TRANSCRIPT 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:02.850 --> 00:00:05.790
What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
2
00:00:05.870 --> 00:00:08.849
Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to begin taking
3
00:00:08.890 --> 00:00:13.269
a look at the House GOP report on Jeffrey Epstein.
4
00:00:14.630 --> 00:00:19.100
Executive Summary The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee,
5
00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:23.320
led by Chairman James Comer, has investigated the alleged mismanagement
6
00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:27.640
of the federal government's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,
7
00:00:28.219 --> 00:00:33.119
to the circumstances and subsequent investigations of Epstein's death the
8
00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:36.189
operation of sex trafficking rings, and ways for the federal
9
00:00:36.250 --> 00:00:39.469
government to effectively combat them and to reform the use
10
00:00:40.049 --> 00:00:46.350
of non-prosecution agreements and or plea agreements in sex crime investigations. Four,
11
00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:49.170
ways in which Epstein and Maxwell sought to curry favor
12
00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:53.229
and exercise influence to protect their illegal activities. And five,
13
00:00:54.090 --> 00:00:59.090
potential violations of ethics rules related to elected officials. The
14
00:00:59.130 --> 00:01:03.439
committee has conducted transcribed interviews and depositions reviewed the public
15
00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:07.159
release of hundreds of thousands of documents, and issued subpoenas
16
00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:11.950
to federal agencies, financial institutions, the estate of Jeffrey Epstein,
17
00:01:12.370 --> 00:01:16.689
and individual witnesses. The committee's investigation was prompted by the
18
00:01:16.709 --> 00:01:21.469
decades-long failure of individuals and institutions charged with protecting vulnerable
19
00:01:21.510 --> 00:01:26.319
survivors and holding powerful offenders accountable. At nearly every stage,
20
00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:29.920
the cases reviewed by the committee raised troubling questions about
21
00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:33.620
how Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell who sexually abused and
22
00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:37.299
trafficked young women and girls, avoided accountability for so long,
23
00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:42.019
exposing the tactics of a prolific sex trafficking operation. Over
24
00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:45.189
the course of several decades, Epstein used various methods to
25
00:01:45.230 --> 00:01:48.730
recruit and entrap young women into his web of abuse.
26
00:01:49.590 --> 00:01:53.109
Epstein strategized to target young women and girls who lacked
27
00:01:53.150 --> 00:01:57.689
sufficient support, making them vulnerable to offers of financial stability, housing,
28
00:01:58.010 --> 00:02:02.819
and affection. Epstein proceeded to dangle promises of career opportunities
29
00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:06.890
and comfort until the survivors of his crimes became completely
30
00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:10.909
dependent and subservient to his wishes. One of these survivors,
31
00:02:10.969 --> 00:02:14.050
Sarah Kellan, testified to not realizing she was under his
32
00:02:14.090 --> 00:02:18.729
control until it was too late. Epstein would also recruit
33
00:02:18.789 --> 00:02:22.110
by presenting himself as a Victoria's Secret scout to young women,
34
00:02:22.530 --> 00:02:26.889
garnering credibility from his connection to his then-client and Victoria's
35
00:02:26.930 --> 00:02:32.530
Secret CEO, Leslie Wexner. According to committee-obtained testimony, Epstein would
36
00:02:32.629 --> 00:02:35.069
request that young women would meet him in hotel rooms
37
00:02:35.330 --> 00:02:37.750
or his home for an interview, where he would ask
38
00:02:37.789 --> 00:02:41.599
them to undress, and in some cases, physically assault them,
39
00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:45.719
under the guise of judging their bodies for potential modeling opportunities.
40
00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:49.800
Wexner claimed during the testimony that he approached Epstein about this,
41
00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:53.500
but Epstein denied the fraudulent activity, and this lie was
42
00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:59.030
enough to satisfy Wexner's inadequate investigation. Kellen, whose testimony before
43
00:02:59.090 --> 00:03:02.759
the committee was exposed this abuse, operated under Epstein's thumb
44
00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:05.780
for years, and obeyed his orders for fear of the
45
00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:09.770
consequences of standing up to such powerful and well-connected men.
46
00:03:10.729 --> 00:03:15.250
Epstein's extensive network of employees, social connections, and financial resources
47
00:03:15.750 --> 00:03:19.370
enabled him to maintain constant and oppressive control over the
48
00:03:19.409 --> 00:03:24.189
women that he abused. Survivors described psychological manipulation and complete
49
00:03:24.210 --> 00:03:29.159
control over their bodies and finances. Those assistants or employees
50
00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:32.120
who whom he did not abuse, played a part, wittingly
51
00:03:32.419 --> 00:03:36.919
or unwittingly, in perpetuating the survivor's dependency on Epstein by
52
00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:41.210
obeying his orders to send cash, schedule hair and shopping appointments,
53
00:03:41.969 --> 00:03:45.349
set up travel with Epstein, secure hotel rooms and apartments,
54
00:03:45.750 --> 00:03:49.030
and generally maintain their constant connection with him. Epstein was
55
00:03:49.069 --> 00:03:52.240
not the only abuser of his personal assistants, and Kellen's
56
00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:55.000
testimony before the committee revealed the name of two Epstein
57
00:03:55.020 --> 00:03:58.800
associates who she alleged sexually abused her. As a result,
58
00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:02.539
Of Kellen's testimony, the committee referred both individuals to the
59
00:04:02.580 --> 00:04:07.080
Department of Justice for further investigation. In addition to
Load full transcript
Epstein's
60
00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:09.900
assistants who worked in a state of dependency, several of
61
00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:13.900
Epstein's other associates seemed to have simply blindly obeyed Epstein.
62
00:04:14.419 --> 00:04:18.199
The consequences of this obedience were stark and devastating to
63
00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:21.399
not only his personal assistants, but potentially hundreds of women
64
00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:26.170
around the world. Maxwell and Epstein's executive assistant, Leslie Groff,
65
00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:30.569
was responsible for scheduling daily massages, For Epstein with various women,
66
00:04:31.410 --> 00:04:35.730
these massages included those he specifically requested, those who called
67
00:04:35.750 --> 00:04:39.649
Groff and requested an appointment to massage Epstein, and those
68
00:04:39.740 --> 00:04:43.720
whose contacts' information was stored under massage contacts, in what
69
00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:47.399
would be termed Epstein's Black Book, a physical version of
70
00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:51.660
this office directory created by Maxwell and maintained and updated
71
00:04:51.699 --> 00:04:55.750
by assistants like Groff. The names were categorized in the
72
00:04:55.769 --> 00:04:59.980
book by state or country. and certain identities contained paratheticals
73
00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:04.740
signaling to Groff and others to be discreet. Despite these
74
00:05:04.819 --> 00:05:09.579
obvious warning signs and Epstein's conviction in 2008, Groff maintained
75
00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:13.230
to the committee she had no knowledge or suspicion during
76
00:05:13.250 --> 00:05:15.610
the course of her work for him that Epstein was
77
00:05:15.649 --> 00:05:20.629
capable of sex crimes. This testimony is not credible. Groff's
78
00:05:20.689 --> 00:05:23.949
attitude is reflective of many others in Epstein's orbit who,
79
00:05:24.009 --> 00:05:26.899
in the face of numerous red flags and claimed that
80
00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:30.300
they never suspected Epstein was abusing women or committing crimes
81
00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:34.620
of any kind. Two of Epstein's closest employees, Richard Kahn
82
00:05:34.939 --> 00:05:38.389
and Darren Indyke, testified they never witnessed any abuse by
83
00:05:38.490 --> 00:05:41.730
Epstein toward any young woman or girls, nor did they
84
00:05:41.750 --> 00:05:45.110
have reason to believe that his constant support and contact
85
00:05:45.129 --> 00:05:47.329
with so many young women, even in light of the
86
00:05:47.329 --> 00:05:53.449
2008 conviction, warranted any concern. Prominent individuals such as former
87
00:05:53.490 --> 00:05:57.389
President Bill Clinton, Leslie Wexner, Leon Black, Woody Allen, and
88
00:05:57.449 --> 00:06:00.790
Ariane de Rothschild have all stated publicly or testified to
89
00:06:00.829 --> 00:06:04.379
the committee that they too had no knowledge of Epstein's
90
00:06:04.389 --> 00:06:08.740
abuse of women. The committee's investigation instead tends to show
91
00:06:08.779 --> 00:06:12.939
that the willful ignorance of those in Epstein's orbit enabled
92
00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:17.560
him to continue his offenses for so many years. Conflicts
93
00:06:17.579 --> 00:06:21.000
of interest in a sweetheart deal shield and enable Jeffrey Epstein.
94
00:06:22.209 --> 00:06:26.110
State and local law enforcement identified substantial allegations of wrongdoing
95
00:06:26.350 --> 00:06:30.740
against Epstein in the early 2000s in South Florida. Federal
96
00:06:30.769 --> 00:06:34.060
prosecutors at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern
97
00:06:34.100 --> 00:06:38.040
District of Florida and the Federal Bureau of Investigation developed
98
00:06:38.100 --> 00:06:41.860
a parallel federal case against Epstein along with the ongoing
99
00:06:41.899 --> 00:06:47.560
state investigation. However, former U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta's hands-off approach
100
00:06:47.819 --> 00:06:50.949
to the investigation was and his failures to oversee the
101
00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:55.310
daily involvement of those at the USAO, left the investigation
102
00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:59.519
in the hands of potential Epstein loyalists. The committee uncovered
103
00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:03.779
evidence to suggest that Acosta's former assistant attorney, and one
104
00:07:03.819 --> 00:07:07.220
of the senior decision makers in Epstein's case, Matthew Menschel,
105
00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:10.339
had a connection to Epstein while he was at the USAO.
106
00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:14.579
Other evidence indicates that Bruce Reinhart, former attorney at the
107
00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:18.319
USAO during the time of the Epstein investigation, left the
108
00:07:18.430 --> 00:07:22.230
USAO only to immediately be hired by Epstein to represent
109
00:07:22.290 --> 00:07:26.470
some of his associates in civil cases. That same evidence
110
00:07:26.529 --> 00:07:29.509
revealed that Reinhardt was preparing to do this while still
111
00:07:29.550 --> 00:07:33.089
employed by USAO, but Acosta was unable to confirm to
112
00:07:33.129 --> 00:07:37.810
the committee whether Reinhardt ever improperly influenced the investigation because
113
00:07:37.870 --> 00:07:44.839
Acosta's own lack of involvement and knowledge of Reinhardt's professional plans. Acosta, Menschel,
114
00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:47.959
and others at the USAO ultimately chose to end the
115
00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:53.379
investigation with an unusually favorable non-prosecution agreement that allowed Epstein
116
00:07:53.420 --> 00:07:56.980
to avoid federal charges, extended federal protection in the Southern
117
00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:00.319
District of Florida to an unknown number of potential co-conspirators,
118
00:08:01.100 --> 00:08:05.420
and left survivors uninformed while the agreement was negotiated. In fact,
119
00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:08.920
Epstein included some of his assistants in the NPA without
120
00:08:08.939 -->
00:08:12.040
their knowledge or consent, with them only learning of their
121
00:08:12.060 --> 00:08:15.839
inclusion many years later. The use of the NPA to
122
00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:19.459
shield Epstein and his associates by Acosta and the USAO
123
00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:24.360
undoubtedly allowed Epstein's heinous acts to continue for years without recourse.
124
00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:27.879
The consequences of the decision by the USAO and the
125
00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:31.319
FBI to use the NPA were compounded by the failure
126
00:08:31.350 --> 00:08:33.990
of the State Attorney's Office and the Palm Beach County
127
00:08:34.029 --> 00:08:38.450
Sheriff's Office in ensuring Epstein's continuous and complete confinement for
128
00:08:38.470 --> 00:08:41.549
the 18 months of incarceration agreed to in the NPA.
129
00:08:41.570 --> 00:08:46.299
Epstein ultimately served only 13 months of his 18-month sentence
130
00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:49.419
in the Palm Beach County Stockade, during which he was
131
00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:52.309
permitted to spend substantial amounts of time out on work
132
00:08:52.350 --> 00:08:55.789
release for a sham corporation, both in an office he
133
00:08:55.830 --> 00:09:00.629
established in Florida and his Palm Beach residence. Acosta testified
134
00:09:00.649 --> 00:09:03.769
that his office received multiple assurances that Epstein would not
135
00:09:03.809 --> 00:09:07.620
receive work release at all, and expressed extreme regret over
136
00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:11.179
his decision to entrust Epstein's imprisonment to the state, who
137
00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:14.779
proved to be an unreliable partner. Acosta stated that had
138
00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:18.120
federal prosecutors known the outcome of their state-based plea deal,
139
00:09:18.629 --> 00:09:20.450
they would have never resolved the case in the matter
140
00:09:20.470 --> 00:09:24.809
that they did. Epstein's excessive work release reflected preferential treatment
141
00:09:25.129 --> 00:09:27.610
of a wealthy man who was allowed to continue his
142
00:09:27.669 --> 00:09:32.029
abuse of women even while incarcerated. Kellen and several other
143
00:09:32.070 --> 00:09:35.149
survivors came forward about the abuse they suffered at the
144
00:09:35.190 --> 00:09:38.409
hands of Epstein while he was on work release in
145
00:09:38.450 --> 00:09:42.029
South Florida's office, his Palm Beach residence, or even, in
146
00:09:42.070 --> 00:09:47.250
Kellen's case, over a video from the stockade itself. Clearly,
147
00:09:47.330 --> 00:09:50.289
Epstein's influence was not diminished by time in prison, but
148
00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:55.399
instead seemed to flourish, even after his release in 2009.
149
00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:59.690
Friends in High Places and Institutional Corruption The Committee's investigation
150
00:09:59.710 --> 00:10:03.970
on corruption how Epstein used wealth, intimate connections, and social
151
00:10:03.990 --> 00:10:08.879
and professional prominence to conceal his crimes. Epstein continuously built, developed,
152
00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:13.539
and exploited a network of wealthy and connected individuals. In
153
00:10:13.580 --> 00:10:17.500
doing so, he prioritized power, fame, and wealth, even limiting
154
00:10:17.539 --> 00:10:19.960
his clients to those with net worths of at least
155
00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.460
a billion dollars. Wexner serves as a central example of
156
00:10:23.500 --> 00:10:27.500
the connection Epstein established to cement his network, prominence, and
157
00:10:27.539 --> 00:10:31.080
gain intimate access to their lives. In Wexner's case, it
158
00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.460
was turning over to Epstein control of the Wexner Family
159
00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:39.049
Foundation and full power of attorney over his finances. Other
160
00:10:39.070 --> 00:10:43.590
witnesses before the committee testified how Epstein cultivated dependencies throughout
161
00:10:43.610 --> 00:10:48.309
his elite networks by offering bespoke services, generous gifts, and
162
00:10:48.370 --> 00:10:53.720
sometimes access to young women and girls. Significantly, Epstein did
163
00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:57.039
not operate alone. He relied on others in his ploy
164
00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:00.580
to recruit and abuse young models, most notably with convicted
165
00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:05.559
sex trafficker Jean-Luc Brunel and his modeling agency, MC2 Model Management.
166
00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:10.370
The committee also gathered evidence that other individuals residing in
167
00:11:10.409 --> 00:11:15.269
foreign countries may have participated with Epstein, coordinated schemes to recruit, abuse,
168
00:11:15.350 --> 00:11:20.509
exploit women for pornographic material, across international borders. Alright folks,
169
00:11:20.529 --> 00:11:22.330
we're going to wrap up the first episode right here,
170
00:11:22.690 --> 00:11:24.620
and in the next episode, we're going to pick up
171
00:11:24.779 --> 00:11:27.659
where we left off. All the information that goes with
172
00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:30.509
this episode can be found in the description box.