Transcript: Trump Accidentally Wrecks His Own Esptein Scam in Odd Rant

So you’re right in that it’s not just Trump. Sometimes we in the media shorthand this. And of course we want to know what’s in there about Trump. But we want to know who’s in it, whoever is in it. We want to know what powerful people, what famous people, and [what] other people knew about this, profited from it, contributed to it, enabled it, or were themselves participants. And of course, Maxwell herself was a participant. And all of this hullabaloo about how she is just convicted of the trafficking—she was an abuser herself. That’s what the witness is. That’s what the victims tell us. So the notion that number one, we should have this high-ranking person in the Justice Department chitchatting with her in prison. Number two, that we should be quiet and take Trump’s word for it that he is not in it. And even if he’s not in it, we should be content. And third of all, that somehow she is a victim in all this just blows my mind.

Sargent: Well, it’s just so unbelievably absurd that Trump is trying this. I really think it’s sometimes worth stepping back and stating the obvious about the Epstein files, which, to clarify, are the bulk of material that law enforcement gathered in the process of investigating Epstein’s sex trafficking, Trump is saying two things about this whole scandal. First, that the Epstein files are a dem hoax, that they’re actually filled with dirt on elite Democrats. And second, he won’t release the Epstein files. Now Jen, if the first were true, he would release them. It astounds me that Trump presses ahead with this nonsensical argument, which actually refutes itself and is damning to him. And we again saw it with that rambling quote.

Rubin: What’s more, we know a lot, not all that’s in this, which has already identified him as having been on the plane, having attended functions with Epstein. Julie Brown, the great investigative reporter who I know you have talked to, who originally began digging into this at the time of the original sweetheart deal—pardon the expression—back in 2007, 2008, has documented enormous categories of documents, some of which we have seen. We don’t have a client list, but we have his phone directory, which lists all election people, including Donald Trump. We also know that there are categories of documents out there that we have yet to see: Maxwell’s trial records, a settlement in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a civil suit that was brought against the estate, records from Epstein’s plane that are in the possession of the FAA and the U.S. Marshals. I could go on and on. There is no justification for keeping any of this secret. While Epstein was alive, or while there was an ongoing investigation, of course you can understand the need for secrecy. And this other bullshit argument that we have to protect the victims. Suddenly, Trump is all about the victims. Right. These names can be, of course, blacked out—of course not revealed.