findings contradict widely circulated claims and conspiracy theories promoted by some Trump associates.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1407001/dl?inline
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
__________________________________________________________________________
As part of our commitment to transparency, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted an exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein. To ensure that the review was thorough, the FBI conducted digital searches of its databases, hard drives, and network drives as well as physical searches of squad areas, locked cabinets, desks, closets, and other areas where responsive material may have been stored. These searches uncovered a significant amount of material, including more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence.

The files relating to Epstein include a large volume of images of Epstein, images and videos of victims who are either minors or appear to be minors, and over ten thousand downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography. Teams of agents, analysts, attorneys, and privacy and civil liberties experts combed through the digital and documentary evidence with the aim of providing as much information as possible to the public while simultaneously protecting victims. Much of the material is subject to court-ordered sealing. Only a fraction of this material would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial, as the seal served only to protect victims and did not expose any additional third-parties to allegations of illegal wrongdoing. Through this review, we found no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials and will not permit the release of child pornography.

This systematic review revealed no incriminating “client list.” There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.

Consistent with prior disclosures, this review confirmed that Epstein harmed over one thousand victims. Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials. This includes specific details such as victim names and likenesses, physical descriptions, places of birth, associates, and employment history.

One of our highest priorities is combatting child exploitation and bringing justice to victims. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.

To that end, while we have labored to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein and ensured examination of any evidence in the government’s possession, it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.

After a thorough investigation, FBI investigators concluded that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019. This conclusion is consistent with previous findings, including the August 19, 2019 autopsy findings of the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the November 2019 position of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in connection with the investigation of federal correctional officers responsible for guarding Epstein, and the June 2023 conclusions of DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General.

The conclusion that Epstein died by suicide is further supported by video footage from the common area of the Special Housing Unit (SHU) where Epstein was housed at the time of his death. As DOJ’s Inspector General explained in 2023, anyone entering or attempting to enter the tier where Epstein’s cell was located from the SHU common area would have been captured by this footage. The FBI’s independent review of this footage confirmed that from the time Epstein was locked in his cell at around 10:40 pm on August 9, 2019, until around 6:30 am the next morning, nobody entered any of the tiers in the SHU.

During this review, the FBI enhanced the relevant footage by increasing its contrast, balancing the color, and improving its sharpness for greater clarity and viewability. The full raw and enhanced videos are available at the following links: https://www.justice.gov/video-file1;
https://www.justice.gov/video-file2.

US Department of Justice / FBI / Axios / Via axios.com

In light of the news, Elon Musk re-ignited the public feud to share his thoughts. In a tweet sharing the report, he replied, "So … umm … then what is Ghislaine Maxwell in prison for? Stuff like this does not improve people’s faith in government."

Disclose.tv@disclosetv
JUST IN - U.S. DOJ and FBi joint Epstein memo: "There was no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions."

Elon Musk @elonmusk
So ... umm ... then what is Ghislaine Maxwell in prison for?
Stuff like this does not improve people's faith in government.
11:56 PM Jul 6, 2025

Then, he posted this meme:

ElonMusk@elonmusk
WE WILL RELEASE THE EPSTEIN LIST
WE JUST NEED MORE TIME
THE EPSTEIN LIST IS ON MY DESK
THERE IS NO EPSTEIN LIST
12:12 AM Jul 7, 2025

The meme seems to reference a claim made by US Attorney General Pam Bondi in February. In a Fox News interview, she said the list was "sitting on her desk," and that she was reviewing it at Trump's direction, alongside other files like those related to JFK and MLK. That quote is now making the rounds again as it contradicts the DOJ's current stance.

MeidasTouch@MeidasTouch
Pam Bondi in February: The Epstein client list is sitting on my desk right now to review.
Pam Bondi today: There is no Epstein client list and no "further disclosure" of Epstein-related material "would be appropriate or warranted."
7:46 PM · Jul 6, 2025

Musk didn't stop there, continuing his rant. "This is the final straw," he wrote.

Autism Capital@AutismCapital
Replying to @elonmusk
What happened to "the client list is on my desk?"
What happened to "the Epstein files part 2?"
What happened to those magical binders.
What a farce.

Elon Musk@elonmusk

This is the final straw
12:117 AM Jul 7, 2025

In another tweet-meme, he posted a "Jeffrey Epstein Pedophile Arrest Counter" set to zero with the caption, "What's the time? Oh look, it's no-one-has-been-arrested-o'clock again …"

Elon Musk@elonmusk
What's the time? Oh look, it's non-one-has-been-arrested-o'clock again ...
1:02 AM Jul 7, 2025

And lastly, he then retweeted a tweet that read: "If the entire government is protecting pedophiles, it has officially become the government against the people. I hope you all understand that."

Elon Musk reposted
Sarah Fields@SarahisCensored
If the entire government is protecting pedophiles, it has officially become the government against the people.

I hope you all understand that.

So...yeah. Musk is back online, beefing, stirring the pot with memes and accusations, while the DOJ says there's nothing more to see here. Whether any of it leads anywhere? TBD. In the meantime, Musk said he is launching a third political party called the "America Party," while Trump, never one to stay quiet, called Musk a "TRAIN WRECK" in a tirade on Sunday.

Elon Musk reposted
$TSLA Hodler@TSLAshareholder
elon's response to trump

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely "off the rails," essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them. The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds! Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running "machine," that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country. It is a Great Bill but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time. I have been strongly opposed to that from the very beginning. People are now allowed to buy whatever they want - Gasoline Powered, Hybrids (which are doing very well), or New Technologies as they come about - No more EV Mandate. I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate - It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had. He said he had no problems with that - I was very surprised! Additionally, Elon asked that one of his close friends run NASA and, while I though his friend was very good, I was surprised to learn that he was a blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before. Elon probably was, also. I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon's corporate life. My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!

Le sigh, I wish I could tell you this is all just one sick joke. But no, this is real life, starring the world’s richest man and our country's highest official. What a timeline to watch unfold.

As of posting, the Trump administration has not yet responded to Musk's tweets. We will update you if they do.

[admin]

BREAKING: Bongino & Patel Consider LEAVING Trump Admin!
by Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola and Mark Thompson
The Young Turks
Jul 11, 2025

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has reportedly taken the day off work after a fight with Attorney General Pam Bondi about her handling of the "Epstein files." Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola and Mark Thompson discuss on The Young Turks.



Transcript

Even inside of the Trump administration,
prominent members of MAGA are roiling with
this whole Epstein thing. And we want to
start with this guy first because
Bongino apparently got into a big tiff
with Pam Bondi. And as of right now, at
least, he's off the job. He took the day
off, I guess, which is a thing that you
can just do abruptly even when you have
a really important job. And a source
close to Bongino said he ain't coming back,
which is not a guarantee, but sources
are now saying he is considering that if
Pam Bondi doesn't go, he'll go, and I
hope somehow all of them go, but it's not
up to me.

Now, Caitlyn Collins
reports it's accurate that Dan Bongino
has told people he's considering
resigning in a major clash between the
FBI and the DOJ over the fallout from
the Epstein memo. Apparently he got into
it with Bondi about the missing minute
in the tape. And so he apparently
is mad, because he's been taking some of
the blame for not catching the fact that
it had the missing minute before they
put it out. And Bondi's mad at him
because he's been telling the press that
he and Kash Patel have been stopped from
releasing more information about the
Epstein files, but they're not
releasing that additional information.
And he has a lot of power, you know,
unto himself, let alone Kash Patel. And
so people are saying he's not happy with
the way that Pam Bondi has dealt with
the Epstein files. And I think all of
this is fascinating, but I also think
that it's convenient to just
assume, oh wait, maybe Pam Bondi's the
cause of the cover up. And actually Bongino
and Kash Patel, who made a name for
themselves, and tons of money before
entering the administration talking
about this story, they're secretly
fighting the good fight. But the thing
is, they've been participating in the
early steps of this coverup for literally
months. They've been doing those
interviews, and going on with
Joe Rogan, and going on with all these
people, and being like, "I haven't seen
anything, and there's no evidence yet the
guy killed himself." And like maybe they
have an issue with the tape, but what have they been saying
over the past few months, while these
files have been sitting waiting to be
reviewed, they've been like "mums the
word." Any of their public comments I
think, are totally consistent with either
a coverup, or that there is in fact
nothing. And I want everyone to bear
in mind that, just feel free to
disagree, it could be that both of them
are, and always have been true believers
on this stuff. And now they're aghast
at the fact that either nothing is
coming up, in which case one would think
they would perhaps apologize for leading
their audiences on for literally years
as they soaked up the money from it,
or that it is important,
as Jake points out, MAGA 90% in revolt
over this, they're thinking, okay, I
have this great job, and I don't want to
say anything that's going to get Donald
Trump to be mad at me. But Donald
Trump's heart could explode in his chest
in about 6 months, and I would like to
have a media career for the next 20
years. And this is perhaps a moment
where if I'm not seen to be on the right
side of this, that's it for me, and Maga
will never trust me.

Yeah. And we know how powerful audience
capture is for a lot of these people.
And so they have a ton of loyalty for
Trump, but they also desperately want
more mansions and fancy cars in the
years ahead.

[Cenk] Yeah. So that is exactly right. So
there's two different issues here. But
before then, we're doing a poll in the
live chat. Watch the show Monday through
Friday at 6:00. I love you guys
participating in this. And this is now a
really good question. Who's out first?
Bongino, Bondi, or Kash Patel? Uh,
Bongino seems like he's halfway down the
sword, so that's why he's winning. But
Pam Bondi is going to be the scapegoat.
So, let's get into that.

So, the two different issues are why is
Bongino freaking out the way that he is,
going to take the day off, saying
"That's it! I'm considering
resigning." Not just considering
resigning, but apparently telling almost
everyone in the MAGA world,
because there's leaks everywhere, right?
And he's like, "Oh, yeah. I might quit.
Remember I'm the good guy. I might
quit." Right. So, we'll see if he does or
he doesn't. So that's point
one. And the reason he's doing that is
because the MAGA base is like, "Fuck this.
All of you have zero credibility left.
It turns out you're compromised." Look,
you egg on conspiracy theories for
10, 20 years straight. 10 years, let's
give them right, the Bonginos of the
world. And then when that Frankenstein
turns on you, you're going to be
surprised, like especially the core
Frankenstein you built right now in this
case. Though to be fair to MAGA,
they are a thousand times more right than
Bongino, Kash Patel, Bondi, and Trump right?
Because what's the actual conspiracy
theory? That hundreds of girls raped
themselves, and that there are no clients,
and no one should be prosecuted? So that's
the conspiracy theory, the government's
position.

The Bongino position right now
is a wild, ludicrous conspiracy theory.
The idea that it's the various forces
who our government is covering up for is
the leading theory. And by the way,
that's not just a MAGA theory. That's
also the left-wing theory. And by
the way, the middlewing theory. No one
thinks those girls raped themselves, that
there were no clients, and we shouldn't
prosecute a single person. Other
than mainstream media reporters and
politicians, I don't know a single
person who believes that. Left, right,
middle, right?

So the government's
position is a lunatic conspiracy theory.
MAGA agrees with all of us. It's BS. And the
fact that they were objective
enough to to say, "Yeah, no, this is
wrong, and the Trump team is lying," I
don't know why they're lying, but
they're definitely lying. That is why
Bongino is jumping out of his skin.

Cuz you're right. If they keep going like
this, Kash Patel, Bongino, Pam Bondi, Pam
Bondi is already gone. She has no career
left in the right at all anymore.
There's not a single right-winger that
will ever vote for Pam Bondi. She's
gone, gone, gone. That's why she's gonna
be the first one under a bus. Bongino
might leave earlier, but Pam Bondi's,
like her new nickname, could be "Road Bump,"
because she's going under a bus. There's
no question about that. They were all
referring to her as Pam Blondie, and the
whole thing about the files are on my
desk, and then giving out the binders, and
now she's saying nonsense. She puts
out a total BS tape, etc. So, she's a
goner. What Trump would love, or that
team Trump would love, is "it was all Pam
Bondi's fault. And no no no, not
Bongino, not Kash Patel, not Trump, not any of the
rest.

Was Pam Bondi right? But here's where
it all breaks down, which is the core of
the issue, the second issue ,the more
important one, yes. But can
Bondi can get fired? But where are
the freaking clients? If you're never
going to release the client list, and
you're never going to tell us a single
person who did this, and you're never
going to prosecute anyone, and you're
going to stick with your lunatic
conspiracy theory that the girls raped
themselves,
it's not going to solve anything.
Yeah.
It's not going to solve Bongino's problem
with his career. If he comes out and
goes, "No, no, they're right. He killed himself and there
were no clients."
No one in MAGA is going to listen
to him. Not one person.

So, the quitting
and the firing is irrelevant. Are you
actually going to do it or not?

Look guys, I think this is so big. This is
not like, "Oh, hey, that's an
interesting amazing story of MAGA
turning on Trump and blah blah blah."
No. Like this to me feels like somebody
taking the finger out of their dam
because now like across the board, f the
government, f the establishment. We
don't believe a word they say anymore.
So you could yap on CNN or the New York
Times and call everybody conspiracy
theorists, etc. But Ed Stein and and his
very rich and powerful clients did rape
underage girls. None of them have been
prosecuted. And the American government
at a minimum is definitely protecting
the rapists. So now, and by the way,
Trump did it, Biden did it, Trump did
it, every president did it. So don't
tell me it's not an intelligence agency.
Like, like, yeah, maybe every president
raped an underage girl, and that's why
they're all not releasing the the files
or the evidence. But Trump ran on it,
man. He ran on it. And so now to come in
and go the thing that you care most
about, MAGA, I'm gonna I mean that is
like sticking the knife right into their
heart. Right. It's it's
a snap at a reporter for bringing it up.
Like he personally hates that it's still
being talked about.
Yeah. Yeah. No, he's he's in a world of
trouble, but the entire institutions are
in trouble now. Like no one like Jake
Tapper will later write a book about how
no one could have seen this coming. We
all see it coming, Jake. We all see it
coming. All right, Mark. Well, they ran
as outsiders, right? I mean, initially,
it used to suggest this false populism
really was something to sell when Trump
was an outsider and Banino was an
outsider and Patel was an outsider and
they could write these books and do
their podcasts and claim, you know,
those people on the inside. They're
holding it back. It's right here. It's
at the FBI. Are you kidding? That's
where it is. Now, you run the FBI, Cash
Patel, and you guys are all in charge.
And so, you're on super thin ice and you
could release something even with
redactions. So they can redact the hell
out of the thing. They've done that with
other stuff with JFK, with MLK. They
redacted a bunch of stuff. We'd already
seen it before, but they tried to take a
victory lap on how they'd released it.
You're right, Jen. There is something
huge about this. And because it's
something huge, it only gets bigger the
more we wait day after day after day. I
love the idea that they would throw
Bondi under the bus, but that won't be
enough for them to skate away from this.
Yeah. No way. And then the last piece is
what I promised you earlier in the show.
Um, Wired magazine did a terrific piece
about uh the tape that they released.
They said that it was raw footage from
the prison and I was instantly amused
when Pam Bondi explained, "Oh, every
prison tape has a minute missing." Do
they every prison tape does? I'm not
sure that's true at all. Right. To say
the least. All right. So, already it
started out disastrous, but now Wired is
proven not raw edited. edited by Adobe
Premiere Pro. And there they there's two
clearly distinct parts edited together.
Okay. Now, that doesn't mean that they
doctorred it. It doesn't mean that oh,
you know, we know they took out
something incriminating. All we know is
they said it was raw. Definitely not
raw. Definitely edited. And so, we just
don't know how it was edited. We don't
even know if the edit was around the one
minute mark. like that's the edit or it
was a different edit and there's
different ratio problems to the video.
The video is a mess and there is a
theory that oh well look they they were
just trying to clean it up so it looked
presentable right but they actually
released two different videos one that
was more cleaned up and one they called
the raw footage and it turns out the raw
footage isn't raw that one was also
edited. So none of that
the stockpile of stuff that is
associated with the offing of Jeffrey
Epstein. Everything from the removal of
his roommate from the cell to uh well it
turns out one guard was on uh uh was
asleep. The other guard was playing or
or buying something on Amazon. The
cameras didn't work that I mean at what
point do we just understand that
something else went down? There's just
way too much of a constellation of
events here for us to ignore it. Yeah,
last thing. Alex Aosta was the guy who
gave him a light sentence back in 2008.
Remember Epstein got caught earlier and
Aassa basically slap on the wrist. Aosta
later, even though he's a prosecutor,
became the labor secretary for Donald
Trump in his first term. So strange.
There's so many strange things. If you
don't know this, by the way, I I don't
know if this has anything to do with
anything, but you know, Attorney General
Bill Bar's dad was the first person to
hire Jeffrey Epstein. not for it sex as
a math teacher at a private school and
when Jeffrey Epstein didn't even
graduate college. This whole thing about
like he's like a financial genius. He
doesn't know anything about finance.
Okay. Like this is insane. Like did you
know Galileain Maxwell's dad was a
legendary is Israeli spy got a state
funeral. Uh
Yet Rabbine came to it. And did you know
that at one point uh Jeffrey Epstein
said that he works with the CIA and did
you know that Alex Aosta when challenged
this is according to sources it's not he
didn't say it in public or in court but
they said why'd you give him such a
light sentence and he said well the
intelligence agencies told me to
okay so if that source is correct this
thing's we already know what happened we
don't know which intelligence agencies
but obviously the CIA or the our
government is helping either is the
intelligence agency or is helping that
intelligence agency. So the idea that oh
intelligence agencies is like a
conspiracy theory. No, that is a very
reasonable conclusion, an eminently
reasonable conclusion given the evidence
at hand. The idea that there were no
clients cuckoo for cocoa puffs like
that. That's no one on planet Earth
believes that. Every time you ring the
bell below, an angel gets his wings.
Totally not true. But it does keep you
updated on our live shows.

[admin]

Trump's Epstein Failure Ignites MAGA Civil War
by Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola and Mark Thompson
The Young Turks
Jul 11, 2025

President Trump's Justice Department is refusing to release the Epstein files, and MAGA is not happy about it. Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola and Mark Thompson discuss on The Young Turks.



Transcript

Bannon calls Posobiec a "sap"
We were all told there was more and now
they're telling us and like a sap you
believed them.
Damn, that's an aggressive podcast they
got going on right there. But that of
course is uh Steve Bannon and uh Jack
Posobiec, conservative influencer. And uh
they're fighting as seemingly everybody
in the MAGA world is fighting over the
perception that Donald Trump is the head
of a massive effort to cover up Jeffrey
Epstein and his files and his client
list and all of that. And so Bannon is
now lumping Posobiec in, not just as a
person who had talked about the
conspiracy, but that might have actually
been a participant in the cover up
himself. And so we're going to get to
that as well as the many other fights,
fights that aren't just imperiling
perhaps the MAGA, you know, electoral
chances, but might even result in people
leaving the administration. And so we're
going to get to all of that, but what
Cenk, are you are you delighting in all
the chaos? I I am, but I'm not
delighting in in the files not being
released and the government lying to us
in preposterous ways. And apparently
other people are not delighting in it
because one of the things we're about to
tell you is Dan Bongino is considering
leaving the administration. He's
apparently furious. Uh but are they
really going to do anything? They could
fire Pam Bondi as a scapegoat. Bongino
can leave. But unless they release the
files and or actually prosecute a single
rapist, none of that is going to matter.
Anyway, we'll have all those amazing
details coming up for you guys, but also
the detail of turns out uh the prison
tape that they said was raw, not raw.
Wired magazine, excellent article
explaining that it was edited.
Mhm.
I mean, this is an epic disaster for the
government, for Trump, for every part of
this. And and as you can see here, I
mean, that's Steve Bannon in that first
video yelling at Posobiec that he was a
sap for participating in the Trump
administration stunt about the Epstein
files. So that's like MAGA on MAGA crime
live on the air
and and this is just ripping It's
actually not ripping MAGA apart. MAGA is
almost completely united against the
Trump administration.
Yeah.
And that is stunning. There's just a few
people like Alex Jones that have come up
with like a new deeper level of the deep
state that Trump is covering this up to
help fight as he tries to work through
it.
Of course.
Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. And there's the
revelations about the tape. Um I don't
find it the tape thing as damning as you
do. Uh sometimes these things happen
like most people don't know. Every
Friday we need about 4 minutes for the
tape to reset before the show can go
live.
Yeah. That's why there's a minute
missing in every Young Turks episode.
Exactly. It's not suspicious. It's just
the way it works. Anyway, so we're going
to get through all of them, but why
don't we start with Posobiec, who uh what
was it a couple months ago was one of
those right-wing influencers that was
brought as part of a PR stunt to meet up
with Pam Bondi, who had her Epstein
Files binders, and every one of them
rushed to Rumble and wherever the hell
they do their shows to say, "We're going
to blow the lid off this thing, and
we're going to take down the Clintons."
And then nothing happened because there
was nothing of note in the uh the
binders which in hindsight now might
have been the first indication that
nothing at all was going to come of
this. But so that's Posobiec's role is that
he received the binder and that's what
Bannon I think is implying that he was a
sap that he was a participant in the
coverup not just a guy who sort of is
commenting on it now. But that said, now
that you understand that background, why
don't we get a little bit more between
those two?
There is enormous confusion on my part.
We're told that there's a list on the
desk where you know Jack I don't want to
get into your whole thing but you know
how Jack but I get told I get unless I
get told that's phase one Jack's fault
Jack was used I hope you guys understand
that.
Thank you Charlie but I was told there'd
be more.
I was we were all told there was more
and now they're telling us like and like
a sap you believed them.
You're from the intelligence community.
Jack Posobiec, you're from the intelligence
community.
They're playing us. They're playing all
our way. It's just not the media screw
the media covering.
So yeah, Bannon's really on fire
pointing out that Posobiec was from the
intelligence community. He means naval
intelligence, not that he's an
intelligent person, so don't worry about
that. But but anyway, uh they were doing
that at this um uh Turning Point USA
student action summit. They have these
summits seemingly every single weekend
and they go there to all stand rather
than sitting while doing these shows.
TPUSA attendees slam Trump
But anyway, uh they're not just mad. The
attendees were mad, too. And so, let's
turn now to some of that.
We want to put America first. Like,
we're here for the Republican movement,
right? But we aren't really seeing it
with this administration. I mean, when
are we going to get what we voted for?
Yeah. We're getting lied to. The
pedophiles aren't being uh rounded up.
The uh people aren't getting deported.
Uh we're not getting what we what we
asked for.
Do you agree with the special prosecutor
has to be an independent special
prosecutor has to take over? Do you
believe that DOJ and FBI right now with
the guys who were all close to Pam
Bondi, uh, Dan Bongino, Kash Patel, do
you think they have any credibility left
to pursue this?
No. And I'll tell you exactly why,
Steve. Because in 2016, we trusted the
plan with Trump. But now Trump has
become the deep state. The exact thing
he we voted him in.
Why? Why? Why? Why do you say Why do you
say he Why do you say he's become the
deep state? What is more deep state than
covering up for pedophiles? Why would
you go to that island?
Why? Tell me. Why would you go to that
island?
Looks like that guy might be choosing
the Elon Musk side of the split. But um
but yeah, that was they were very fired
up uh against Donald Trump and not just
uh Donald Trump. It's I would imagine is
going to to end up trying to save
himself. He's going to start pointing
the finger. He always does. He throws
people under the bus. And that might
even be what's happening, which we'll
get to that no, it's not actually him.
It's these other people. But all of
those people are his people, trusted
people on the right, trusted people in
the Trump orbit. Pam Bondi's personal
lawyer. Is that a hold over from the
previous administration? He specifically
chose her after Matt Gaetz got rejected.
But either way, he loved both of them.
And so I there's still a little bit of
weird cognitive dissonance when you have
like the second guy who talked who's
like, "Well, I don't know. We're not
getting what we paid for." and he's like
smiling while talking about the fact
that the guy he trusted most in politics
is covering up for elite pedophiles.
Like that on some level this is still
kind of a game in some way. But at least
you did have people willing to say that
they feel betrayed and not just by the
potential scapegoats but by Trump
himself. Guys, if you're on the left and
you're not seeing it, and I get it, you
might not see it because of different
media that you consume. No, 90% of MAGA
is in rebellion. And so this is not
like, oh yeah, they're full of crap and
it's not real and they're all lying. No,
no, no, no, no. This is not close. Those
guys are real. And you can tell uh when
they're real or not when they say things
like, "Yeah, what the hell, man? They
didn't round up all the stupid
immigrants." Like you could like they
still have their points of view that we
can't stand, right? And that we totally
disagree with. But this is the Epstein
files is the very very core of MAGA. So
like when you This is not MAGA versus
Trump. And and if you're not if like So
are some MAGA making some small excuses
for Trump? Sure. Right. And are some of
the influencers trying to misdirect like
Alex Jones, oh they were too big to
jail, so that's why we should let the
rapist bankers go and and Trump is being
a genius by letting him go.
Well, he's saying that he's using it as
blackmail material over the world
leaders.
Yeah, whatever. Like some nonsense,
right? But nobody's even buying that.
Not not in core maga. later they will
change their uh uh excuse and a lot of
people will buy this later and it's
begun which is oh no Biden got rid of
the evidence that is why we could not
what didn't what did Trump do in his
first term but overall my read of it
online in everything I've seen and
that's why Dan Bongino is apparently so
furious he's he took today off in
protest he apparently had a huge
shouting match with Pam Bondi is any of
that stuff relatively real or Yes. Is he
trying to protect himself? Yes. Is he
trying to make it seem like, hey, look,
it's not me. It is Pam Bundy and it is
definitely not me. Yes. All of that. But
the reason he's doing that, the reason
why Steve Bannon is calling for a
special prosecutor in the Trump
administration. Unheard of. Unheard of.
Like, we don't trust Trump. We need a
special prosecutor. That's Steve Bannon
saying that. And now the reason why
every almost every host Charlie Kirk and
others you could tell they're super
reluctant, right? But they're like, "Uh,
yes, this is really bad. The girls
didn't rape themselves because their
audience is going, "Are you kidding me?
Are you kidding me?" Now you're going to
turn around and say that that there
there were no clients. You're not going
to prosecute a single person? and Andrew
Schultz uh which we'll who we'll talk
about later in the show in one of the
many things that he said on the flagrant
podcast was like wait so
you're saying that like you ran on
Epstein Trump you ran on I'm Epstein is
being you know the files and I'm going
to release them etc and you already had
one term so like you if if there's
something incriminating the files you
would Oh, and then you ran a whole
another campaign saying there was there
definitely was and you were going to
expose it. So now when you come out and
say, "Oh, there were no clients and
there is no list." No, you're
compromised in one way or another. Like
it is absolutely inescapable. So more of
that evidence in a minute, but Mark,
what's your first take on this?
Yeah, I I think that you do a good job
of decoding what are sort of two aspects
to this. One is the political MAGA world
and the damage potentially to Trump as a
result of that political world turning
on him. You saw bits of it. And I think
also the reputational problems, the
stink reputationally for Trump. I
thought that was a great question. Like
what are you doing going to this island
over and over again? What are you doing
sort of hanging out with this guy? It's
undeniable that this guy is what we
know. And so even if we don't get the
files or the list or the black book,
it's you Donald Trump who reputationally
pay a price. And the reason you
additionally pay that price is because
you are with helping to withhold this
information. So I think you know that
which we knew that is to say that Trump
was tight with Epstein. I don't know to
what extent he was involved with all of
this, but you know, it becomes kind of
hard to push away when you're hanging
out with a guy on his jet all the time,
going to his island, going to the
different properties. You're doing that
enough. I I think it turns the focus
back on to Trump. So, reputationally, he
has done some harm along the way as
well. On on the political stuff, Cenk, I
yield to you because I think you have a
better sense of what's happening with
maga-nation than do I. Uh, I always feel
like they'll rationalize their way out
of it, but there may just be too much
going on here for them to do that.
And guys, that So, Mark, to your point
real quick, um, I live through all of
the different stages, right? So, I would
tell MAGA, you know, 5 years ago, four
years ago, one year ago, hey, you know,
Trump said that Epstein is a terrific guy
and they were best friends for 15 years.
And Trump even said, hey, everybody
knows Jeffrey likes him young. Like, so
he knew definitively. And back then the
reaction from MAGA was f you don't eat
your Clinton covering it up Biden
and they just deflection deflection
never acknowledged it. Now when I do the
same thing they're like oh yep you're
totally right. What the hell? Why I
don't and I don't know. I would love to
ask uh some of them bunch of them like
guys what did you like why did you not
believe it before and now you do believe
it? Like isn't it obvious you were wrong
earlier? Right.
And I don't but we don't need to even
get into that. The fact that they now do
believe it makes a big difference. Does
everybody think that Trump w did
something with Epstein? No. Okay. Do a lot
of them now wonder if Trump did
something with Epstein? Yes. Yes. Yeah.
And they're taking that quote a lot more
seriously now because remember the core
of MAGA whether we like it or believe it
or agree or don't agree. They think
they're anti-establishment. Like they
think we're going to go get the elites,
right? They talk about the elites all
the time, etc. So they really the reason
they loved Trump and believed in Trump
was they thought, it's not true, but
they thought he was anti-establishment.
They thought he was anti- elites. And
what do we say on the Young Turks over
and over again? He's a fake populist,
right? He's he plays a good populist
game that's smart politically and the
Democrats are knuckleheads for not doing
the same thing, but he doesn't mean it.
He already had one term. He was already
best friends with Jeffrey Epstein. He
already he loves the donor class. He all
What did he do in the first term and the
second term? Giant tax cuts for rich and
the corporations, right? He's a fake
populist. And now when he does the same
exact thing that MAGA accused the dips
deep state of doing, the establishment,
the elites of doing and the very core of
it, eps, the very core, that's what
broke the camel's back. So it doesn't
mean that they don't trust him on
anything else, but this is massive
damage to Trump's credibility with MAGA.
Yeah.
And it's going to have much more
consequences for other issues as well.
They confuse the fact that he has a lot
of enemies and some of them are elites
with him being an enemy of the elites,
which is us. And I think the reason the
reason that he has been so like caught
flatfooted on this thing like the only
other time that sort of reminds me a
little bit is the vaccine stuff where
like he says things they mean it like
the base like he'll say stop the testing
covid's fake or whatever but he still
thinks we should have a vaccine cuz he's
not actually a colloidal silver
Instagram zombie or whatever and so he
has a a a vaccine come out because he
doesn't actually mean the antivax stuff.
He eventually caught up because he was
getting booed at rallies and everything.
And I think this is an even worse
example where yeah, he mentioned Epstein
in his rallies. He doesn't actually
believe the QAnon stuff and he doesn't
get that. It's a it's a helpful game to
him to get people fired up, but there's
millions of not just Republicans, but
predominantly Republicans that believe
it more than they believe literally
anything else. And so for him it's like,
"Yeah, we had fun with that during the
campaign, but now I'm in power and now
it's about tax cuts. So shut up with
your stupid conspiracy theories." And he
doesn't get that they believe that every
time you ring the bell below, an angel
gets his wings. Totally not true. But it
does keep you updated on our live shows.

[admin]

Alan Dershowitz Claims He Knows Who Is On The Epstein Client List
by Cenk Uygur, Elliot Morgan and Sharon Reed
The Young Turks
Jul 11, 2025

A video of Alan Dershowitz has resurfaced of him claiming to knows all about a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged clients. Cenk Uygur, Elliot Morgan and Sharon Reed discuss on The Young Turks.



Transcript

I know for a fact documents are being
suppressed and they're being suppressed
to protect individuals. I know the names
of the individuals. I know why they're
being suppressed. I know who's
suppressing them, but I'm bound by
confidentiality
uh from a judge and cases and I can't
disclose what I know. But I pan to God,
I know I know the names of people whose
files are being suppressed in order to
protect them. And that's wrong. Here we
are. The Epstein file saga continues.
This time with former Epstein defense
lawyer Alan Dershowitz. Uh on Sean
Spicer's show there back in March.
Dershowitz emphatically claimed that he
knew all of the clients on the so-called
Epstein list. Uh the clip resurfaced
yesterday but left and right-wing
backlash to the Trump administration's
denials that Epstein was blackmailing
other clients. Dershowitz's insistence
that there were other clients and
co-conspirators was backed up by Cigrid
McCauley, the lawyer representing
several Epstein victims in their civil
cases. Listen, I think what's really
just astonishing about this recent um
disclosure from the government is that
they know they are sitting on a treasure
trove of information and they're not
turning it over. And I've worked on
these cases for over 10 years now.
There's a plethora of information that
the public has not been able to see
relating to Epstein and his
co-conspirators. And as we know, he had
a a group of people around him who
helped protect him and helped that
scheme to continue running. None of
those people have been prosecuted. All
right, folks. And it's getting even
sketchier, if you will. We're learning
more um that the 11 hours of prison
footage that the Trump administration
released from the night Epstein died may
have been altered. Uh let's talk more
about it. with metadata embedded in the
video analyzed by wired and independent
video forensics experts shows that
rather than being a direct export from
the prison surveillance system, the
footage was modified, likely using the
professional editing tool Adobe Premiere
Pro. The file appears to have been
assembled from at least two source
clips, saved multiple times, exported,
and then uploaded to the DOJ's website
where it was presented as quote raw
footage. Experts caution that it's
unclear what exactly was changed and
that the metadata does not prove
deceptive manipulation. video may have
simply been processed for public release
using available software with no
modifications beyond stitching together
two clips, but again it adds to the
mystery here. With no clear explanation
from the Justice Department, we simply
can't say for sure what exactly went
down that night. Uh Hanny Fared, a
professor at UC Berkeley whose research
focuses on digital forensics and
misinformation, says this about the
footage. If a lawyer brought me this
file and asked if it was suitable for
court, I'd say no. Go back to the
source. Do it right. Do a direct export
from the original system. No monkey
business. DOJ, FBI both refusing to
answer questions about this. So Cenk,
look, we we've already established that
that MAGA loyalists are not going to let
this this go. Um, what more though does
this these revelations today tell us?
So, we kid around about Captain
Underpants because uh there's a story of
how he got a massage in the uh from in
the you know uh at Epstein's place and
but he says he kept his shorts on.
Uh so we had a good laugh over that and
he says no no it's okay my wife was
there and I was like um okay but u
because we're the fairest show in
America. Um, you know, as I watched that
uh interview with Sean Spicer, I
thought, I mean, he's making he's
getting me to to, you know, question if
he's really did do anything wrong. And
why? Because he's saying the same thing
Steve Bannon is saying. And two guy, I
can't stand Alan Doritz or Steve Bannon.
But they're both saying, why don't you
release the whole files because we're we
didn't do anything wrong. Now people are
accusing us. Dura was being accused for
a long time and Bannon just got accused
by Elon Musk. So they're like, "No,
that's it. Just release the goddamn
files because now we're all getting
smeared and uh and Steve Bannon's even
calling for a special prosecutor." So,
okay. So, did Dur I have no idea. I was
How would I know? The government's
keeping it a secret, right? So, um but I
agree with him in this case. Yeah.
Release the files, then we'll know. Uh
so, now to the tape.
I mean, first of all, they released the
tape and it's a freaking joke. So, I've,
as I've said many times, uh, on the day
that Epstein died, Anna and I were on
the air, it was breaking news and I
said, "If the camera in the hallway
isn't working, they killed him." Okay.
If the camera in the hallway is working,
then it was suicide. And I believed him,
right? And then we found out later, "Oh,
golly gee, the camera in the hallway
wasn't working. We cannot see his prison
cell." I was like, "Yeah, all right. Uh,
color me shocked. Right. So now they
say, "Okay, that's all right. We got to
we we got the tape. We I'm like, really?
You did? So the camera was working?" No,
no, we got a tape of the common area.
What does that pro? That doesn't prove
anything. Oh, by the way, there's a
minute missing.
And then Bondi's like, "No, every
prison tape has a minute missing." Does
it? Okay. So then Wired magazine with a
great reporting today where they're
like, "Yeah, it was edited." There's two
clear different parts of it edited
together. We don't know what was if
anything was manipulated further, but we
do know like there was different issues
with the tape. They had different
resolution this that and another thing.
And this is really important. They the
government put out two tapes. One that
was like, hey, you can see it more
clearly here. And the one they called
the raw footage and Wired magazine
proved it was not raw footage. It was
edited. So the tape was junk and to
begin with. It's not showing you the
hallway. It's showing you a random place
in the prison or almost random. Then it
we know that there was a piece of it
missing and now we know it was edited.
So gee, I wonder if the government is
trying to cover it up. I can't quite
tell when the government says hundreds,
maybe even thousands of underage girls
were raped, but no one raped them. We
can't find a single client and we're not
going to prosecute anyone. Okay. Uh,
that's the wildest conspiracy theory I
have ever heard. And the fact that it's
coming from the government doesn't make
it any better. Elliot, what do you
think?
To be honest with you, Jenk, I
appreciate Dershowitz doing what I think
you need to do uh, when it comes to a
conspiracy theory, which is leave some
kind of question mark, something open
for people to wonder about. Him saying,
"Hey, I know about all this, but I can't
talk about it because of confidentiality
seems like a really smart move." What's
not a smart move is to go, hey, look
over there and hey, don't even ask us
any more questions about this and don't
worry about the tape and don't worry
about the list. I think that's going to
continue to be a bigger and bigger
backlash for him.
Yeah. And Elliot, just real quick on
that before I toss back to Sharon, it
you know, Benny Johnson has a story
about Dershowitz and and Epstein. We'll
get to that in a sec. And it could be
that Dershowitz thinks, "Yeah, I know who
did it. And I know that since it's
people that are never ever going to
release the list cuz they're in the
government, I can say anything I want
about the list cuz I know it's never
going to come out. So that's also
possible. But we don't know. Sure.
The whole thing just keeps getting, as
we said, sketchier and sketchier. One of
Trump's buddies now is making excuses
about it. Bill O'Reilly is divulging a
conversation he allegedly had with
Donald Trump back in March. He said, and
I agree, there are a lot of names
associated with Epstein had nothing to do
with Epstein's conduct. They they maybe
had lunch with him or maybe had some
correspondence for one thing or another.
If that name gets out, those people are
destroyed because there's not going to
be any context. Media doesn't care uh
about context. So, you you can't do
that. You can't destroy human beings by
putting out the files, whatever they may
be.
Okay. Okay, so Bill Riley there making
it seem like, you know, the barista from
Starbucks is also on the list who
Epstein perhaps visited daily. I mean,
this is a guy who loved to party. Are we
buying this excuse that you don't want
to mudd this politics? We don't want to
muddy up everyday people who just, you
know, had coffee or lunch with this guy.
Yeah. I mean, it's just patently absurd.
Okay. So, all right. You're saying,
well, if you just throw out a list, you
vomit out a list, some of the people
might not have done it. And you know,
you're okay. Yeah, that's a fair point.
So, why don't you put out a list of the
people who did do it. You have them on
tapes.
It's not like you don't know who did it.
So, okay, why don't you be super
careful? Start with a list of five or
10. Remember, there's hundreds, right?
We're not asking you to be
wild-eyed,
right? So, it's just nothing but
excuses. Total and utter BS.

So look
guys, the theory most likely,
you know, to me, is there's one force on
earth that can get both the Democrats
and the Republicans to cover up a story
of this magnitude, and that's an
intelligence agency, CIA, or one of our
allies, Mossad, MI6 -- those are the other
two that have been mentioned. And we're
either working with them, or we're
covering up for them, or it's just us
and not them, right? That makes sense.
And here's why another reason why it
makes sense. If you're going to start
prosecuting people, one person, five
people, whatever it might be, and the
CIA did do it, or MOSSAD did do it, then
you have to say to people, yes, our
government is so evil that not only did
we cover up the child rape, we
orchestrated the child rape in order to
be able to have blackmail material on
powerful people.
And nobody wants to admit that their
government is that evil. And that's the
realm we're in now. And that's why this
thing is a powder keg, because I
don't think the American people on the
right, or the left, are going to say, "Ah,
you know what? We're good with it." So
maybe every once in a while a
government, a government we don't know,
rapes our kids, and then orchestrates
a situation where rich and powerful men
rape our kids and then get away with it.
I don't think that anyone is going to
stand for that at all. And the thing
that I promised, Benny Johnson had a
segment with Marjorie Taylor Green
where he claims, it's not me, but he
says that he had an interview with
Dershowitz earlier where Dershowitz said that
he would take Epstein to meet members of the
parliament in Israel.
Things that make you go, hm. And so
maybe Dershowitz knows, okay? It's not that.
And that's why I'm saying, release the
files. It's actually maybe the CIA, or
just powerful people, and it's not MOSSAD
etc. There's no way
for us to know. And there's no way the American
government is going to throw Israel
under the bus. They're going to cover up
for Israel from now till the cows come
home. "So I can say anything I want." Oh
yeah, I'm definitely not on the list. Oh
yeah, sure. Release it. Yeah. Oh yeah, I
kept my shorts on. Sure. Right. But the
very fact that he said, "I know that it
exists. There definitely were clients
and they are covering it up." Well,
thank you, Alan. So, I don't know what
you meant by it, but now we all know,
as if we didn't already know, we
know 100%, that of course there were
clients. Of course the girls didn't rape
themselves. Of course, it's on tape. And
of course, the government is covering it
up.

I mean, I just want to take a moment
and shout out this administration for
finally draining the swamp because,
Oh, no, wait, no, sorry. Rather than
draining the swamp, they're just saying,
"Oh, sorry. We can't release this
list because we're the swamp, and
there's a swamp back there, and we got to
protect the swamp." And I feel like
that's just one more level where they're
not fulfilling the promises that they
ran on.
Yeah. Yeah.

I'm going to add one last
thing to that because look, when you ask
Democrats, at least the left that
I know, right, hey, is it weird
that both Biden and Trump didn't release
a list? I think the overwhelming
majority go, yeah, that's super weird,
right? Hey, isn't it weird that Trump
didn't release the list in his first
term, and he was great friends with
Epstein? What you would have heard back
is, and I know because I did hear it
back, it's just, no, no, no, no, no.
Trust the plan. Eight dimensional chess.
When he gets in office the second time,
boom, he's going to release the list, and
now we're going to show the deep state,
and the Clintons, and the Democrats, and
Bill Gates, all those. All right.
Now, when you ask MAGA, well, what do
you think happened? They're like, yeah,
no, they both didn't release it.
We're all screwed. We got lied to.
And so now, the country is united. The
government, whether it's Republican or
Democrat, will not prosecute any of
these powerful people who raped those
underage girls. And now there's a very
legitimate chance it's because the
government was involved in that. And
that is a pretty devastating thing to
find out about your government. That's
why this story is not going away. It's
only going to get bigger and bigger and
bigger.

Well, that's what I was going to ask
both of you. Is there any diversion that
can be um created to kind of force
people to look away, go in another
direction? And we've got the assistant
FBI director who's in some kind of
verbal uh argument late breaking with
Pam Bondi over this and people
threatening to quit. And it just seems
to be growing. Whoever's on the list,
it's probably huge. Um but it's even
bigger because people keep speaking to
it, not letting it go, and our
imaginations are are running wild.
Yeah. I really don't know. I think that
when you look at what's happening right
now and the amount of people that are
potentially on the list, my first
thought when this all started happening
was, "Oh, this must be the distraction,
like this must be something because this
administration is throwing everything at
the wall to try to say like, hey, look
over there." And at first I thought this
was just another one of those things,
but them just flat out saying no and
stop asking questions about it seems to
me so counterintuitive for what they
normally do. Like normally they're way
smarter than this in at least that way.
And so now I'm going oh is this like how
big does this story get and how big will
it get? And uh it seems by the hour to
be getting bigger. So we'll see. I don't
know. I think it's like uh it's TBD.
Yeah. I think this is the iceberg. Um,
and so like you know it's just funny you
asked that Sharon cuz during the break
uh um we were discussing here on the set
like the same exact question and and
John Iola was saying like
Greenland is he going to try to invade
Greenland to distract and we were
talking about hey is he going to you
know go oh yeah you know we didn't
finish off all the uranium and the
Israelis right let's bomb Iran again but
bombing Iran would only be
counterproductive it' make his base even
angrier right so I don't think that
that'll help Like I don't think
anybody's going to get distracted by
Greenland at this point. So no, I don't
think so. I don't know what happens.
Why can't it be leaked? Leak it, you
know.
Yeah. I feel like also the one factor
here is that this involves Trump
personally and it makes him look bad.
And I think that might be a shocker, a
driving motivator.
Yeah, of course. That's a huge factor in
this. And so I don't I can't see how
they would distract, but I but on the
other hand, are we going to talk about
this for the next three and a half years
until Trump leaves office? I don't know.
And Trump does so many maniacal things,
right?
But this is I think this is the mother
lode. Uh I think they hit the epicenter
here in terms of we're all done with
government lies on this. So I I don't
know what they're I don't know what the
government's going to do. I also don't
know what mainstream media is going to
do. Are they just going to be like,
"Okay, yeah, we're moving on. All of you
guys are conspiracy theorists." Or are
they going to, you know, stay on the
story? And that's CBD as well. Every
time you ring the bell below, an angel
gets his wings. Totally not true. But it
does keep you updated on our live shows.

[admin]

Metadata Shows the FBI’s ‘Raw’ Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Was Likely Modified
Dhruv Mehrotra
Wired
Jul 11, 2025 12:23 PM
https://www.wired.com/story/metadata-sh ... -modified/


Metadata Shows the FBI’s ‘Raw’ Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Was Likely Modified. There is no evidence the footage was deceptively manipulated, but ambiguities around how the video was processed may further fuel conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death. Photo-Illustration: Wired Staff; Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The United States Department of Justice this week released nearly 11 hours of what it described as “full raw” surveillance footage from a camera positioned near Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell the night before he was found dead. The release was intended to address conspiracy theories about Epstein’s apparent suicide in federal custody. But instead of putting those suspicions to rest, it may fuel them further.

Metadata embedded in the video and analyzed by WIRED and independent video forensics experts shows that rather than being a direct export from the prison’s surveillance system, the footage was modified, likely using the professional editing tool Adobe Premiere Pro. The file appears to have been assembled from at least two source clips, saved multiple times, exported, and then uploaded to the DOJ’s website, where it was presented as “raw” footage.

Experts caution that it’s unclear what exactly was changed, and that the metadata does not prove deceptive manipulation. The video may have simply been processed for public release using available software, with no modifications beyond stitching together two clips. But the absence of a clear explanation for the processing of the file using professional editing software complicates the Justice Department’s narrative. In a case already clouded by suspicion, the ambiguity surrounding how the file was processed is likely to provide fresh fodder for conspiracy theories.

Any aspect of the official story that isn’t fully explained will be co-opted by conspiracy theorists, says Mike Rothschild, an author who writes about conspiracy theories and extremists. “So whatever your flavor of Epstein conspiracy is, the video will help bolster it.”

For months leading up to the joint memo the DOJ and FBI published Monday, attorney general Pam Bondi had promised the release of records related to Epstein, raising expectations that new, potentially incriminating details might surface about the disgraced financier’s death and his ties to powerful individuals. However, rather than revealing new information, the memo largely confirmed conclusions reached years earlier: that Epstein was found in a Manhattan prison cell on August 10, 2019, and died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

To support its conclusion, the FBI reviewed surveillance footage overlooking the common area of the Special Housing Unit (SHU) at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), where Epstein was held. The FBI enhanced the footage by adjusting contrast, color, and sharpness, and released both the enhanced and what it described as the “raw” version. Both versions of the video appear to have been processed using Premiere and include much of the same metadata. According to the FBI, anyone entering the area containing Epstein’s cell during the relevant time frame would have been visible on that camera.

Working with two independent video forensics experts, WIRED examined the 21-gigabyte files released by the DOJ. Using a metadata tool, reporters analyzed both Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) and Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) data to identify signs of postprocessing.

The “raw” file shows clear signs of having been processed using an Adobe product, most likely Premiere, based on metadata that specifically references file extensions used by the video editing software. According to experts, Adobe software, including Premiere and Photoshop, leaves traces in exported files, often embedding metadata that logs which assets were used and what actions were taken during editing. In this case, the metadata indicates the file was saved at least four times over a 23-minute span on May 23, 2025, by a Windows user account called “MJCOLE~1.” The metadata does not show whether the footage was modified before each time it was saved.

The embedded data suggest the video is not a continuous, unaltered export from a surveillance system, but a composite assembled from at least two separate MP4 files. The metadata includes references to Premiere project files and two specific source clips—2025-05-22 21-12-48.mp4 and 2025-05-22 16-35-21.mp4. These entries appear under a metadata section labeled “Ingredients,” part of Adobe’s internal schema for tracking source material used in edited exports. The metadata does not make clear where in the video the two clips were spliced together.

Hany Farid, a professor at UC Berkeley whose research focuses on digital forensics and misinformation, reviewed the metadata at WIRED’s request. Farid is a recognized expert in the analysis of digital images and the detection of manipulated media, including deepfakes. He has testified in numerous court cases involving digital evidence.

Farid says the metadata raises immediate concerns about chain of custody—the documented handling of digital evidence from collection to presentation in a courtroom. Just like physical evidence, he explains, digital evidence must be handled in a way that preserves its integrity; metadata, while not always precise, can provide important clues about whether that integrity has been compromised.

“If a lawyer brought me this file and asked if it was suitable for court, I’d say no. Go back to the source. Do it right,” Farid says. “Do a direct export from the original system—no monkey business.”

Farid points to another anomaly: The video’s aspect ratio shifts noticeably at several points. “Why am I suddenly seeing a different aspect ratio?” he asks.

Farid cautions that while the metadata clearly shows the video was modified, the changes could be benign—for example, converting footage from a proprietary surveillance format to a standard MP4.

While there may be uncontroversial explanations for the metadata artifacts, such as stitching together multiple days of footage during compilation, or the routine export of surveillance footage to an mp4 format, the FBI did not respond to specific questions about the file’s processing, instead referring WIRED to the DOJ. The DOJ in turn referred inquiries back to the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons. The BOP did not respond to a request for comment.

According to a 2023 report from the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG), MCC, the detention facility where Epstein was found hanged, had around 150 analog surveillance cameras—but starting on July 29, 2019, a technical error prevented roughly half of them from recording, including most inside the SHU.

The system was scheduled for repairs on August 9, the night before Epstein was found dead. But the technician assigned to fix it couldn’t access the necessary equipment because the corrections officer required to escort him was nearing the end of their shift.

As a result, only two cameras were operational near the SHU at the time MCC staff found Epstein hanging in his cell: one covering the common area and stairwells near the entrance to the adjacent 10 South Unit, and another monitoring a ninth-floor elevator bay. Neither captured Epstein’s cell door.

According to the DOJ’s memo, the footage confirms that from the time Epstein was locked in his cell at approximately 8 pm on August 9, 2019, and between around 10:40 pm and 6:30 am the next morning, no one entered the tier where his cell was located. However, the recording includes a notable gap: Approximately one minute of footage is missing, from 11:58:58 pm to 12:00:00 am. The video resumes immediately afterward.

The OIG’s report found no evidence of a conspiracy to kill Epstein. Instead, it documented years of chronic staffing failures and system breakdowns at MCC. The facility was temporarily closed in 2021 after the DOJ essentially deemed conditions unfit for incarceration.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Bondi attributed the missing minute to a flaw in the surveillance system’s daily cycle, claiming that one minute is missing from every night’s recording.

Given the years of high-profile conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein, any perceived inconsistency in the official narrative is likely to draw intense scrutiny. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones called the DOJ memo “sickening.” “Next the DOJ will say, ‘Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,’” he wrote in a post on X.

“In the world of conspiracy theories, evidence that disproves something happened becomes proof that something happened,” says Rothschild. He explains that the case of Epstein's death is a good example of this phenomenon. “Every piece of evidence that points to him taking his own life—the negligence of the prison staff, the disrepair of the cameras, the coroner's report—is turned into evidence that he was killed by powerful figures who weren't competent enough to cover up the crime correctly.”

The apparent gaps in the video, Rothschild says, will naturally inflame these suspicions.

One media forensics expert, who reviewed the metadata and agreed with WIRED’s analysis but requested anonymity due to privacy concerns and a desire to avoid having their name publicly associated with anything related to the Epstein case, put it bluntly: “It looks suspicious—but not as suspicious as the DOJ refusing to answer basic questions about it.

[admin]

BOMBSHELL: Shocking update on Epstein prison video
Brian Tyler Cohen
Jul 11, 2025 Brian Tyler Cohen
Breaking #news - Epstein prison video “likely modified”

-- Metadata Shows the FBI’s ‘Raw’ Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Was Likely Modified, by Dhruv Mehrotra, Wired, Jul 11, 2025

Transcript

[Bryan Tyler Cohen] Some bombshell news here. As the Trump administration keeps wishing the Epstein story away, Wired has just come out with a devastating expose suggesting that the DOJ's so-called raw surveillance footage from Epstein's prison cell may have actually been modified using professional editing software. According to Wired, metadata embedded in the video and analyzed by Wired and independent video forensics experts showed that rather than being a direct export from the prison surveillance system, the footage was modified, likely using the professional editing software Adobe Premiere Pro. The file appears to have been assembled from at least two source clips, saved multiple times, exported, and then uploaded on the DOJ's website where it was presented as raw footage. So, when Pam Bondi's DOJ told us that it was full raw surveillance footage proving Epstein killed himself, that certainly doesn't seem to be able to support its own weight. This isn't raw footage. It has been manipulated, edited, and reconstructed. And that's not even counting the missing minute that jumps from 11:58 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., which has conspiracy theorists rightfully asking what the hell happened during that last minute. But here's what makes this whole thing infinitely worse. Trump, Bondi, Patel, and Bongino are now facing a massive backlash from their own MAGABase for completely screwing all of this up.

[Steve Bannon] Do you believe that DOJ and FBI right now with the guys who were all close to Pam Bondi, Dan Bongino, Kash Patel, do you think they have any credibility left to pursue this?

[MAGA supporter] No. And I'll tell you exactly why, Steve. Because in 2016, we trusted the plan with Trump, but now Trump has become the deep state, the exact thing we voted him in for.

[Steve Bannon] Why? Why? Why? Why do you say, why do you say he, why do you say he's become the deep state?

[MAGA supporter] What is more deep state than covering up for pedophiles? Why would you go to that island? Why? Tell me. Why would you go to that island?

[MAGA supporter 2] It's insulting our intelligence. Like obviously the intelligence community is trying to cover it up. Obviously the Trump administration is trying to cover up. Something changed because they ran on this idea of exposing it all. All these guys had great ideas. He was ready to tear it all down. He was ready to tear down the entire FBI office.

[MAGA supporter 3] Shut down the Hoover building day one. Them, they still standing.

[MAGA supporter 2] Then he goes on Joe Rogan and he's like, "Listen, do you think if I had it, I wouldn't share it with you?"

[MAGA supporter 3] I do.

[MAGA supporter 2] Yeah, I do. I do believe that 100%. Especially when you're staring at me like this, telling me that.

[MAGA supporter 4] How cockeyed is that? Can we get a photo of him really quick?

[MAGA supporter 2] Once you protect pedophiles, you are the most cockeyed person in the entire world. I never called him "Cockeyed Kash" before this. I watched all 3,000 hours of footage.

[MAGA supporter 3] Yo, and maybe I'm, maybe I'm, maybe I'm wrong on this, but if okay, you keep talking about this Epstein, they keep talking about this Epstein list. "I got the list on my desk right now." They're saying nothing happened. So, one of two things in my mind is possible now: (1) you're covering it up. Or (2) nothing really happened, and you exploited the rape of thousands of children to get your man elected. So, which one do you want here?

[MAGA supporter 5] The timing of it, come on. Just seems, Come on. It seems like How do we get the attention off of Epstein for 500, please, Alex?

[Alex Jones] I hope this story breaking today isn't just a cover story or diversion from the giant fiasco with the FBI and DOJ doing a 180 on Epstein.

[Lindell TV Reporter] So, that's it. No client list? Epstein killed himself? No further investigations? Case closed?

[MAGA supporter 6] "Hey, we're going to do an investigation. Now, we can't tell you about the investigation, because it's under investigation. So, we can't actually talk about the investigation of the people that are being investigated, but they're under investigation.

[Alex Jones] We don't rise and fall with Trump. We need him. You know, it's a historic thing that's happening. But that said, I'm not breaking my integrity, or my morals, or what I stand for, for nobody.

[Bryan Tyler Cohen] And frankly, these people are right to feel used and lied to. Pam Bondi told Fox News in February that Epstein's client list was quote "sitting on my desk right now to review." She invited right-wing influencers to the White House and handed them binders marked the Epstein files phase 1, and promised a truckload of evidence that would blow this case wide open. She said there were quote "tens of thousands of videos that would expose the truth." And what did we get? Nothing. Literally nothing. This week, the DOJ released a memo saying there is no client list, and also that Epstein died by suicide, and also that they're not releasing any more documents. If you dare ask about it, by the way, well, this is the freakout that will follow.

[Donald Trump] Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years. You're asking -- we have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable. Do you want to waste the time, and do you feel like answering?

[Pam Bondi] I don't mind answering.

[Donald Trump] I mean, I can't believe you're asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, where we're having some of the greatest success, and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration.

[Bryan Tyler Cohen] Yeah, "How dare anybody ask about the thing that half of Trump's cabinet predicated their entire brands on? Why are you still harping on stuff from the past? Now, where were we?" Oh, right. "The Biden crime family."

Jeffrey Epstein Client List, by Ryan Dawson: Page One
https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDawson109
https://sonar21.com/the-epstein-client-%20...%20o-publish/
The Epstein Client List — Why is Trump Breaking His Promise to Publish?, by Larry C. Johnson, 9 July 2025

And look, I obviously have no insight into the truth about a client list. Uh, but these disillusioned MAGAFans are not wrong to be pissed off based on what they've been told for months and years. Whether you believe in Epstein conspiracy theories or not, the Trump administration clearly lied about what they had and what they could deliver. Kash Patel spent years on his podcast questioning the official Epstein narrative. Dan Bongino built his brand pushing conspiracy theories about Epstein's death. But the moment they got into the federal government, the moment they had the opportunity to actually substantiate the very claims that they spent so long making, they completely flipped.

[Maria Bartiromo] You said Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide. People don't believe it.

[Kash Patel] Well, I mean, listen. They have a right to their opinion, but as someone who has worked as a public defender, as a prosecutor, who's been in that prison system, who's been in the Metropolitan Detention Center, who's been in segregated housing, you know a suicide when you see one. And that's what that was.

[Dan Bongino] He killed himself. You again, you want me to get I've seen the whole file.

[Bryan Tyler Cohen] What's worse, we now know that there's been internal fighting about this disaster. According to Axios today, Bongino and Bondi had a heated clash at the White House over their handling of the Epstein case. Bonjino was reportedly so angry he took off the day from work today with some reporting suggesting that he's considering resigning over the Epstein fallout. Sources say that he was increasingly displeased with Bondi's handling of the Epstein case because she had publicly overpromised and underdelivered.

So, here's the bottom line. The administration promised transparency, and delivered deception. They promised the truth, and delivered edited videos. They promised to drain the swamp, and instead they have become part of it. Whether you think Epstein was murdered or killed himself, whether you believe that his client list exists or not, the fact remains that Donald Trump's team lied about what evidence they had and what they could release. They built up expectations that they knew they couldn't meet, and now they are facing the consequences from their own base. Bondi's excuse that she was talking about the file instead of a client list is pathetic. Bongino and Patel's sudden conversion from conspiracy theorists to establishment defenders is laughable. And Trump's frustrated response of, "Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein," shows that he knows this is a political loser for him. The edited video is just the latest proof point that we can't trust a word coming out of this administration. That when they claim that something is raw footage, it's been manipulated. When they promise transparency, they deliver cover-ups. When they pledge to fight for the truth, they've become the very swamp creatures that they claim to oppose. The MAGA base is finally seeing what the rest of us have seen all along. That Trump and his team will say anything to win power and that they'll betray anyone, including their own supporters, once they actually have it.

[Music]

[admin]

Press Sec. LOSES IT When Reporter Won't Back Down!
by John Iadarola
The Damage Report
Jul 11, 2025 #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurks

MAGA is reeling after Attorney General Pam Bondi backtracked on her previous statements about a certain "client list". The Damage Report's John Iadarola breaks it down.



Transcript

Donald Trump is falling apart as reporters, and even many of his own supporters, are refusing to stop asking questions about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein. The DOJ and FBI have now concluded there was no Jeffrey Epstein client list. What do you tell MAGA supporters who say they want anyone involved in Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes to be held accountable?

[Karoline Leavitt] This administration wants anyone who has ever committed a crime to be held accountable. And I would argue this administration has done more to lock up bad guys than certainly the previous administration. And the Trump administration is committed to truth, and to transparency. That's why the attorney general, and the FBI director pledged, at the president's direction, to do an exhaustive review of all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes and his death. And they put out a memo in conclusion of that review.

Marjorie Taylor Greene holds up censored photo of Hunter Biden and a prostitute. Foxnews.com

There was material they did not release because frankly it was incredibly graphic and it contained child pornography, which is not something that's appropriate for public consumption. But they committed to an exhaustive investigation. That's what they did, and they provided the results of that. That's transparency.

[Fox Reporter] Okay. So, the FBI looks at the circumstances surrounding the death of Jeffrey Epstein. According to the report, this systematic review revealed no incriminating client list. So, what happened to the Epstein client list that the attorney general said she had on her desk?

[Karoline Leavitt] Well, I think if you go back and look at what the attorney general said in that interview, which was on your network on Fox News ...

[Fox Reporter] I have the quote. John Roberts said, "DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen?" And she said, "It's sitting on my desk right now to review."

[Karoline Leavitt] Yes. She was saying the entirety of all of the paperwork, all of the paper in relation to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. That's what the attorney general was referring to, and I'll let her speak for that. But again, when it comes to the FBI and the Department of Justice, they are more than committed to ensuring that bad people are put behind bars. They have an operation going on right now called Summer Heat, which has our murder rate trending in the lowest direction in United States history. Their emphasis on violent crime and locking up violent criminals has led to the arrest of 14,000 violent criminals. That's a 62% increase from the same time period last year. So, this attorney general and the FBI director are committed to putting bad people behind bars where they belong. They promised an exhaustive review. That's what they did.

[Donald Trump] Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years. You're asking -- we have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable. Do you want to waste the time on it? Do you feel like answering?

[Pam Bondi] I don't mind answering.

[Donald Trump] I mean, I can't believe you're asking a question on Epstein. At a time like this, where we're having some of the greatest success, and also tragedy, with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration. But you go ahead.

[Pam Bondi] Sure. Sure. First, to back up on that, in February I did an interview on Fox and it's been getting a lot of attention, because I said I was asked a question about the client list, and my response was, it's sitting on my desk to be reviewed, meaning the file, along with the JFK, MLK files as well. That's what I meant by that. Also to the tens of thousands of video, they turned out to be child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein. Child porn is what they were. Never going to be released, never going to see the light of day. To him being an agent, I have no knowledge about that. We can get back to you on that. And the minute missing from the video. We released the video showing definitively -- the video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was showing he committed suicide. And what was on that, there was a minute that was off the counter. And what we learned from Bureau of Prisons was every year, every night, they redo that video. It's old, from like 1999. So every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing. So we're looking for that video to release that as well, showing that a minute is missing every night. And that's it on Epstein.

[Don, Jr.] I'm fine with all the other lists, and as long as I'm not on the Epstein list, we're good, right? Speaking of which, how is it that my father can be convicted of 34 crimes, but no one on Epstein's list has even been brought to light? How, I'm trying to figure out how that's possible, right? But it's almost like they're trying to protect those pedophiles for some reason. I can't imagine why.

[Fox Reporter] The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen?

[Pam Bondi] It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump. I'm reviewing that. I'm reviewing JFK files, MLK files. That's all in the process of being reviewed, because that was done at the directive of the president, from all of these agencies.



[Fox Reporter] So have you seen anything that you said, "Oh my gosh"?

[Pam Bondi] Not yet."



[Fox Reporter] Okay. Well, we'll check back with you.

[Steve Bannon] This is supposed to be about the most transparent administration ever.

[MAGA WORLD reporter] What on earth is going on? Was Pam Bondi set up by deep state FBI career officials? Is she stupid? Is she so click-thirsty that she got out over her skis trying to make news, being a Fox News star?

[Alex Jones] Pam Bondi, all of it. All those videos are saying, "Yeah, she's seen the videos. It's all coming out." And then now, it doesn't exist? I mean, what? What?

[Dan Bongino] The Jeffrey Epstein case, you do not know all the details of this thing, I promise. There are a lot of really obviously powerful people. This part, you know, but the specific names we may not.

[Alina Habba] There were so many individuals that were hidden and kept secret, and have not been held accountable.

[Pam Bondi] What you're going to see, hopefully tomorrow, is a lot of flight logs, a lot, a lot, of names, a lot, a lot of information.

[Fox Reporter] The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen?

[Pam Bondi] It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump.

[Dan Bongino] I'm just telling you what we see in the file. I am, I just want to be crystal clear on this. I am not asking anyone to believe me. I'm telling you what's there, and what isn't. Right? There is nothing in the file at this point on the Epstein case. And there's going to be a disclosure on this coming shortly. We are working through some, there is video. That is something the public --

[Reporter] There's video of him killing himself?

[Dan Bongino] No, no, not the actual act, but the entire MCC bay. It was only one camera. There's video, that when you look at the video, and we will release -- that's what's taken a while on this -- we are working on cleaning it up to make sure you have an enhanced -- and we're going to give the original so you don't think there were any shenanigans -- you're going to see there's no one there but him. There's just nobody there. So, I say to people all the time, if you have a tip, let us know. But there's no DNA, there's no audio, there's no fingerprints, there's no suspects, there's no accomplices, there's no tips, there is nothing. If you have it, I'm happy to see it. There's video clear as day. He's the only person in there, and the only person coming out. You can see it.

"Absence of Evidence Is Not Evidence of Absence" – A Shared Caution Among Thinkers
by chatgpt
7/12/25

The phrase "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" is widely associated with the late astronomer Carl Sagan, who invoked it in discussions about scientific skepticism, especially regarding extraterrestrial life. Sagan used it to remind audiences that just because we haven't found evidence of alien life doesn’t mean it doesn't exist. In The Demon-Haunted World (1995), he emphasized, "Your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true." Though not a direct citation of the phrase, it echoes its caution against assuming nonexistence without adequate investigation.

Another prominent male figure who employed this phrase is Donald Rumsfeld, former U.S. Secretary of Defense. During a 2002 Department of Defense briefing, he stated, "The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, or vice versa," when discussing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. His use of the phrase sparked controversy, as critics argued it was used to justify action without solid proof, highlighting the phrase’s susceptibility to political manipulation.

Among women, physicist and science communicator Dr. Lisa Randall has echoed similar sentiments in her work on dark matter and extra dimensions. In interviews and writings, she stresses that the current lack of direct detection of dark matter doesn’t invalidate its existence. While she may not quote the phrase verbatim, her arguments align with its epistemological caution.

Likewise, philosopher of science Dr. Susan Haack has addressed the principle in her writings on evidence and inquiry. In Manifesto of a Passionate Moderate (1998), she explores how negative results must be contextualized, warning against the fallacy of assuming that no evidence implies nonexistence—a nuanced reinforcement of the quote's meaning.

Together, these thinkers—Sagan, Rumsfeld, Randall, and Haack—demonstrate how the phrase transcends disciplines, reminding us that absence of evidence is a weak foundation for firm conclusions.

***

In criminal trials, defense lawyers sometimes invoke the idea that *“absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”*—a maxim popularized by figures like Sagan and Rumsfeld—to argue that a lack of proof should create reasonable doubt. Let’s explore confirmed uses:

Usage in Criminal Defense Strategy

1. Clayton T. Robertson (Criminal Defense Lawyer)

Robertson, in a blog post about cross-examination, describes the tactic of identifying “negative cues”—raising doubt by pointing out what prosecution witnesses and experts *didn't* observe or testify about. He emphasizes that this method is used in *criminal defense cross-examination of officers and experts* ([evidenceattrial.com][1], [RobertsonLitigation][2]).

Legal Doctrine: “Missing Witness” & No‑Evidence Arguments

2. Missing-Witness Instruction in U.S. Courts

While not quoting the phrase directly, defense attorneys have sought—and courts have often rejected—jury instructions that allow drawing negative inferences from *relevant* witnesses not called by the defense. For example, **Griffin v. California** and related case law prevent prosecutors from arguing that a defendant's silence indicates guilt, but some defense lawyers push back, citing the defendant’s silence as rational explanation .

3. People v. Montgomery / People v. Green (California)

Courts discussed that a defendant’s *failure* to flee doesn't strongly support innocence—an early recognition that negative evidence can be ambiguous. This principle has influenced trial tactics, as defense counsel sometimes urge jurors not to assume guilt or innocence based on what wasn't shown .

Criminal Cases Applying the Principle

While explicit quoting in published opinions is rare, defense attorneys often indirectly rely on it:

Cross-examination tactics: Lawyers challenge prosecution experts by highlighting missing data—e.g. “You didn’t test this sample,” or “You didn’t ask about that in your report.”

Closing arguments: They remind jurors that a complete lack of evidence—say, a forensic test that wasn’t performed—does not resolve reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s favor.

Conclusion

Yes, criminal defense lawyers have used this argument, though typically they frame it strategically rather than quoting Sagan. Clayton Robertson acknowledged its use in cross-examining experts ([RobertsonLitigation][2], [Reddit][3]). Court rulings on missing-witness instructions and the weight of negative evidence show awareness of the concept, even as they impose limits on drawing adverse inferences ([law.justia.com][4]).

So while no blockbuster criminal case quote may echo Sagan verbatim, the epistemological principle is deeply woven into defense strategy and legal doctrine.

[1]: https://www.evidenceattrial.com/blog/dz ... hatgpt.com "D.Z. v. LAUSD: \"There is Zero Evidence (Becuase I Moved" [2]: https://www.robertsonlitigation.com/pos ... hatgpt.com "The Absence of Evidence Is Evidence" [3]: https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurdere ... hatgpt.com "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence ... Unless of course someone wants to argue Bobby or the police were involved in criminal acts, then that logic goes up in smoke." [4]: https://law.justia.com/cases/maryland/c ... hatgpt.com "Harris v. State :: 2018 :: Maryland Supreme Court Decisions :: Maryland Case Law :: Maryland Law :: U.S. Law :: Justia"

[John Iadarola] The fallout from this absolute PR disaster has been amazing to watch. Seeing all of his sycophants realizing in real time that there's a reason that Trump doesn't want the truth to come out. We all remember the little black book that Gawker published way back in 2015, right? As the walls close in, his enablers are finally being forced to reckon with what they've defended all these years. The spectacle isn't just about one man's corruption. It's a reminder of how easily power can warp reality itself when enough people are willing to look the other way. For many of his supporters, this is another chance to practice their unique brand of mental gymnastics. But for some, this could be the start of a realization that Trump isn't interested in justice or protecting children. He's interested in protecting himself and his wealthy friends. Here's hoping, anyway. [Music]