October 2, 2025 • 40 mins
The Mary Trump Show’s Mary Trump examines President Trump’s mental decline. Bloomberg’s Jason Leopold details his blockbuster reporting on Jeffrey Epstein’s emails.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Molly John Fast and this is Fast Politics,
where we discussed the top political headlines with some of
today's best minds, and the Supreme Court says Fed Governor
Lisa Cook can remain in the job pending argument. We
have such a great show for you today, the Mary
Trump Shows. Mary Trump stops by to talk about her
(00:23):
uncles mental decline. Then we'll talk to Bloomberg's own Jason
Leopold about his blockbuster recording on the Jeffrey Epstein emails.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
But first the.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Newsboy, let's spit to the people about the facts of
what's going to change with the government being shut down
now that we're in our first government shutdown of our FORTYESU,
and I shut up.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Why are you like this? I am not in my forties.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I'm in my thirties, but I do remember there are
government shutdowns. So the government is shut down. Democrats Republicans
are at an impass. Here's what that means for you.
It means a lot of different things. So air traffic
controllers are going up without pay. These guys have had
a real fucking terrible time. These poor air traffic controllers mistreated,
(01:12):
saving our lives and probably the most important people in
this country, and they are going to have to skip
their pay. US Postal Service will keep the mail moving,
which is good because they're self funded, despite the fact
that Republicans are still at war with them for being
too expensive, even though there's self funded.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Despite the propaganda you may have heard the contrary.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Right Social Security SNAP safety Net programs, they'll continue, though
there may be some delay in service. You will remember
the richest man in the world had been trying to
make these things cheaper so he didn't have to pay
as much tax. So if there are disturbances with it,
like with SNAP, which is also being cut by Donald
(01:56):
Trump's one piece of legislation, if there are disturbances in it,
you know who to blame. Trump administration has in fact
gotten ahead of the people who lose a shut down
besides the American people who lose, all who just constantly
keep getting fucked are the people who get blamed for it.
So Republicans are using every bit of tax payer money
(02:20):
to blame Democrats. When you went on the HUD website yesterday,
it said radical left Democrats will shut down your government
at midnight because they hate you. We're seeing a lot
of that Republicans saying stuff like it's because democrats.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I mean Donald J.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Trump you may remember saying that the reason that they're
shutting the government down is because they want to get
health care for illegals that's illegal, unlike people who are
not illegal. Healthcare for people who are not citizens is illegal.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, and there may be miss paychecks, lost jobs for
a bunch of federal employees. I'm married to one, so
that sits home. But you know who's going to keep
out their funding?
Speaker 1 (03:07):
The largest paramilitary organization, the President's Secret Army.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Are they going to keep their funding?
Speaker 4 (03:14):
That is correct.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
They're going to get to keep getting paid because they're
doing what's the important work.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Apparently ICE is going to keep being funded. Also, they're
having their student debt paid off. So if you're not
furious about how this is going down, then you are
probably not paying attention.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
It will also mean that a lot of.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Times in previous shutdowns you would have they would prioritize
people who are in immigration detention. But because this administration
wants people to be an immigration detention for longer, they
are not prioritizing them, which I think is a good
example of where we are right now. Mike Johnson, jd Vance,
Donald Trump, all of this crew is out there trying
(04:02):
to message this thing, and they're havings.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
You think they're having some difficulties. What even Fox News
makes Mike Johnson, Basically we the bed.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
The problem is there's only so much, you know, Donald
Trump occupies this sort of earth to situation where everything
is sort of we're in the post truth ecosystem, and
that's what we're looking at here. I'm going to read
you a little bit from friend of the show George Stephanopolos,
who we love for any number of reasons, and because
he has poken out there doing his job, which happens
(04:37):
to be the most brave thing you can do right now. So,
the Democratic proposal is designed to prevent millions of Americans
from losing their health insurance, losing Medicaid coverage, or paying
higher healthcare premiums. Why are you against that, Stephanoppolis asked.
Johnson said, that's an absurd statement what you said there,
and Stephanopplos said it's a factual statement. Johnson instead said
(04:59):
the Democra want to give healthcare to illegal aliens instead
of keeping critical services provided to the American citizens. Lying
has worked for this administration and so they will keep
doing it.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Yeah, agreed. So when the Trump administration is not picking
the winners and losers of which companies get to win
in capitalism, they're also doing it with states funding. And
the person who's doing it is one Rousspot, author of
Project twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
I just want to point out, like, we pay more
federal taxes than we get, we being New York, New York,
but also me now I mean also meet too. We
as a state and also as a city pay more
federal taxes than we get. So you when you take
in money away, like eventually these states are going to
(05:47):
be like why even pay federal taxes? So Trump administration
has frozen eighteen billion for infrastructure projects in New York City,
making sure that funding is not flowing on unconstitutional deis principles.
By the way, DEI not in the constitution, in case
you're wondering, cannot be unconstitutional, not in it. I like
(06:08):
that these people just so it's unconstitutional. First of all,
eighty percent of what this administration is doing is unconstitutional.
So if we're going to go into like it's unconstitutional, now, okay,
it's not even unconstitutional eighty percent with his admistration is
against a law.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
You know, the courts are like, no, you can't send
troops into La.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
It's posse commentatis like no, no, no, no, no, no no.
So Russ Vatt is illegally freezing eighteen billion dollars that
he does not have, just like he's impounding money that's
supposed to be spent that Congress is allocated, just like that.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
He's doing that with New York.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
And let me tell you, I think it's a little
bit ironic because Donald Trump has a lot of buildings
in New York and a lot of friends who do
real estate in New York, and is quite obsessed with
his rich New York friend. So it's interesting to me
to see, Like I expect Donald Trump to get a
(07:05):
lot of phone calls, a lot of crabby on the
golf course. I will not be surprised to see this.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
So Forney State ags have sued the Trump administration over
a rule that bars aid to some sex abuse and
rape survivors. This has led by New York Attorney General James.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Yeah, you may remember Letitia James is one of the
many Democrats that Donald Trump wants to throw in jail.
You know, it's a DOJ rule, a new DOJ rule
that bar states from aiding survivors who cannot immediately prove
their immigration status. So the idea here is is, if
you get raped and you might not be a citizen,
(07:42):
you don't get thrown into a detention center. And sexual
assault and domestic violence survivors to into our courts for
safety and protection. Johnson says in a statement. They should
never be turned away because of who they are, where
they come from. You know who's going to disagree.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
With that, Donald J.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Trump and one Stephen Miller. But you know, good for
the AGS for fighting this. And you know you and
I have interviewed a ton of Democratic ags and they
have really tried as hard as possible to uphold the
law and to sue this administration's lawlessness.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yep. So, maya, I want to put you a clip
from a guy where a big fan of his name
is JB.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
Pritzker, suggest that you're going to arrest people or that
people don't deserve to be US citizens when they are
just because they oppose the President of the United States.
And there is something genuinely wrong with this man and
the twenty fifth Amendment ought to be invoked.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Sparring continues, Yeah, he's right. I mean it seems generous.
But I think he's right.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
And I think it's very funny that Hiven News some
now are really coming for the cognitive decline argument.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
It's not untrue. That's the other part of it, right.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I mean when you listen to him compared to four
years ago, even two years ago, it's yikes. For all
the shit they talked on Biden.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Yeah, someone called Jake Tapper because we're going to need
a book. Mary Trump is the host of The Mary
Trump Show. She's the author of Who Could Ever Love You?
A family memoir.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Welcome to Fast Politics, Mary Trump.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Mother Duck Fast?
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Hi? Oh so bad?
Speaker 4 (09:31):
What to say? What to say?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
I can't believe we've been doing this for so long?
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Yeah, I mean, listen, A thousand years is a long
time to do anything. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
I feel like we should talk about the military trip
because I have a theory that what's happening right now
and I and I bet you think, I bet you're
going to think this is right, but maybe you think
it's wrong. So Pete hagg Sath brought every general from
all over the world back, so that he could be like,
(10:09):
give a big speech like a leader, and Donald Trump
was like, way, way White, I'm going to give a
speech too.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
What's going on there?
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Well, that's that's sort of basic Donald psychology. What I
wan he felt threatened because somebody, in his view was
trying to one up him and get more attention. And
who knows if he knew that this thing was happening,
or if he didn't really think about it much until
(10:41):
he realized what a big deal it was. And of course, Bigdald,
he didn't realize why it was a big deal. It
wasn't a big deal. It was not a big deal
because anything serious was meant to happen here. It wasn't
because Haig Seth, as Secretary of Defense sorry War, was
(11:02):
going to give every single military leader in the United
States a brief about something vital. It was a photo
op and an attempt for Hegzeth to make the world
believe that he either knew anything or was a strong leader.
(11:22):
But the reason it was a big deal is because
it was so unnecessary, so embarrassing, so costly, and so
dangerous to our national security. But all Donald saw was, Oh,
it's going to be televised and why should Pete Hegseth
get all the glory. So yes, he had to, he
had to horn in on heg Seth's territory.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
It speaks in my mind to what I think is
happening right now in Trump world, and which is it feels.
It certainly feels like there's this SUSI succession fight happening
behind the scenes, and you're seeing like RFK Junior, JD. Vans, Seth,
all of them sort of jockeying. And that is a
(12:08):
way in which this Trump two point zero feels very
different than Trump one point Oh.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
Interesting, Well, it's different for so many reasons. Uh, partially
because I think you're right there. There is definitely some
kind of succession battle going on. That is, it's not
exactly under the radar. You had JD. Vans a few
years of years, because years years, a few weeks ago
(12:36):
saying Donald's fine, he's at the peak of health. But
if he died, I'm ready, you know, exactly subtle.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Imagine if Harris had said that about Biden.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But at the same time, there's also
this race and this is this is this is not
now to outsick a fabta. So when they're jocking for
a position. Two, they're seeing who can kiss his ass
most effectively, and I think cash Mittel continues to win
(13:10):
that that particular battle. But hag Seth is definitely trying
to flex. He can't really flex. If you've seen him
try to do a pull up, you'll understand. But Donald
also and we're seeing this increasingly as well. And this
is one of the reasons why their position we're in
is mostarious, more precarious than it's been. Is whether or
(13:31):
not he's aware of the jogging for a position. I mean,
certainly others around him would be, like Stephen Miller, for example,
But Donald does feel threatened, whether it's by his underlings
or by the bad pulling or what have you. He
is absolutely doing everything in his power to appear tougher
(13:53):
than he is. And I think that was also part
of the reason that he showed it up yesterday, because
on the one hand, much of the speech, and we
saw this in the New York Times, was the regular
old stuff he talks about every day. All right, Obama
is terrible. I'm afraid of stares. I won in twenty twenty.
But then you know, two thirds of the way in
(14:16):
we are declaring war and the enemy within and you know,
you top rowt of the military must be using American
citizens as battlegrounds, like oh okay, that's that's dark so
and that's I think the same impetus is behind his
ordering military strikes on tiny vessels in the Caribbean Sea
(14:39):
and obliterating the vessels and the human beings on board them.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
In our history of covering this guy's president, whenever there's
been a chance to say something really outside the mainstream,
he's done it. And I wonder when he said, you know,
we're I would like to see you guys train in
American cities. It's shocking that he said that, but it's
not particularly surprising because whenever he and and I think
(15:07):
like that has worked really well for him because because
sort of nobody he says and he can. I mean,
once you've said things that with such regularity that are
so outside the norm, it doesn't it's become sort of
without meaning.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Yeah, uh well, I think it becomes normalized, right, yes,
So so the threat falls away. And I think this
is you know, he's very good at He's good at
very few things, but he is good at flooding the
zone and repeating himself to the point where what he
(15:51):
says either becomes meaningless or it becomes non threatening. And
the corporate corporate media have done it quite spectacular job
of helping normalize him, either by sanew washing his insane
comments or just reporting on what he says and not
(16:11):
putting it in the context of how dangerous much of
it is because essentially, and you know, the other, the
other corrupt entity that has helped him is of course,
the corrupt, diligitimate super majority of the Supreme Court. And
that's another thing. Donald is good at gaming the legal
system to draw things out or to use it as
(16:34):
a blunt tool to get his way. So he breaks
the law, he commits an unconstitutional act, it goes through
the courts, it drugs on. He keeps doing the illegal
and constitutional thing. It seems like it's a normal thing
now to have American American military and American cities, right,
and then the Supreme Court. Besides, you know, he has
(16:56):
that a shadow docket that says, we don't know yet
if this is legal or it's constitutional, but ye doing
it until we decide. So he has a lot of help.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Yeah, no, no, I mean, they're definitely it does seem
like the Supreme Court is pretty scared of him or
go or they're just sort of on a roll with
him and delighted.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
I mean, it could be both. And the reason I
laugh is because, and you and I have talked about
this a lot, the idea that anybody is afraid of
that man is so laughable and embarrassing to me, but
so many people are. Yeah. I know, I have to
get over it and accept it, but I have a
hard time doing it because it's so unfathomable. So I'm
(17:39):
not going to I would guess that John Roberts probably is,
and I would guess that Samuel Dido and Clarence Thomas
are delighted that they are leefully taking this as an
opportunity to do what they've wanted to do for decades
and create America in their own image as a country
(18:01):
that is essentially a theocratic apartheid state in which only white,
wealthy Christian men straight of course, unless you're Peter Teel,
have a say and how this country is governed.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I want to go back to this idea that there
are people scared of Trump, because I think there are
a lot. You know, we've seen corporations make payments for
things that they didn't. Oh, we've seen, you know, people
do things for regulatory favor that were insane. We've seen
just all you know, We've seen just sort of a
(18:36):
gamut of people be clowning themselves for Trump. I think
it's because we're soft as a culture and we've never
had to stand up for our values.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
But do you have a different theory of the case.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
We have taken so much for granted. I think part
of the problem, certainly in twenty sixteen, twenty twenty and
even twenty twenty four, was that so much remain unimaginable
to people. And in twenty twenty four that attitude was,
in my view, inexcusable because we saw what happened with
Roe v. Wade, we saw what happened with the Chevron doctrine,
(19:10):
we saw what this corrupt the legitimate super majority of
Supreme Court was more than willing to do. They essentially
made Donald Trump at imperial president. So we were forward
sufficiently in twenty twenty four. But people are lazy and
as you say, soft, and it was just incomprehensible. They
liked what they saw with the corporations and the white
to law firms and universities and others. I think that
(19:32):
some of it is fear, but I think more of it.
I mean, I guess it depends on what the fear is.
I think for many of them it's just fear of
their bottom line and fear of displeasing their boards their investors.
But it's more it's which is just another way of
saying they're craven and the only thing they care about
their profits and democracy be damned. Okay, good to know.
(19:55):
I think at the indellividual level, fear is in the
sense of I am afraid of what this person can
do to me, is more operative, and I think that's
why we see Republicans to a person, behaving as if
they exist solely to do Donald Trump's bidding. Now against
some of them are true believers, and some of them
(20:17):
do want a fascist authoritarian regime in which the minority
has power in perpetuity. But yeah, then there are some
who are just afraid of an angry tweet or a
primary or in some cases, their physical safety because we
know Donald is completely willing to sick his followers on
(20:38):
individuals who cross him. Now, I understand it, but it's
not acceptable if that's the problem. Then resign and let
somebody who has a backbone serve, because then you're not
serving you are you are perverting the system to favor
one person over the many. And I said, sounded like
(21:00):
a line from Star Trek. Actually, but you know, we
are heading to the apocalyptic cars. It does feel like that.
So I understand fear is a very powerful motivator, but
I just also don't find it acceptable because it's not
like they're the only people who've been on the sharp
(21:23):
end of Donald's attacks.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
He seems exhausted. You know, you actually know him. Does
he seem exhausted to you? Is this wishful thinking? I
mean what I mean, I'm just curious what your take
on this is.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Yeah, Oh, he seems exhausted. That there's no doubt about that.
And in some ways he definitely seems to be deteriorating.
But then again, Hattie tell because he seems to have
been deteriorating for so many years now that I was
actually talking to somebody about this the other day, it
surprises me that his decline isn't more rapid and comprehensive,
(22:00):
that he's still able to pull himself together and be
coherent on occasion. But I think there are a couple
of things going on, and this was the problem we
had with Joe Biden, even though they're almost exactly the
same age, And I would say that Joe Biden was
cognitively more intact than Donald.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
I mean, they here is pretty rich, Like we're definitely
seeing a very similar scenario with very old man and
the president say right.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
But again I think Donald it is certainly now and
was that worse cognitively and certainly intellectually and psychologically. So
the difference though is Biden was quiet and stumbled with
his words sometimes because he had a stutter, and Don
so cloud and aggressive, and that translates very differently to
(22:45):
people who aren't paying attention to what he's actually saying.
The other thing we cannot control for or factor in,
because we don't know the extent of it. How managed
is he, how potentially medicated is he? Right right, We
don't know any of that.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
I think Donald Trump has benefited from doing so much media.
So when you have so much media, you know he's
doing full sprays, He's doing this, he's doing that. It's
not a compliment, but it's more of an explain er.
He does so much.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
That even if he makes a mistake.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Nobody's remembering it because there are ten press conferences later.
Whereas Biden was so careful and did so little media
that every word he said was totally parsedon.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Harris had the same problem.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Yep. Yeah, that's a really good point. And it just
goes along with that concept of flooding the zone. And
he does it both in terms of actions, you know,
deploying troops in some multiple cities and blowing shit up
and going after his perceived political enemies and destroying agencies
and on and on and on. How do you know
(23:53):
where to focus your attention? Oh wait, we need to
be focused on everything. Well, good luck with that. And
he does indeed do the same thing verbally, and I
think that also is to his advantage because corporate media
can seem to keep up either because then instead of
parsing what he says and telling us what he says,
(24:14):
they again sainew wash it because they want to make
it coherent for readers. Well, it's not coherent, and that's information,
that's data, and people need to deserve to know that
he isn't actually saying this thing. You're pretending he's saying
by filling in the blanks. Right, he's saying it this way,
(24:35):
and it's gibberish, and he's the president of the United States,
and we should be terrified.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
It is true.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
And I have I remember anytime I've written about him,
like you'll transcribe some of a speech, and if you
really listen to it and transcribe it, it's very different
than what you see in quotes. And it's why you
can't get as many quotes from him, because he won't
necessarily say things.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
And I think it actually.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Really served him was he'll say things like when he
started when he came down the escalator back in twenty fifteen,
and we were all young and slept through the night.
Yeah exat naive, right, or we were like this will
burn itself right out. He said Mexicans are rapists. And
(25:22):
that was the last time he like really made a
sentence that you could quote like that. Like a lot
of the times you'll see him and his sentence will fragment,
so it'll end up quoted in a way that won't
be completely clear as to what he's saying, and then
his people will get it. But for example, the Great
One was and and there are good people on both sides.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Yep, it's like mad libs. You know, you could fill
it in however you want and interpret it. Actually, that's
that's a bad analogy.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
It's true like his people know what he means.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Or they know what they want him to be, right, certainly,
that is one thing. The question remains why anybody who's
objective would take the step of trying to make his
incoherence coherent. Who does that serve? It only serves him,
and it's a false representation of what's going on.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Mary Trump, will you come back.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
Of course, Molly job Fest.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Jason Leopold is an investigative reporter for Bloomberg News.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Welcome to Fast Politics, Jason.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
Molly, it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
So let's talk about what you've been doing, because it's
unbelievably awesome.
Speaker 6 (26:39):
And thank you.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Well, there are Epstein files that there are huge numbers
of Ebstein files that the federal government has that it's
not releasing for who knows why, who knows, but Republicans
no longer want.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
To release it.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
You have been releasing these tranches of different stuff, So
talk to me about these tranches.
Speaker 6 (27:03):
I'll set the scene for you if I may please.
We obtained eighteen thousand emails from Jeffrey Epstein's private email accounts.
He had many different email accounts. This is from his
his I know, seriously, this is from his Yahoo one
of his Yahoo accounts, or a Yahoo account. And I
can't tell you how it was obtained. I can just
(27:25):
tell you that, you know, we obtained it. We have
an amazing team of data reporters and engineers who verified
these emails and did a lot of forensic work around it.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
How do you do that?
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You know?
Speaker 6 (27:38):
I would have to direct you to the story because
there is no way I could put this into brand English.
But it involved like looking, you know, inspecting metadata, cryptographic analysis,
I tech stuff, Molly. But they spend considerable time, you know,
doing that because that was really important to us when
we obtained this is like to ensure that you know,
this was authentic. So we started going through these emails,
(28:00):
and what these emails show is a side of Jeffrey
Epstein that I have to say. This is remarkable because
it has never been revealed before. It's brand new. What
we have is Epstein in his own voice, right, So
everything that we've heard over the past twenty years has
(28:21):
been you know, through court documents, through lawyers. We obviously
have victims testimony, but how Jeffrey Epstein was responding to
what was taking place in terms of the charges against him,
the prosecution behind the scenes, in his own voice. We've
(28:41):
never had that opportunity to hear him, if you will,
Orgulay Maxwell, and to really get a sense of what
their partnership was, Like we know who you know traveled
on Epstein's jet, but the kind of raw discussions that
were taking place that we've been writing about and what
it actually means is revelatory.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Sort of give me the tap lines on it because
it's pretty interesting.
Speaker 6 (29:07):
So, you know, the first story that we that we
reported was around Peter MANDELSSHN. Peter Mandelson, who is the
UK ambassador to the US, essentially showed Peter mandelssh trying
to help Epstein after he was charged. You know, we
knew Peter Mandelson had a relationship that this shows just
how deep that relationship was, how close it was, and
(29:28):
how you know Mandelssohn was was working to help Epstein.
You know, he said in one email like essentially this
was an injustice. He should use Sunsu's art of war
to fight these these charges, and you know, when we
reported that story, it ultimately led to Peter Mandelsson's ouster
and Maxwell. What the emails we presented showed is that
(29:51):
one that you had a very close relationship with him,
and she guided him. You know, even during the prosecution.
There was one point where he sent her an email saying,
what do you think I should plead guilty to lud
and lascivious conduct or you know, kind of rattled off
another charge, and Maxwell, you know, responds with, you know,
(30:12):
I would prefer loud and Lasiviu's conduct with a prostitute
if possible, and this and and you know I'm paraphrasing here,
but this involved like, you know, discussions around a minor
as well. And then you know, there was discussions about
they were having a you know, a shared fertility treatment
together right before you know, he was getting ready to
(30:33):
go to prison.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
So they were going to have a kid together.
Speaker 6 (30:36):
That's certainly what the emails make it certainly make it
appear to be. Yeah, we had this gift spreadsheet that
tracked about two million dollars in spending that were for
gifts that they were handing out to various people, including
Tom Barrick, the US ambassador to Turkey. He got eleven
(30:57):
thousand dollars Rolex watch, which he didn't of her receiving
Doug band A, you know, former Clinton aide.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Right, Quinton's body man, right, Yeah, you got.
Speaker 6 (31:07):
To list it as a receiving a thirty four in
this gift spreadsheet, a thirty five thousand dollars watch that
they gifted to him, but he too says that he
never received it. So, you know, the big pictures that
these emails add depth to the relationships that we already
knew in some cases that he had. You know, it
(31:29):
goes even further in showing how those relationships worked, how,
you know, disturbingly, how some of the emails show how
Epstein treated these women.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
So say more about that, well, I mean.
Speaker 6 (31:43):
And you know, in the first story, we showed how
you know, he was berating the women, manipulating them, psychologically,
abusing them, women who you know, who were working for him,
that some who were said to be acting as recruiters
for him. There is a bunch of emails that we
highlighted that showed how one woman who was working for
(32:07):
him was scouting for other girls kind of sent a
description of her to Epstein, and his response was, you know,
fatin Asian. Sorryll.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
So what you really got to see inside his head
in the way he treated these.
Speaker 7 (32:23):
Women, Yeah, you really did in a way that it's
disturbing because it's now you're hearing in a way his voice,
you know, the emails bring him back to life, if
you will.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Is there anything that you saw in those emails that
you were really surprised by?
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I mean, like people that you were surprised by?
Speaker 6 (32:43):
Yeah, I mean I really was surprised by the relationship,
how close the relationship with Maxwell really was. I mean,
we already knew they were close, but this was, you know,
the emails are on another level, and I was really
surprised to see how they worked together to vilify and
discredit these young women. You know, I should note that
(33:04):
they're you know, the first thing we checked for, you know,
when we got the emails, you know, obviously we look
to see, if you know, if Trump's name was there,
and there are a few references to Trump, you know,
and one of the references to Trump is he appears
in a list, you know, a couple of months after
Epstein is charged in Florida, there's a list that Maxwell
(33:25):
had put together, you know, a long list of names.
Trump is on that list. She sends this over to
Epstein and she says, please add or remove Peeps is
how she puts it, and he responds, removed Trump. I
have to say, we don't know what that means. We're
close to sort of figuring that out. We'll continue our reporting.
There's another email where Trump, you know, appears This is
(33:48):
had a time when the media is starting to really
really cover the charges against Epstein, and you know, Maxwell
says to Epstein in an email that you have to
assume they went to Trump, to the documents in West
Palm Beach and others, and it sort of suggests that
reporters may have gone to Donald Trump to gather some information,
(34:13):
you know, around Epstein.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Do you think they had.
Speaker 6 (34:16):
I mean, we asked the White House for comment around this.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
I'm sure they were very forthcoming. They're known for their candor.
Speaker 6 (34:23):
I will say they responded quickly by calling it fake news,
so I was you know, we did get a response
rather quickly from them. But you know, I think that
the big maybe one of the big surprises for me
was just seeing how the academics and scientists are researchers
who you know he corresponded with and was was working
(34:45):
with in terms of funding their projects. How close that
relationship was again after he was charged. I mean, there
is one chilling email, truly chilling email from this UCLA
you know, neuroscientist named Mark Trema or he's affiliated with
UCLA as an adjunct, and this email said this came
right after the New York Post reported the charges of
(35:07):
Kencepty and he said, I want you to know the
boys from the Bronx, you know, know who their friends are.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Yeah, that's that was wild, that thing. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (35:16):
So it's expanding on this narrative that is already out
there and really kind of showing in Epstein's own voice
how he was responding to the charges or what how
he was maneuvering and dealing with it and behind the scenes,
and how everyone around him was either trying to help
him or offer you know comfort. It's just a new
(35:39):
addition to what's out there.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
I'd love you to talk about the Dershowitz stuff, Becausewitz
has really the clowned himself again and again in this.
Speaker 6 (35:48):
By the way, in that spreadsheet of gifts that tracked
all these gifts, you know, Dershowitz got a seventy one
thousand dollars car Alexis or his wife. He said it
was for his wife, actually that the carl was first wife.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
And isn't there stuff about how he paid Dershwitz like
five million dollars yeah, three and two or yeah.
Speaker 6 (36:10):
Which Dershowitz said he thought it was a little less.
But there's this letter drafted that has Dershowitz's name on
an email that Epstein planned to send to us friends,
you know, where it says I'm writing to you as
a friend of Jeffrey Epstein. But it also appears that
Epstein had a hand in, you know, drafting that letter
(36:31):
and that Dershowitz was you know, was going to send it.
So yeah, I mean it's you know that that relationship
with Dershowitz is you know, what we're able to have
laid there, and you know, certainly we're going to continue reporting,
is that that was a relationship that in some ways
seem to extend little beyond just you know, lawyer clients.
(36:53):
You know, I'm not saying that, you know, maybe that's
not unusual perhaps, but seeing that kind of laid there
in the emails, particularly this apology letter, right, this apology
letter that you know is going to be sent to
Epstein's friends was remarkable and again just the kind of
you know, behind the scenes discussion that is very off
(37:16):
the cuff in some in some ways that just hasn't
been out there. Jershu Witz, I do want to say
it was really really he responded to us. You know,
we included his comments and he was saying that it's
you know, something says he's just advocating for his client.
You know, that's what good lawyers do. That was his response.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
What other stuff like, do you have more is there?
Speaker 6 (37:38):
Well, Molly, that's the stuff we've been We've published, but
we are continuing reporting, which only means that I have
to come back on your show so I can discuss it.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Trump administration is running roughshaw over basically all of our
fundamental rights. You have this incredible ability to sort of
get information from the I mean, there's a lot of
information that's not clearly being kept that's supposed to be kept.
Do you think that there are documents that can thread
(38:09):
this needle?
Speaker 2 (38:10):
And do you think you can get.
Speaker 6 (38:11):
Them around the Epstein man know all.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
The shit that's going down right now?
Speaker 6 (38:17):
Gotcha?
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (38:18):
I mean, that's exactly what I've been doing. I have
to say, what's really sad is, you know what the
government shutdown. That also means that the FOYA is shut down, right,
I mean the the processing of records that I depend
upon and share with the public around these very issues
that you're talking about about, Like what the heck is
going on? It's just on ice for now, But yeah, no,
(38:41):
I mean I feel like, you know, I have this
weekly newsletter called FOYA Files. It's a you know, weekly newsletter.
I have been like trying to probably lose records out
of this administration. And I have to say that in
some ways it's like extremely difficult on some fronts, but
in others it's been you know, pretty successful, you know,
in terms of just showing how they're doing what they're doing.
(39:04):
Just as an example, like you know, I was in
d C and there are these huge banners of Trump
hanging off like you know, the US Labor I was like,
how did that happen?
Speaker 1 (39:16):
You know?
Speaker 6 (39:17):
If ilw this request with the USDA, it gave me
records to you know, show how much a cost to
get these banners, what was behind putting it up there?
So you know, I think that, you know, we're squeezing
out some info out of the you know, out of
the administration. It's a little bit more difficult because they're
also getting rid of the foyer officers, the people who
(39:37):
process these records. I mean, they're part of the purge.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
Yeah. Will you come back, Jason, I.
Speaker 6 (39:42):
Would love to come back, Molly, No moment.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
Jesse Channon.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
I judged Fast.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
A judge just disqualified Nevada's acting US attorney from handling
cases because the Trump administration has been doing some serious
fuckery trying to keep they're really incompetent appointees in positions
of power.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
The best thing about the Trump administration is it's incredible incompetence.
If American democracy ends up surviving, it will be because
of the incredible incompetence. We saw this in New Jersey.
There US attorney is also getting the boot. I remind you,
none of this is legal. If you can run out
(40:26):
the clock, you can win.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
That's it for.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
This episode of Fast Politics. Tune in every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday,
and Saturday to hear the best minds and politics make
sense of all this chaos. If you enjoy this podcast,
please send it to a friend and keep the conversation going.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Thanks for listening.
Hi, I'm Molly John Fast and this is Fast Politics,
where we discussed the top political headlines with some of
today's best minds, and the Supreme Court says Fed Governor
Lisa Cook can remain in the job pending argument. We
have such a great show for you today, the Mary
Trump Shows. Mary Trump stops by to talk about her
(00:23):
uncles mental decline. Then we'll talk to Bloomberg's own Jason
Leopold about his blockbuster recording on the Jeffrey Epstein emails.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
But first the.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Newsboy, let's spit to the people about the facts of
what's going to change with the government being shut down
now that we're in our first government shutdown of our FORTYESU,
and I shut up.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Why are you like this? I am not in my forties.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I'm in my thirties, but I do remember there are
government shutdowns. So the government is shut down. Democrats Republicans
are at an impass. Here's what that means for you.
It means a lot of different things. So air traffic
controllers are going up without pay. These guys have had
a real fucking terrible time. These poor air traffic controllers mistreated,
(01:12):
saving our lives and probably the most important people in
this country, and they are going to have to skip
their pay. US Postal Service will keep the mail moving,
which is good because they're self funded, despite the fact
that Republicans are still at war with them for being
too expensive, even though there's self funded.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Despite the propaganda you may have heard the contrary.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Right Social Security SNAP safety Net programs, they'll continue, though
there may be some delay in service. You will remember
the richest man in the world had been trying to
make these things cheaper so he didn't have to pay
as much tax. So if there are disturbances with it,
like with SNAP, which is also being cut by Donald
(01:56):
Trump's one piece of legislation, if there are disturbances in it,
you know who to blame. Trump administration has in fact
gotten ahead of the people who lose a shut down
besides the American people who lose, all who just constantly
keep getting fucked are the people who get blamed for it.
So Republicans are using every bit of tax payer money
(02:20):
to blame Democrats. When you went on the HUD website yesterday,
it said radical left Democrats will shut down your government
at midnight because they hate you. We're seeing a lot
of that Republicans saying stuff like it's because democrats.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I mean Donald J.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Trump you may remember saying that the reason that they're
shutting the government down is because they want to get
health care for illegals that's illegal, unlike people who are
not illegal. Healthcare for people who are not citizens is illegal.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, and there may be miss paychecks, lost jobs for
a bunch of federal employees. I'm married to one, so
that sits home. But you know who's going to keep
out their funding?
Speaker 1 (03:07):
The largest paramilitary organization, the President's Secret Army.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Are they going to keep their funding?
Speaker 4 (03:14):
That is correct.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
They're going to get to keep getting paid because they're
doing what's the important work.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Apparently ICE is going to keep being funded. Also, they're
having their student debt paid off. So if you're not
furious about how this is going down, then you are
probably not paying attention.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
It will also mean that a lot of.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Times in previous shutdowns you would have they would prioritize
people who are in immigration detention. But because this administration
wants people to be an immigration detention for longer, they
are not prioritizing them, which I think is a good
example of where we are right now. Mike Johnson, jd Vance,
Donald Trump, all of this crew is out there trying
(04:02):
to message this thing, and they're havings.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
You think they're having some difficulties. What even Fox News
makes Mike Johnson, Basically we the bed.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
The problem is there's only so much, you know, Donald
Trump occupies this sort of earth to situation where everything
is sort of we're in the post truth ecosystem, and
that's what we're looking at here. I'm going to read
you a little bit from friend of the show George Stephanopolos,
who we love for any number of reasons, and because
he has poken out there doing his job, which happens
(04:37):
to be the most brave thing you can do right now. So,
the Democratic proposal is designed to prevent millions of Americans
from losing their health insurance, losing Medicaid coverage, or paying
higher healthcare premiums. Why are you against that, Stephanoppolis asked.
Johnson said, that's an absurd statement what you said there,
and Stephanopplos said it's a factual statement. Johnson instead said
(04:59):
the Democra want to give healthcare to illegal aliens instead
of keeping critical services provided to the American citizens. Lying
has worked for this administration and so they will keep
doing it.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Yeah, agreed. So when the Trump administration is not picking
the winners and losers of which companies get to win
in capitalism, they're also doing it with states funding. And
the person who's doing it is one Rousspot, author of
Project twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
I just want to point out, like, we pay more
federal taxes than we get, we being New York, New York,
but also me now I mean also meet too. We
as a state and also as a city pay more
federal taxes than we get. So you when you take
in money away, like eventually these states are going to
(05:47):
be like why even pay federal taxes? So Trump administration
has frozen eighteen billion for infrastructure projects in New York City,
making sure that funding is not flowing on unconstitutional deis principles.
By the way, DEI not in the constitution, in case
you're wondering, cannot be unconstitutional, not in it. I like
(06:08):
that these people just so it's unconstitutional. First of all,
eighty percent of what this administration is doing is unconstitutional.
So if we're going to go into like it's unconstitutional, now, okay,
it's not even unconstitutional eighty percent with his admistration is
against a law.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
You know, the courts are like, no, you can't send
troops into La.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
It's posse commentatis like no, no, no, no, no, no no.
So Russ Vatt is illegally freezing eighteen billion dollars that
he does not have, just like he's impounding money that's
supposed to be spent that Congress is allocated, just like that.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
He's doing that with New York.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
And let me tell you, I think it's a little
bit ironic because Donald Trump has a lot of buildings
in New York and a lot of friends who do
real estate in New York, and is quite obsessed with
his rich New York friend. So it's interesting to me
to see, Like I expect Donald Trump to get a
(07:05):
lot of phone calls, a lot of crabby on the
golf course. I will not be surprised to see this.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
So Forney State ags have sued the Trump administration over
a rule that bars aid to some sex abuse and
rape survivors. This has led by New York Attorney General James.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Yeah, you may remember Letitia James is one of the
many Democrats that Donald Trump wants to throw in jail.
You know, it's a DOJ rule, a new DOJ rule
that bar states from aiding survivors who cannot immediately prove
their immigration status. So the idea here is is, if
you get raped and you might not be a citizen,
(07:42):
you don't get thrown into a detention center. And sexual
assault and domestic violence survivors to into our courts for
safety and protection. Johnson says in a statement. They should
never be turned away because of who they are, where
they come from. You know who's going to disagree.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
With that, Donald J.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Trump and one Stephen Miller. But you know, good for
the AGS for fighting this. And you know you and
I have interviewed a ton of Democratic ags and they
have really tried as hard as possible to uphold the
law and to sue this administration's lawlessness.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yep. So, maya, I want to put you a clip
from a guy where a big fan of his name
is JB.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
Pritzker, suggest that you're going to arrest people or that
people don't deserve to be US citizens when they are
just because they oppose the President of the United States.
And there is something genuinely wrong with this man and
the twenty fifth Amendment ought to be invoked.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Sparring continues, Yeah, he's right. I mean it seems generous.
But I think he's right.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
And I think it's very funny that Hiven News some
now are really coming for the cognitive decline argument.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
It's not untrue. That's the other part of it, right.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I mean when you listen to him compared to four
years ago, even two years ago, it's yikes. For all
the shit they talked on Biden.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Yeah, someone called Jake Tapper because we're going to need
a book. Mary Trump is the host of The Mary
Trump Show. She's the author of Who Could Ever Love You?
A family memoir.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Welcome to Fast Politics, Mary Trump.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Mother Duck Fast?
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Hi? Oh so bad?
Speaker 4 (09:31):
What to say? What to say?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
I can't believe we've been doing this for so long?
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Yeah, I mean, listen, A thousand years is a long
time to do anything. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
I feel like we should talk about the military trip
because I have a theory that what's happening right now
and I and I bet you think, I bet you're
going to think this is right, but maybe you think
it's wrong. So Pete hagg Sath brought every general from
all over the world back, so that he could be like,
(10:09):
give a big speech like a leader, and Donald Trump
was like, way, way White, I'm going to give a
speech too.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
What's going on there?
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Well, that's that's sort of basic Donald psychology. What I
wan he felt threatened because somebody, in his view was
trying to one up him and get more attention. And
who knows if he knew that this thing was happening,
or if he didn't really think about it much until
(10:41):
he realized what a big deal it was. And of course, Bigdald,
he didn't realize why it was a big deal. It
wasn't a big deal. It was not a big deal
because anything serious was meant to happen here. It wasn't
because Haig Seth, as Secretary of Defense sorry War, was
(11:02):
going to give every single military leader in the United
States a brief about something vital. It was a photo
op and an attempt for Hegzeth to make the world
believe that he either knew anything or was a strong leader.
(11:22):
But the reason it was a big deal is because
it was so unnecessary, so embarrassing, so costly, and so
dangerous to our national security. But all Donald saw was, Oh,
it's going to be televised and why should Pete Hegseth
get all the glory. So yes, he had to, he
had to horn in on heg Seth's territory.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
It speaks in my mind to what I think is
happening right now in Trump world, and which is it feels.
It certainly feels like there's this SUSI succession fight happening
behind the scenes, and you're seeing like RFK Junior, JD. Vans, Seth,
all of them sort of jockeying. And that is a
(12:08):
way in which this Trump two point zero feels very
different than Trump one point Oh.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
Interesting, Well, it's different for so many reasons. Uh, partially
because I think you're right there. There is definitely some
kind of succession battle going on. That is, it's not
exactly under the radar. You had JD. Vans a few
years of years, because years years, a few weeks ago
(12:36):
saying Donald's fine, he's at the peak of health. But
if he died, I'm ready, you know, exactly subtle.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Imagine if Harris had said that about Biden.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But at the same time, there's also
this race and this is this is this is not
now to outsick a fabta. So when they're jocking for
a position. Two, they're seeing who can kiss his ass
most effectively, and I think cash Mittel continues to win
(13:10):
that that particular battle. But hag Seth is definitely trying
to flex. He can't really flex. If you've seen him
try to do a pull up, you'll understand. But Donald
also and we're seeing this increasingly as well. And this
is one of the reasons why their position we're in
is mostarious, more precarious than it's been. Is whether or
(13:31):
not he's aware of the jogging for a position. I mean,
certainly others around him would be, like Stephen Miller, for example,
But Donald does feel threatened, whether it's by his underlings
or by the bad pulling or what have you. He
is absolutely doing everything in his power to appear tougher
(13:53):
than he is. And I think that was also part
of the reason that he showed it up yesterday, because
on the one hand, much of the speech, and we
saw this in the New York Times, was the regular
old stuff he talks about every day. All right, Obama
is terrible. I'm afraid of stares. I won in twenty twenty.
But then you know, two thirds of the way in
(14:16):
we are declaring war and the enemy within and you know,
you top rowt of the military must be using American
citizens as battlegrounds, like oh okay, that's that's dark so
and that's I think the same impetus is behind his
ordering military strikes on tiny vessels in the Caribbean Sea
(14:39):
and obliterating the vessels and the human beings on board them.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
In our history of covering this guy's president, whenever there's
been a chance to say something really outside the mainstream,
he's done it. And I wonder when he said, you know,
we're I would like to see you guys train in
American cities. It's shocking that he said that, but it's
not particularly surprising because whenever he and and I think
(15:07):
like that has worked really well for him because because
sort of nobody he says and he can. I mean,
once you've said things that with such regularity that are
so outside the norm, it doesn't it's become sort of
without meaning.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Yeah, uh well, I think it becomes normalized, right, yes,
So so the threat falls away. And I think this
is you know, he's very good at He's good at
very few things, but he is good at flooding the
zone and repeating himself to the point where what he
(15:51):
says either becomes meaningless or it becomes non threatening. And
the corporate corporate media have done it quite spectacular job
of helping normalize him, either by sanew washing his insane
comments or just reporting on what he says and not
(16:11):
putting it in the context of how dangerous much of
it is because essentially, and you know, the other, the
other corrupt entity that has helped him is of course,
the corrupt, diligitimate super majority of the Supreme Court. And
that's another thing. Donald is good at gaming the legal
system to draw things out or to use it as
(16:34):
a blunt tool to get his way. So he breaks
the law, he commits an unconstitutional act, it goes through
the courts, it drugs on. He keeps doing the illegal
and constitutional thing. It seems like it's a normal thing
now to have American American military and American cities, right,
and then the Supreme Court. Besides, you know, he has
(16:56):
that a shadow docket that says, we don't know yet
if this is legal or it's constitutional, but ye doing
it until we decide. So he has a lot of help.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Yeah, no, no, I mean, they're definitely it does seem
like the Supreme Court is pretty scared of him or
go or they're just sort of on a roll with
him and delighted.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
I mean, it could be both. And the reason I
laugh is because, and you and I have talked about
this a lot, the idea that anybody is afraid of
that man is so laughable and embarrassing to me, but
so many people are. Yeah. I know, I have to
get over it and accept it, but I have a
hard time doing it because it's so unfathomable. So I'm
(17:39):
not going to I would guess that John Roberts probably is,
and I would guess that Samuel Dido and Clarence Thomas
are delighted that they are leefully taking this as an
opportunity to do what they've wanted to do for decades
and create America in their own image as a country
(18:01):
that is essentially a theocratic apartheid state in which only white,
wealthy Christian men straight of course, unless you're Peter Teel,
have a say and how this country is governed.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I want to go back to this idea that there
are people scared of Trump, because I think there are
a lot. You know, we've seen corporations make payments for
things that they didn't. Oh, we've seen, you know, people
do things for regulatory favor that were insane. We've seen
just all you know, We've seen just sort of a
(18:36):
gamut of people be clowning themselves for Trump. I think
it's because we're soft as a culture and we've never
had to stand up for our values.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
But do you have a different theory of the case.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
We have taken so much for granted. I think part
of the problem, certainly in twenty sixteen, twenty twenty and
even twenty twenty four, was that so much remain unimaginable
to people. And in twenty twenty four that attitude was,
in my view, inexcusable because we saw what happened with
Roe v. Wade, we saw what happened with the Chevron doctrine,
(19:10):
we saw what this corrupt the legitimate super majority of
Supreme Court was more than willing to do. They essentially
made Donald Trump at imperial president. So we were forward
sufficiently in twenty twenty four. But people are lazy and
as you say, soft, and it was just incomprehensible. They
liked what they saw with the corporations and the white
to law firms and universities and others. I think that
(19:32):
some of it is fear, but I think more of it.
I mean, I guess it depends on what the fear is.
I think for many of them it's just fear of
their bottom line and fear of displeasing their boards their investors.
But it's more it's which is just another way of
saying they're craven and the only thing they care about
their profits and democracy be damned. Okay, good to know.
(19:55):
I think at the indellividual level, fear is in the
sense of I am afraid of what this person can
do to me, is more operative, and I think that's
why we see Republicans to a person, behaving as if
they exist solely to do Donald Trump's bidding. Now against
some of them are true believers, and some of them
(20:17):
do want a fascist authoritarian regime in which the minority
has power in perpetuity. But yeah, then there are some
who are just afraid of an angry tweet or a
primary or in some cases, their physical safety because we
know Donald is completely willing to sick his followers on
(20:38):
individuals who cross him. Now, I understand it, but it's
not acceptable if that's the problem. Then resign and let
somebody who has a backbone serve, because then you're not
serving you are you are perverting the system to favor
one person over the many. And I said, sounded like
(21:00):
a line from Star Trek. Actually, but you know, we
are heading to the apocalyptic cars. It does feel like that.
So I understand fear is a very powerful motivator, but
I just also don't find it acceptable because it's not
like they're the only people who've been on the sharp
(21:23):
end of Donald's attacks.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
He seems exhausted. You know, you actually know him. Does
he seem exhausted to you? Is this wishful thinking? I
mean what I mean, I'm just curious what your take
on this is.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Yeah, Oh, he seems exhausted. That there's no doubt about that.
And in some ways he definitely seems to be deteriorating.
But then again, Hattie tell because he seems to have
been deteriorating for so many years now that I was
actually talking to somebody about this the other day, it
surprises me that his decline isn't more rapid and comprehensive,
(22:00):
that he's still able to pull himself together and be
coherent on occasion. But I think there are a couple
of things going on, and this was the problem we
had with Joe Biden, even though they're almost exactly the
same age, And I would say that Joe Biden was
cognitively more intact than Donald.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
I mean, they here is pretty rich, Like we're definitely
seeing a very similar scenario with very old man and
the president say right.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
But again I think Donald it is certainly now and
was that worse cognitively and certainly intellectually and psychologically. So
the difference though is Biden was quiet and stumbled with
his words sometimes because he had a stutter, and Don
so cloud and aggressive, and that translates very differently to
(22:45):
people who aren't paying attention to what he's actually saying.
The other thing we cannot control for or factor in,
because we don't know the extent of it. How managed
is he, how potentially medicated is he? Right right, We
don't know any of that.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
I think Donald Trump has benefited from doing so much media.
So when you have so much media, you know he's
doing full sprays, He's doing this, he's doing that. It's
not a compliment, but it's more of an explain er.
He does so much.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
That even if he makes a mistake.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Nobody's remembering it because there are ten press conferences later.
Whereas Biden was so careful and did so little media
that every word he said was totally parsedon.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Harris had the same problem.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Yep. Yeah, that's a really good point. And it just
goes along with that concept of flooding the zone. And
he does it both in terms of actions, you know,
deploying troops in some multiple cities and blowing shit up
and going after his perceived political enemies and destroying agencies
and on and on and on. How do you know
(23:53):
where to focus your attention? Oh wait, we need to
be focused on everything. Well, good luck with that. And
he does indeed do the same thing verbally, and I
think that also is to his advantage because corporate media
can seem to keep up either because then instead of
parsing what he says and telling us what he says,
(24:14):
they again sainew wash it because they want to make
it coherent for readers. Well, it's not coherent, and that's information,
that's data, and people need to deserve to know that
he isn't actually saying this thing. You're pretending he's saying
by filling in the blanks. Right, he's saying it this way,
(24:35):
and it's gibberish, and he's the president of the United States,
and we should be terrified.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
It is true.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
And I have I remember anytime I've written about him,
like you'll transcribe some of a speech, and if you
really listen to it and transcribe it, it's very different
than what you see in quotes. And it's why you
can't get as many quotes from him, because he won't
necessarily say things.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
And I think it actually.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Really served him was he'll say things like when he
started when he came down the escalator back in twenty fifteen,
and we were all young and slept through the night.
Yeah exat naive, right, or we were like this will
burn itself right out. He said Mexicans are rapists. And
(25:22):
that was the last time he like really made a
sentence that you could quote like that. Like a lot
of the times you'll see him and his sentence will fragment,
so it'll end up quoted in a way that won't
be completely clear as to what he's saying, and then
his people will get it. But for example, the Great
One was and and there are good people on both sides.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Yep, it's like mad libs. You know, you could fill
it in however you want and interpret it. Actually, that's
that's a bad analogy.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
It's true like his people know what he means.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Or they know what they want him to be, right, certainly,
that is one thing. The question remains why anybody who's
objective would take the step of trying to make his
incoherence coherent. Who does that serve? It only serves him,
and it's a false representation of what's going on.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Mary Trump, will you come back.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
Of course, Molly job Fest.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Jason Leopold is an investigative reporter for Bloomberg News.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Welcome to Fast Politics, Jason.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
Molly, it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
So let's talk about what you've been doing, because it's
unbelievably awesome.
Speaker 6 (26:39):
And thank you.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Well, there are Epstein files that there are huge numbers
of Ebstein files that the federal government has that it's
not releasing for who knows why, who knows, but Republicans
no longer want.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
To release it.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
You have been releasing these tranches of different stuff, So
talk to me about these tranches.
Speaker 6 (27:03):
I'll set the scene for you if I may please.
We obtained eighteen thousand emails from Jeffrey Epstein's private email accounts.
He had many different email accounts. This is from his
his I know, seriously, this is from his Yahoo one
of his Yahoo accounts, or a Yahoo account. And I
can't tell you how it was obtained. I can just
(27:25):
tell you that, you know, we obtained it. We have
an amazing team of data reporters and engineers who verified
these emails and did a lot of forensic work around it.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
How do you do that?
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You know?
Speaker 6 (27:38):
I would have to direct you to the story because
there is no way I could put this into brand English.
But it involved like looking, you know, inspecting metadata, cryptographic analysis,
I tech stuff, Molly. But they spend considerable time, you know,
doing that because that was really important to us when
we obtained this is like to ensure that you know,
this was authentic. So we started going through these emails,
(28:00):
and what these emails show is a side of Jeffrey
Epstein that I have to say. This is remarkable because
it has never been revealed before. It's brand new. What
we have is Epstein in his own voice, right, So
everything that we've heard over the past twenty years has
(28:21):
been you know, through court documents, through lawyers. We obviously
have victims testimony, but how Jeffrey Epstein was responding to
what was taking place in terms of the charges against him,
the prosecution behind the scenes, in his own voice. We've
(28:41):
never had that opportunity to hear him, if you will,
Orgulay Maxwell, and to really get a sense of what
their partnership was, Like we know who you know traveled
on Epstein's jet, but the kind of raw discussions that
were taking place that we've been writing about and what
it actually means is revelatory.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Sort of give me the tap lines on it because
it's pretty interesting.
Speaker 6 (29:07):
So, you know, the first story that we that we
reported was around Peter MANDELSSHN. Peter Mandelson, who is the
UK ambassador to the US, essentially showed Peter mandelssh trying
to help Epstein after he was charged. You know, we
knew Peter Mandelson had a relationship that this shows just
how deep that relationship was, how close it was, and
(29:28):
how you know Mandelssohn was was working to help Epstein.
You know, he said in one email like essentially this
was an injustice. He should use Sunsu's art of war
to fight these these charges, and you know, when we
reported that story, it ultimately led to Peter Mandelsson's ouster
and Maxwell. What the emails we presented showed is that
(29:51):
one that you had a very close relationship with him,
and she guided him. You know, even during the prosecution.
There was one point where he sent her an email saying,
what do you think I should plead guilty to lud
and lascivious conduct or you know, kind of rattled off
another charge, and Maxwell, you know, responds with, you know,
(30:12):
I would prefer loud and Lasiviu's conduct with a prostitute
if possible, and this and and you know I'm paraphrasing here,
but this involved like, you know, discussions around a minor
as well. And then you know, there was discussions about
they were having a you know, a shared fertility treatment
together right before you know, he was getting ready to
(30:33):
go to prison.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
So they were going to have a kid together.
Speaker 6 (30:36):
That's certainly what the emails make it certainly make it
appear to be. Yeah, we had this gift spreadsheet that
tracked about two million dollars in spending that were for
gifts that they were handing out to various people, including
Tom Barrick, the US ambassador to Turkey. He got eleven
(30:57):
thousand dollars Rolex watch, which he didn't of her receiving
Doug band A, you know, former Clinton aide.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Right, Quinton's body man, right, Yeah, you got.
Speaker 6 (31:07):
To list it as a receiving a thirty four in
this gift spreadsheet, a thirty five thousand dollars watch that
they gifted to him, but he too says that he
never received it. So, you know, the big pictures that
these emails add depth to the relationships that we already
knew in some cases that he had. You know, it
(31:29):
goes even further in showing how those relationships worked, how,
you know, disturbingly, how some of the emails show how
Epstein treated these women.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
So say more about that, well, I mean.
Speaker 6 (31:43):
And you know, in the first story, we showed how
you know, he was berating the women, manipulating them, psychologically,
abusing them, women who you know, who were working for him,
that some who were said to be acting as recruiters
for him. There is a bunch of emails that we
highlighted that showed how one woman who was working for
(32:07):
him was scouting for other girls kind of sent a
description of her to Epstein, and his response was, you know,
fatin Asian. Sorryll.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
So what you really got to see inside his head
in the way he treated these.
Speaker 7 (32:23):
Women, Yeah, you really did in a way that it's
disturbing because it's now you're hearing in a way his voice,
you know, the emails bring him back to life, if
you will.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Is there anything that you saw in those emails that
you were really surprised by?
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I mean, like people that you were surprised by?
Speaker 6 (32:43):
Yeah, I mean I really was surprised by the relationship,
how close the relationship with Maxwell really was. I mean,
we already knew they were close, but this was, you know,
the emails are on another level, and I was really
surprised to see how they worked together to vilify and
discredit these young women. You know, I should note that
(33:04):
they're you know, the first thing we checked for, you know,
when we got the emails, you know, obviously we look
to see, if you know, if Trump's name was there,
and there are a few references to Trump, you know,
and one of the references to Trump is he appears
in a list, you know, a couple of months after
Epstein is charged in Florida, there's a list that Maxwell
(33:25):
had put together, you know, a long list of names.
Trump is on that list. She sends this over to
Epstein and she says, please add or remove Peeps is
how she puts it, and he responds, removed Trump. I
have to say, we don't know what that means. We're
close to sort of figuring that out. We'll continue our reporting.
There's another email where Trump, you know, appears This is
(33:48):
had a time when the media is starting to really
really cover the charges against Epstein, and you know, Maxwell
says to Epstein in an email that you have to
assume they went to Trump, to the documents in West
Palm Beach and others, and it sort of suggests that
reporters may have gone to Donald Trump to gather some information,
(34:13):
you know, around Epstein.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Do you think they had.
Speaker 6 (34:16):
I mean, we asked the White House for comment around this.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
I'm sure they were very forthcoming. They're known for their candor.
Speaker 6 (34:23):
I will say they responded quickly by calling it fake news,
so I was you know, we did get a response
rather quickly from them. But you know, I think that
the big maybe one of the big surprises for me
was just seeing how the academics and scientists are researchers
who you know he corresponded with and was was working
(34:45):
with in terms of funding their projects. How close that
relationship was again after he was charged. I mean, there
is one chilling email, truly chilling email from this UCLA
you know, neuroscientist named Mark Trema or he's affiliated with
UCLA as an adjunct, and this email said this came
right after the New York Post reported the charges of
(35:07):
Kencepty and he said, I want you to know the
boys from the Bronx, you know, know who their friends are.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Yeah, that's that was wild, that thing. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (35:16):
So it's expanding on this narrative that is already out
there and really kind of showing in Epstein's own voice
how he was responding to the charges or what how
he was maneuvering and dealing with it and behind the scenes,
and how everyone around him was either trying to help
him or offer you know comfort. It's just a new
(35:39):
addition to what's out there.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
I'd love you to talk about the Dershowitz stuff, Becausewitz
has really the clowned himself again and again in this.
Speaker 6 (35:48):
By the way, in that spreadsheet of gifts that tracked
all these gifts, you know, Dershowitz got a seventy one
thousand dollars car Alexis or his wife. He said it
was for his wife, actually that the carl was first wife.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
And isn't there stuff about how he paid Dershwitz like
five million dollars yeah, three and two or yeah.
Speaker 6 (36:10):
Which Dershowitz said he thought it was a little less.
But there's this letter drafted that has Dershowitz's name on
an email that Epstein planned to send to us friends,
you know, where it says I'm writing to you as
a friend of Jeffrey Epstein. But it also appears that
Epstein had a hand in, you know, drafting that letter
(36:31):
and that Dershowitz was you know, was going to send it.
So yeah, I mean it's you know that that relationship
with Dershowitz is you know, what we're able to have
laid there, and you know, certainly we're going to continue reporting,
is that that was a relationship that in some ways
seem to extend little beyond just you know, lawyer clients.
(36:53):
You know, I'm not saying that, you know, maybe that's
not unusual perhaps, but seeing that kind of laid there
in the emails, particularly this apology letter, right, this apology
letter that you know is going to be sent to
Epstein's friends was remarkable and again just the kind of
you know, behind the scenes discussion that is very off
(37:16):
the cuff in some in some ways that just hasn't
been out there. Jershu Witz, I do want to say
it was really really he responded to us. You know,
we included his comments and he was saying that it's
you know, something says he's just advocating for his client.
You know, that's what good lawyers do. That was his response.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
What other stuff like, do you have more is there?
Speaker 6 (37:38):
Well, Molly, that's the stuff we've been We've published, but
we are continuing reporting, which only means that I have
to come back on your show so I can discuss it.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Trump administration is running roughshaw over basically all of our
fundamental rights. You have this incredible ability to sort of
get information from the I mean, there's a lot of
information that's not clearly being kept that's supposed to be kept.
Do you think that there are documents that can thread
(38:09):
this needle?
Speaker 2 (38:10):
And do you think you can get.
Speaker 6 (38:11):
Them around the Epstein man know all.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
The shit that's going down right now?
Speaker 6 (38:17):
Gotcha?
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (38:18):
I mean, that's exactly what I've been doing. I have
to say, what's really sad is, you know what the
government shutdown. That also means that the FOYA is shut down, right,
I mean the the processing of records that I depend
upon and share with the public around these very issues
that you're talking about about, Like what the heck is
going on? It's just on ice for now, But yeah, no,
(38:41):
I mean I feel like, you know, I have this
weekly newsletter called FOYA Files. It's a you know, weekly newsletter.
I have been like trying to probably lose records out
of this administration. And I have to say that in
some ways it's like extremely difficult on some fronts, but
in others it's been you know, pretty successful, you know,
in terms of just showing how they're doing what they're doing.
(39:04):
Just as an example, like you know, I was in
d C and there are these huge banners of Trump
hanging off like you know, the US Labor I was like,
how did that happen?
Speaker 1 (39:16):
You know?
Speaker 6 (39:17):
If ilw this request with the USDA, it gave me
records to you know, show how much a cost to
get these banners, what was behind putting it up there?
So you know, I think that, you know, we're squeezing
out some info out of the you know, out of
the administration. It's a little bit more difficult because they're
also getting rid of the foyer officers, the people who
(39:37):
process these records. I mean, they're part of the purge.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
Yeah. Will you come back, Jason, I.
Speaker 6 (39:42):
Would love to come back, Molly, No moment.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
Jesse Channon.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
I judged Fast.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
A judge just disqualified Nevada's acting US attorney from handling
cases because the Trump administration has been doing some serious
fuckery trying to keep they're really incompetent appointees in positions
of power.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
The best thing about the Trump administration is it's incredible incompetence.
If American democracy ends up surviving, it will be because
of the incredible incompetence. We saw this in New Jersey.
There US attorney is also getting the boot. I remind you,
none of this is legal. If you can run out
(40:26):
the clock, you can win.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
That's it for.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
This episode of Fast Politics. Tune in every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday,
and Saturday to hear the best minds and politics make
sense of all this chaos. If you enjoy this podcast,
please send it to a friend and keep the conversation going.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Thanks for listening.
Host
Molly Jong-Fast
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