July 23, 2025 • 20 mins
Why is Donald Trump so obsessed with Jeffrey Epstein?
In today's fresh Trumpdate, Amelia Lester unpacks the latest headlines around Trump; from the Epstein files to the axing of a beloved late night host, it's all up for discussion.
And in headlines today Doctor Salvador Plasencia, who was treating Friends star Matthew Perry in the lead up to his death has faced court, pleading guilty to supplying the star the deadly drug ketamine, that ended his life; Bryan Kohberger, the man who admitted to murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022, has been handed four life sentences without parole; Australia has paid the US $A800 million in the second instalment under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, despite an ongoing formal review of the agreement by US President Donald Trump's administration; An international court says countries have an obligation to prevent harm from climate change and redress damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions
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Hosts: Taylah Strano & Claire Murphy
Guest: Amelia Lester, Mamamia's US Correspondent
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
You're listening to a Muma Mea podcast. Mumma Mea acknowledges
the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast
is recorded on.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hey, I'm Taylor Strano.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
This is Mmma MEA's twice daily news podcast, The Quickie.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Why is Donald Trump.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
So obsessed with Jeffrey Epstein? Today we're bringing you a
fresh Trump date, running through the big stories swirling around
the US president, from the Epstein files to late night
TV drama and billion dollar lawsuits. Before we get there,
here's Clare Murphy with the latest from the QUICKI newsroom
for Thursday July twenty four.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Thanks Taylor.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
A doctor who was treating friend Star Matthew Perry in
the lead up to his death has faced court, pleading
guilty to supplying the Star, the deadly drug that ended
his life. Doctor Salvador Placentia was the fourth of five
people charged in relation to Perry's death. After initially pleading
not guilty, he's avoided going to trial after agreeing to
plead guilty last month to four co of ketamine distribution
(01:11):
in exchange for three other counts of distribution being dropped,
along with two charges of falsifying records. He stood next
to his lawyer in court yesterday, admitting he was guilty
of supplying the drug to Perry. Prosecutors saying he was
not the one who sold him the doset ultimately killed him.
They described how despite Perry freezing up and his blood
pressure spiking after Placentia administered one injection, he still left
(01:34):
more ketamine for Perry's assistant to inject later. In a
text message, Placentia wrote, I wonder how much this moron
will pay. Perry had been using ketamine through his regular
doctor to treat depression, but began seeking out doctors who
would give him more than his own would prescribe. Placentia
illegally supplied twenty vials of the drug, as well as
lozenges and syringes. Placentia's facing up to forty years in prison.
(01:58):
He's been allowed to remain free until his sentencing in
early December, and has advised he'll be handing over his
medical license in the next forty five days. Brian Coburger,
the man who admitted to murdering four University of Idaho
students in twenty twenty two, has been handed four life
sentences without parole. The four friends, Kayleie Gonzavez, Mattie Mogan,
(02:19):
Ethan Chapin, and Xana Canodle were found stabbed to death
in their sharehouse off the University of Idaho campus in
November twenty twenty two. Two other housemaids, Dylan Mortensen and
Bethany Funk, who were home at the time of the attack,
were not targeted, which led to the pair being the
subject of online conjecture that they were somehow involved in
the murders. Coberger initially pleaded not guilty, despite the evidence
(02:41):
tying him to the scene, including his DNA on the
sheath of a knife left behind and his car being sighted.
His team reportedly going to offer up friends of the
fura's alternate suspects, but changed his plea to guilty to
avoid the death penalty when it became clear those they'd
singled out were not involved. Despite many emotional statements from
friends and family of the victims, including Dylan, who was
(03:04):
the only one to see him that night, who called
him a hollow vessel, less than human and a boody
without empathy or remorse, explaining how nearly three years later,
she still feels like she has to plan and escape
from every room and find weapons to defend herself in
case it happens again. Coburger did not speak or offer
an apology for his actions. Australia has paid the US
(03:25):
eight hundred million dollars in the second installment under the
Orcus Nuclear Submarine Deal, despite an ongoing formal review of
the agreement by US President Donald Trump's administration. Prime Minister
Anthony Albernizi confirmed the latest installment on Wednesday, following an
initial five hundred million paid in February. In twenty twenty three,
the US, Australia and the UK unveiled details of the
(03:48):
plan to provide Australia with nuclear power to tack submarines
from the early twenty thirties to counter China's ambitions in
the Indo Pacific. Trump launched a formal review of Vorcus
in June to examine whether the pact meets his America
First criteria. Australia has maintained its confident the pact will proceed.
An international court says countries have an obligation to prevent
(04:09):
harm from climate change and redress damage caused by greenhouse
gas emissions. Activists welcomed the non binding advisory opinion issued
by a fifteen judge panel at the International Court of
Justice as a step in the right direction. The move
to ask the World Court to discuss the issue was
initiated by Vanuata University law students who argue the people
(04:30):
of Pacific island countries were unjustly bearing the brunt of
climate change compared to high emitting economies. The presiding judge
read out the court's opinions, saying the degradation of the
climate system and of other parts of the environment impairs
the enjoyment of a range of rights protected by human
rights law. Judge Hillary charles Worth, an Australian member of
the Court, said in a separate opinion, the ICJ decision
(04:54):
confirms that states obligations to protect human rights require taking
measures to protect the climate system, including mitigation and adaptation measures.
That's the latest news headlines, and if you're after more
celebrity news, head to link in our show notes for
the spills daily entertainment headlines.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Thanks Claire. Next time for another Trump date. If you
feel like Trump's name has been attached to every controversy
out of the US lately, well you're not wrong. So
what exactly has the leader of the Free world been
up to. I promise in this Trump date neary a
(05:31):
tariff will be mentioned first up the Epstein files. President
Trump is in the thick of a political firestorm after
new reports and documents of his long association with the
convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein flooded the media. The latest
development the release of alleged correspondence between Trump and Epstein,
including claims that Trump sent Epstein a suggestive birthday letter,
(05:55):
a story the president fiercely denies. As more details trickle out,
Trump hasn't been on the defensive. He's actively lashing out,
branding critics as weaklings and threatening more legal action.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
The sad part is it's that are really doing the
Democrats work.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
They're stupid people. His own allies are getting nervous, worried
that Trump's maneuvering around the Epstein issue could fracture his support,
especially among the Margabase, who keep demanding transparency. As if
that wasn't enough, Trump's former relationships with figures like Elaine
Maxwell keeps surfacing, leading his team to urge more proactive
releases of related legal documents. Speaking of Glaine, she's been
(06:37):
subpoenaed by US Congress to testify about just what she
knows in the entire Epstein saga. Okay, zooming out on
domestic affairs, Trump is once again pulling the United States
out of UNESCO, that's the UN's Cultural and Education agency.
Now it's not the first time he's done this, pulling
the plug back during his previous term too. The administration
(07:00):
calls the UN group woke and divisive, arguing that its
global agenda contradicts their America First policy.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
The withdrawal is due to take.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
A at the end of next year and has drawn
deep regret from UNESCO and key US allies, while some
like Israel have openly.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Praised the decision.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Turning our focus back to home affairs. You've probably heard
about the end of late night TV as we know it.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Stephen Colbert's Late Show.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Is being canceled after more than a decade at the
top of its game. If you're wondering where Trump fits
into this story, well, he's been one of Colbert's biggest
targets for years, and some people think that it's pressure
from Trump's camp that might have played a role in
the show getting axed.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Trump posted, I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His
talent was even less than his ratings.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
How dare you, sir?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Would an untalented man be able to compose the following
satirical witticism go yourself?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
So yes.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Lines have been drawn between Trump and the show cancelation,
but also between CBS AKA the net work that The
Corbert Show calls home. They've been chasing an eight billion
dollar merger and have also just settled a lawsuit with
Trump over a sixty minutes interview gone wrong. While CBS
says it's purely a financial decision, the timing's left late
(08:23):
night in chaos and fans up in arms, and finally, at.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Least for now, Rupert Murdoch.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Following the Epstein files coverage in the Wall Street Journal,
Trump has filed a massive ten billion dollar defamation lawsuit
against Murdoch and his media companies, accusing them of malicious
intent and defamatory lies. Trump claims the journal's reports about
his connections to Epstein are fabricated, a point he says
he's warned Murdock about directly before going public with the suit.
(08:54):
At this stage, Murdock's team has not commented. As always,
our US correspondent Emelia Lester is here to make.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Headway of it all, Amelia.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
In short, we have seen scandals, lawsuits, and television exits
in the last few weeks surrounding the US as president.
Let's start with this one, though. Why is Donald Trump
so obsessed.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
With Jeffrey Epstein.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Epstein's fate has been intertwined with Trump's political fate since
the very beginning. Trump came up at a time when
the Republican Party was gripped by the Q and non
conspiracy theory, which basically says that there's a giant child
sex trafficking ring run out of Washington, DC. So then
Trump came up at this paranoid moment in Republican politics,
(09:38):
and he was the one who actually started talking about
Epstein back when he was first running for president. So
in twenty fifteen, he mentioned that former President Bill Clinton
was possibly implicated in the files, and people really seized
on that idea that Clinton and other Democrats were in
fact leading this or were connected to Epstein. And there
is evidence that Clinton was connected to Epstein, and so
(10:00):
his base really seized in the idea that when Trump
came to office, he would finally crack down on this
child sex trafficking ring run by Epstein and Democrats and
release these so called Epstein files, and the momentum only
built on that in ensuing years.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
So why is he sort winding back isn't even the
right word though, right, because he's actually lashed out at
people about this in recent weeks. Trump himself is connected
in a way to this story.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
We know a lot about their relationship. They met in
nineteen ninety in Palm Beach, Florida. They were both very showy,
glitzy men about town. They went their separate ways around
two thousand and four because they were both competing to
acquire a French regency style mansion in the Palm Beach
area and Trump went out. But nonetheless, we have a
lot of information about how they partied together and how
(10:48):
close they were. Just in the last couple of days,
we've been reminded of some of that reporting. For instance,
there's one woman who says that Epstein brought her to
Trump's office at Trump Tower in New York back in
the early two thousands and he groped her like an octopus.
We also had another reminder that people have known about
this relationship for a long time, in that Maria Farmer,
(11:09):
who one of the people who's on the record is
accusing Epstein and whose name is out there, actually told
the FBI about Epstein and Trump's close relationship back in
the nineties, in nineteen ninety three when the FBI first
started investigating this. So it's not a mystery why Trump
maybe doesn't want more information to come out about this stuff.
We already know a ton about their friendship.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
The other name that we.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Haven't mentioned yet is Glaide Maxwell, who is currently serving
a twenty year prison sentence for her role in facilitating
Epstein's sex trafficking operation. It was news this week that
she is going to be subpointed by the US Congress
to testify essentially about what she knows in relation to
Epstein in relation to all of these offenses that he
(11:50):
was convicted of.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Could that be bad for Trump?
Speaker 4 (11:54):
No, I think that this is a calculated move on
Trump's part and on the Republican's part. So, just to backtrack,
Maxwell is serving these twenty years in New York on
trafficking charges. The reason why it's twenty years and not
a shorter amount is because she has maintained her innocence
throughout this, so she could have probably gotten a plea
deal for cooperating and giving the prosecution more information, but
(12:15):
she continues to maintain her innocence. Victims are really upset
about this move. They have said they're worried that Maxwell
is going to try and get a shorter sentence by
cooperating with authorities, which they don't think is fair because
they see her as the architect of Epstein's crimes. They
also object to the idea that Maxwell's any kind of
truthful witness. It is worth remembering that one of her
initial charges was perjury, so I think that they're fair
(12:36):
to wonder whether or not she's going to give up
accurate information. Maxwell was friends with Trump, and I think
this gets to why the administration is making this move.
It looks like they're investigating, but in fact Maxwell's lawyer
is very friendly with the Department of Justice lawyer Trump's
lawyer who's pursuing the interview, So it's unlikely that Maxwell's
going to give any information that implicates Trump.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Let's move on to one of Trump's other big stories
this week, which is that of the legal battle brewing
between him and Rupert Murdock. So we know that Trump
has brought this big lawsuit again Murdock for defamation for
releasing stuff about him in relation to Jeffrey Epstein. The
relationship between Donald Trump and the Murdocks, it never fully
(13:18):
recovered right after that twenty twenty election, when Fox declared
that he had lost the election.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
It feels like all hope.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
At this point for any sort of repair between Rupert
and Donald is dunzo.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Yeah, this is fascinating in part because lawyers don't really
think that this is a very serious suit. It's probably
following in the President of Trump's suing. You might remember
that Trump sued Upholster immediately after the twenty twenty four election,
who had released a poll that was unfriendly to him
in Iowa. There was a lot of stirm and drawing
(13:50):
around that. Then basically Trump withdrew the suit. What he
does with these not serious suits is that I think
he's testing the warders. He's testing to see whether the
other side is willing to go head to head with him,
whether he can get some money out of them. But
in this case, there's a couple of reasons why this
is not a serious suit. So basically, the Wall Street
Journal pub this letter that Trump wrote Epstein many years
(14:13):
ago on the occasion of Epstein's fiftieth birthday, which talked
about the two of them sharing a secret and featured
an illustration of a naked woman. The Wall Street Journal
publishes this and Trump says that the card is not his.
He says he doesn't draw that's been proven to be
not the case. He's clearly very angry at the Wall
Street Journal, and the White House removed the Wall Street
Journal from the pool of reporters covering Trump's trip to
(14:33):
Scotland this weekend. Classic Trump moved there.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
So the reasons why this.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Is not a serious suit deformation suits are really hard
to win in the US. In Australia, media organizations have
to prove that the report that they published about someone
was true. In the US, the person who was suing
has to prove that the report is false. This generally
involves a process called discovery, which is basically where either
side can request a ton of information from the other side, emails,
(14:59):
text messages, all sorts of information. Trump will not want
to have to give up information relating to his relationship
with Epstein because who knows what will be found out
in discovery. Other reason why it's probably not a serious
suit is that in the US, there's a thing called
the First Amendment. This guarantees freedom of speech. This means
that defamation has a really high bar that you have
(15:19):
to clear, especially if you're a public figure, and it
doesn't get more public than the President of the United States.
Also in the US, you have to prove actual malice
on the part of the media organization. You have to
prove that they actually set out to bring you down.
And again, this is going to be a high bar
for Trump to clear. He sued for ten billion dollars.
Just to put it in context, that would be the
largest finding of defamation damages in history. Alex Jones, who
(15:44):
had a one point five billion dollar judgment against him
in the Sandy Hook case, was the previous highest defamation
figure that that has been settled.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
So this scene the inside of a court room is
probably pretty unlikely then, which is probably a good thing
for Rupert Murdoch too, though right it feels like he's
been in the court a lot in recent years, between
this potentially and his familiar dispute between his media empile.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
I think Rupert Murdoch is in the give no f
stage of his life. He's ninety four years old, he
looks like he's spoiling for a fight. Trump published Rupert
Murdock's personal address along with the personal address of the
reporter and the story when when he filed this suit.
This has gotten really personal between these two men.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Let's move on to Stephen Colbert. So, one of the
many late night talk show giants, Stephen Colbert, was announced
earlier this week that his network show, The Late Show
with Stephen Colbert on CBS has been canceled. It'll be
off air from May twenty twenty six. But how does
this relate to Trump Famelia?
Speaker 4 (16:40):
So this is interesting. A late show is an American institution.
It's been going since nineteen ninety three when it was
hosted by David Latterman. And yes, it's been announced that
it's going to go off the air. Interestingly in eleven
months in twenty twenty se long runway. It is a
long runway. One wonders if CBS, which is the parents
studio of this show, knew exactly what they were doing
when they did this.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
So let's backtrack.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
Basically, CBS is in the throes of a takeover by Paramount.
It's an Australian twelve billion dollar takeover. It requires approval
that takeover by the Trump controlled Federal Communications Commission. Colbert
on Monday accused CBS of settling a lawsuit with Trump,
another one of his frivolous lawsuits, by paying a big,
fat bribe that was Colbert's language, of twenty four million
(17:23):
dollars to Trump for so called deceptive editing of an
interview that aired on CBS with Kamala Harris in the
lead up to the twenty four election. He says this
on Monday, they cancel the show. Three days later. CBS
says it's a purely financial decision. Colbert himself disputes this.
Trump said on truth Social that he absolutely loves that
Colbert was fired. It's almost an open secret that this
(17:46):
is connected to Colbert being a very famous critic of Trump.
It's not just him saying the thing about the bribe.
In general, Colbert has been a vicious critic of Trump
throughout the years that he's been in public life.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
What does it say then about the state of media
in the US if the president whether or not this
is the case, obviously that can't be confirmed, but it
is convenient timing. What does it say about the state
of media if the pent can wield the acts like that.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
The show is going to get higher ratings than it's
probably ever gotten over the next eleven months that it's
on the air. I think what happened here potentially is
CBS saw a chance to make a very public concession
to Trump while also getting another eleven months of their
most high profile comedian I Love It.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
On Truth Social as well. Trump took aim at many
other of the talk show hosts. He said that Jimmy
Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel's days were numbered that.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Nie one believes this.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
Fallen famously rustled Trump's hair when he was running for
president back in twenty fifteen.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
He also mentioned that these hosts have destroyed great television. Amelia,
Is this him angling for a return to the Aventics?
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Yes? Or no? I think Trump probably watches way too
much television. This is certainly true.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Let's quickly touch on UNESCO's as some of the most
recent news coming out of the administration, the US has
decided to pull out of UNESCO. We've given listeners a
bit of an explanation into what UNESCO is, but can
you explain to us what they're involved in? That is,
do they provide like a big financial contribution or is
it more of a symbolic part at the table.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
No, the US has a lot of heavy lifting at
most un organizations. It provides about eight percent of UNESCO's budget.
This will take effect in December twenty twenty six, so
there's a little bit of time here. But Trump spokesperson
criticized UNESCO's woke policies. The US was a founding member
of UNESCO, but I found out that it's actually the
third time that the US has quit, because Reagan quit
(19:37):
and Trump quip after him. I also want to mention
that UNESCO is not without controversy, even among people who
maybe don't agree with everything Donald Trump says. It has
gotten a lot of criticism in recent years for turning
a blind eye to Chinese human rights abuses. For instance,
the Wiggas would really like to be recognized for their
unique cultural contribution, and UNESCO's never going to do that
because it wants to stay in China's good graces.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Thanks for taking some time to feed your mind with
us today.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
The quickie is produced.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
By me Taylor Strano and Clam Murphy, with audio production
by lou Hill.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Foo
You're listening to a Muma Mea podcast. Mumma Mea acknowledges
the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast
is recorded on.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hey, I'm Taylor Strano.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
This is Mmma MEA's twice daily news podcast, The Quickie.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Why is Donald Trump.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
So obsessed with Jeffrey Epstein? Today we're bringing you a
fresh Trump date, running through the big stories swirling around
the US president, from the Epstein files to late night
TV drama and billion dollar lawsuits. Before we get there,
here's Clare Murphy with the latest from the QUICKI newsroom
for Thursday July twenty four.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Thanks Taylor.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
A doctor who was treating friend Star Matthew Perry in
the lead up to his death has faced court, pleading
guilty to supplying the Star, the deadly drug that ended
his life. Doctor Salvador Placentia was the fourth of five
people charged in relation to Perry's death. After initially pleading
not guilty, he's avoided going to trial after agreeing to
plead guilty last month to four co of ketamine distribution
(01:11):
in exchange for three other counts of distribution being dropped,
along with two charges of falsifying records. He stood next
to his lawyer in court yesterday, admitting he was guilty
of supplying the drug to Perry. Prosecutors saying he was
not the one who sold him the doset ultimately killed him.
They described how despite Perry freezing up and his blood
pressure spiking after Placentia administered one injection, he still left
(01:34):
more ketamine for Perry's assistant to inject later. In a
text message, Placentia wrote, I wonder how much this moron
will pay. Perry had been using ketamine through his regular
doctor to treat depression, but began seeking out doctors who
would give him more than his own would prescribe. Placentia
illegally supplied twenty vials of the drug, as well as
lozenges and syringes. Placentia's facing up to forty years in prison.
(01:58):
He's been allowed to remain free until his sentencing in
early December, and has advised he'll be handing over his
medical license in the next forty five days. Brian Coburger,
the man who admitted to murdering four University of Idaho
students in twenty twenty two, has been handed four life
sentences without parole. The four friends, Kayleie Gonzavez, Mattie Mogan,
(02:19):
Ethan Chapin, and Xana Canodle were found stabbed to death
in their sharehouse off the University of Idaho campus in
November twenty twenty two. Two other housemaids, Dylan Mortensen and
Bethany Funk, who were home at the time of the attack,
were not targeted, which led to the pair being the
subject of online conjecture that they were somehow involved in
the murders. Coberger initially pleaded not guilty, despite the evidence
(02:41):
tying him to the scene, including his DNA on the
sheath of a knife left behind and his car being sighted.
His team reportedly going to offer up friends of the
fura's alternate suspects, but changed his plea to guilty to
avoid the death penalty when it became clear those they'd
singled out were not involved. Despite many emotional statements from
friends and family of the victims, including Dylan, who was
(03:04):
the only one to see him that night, who called
him a hollow vessel, less than human and a boody
without empathy or remorse, explaining how nearly three years later,
she still feels like she has to plan and escape
from every room and find weapons to defend herself in
case it happens again. Coburger did not speak or offer
an apology for his actions. Australia has paid the US
(03:25):
eight hundred million dollars in the second installment under the
Orcus Nuclear Submarine Deal, despite an ongoing formal review of
the agreement by US President Donald Trump's administration. Prime Minister
Anthony Albernizi confirmed the latest installment on Wednesday, following an
initial five hundred million paid in February. In twenty twenty three,
the US, Australia and the UK unveiled details of the
(03:48):
plan to provide Australia with nuclear power to tack submarines
from the early twenty thirties to counter China's ambitions in
the Indo Pacific. Trump launched a formal review of Vorcus
in June to examine whether the pact meets his America
First criteria. Australia has maintained its confident the pact will proceed.
An international court says countries have an obligation to prevent
(04:09):
harm from climate change and redress damage caused by greenhouse
gas emissions. Activists welcomed the non binding advisory opinion issued
by a fifteen judge panel at the International Court of
Justice as a step in the right direction. The move
to ask the World Court to discuss the issue was
initiated by Vanuata University law students who argue the people
(04:30):
of Pacific island countries were unjustly bearing the brunt of
climate change compared to high emitting economies. The presiding judge
read out the court's opinions, saying the degradation of the
climate system and of other parts of the environment impairs
the enjoyment of a range of rights protected by human
rights law. Judge Hillary charles Worth, an Australian member of
the Court, said in a separate opinion, the ICJ decision
(04:54):
confirms that states obligations to protect human rights require taking
measures to protect the climate system, including mitigation and adaptation measures.
That's the latest news headlines, and if you're after more
celebrity news, head to link in our show notes for
the spills daily entertainment headlines.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Thanks Claire. Next time for another Trump date. If you
feel like Trump's name has been attached to every controversy
out of the US lately, well you're not wrong. So
what exactly has the leader of the Free world been
up to. I promise in this Trump date neary a
(05:31):
tariff will be mentioned first up the Epstein files. President
Trump is in the thick of a political firestorm after
new reports and documents of his long association with the
convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein flooded the media. The latest
development the release of alleged correspondence between Trump and Epstein,
including claims that Trump sent Epstein a suggestive birthday letter,
(05:55):
a story the president fiercely denies. As more details trickle out,
Trump hasn't been on the defensive. He's actively lashing out,
branding critics as weaklings and threatening more legal action.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
The sad part is it's that are really doing the
Democrats work.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
They're stupid people. His own allies are getting nervous, worried
that Trump's maneuvering around the Epstein issue could fracture his support,
especially among the Margabase, who keep demanding transparency. As if
that wasn't enough, Trump's former relationships with figures like Elaine
Maxwell keeps surfacing, leading his team to urge more proactive
releases of related legal documents. Speaking of Glaine, she's been
(06:37):
subpoenaed by US Congress to testify about just what she
knows in the entire Epstein saga. Okay, zooming out on
domestic affairs, Trump is once again pulling the United States
out of UNESCO, that's the UN's Cultural and Education agency.
Now it's not the first time he's done this, pulling
the plug back during his previous term too. The administration
(07:00):
calls the UN group woke and divisive, arguing that its
global agenda contradicts their America First policy.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
The withdrawal is due to take.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
A at the end of next year and has drawn
deep regret from UNESCO and key US allies, while some
like Israel have openly.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Praised the decision.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Turning our focus back to home affairs. You've probably heard
about the end of late night TV as we know it.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Stephen Colbert's Late Show.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Is being canceled after more than a decade at the
top of its game. If you're wondering where Trump fits
into this story, well, he's been one of Colbert's biggest
targets for years, and some people think that it's pressure
from Trump's camp that might have played a role in
the show getting axed.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Trump posted, I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His
talent was even less than his ratings.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
How dare you, sir?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Would an untalented man be able to compose the following
satirical witticism go yourself?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
So yes.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Lines have been drawn between Trump and the show cancelation,
but also between CBS AKA the net work that The
Corbert Show calls home. They've been chasing an eight billion
dollar merger and have also just settled a lawsuit with
Trump over a sixty minutes interview gone wrong. While CBS
says it's purely a financial decision, the timing's left late
(08:23):
night in chaos and fans up in arms, and finally, at.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Least for now, Rupert Murdoch.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Following the Epstein files coverage in the Wall Street Journal,
Trump has filed a massive ten billion dollar defamation lawsuit
against Murdoch and his media companies, accusing them of malicious
intent and defamatory lies. Trump claims the journal's reports about
his connections to Epstein are fabricated, a point he says
he's warned Murdock about directly before going public with the suit.
(08:54):
At this stage, Murdock's team has not commented. As always,
our US correspondent Emelia Lester is here to make.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Headway of it all, Amelia.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
In short, we have seen scandals, lawsuits, and television exits
in the last few weeks surrounding the US as president.
Let's start with this one, though. Why is Donald Trump
so obsessed.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
With Jeffrey Epstein.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Epstein's fate has been intertwined with Trump's political fate since
the very beginning. Trump came up at a time when
the Republican Party was gripped by the Q and non
conspiracy theory, which basically says that there's a giant child
sex trafficking ring run out of Washington, DC. So then
Trump came up at this paranoid moment in Republican politics,
(09:38):
and he was the one who actually started talking about
Epstein back when he was first running for president. So
in twenty fifteen, he mentioned that former President Bill Clinton
was possibly implicated in the files, and people really seized
on that idea that Clinton and other Democrats were in
fact leading this or were connected to Epstein. And there
is evidence that Clinton was connected to Epstein, and so
(10:00):
his base really seized in the idea that when Trump
came to office, he would finally crack down on this
child sex trafficking ring run by Epstein and Democrats and
release these so called Epstein files, and the momentum only
built on that in ensuing years.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
So why is he sort winding back isn't even the
right word though, right, because he's actually lashed out at
people about this in recent weeks. Trump himself is connected
in a way to this story.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
We know a lot about their relationship. They met in
nineteen ninety in Palm Beach, Florida. They were both very showy,
glitzy men about town. They went their separate ways around
two thousand and four because they were both competing to
acquire a French regency style mansion in the Palm Beach
area and Trump went out. But nonetheless, we have a
lot of information about how they partied together and how
(10:48):
close they were. Just in the last couple of days,
we've been reminded of some of that reporting. For instance,
there's one woman who says that Epstein brought her to
Trump's office at Trump Tower in New York back in
the early two thousands and he groped her like an octopus.
We also had another reminder that people have known about
this relationship for a long time, in that Maria Farmer,
(11:09):
who one of the people who's on the record is
accusing Epstein and whose name is out there, actually told
the FBI about Epstein and Trump's close relationship back in
the nineties, in nineteen ninety three when the FBI first
started investigating this. So it's not a mystery why Trump
maybe doesn't want more information to come out about this stuff.
We already know a ton about their friendship.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
The other name that we.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Haven't mentioned yet is Glaide Maxwell, who is currently serving
a twenty year prison sentence for her role in facilitating
Epstein's sex trafficking operation. It was news this week that
she is going to be subpointed by the US Congress
to testify essentially about what she knows in relation to
Epstein in relation to all of these offenses that he
(11:50):
was convicted of.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Could that be bad for Trump?
Speaker 4 (11:54):
No, I think that this is a calculated move on
Trump's part and on the Republican's part. So, just to backtrack,
Maxwell is serving these twenty years in New York on
trafficking charges. The reason why it's twenty years and not
a shorter amount is because she has maintained her innocence
throughout this, so she could have probably gotten a plea
deal for cooperating and giving the prosecution more information, but
(12:15):
she continues to maintain her innocence. Victims are really upset
about this move. They have said they're worried that Maxwell
is going to try and get a shorter sentence by
cooperating with authorities, which they don't think is fair because
they see her as the architect of Epstein's crimes. They
also object to the idea that Maxwell's any kind of
truthful witness. It is worth remembering that one of her
initial charges was perjury, so I think that they're fair
(12:36):
to wonder whether or not she's going to give up
accurate information. Maxwell was friends with Trump, and I think
this gets to why the administration is making this move.
It looks like they're investigating, but in fact Maxwell's lawyer
is very friendly with the Department of Justice lawyer Trump's
lawyer who's pursuing the interview, So it's unlikely that Maxwell's
going to give any information that implicates Trump.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Let's move on to one of Trump's other big stories
this week, which is that of the legal battle brewing
between him and Rupert Murdock. So we know that Trump
has brought this big lawsuit again Murdock for defamation for
releasing stuff about him in relation to Jeffrey Epstein. The
relationship between Donald Trump and the Murdocks, it never fully
(13:18):
recovered right after that twenty twenty election, when Fox declared
that he had lost the election.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
It feels like all hope.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
At this point for any sort of repair between Rupert
and Donald is dunzo.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Yeah, this is fascinating in part because lawyers don't really
think that this is a very serious suit. It's probably
following in the President of Trump's suing. You might remember
that Trump sued Upholster immediately after the twenty twenty four election,
who had released a poll that was unfriendly to him
in Iowa. There was a lot of stirm and drawing
(13:50):
around that. Then basically Trump withdrew the suit. What he
does with these not serious suits is that I think
he's testing the warders. He's testing to see whether the
other side is willing to go head to head with him,
whether he can get some money out of them. But
in this case, there's a couple of reasons why this
is not a serious suit. So basically, the Wall Street
Journal pub this letter that Trump wrote Epstein many years
(14:13):
ago on the occasion of Epstein's fiftieth birthday, which talked
about the two of them sharing a secret and featured
an illustration of a naked woman. The Wall Street Journal
publishes this and Trump says that the card is not his.
He says he doesn't draw that's been proven to be
not the case. He's clearly very angry at the Wall
Street Journal, and the White House removed the Wall Street
Journal from the pool of reporters covering Trump's trip to
(14:33):
Scotland this weekend. Classic Trump moved there.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
So the reasons why this.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Is not a serious suit deformation suits are really hard
to win in the US. In Australia, media organizations have
to prove that the report that they published about someone
was true. In the US, the person who was suing
has to prove that the report is false. This generally
involves a process called discovery, which is basically where either
side can request a ton of information from the other side, emails,
(14:59):
text messages, all sorts of information. Trump will not want
to have to give up information relating to his relationship
with Epstein because who knows what will be found out
in discovery. Other reason why it's probably not a serious
suit is that in the US, there's a thing called
the First Amendment. This guarantees freedom of speech. This means
that defamation has a really high bar that you have
(15:19):
to clear, especially if you're a public figure, and it
doesn't get more public than the President of the United States.
Also in the US, you have to prove actual malice
on the part of the media organization. You have to
prove that they actually set out to bring you down.
And again, this is going to be a high bar
for Trump to clear. He sued for ten billion dollars.
Just to put it in context, that would be the
largest finding of defamation damages in history. Alex Jones, who
(15:44):
had a one point five billion dollar judgment against him
in the Sandy Hook case, was the previous highest defamation
figure that that has been settled.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
So this scene the inside of a court room is
probably pretty unlikely then, which is probably a good thing
for Rupert Murdoch too, though right it feels like he's
been in the court a lot in recent years, between
this potentially and his familiar dispute between his media empile.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
I think Rupert Murdoch is in the give no f
stage of his life. He's ninety four years old, he
looks like he's spoiling for a fight. Trump published Rupert
Murdock's personal address along with the personal address of the
reporter and the story when when he filed this suit.
This has gotten really personal between these two men.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Let's move on to Stephen Colbert. So, one of the
many late night talk show giants, Stephen Colbert, was announced
earlier this week that his network show, The Late Show
with Stephen Colbert on CBS has been canceled. It'll be
off air from May twenty twenty six. But how does
this relate to Trump Famelia?
Speaker 4 (16:40):
So this is interesting. A late show is an American institution.
It's been going since nineteen ninety three when it was
hosted by David Latterman. And yes, it's been announced that
it's going to go off the air. Interestingly in eleven
months in twenty twenty se long runway. It is a
long runway. One wonders if CBS, which is the parents
studio of this show, knew exactly what they were doing
when they did this.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
So let's backtrack.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
Basically, CBS is in the throes of a takeover by Paramount.
It's an Australian twelve billion dollar takeover. It requires approval
that takeover by the Trump controlled Federal Communications Commission. Colbert
on Monday accused CBS of settling a lawsuit with Trump,
another one of his frivolous lawsuits, by paying a big,
fat bribe that was Colbert's language, of twenty four million
(17:23):
dollars to Trump for so called deceptive editing of an
interview that aired on CBS with Kamala Harris in the
lead up to the twenty four election. He says this
on Monday, they cancel the show. Three days later. CBS
says it's a purely financial decision. Colbert himself disputes this.
Trump said on truth Social that he absolutely loves that
Colbert was fired. It's almost an open secret that this
(17:46):
is connected to Colbert being a very famous critic of Trump.
It's not just him saying the thing about the bribe.
In general, Colbert has been a vicious critic of Trump
throughout the years that he's been in public life.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
What does it say then about the state of media
in the US if the president whether or not this
is the case, obviously that can't be confirmed, but it
is convenient timing. What does it say about the state
of media if the pent can wield the acts like that.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
The show is going to get higher ratings than it's
probably ever gotten over the next eleven months that it's
on the air. I think what happened here potentially is
CBS saw a chance to make a very public concession
to Trump while also getting another eleven months of their
most high profile comedian I Love It.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
On Truth Social as well. Trump took aim at many
other of the talk show hosts. He said that Jimmy
Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel's days were numbered that.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Nie one believes this.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
Fallen famously rustled Trump's hair when he was running for
president back in twenty fifteen.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
He also mentioned that these hosts have destroyed great television. Amelia,
Is this him angling for a return to the Aventics?
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Yes? Or no? I think Trump probably watches way too
much television. This is certainly true.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Let's quickly touch on UNESCO's as some of the most
recent news coming out of the administration, the US has
decided to pull out of UNESCO. We've given listeners a
bit of an explanation into what UNESCO is, but can
you explain to us what they're involved in? That is,
do they provide like a big financial contribution or is
it more of a symbolic part at the table.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
No, the US has a lot of heavy lifting at
most un organizations. It provides about eight percent of UNESCO's budget.
This will take effect in December twenty twenty six, so
there's a little bit of time here. But Trump spokesperson
criticized UNESCO's woke policies. The US was a founding member
of UNESCO, but I found out that it's actually the
third time that the US has quit, because Reagan quit
(19:37):
and Trump quip after him. I also want to mention
that UNESCO is not without controversy, even among people who
maybe don't agree with everything Donald Trump says. It has
gotten a lot of criticism in recent years for turning
a blind eye to Chinese human rights abuses. For instance,
the Wiggas would really like to be recognized for their
unique cultural contribution, and UNESCO's never going to do that
because it wants to stay in China's good graces.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Thanks for taking some time to feed your mind with
us today.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
The quickie is produced.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
By me Taylor Strano and Clam Murphy, with audio production
by lou Hill.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Foo
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