Trump DOJ on Defense Again for Coddling Sex Traffickers

0:00Andrew Ross Sorkin:A morning walk, some bird watching. It's another easy Sunday. United Health Group makes these ordinary days possible with partners like the University of Tennessee Health Sciences helping communities manage their health closer to home. 54 % of participants have lowered their blood pressure, meaning fewer heart attacks and more Sundays at the park. This might feel like an ordinary day. To United Health Group, it's the health care system working better for everyone. Learn more at unitedhealthgroup.com slash commitment. Watch Disclosure Day at home now with exclusive bonus features. If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?

0:39Well, now the truth belongs to 7 billion people in an original event film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp starring Emily Blunt, Josh O 'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Coleman Domingo. Find Disclosure Day on major digital platforms now with no subscription required. also in theaters. Welcome to The Beat. I'm Ari Melber, and we're following a lot tonight. Trump DOJ has launched a criminal probe against another political target. It gives away the lie that these are real investigations. We're going to call it as we see it. If there is criminal evidence against these people, we'll tell you about it.

1:16But right now, it is a scandal engulfing the Trump administration. That's coming up. And also why these Epstein survivors who are trying to take back a story that's been hijacked say they're naming names. So that's coming up. But right now we begin with RFK Jr. under fire for a health agenda that experts and doctors say will put millions of more people in danger, especially if people listen to RFK Jr. The secretary testifying, facing tough questions about a bunch of the controversial moves he has been making. And while at times this can feel like Washington theater or another MAGA partisan problem, remember the underlying issues of science, of health care, of the information that goes out from the government to hospitals and schools, this is not and should not be partisan at all.

2:01So while we could cover this many different ways, I want to begin by showing you a Republican, if you're keeping track of party, still pressing RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine approach by invoking a true, if politically difficult, reality. So I'm going to show you this clip, but here's the quick context. Remember, in the first term, President Trump backed the federal government push for the original COVID vaccine. He would walk out to the cameras sometimes with Dr. Fauci. He would talk about how things were going to get better. He would vow the vaccine was coming soon. He even told one journalist he wanted more action on that before the election because he thought it would help him politically.

2:40He admitted that. Pro-vaccine. Trump touted the vaccine as a way out of COVID. He and his aides talked about something. You might remember the terminology. Warp speed effort. There's The Guardian. 2020, Trump unveils a warp speed effort to create the vaccine by year's end. Now, RFK Jr., picked by Trump, the buck stops with the president, serves the Trump administration, but is completely contradicting and going against this thing they touted and built. Here's that exchange. Do you agree with me that the president deserves a Nobel Prize for Operation Warp Speed? Absolutely, Senator. Let me ask you.

3:24But you just told Senator Bennett that the COVID vaccine killed more people than COVID. You engaged in multiple lawsuits attempting to restrict access to the COVID vaccine. I would say effectively we're denying people vaccine. Senator Catwell. I get wrong. That's the bit of the exchange. These are some of the headlines. Remember, we are going to fact check this. We showed you more of the Republicans' questions, which were rooted in facts, than a long part of RFK's answers because we're not just going to show long clips of RFK doing the bad thing on behalf of the government that even Republicans object to.

4:03He was pressed on purging the CDC, firing a top scientist who said they were told to pre-approve recommendations of a vaccine panel, filled with people who publicly expressed anti-vaccine rhetoric, says that former official turned basically a whistleblower. Here's what RFK Jr. then told Democratic senators. One question about that. Medicaid will stop. Did you tell the head of the CDC that if she refused to sign off on your changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, that she had to resign? No, I told her that she had to resign because I asked her, are you a trustworthy person? And she said no. Are you telling us that the former head of CDC went to you?

4:49You asked her, are you a trustworthy person? And she said, no, I am not a trustworthy person. It went on like that. RFK Jr. has talked up a lot of things that come out of his mind, not out of science. He's spread misinformation about antidepressants. He says he has his own version of interventions that he thinks relate to autism. And he's talked about observing or diagnosing kids, minors, by looking at them. Again, we're not going to show you everything that went down in the hearing, although it is notable even in this partisan MAGA era that at times Republicans and Democrats both questioned this individual who, because of Donald Trump, that's where the buck stops, has an incredible amount of sway over what your tax dollars are doing in funding and affecting government programs and safety from hospitals to schools.

5:41It's that simple. I want to bring in Dr. Howard Dean, who knows medicine and politics, former DNC chair for our governor, and Alex Wagner, our friend, MSNBC analyst, host of the Trump Land podcast, who knows a thing or two about trying to keep sane in these times. Good to see you. It's great to see you. I'm going to start with the doctor. I think that's right. You know what? I think I just play one on TV. So go with the guy with the man. Although Alex Wagner, as a celebrated journalist, I think will be interesting on the politics and honestly, the MAGA propaganda of this. But Dr. Dean, what's important about today?

6:15And is RFK Jr. fit for this job? No, but he never was fit for the job. He's a crackpot. But here's the interesting thing about this. I've been thinking about this during the day. This is possibly the wedge issue that begins to literally divide the United States as a result of his nuttiness. And as a result of the victims of his nuttiness, which are going to be children, lots of children, that the states on the West Coast, Washington, Oregon, and California have essentially put together their own CDC. I think New England's going to join them. Massachusetts has talked about it already. I wouldn't be surprised if New York and some other places like Pennsylvania joined them.

6:58So you're going to have essentially two authorities, the CDC run by a crackpot, and then you're going to have a lot of states ignoring the federal government and making their own rules about all this stuff. That is a big divide and is a big change in the way that government has been operating in the United States for the last hundred years. And Governor, what did you think about the exchange about the vaccine? Because public health messaging matters. We all lived through COVID and saw that period. And it is striking to see and be reminded of how from President Trump on down, they were touting the speedy vaccine that now his own health secretary attacks.

7:40Well, I thought it was particularly amusing when he said, yeah, but he was supporting Clorox enemas and all that stuff. That was the good stuff. I mean, this guy's a wacko, right? But here's the other interesting thing about this. So yesterday, the Surgeon General backed up by the governor in Florida said that they were going to get rid of all vaccine mandates. Now, would you take your children to Disney World if you thought they might be exposed to a whooping cough? Even people who have been vaccinated can become troubled and can spread the disease if they're in a huge tank of people who have no vaccination.

8:18These are fatal diseases if you're not vaccinated. Small children will die because of this. And again, brings up the issue is how many people are going to go to Disney World if this happens in Florida? I wouldn't take my children down. They're grandchildren. children. And that so there's a there's a lot of shaking and shattering that's going to go on in the United States of America, because when people think you may like Trump and you may hate Trump, but one thing people are going to agree on in the United States of America is our children come first and we care about our children and we are not going to endanger them.

8:50Yeah, there is. I want to bring an Alex. You know, there's a reality test to this. Being a podcaster who talks about the FBI is different than running it. Yep. Being a longtime sort of rich, elite, coastal liberal Democrat. That's what he was. That's who Donald Trump picked. You know, it's like there's exceptions for everything. But it's like a version of having George Clooney run something if he also was full of misinformation, by which I mean, it's not like RFK is coming out of some MAGA history. for political reasons and the independent vote of whatever that was, Trump just hands the keys to a perversion of the Kennedy legacy.

9:31And here we are. And so to the politics of it, what does it matter to people when they actually have to live under this reality? Well, I mean, first of all, this is already killing children, right? I think the flu deaths for this year, this past winter, when Trump was in office, have skyrocketed to the highest rate since 2009. 278 children died of the flu this year, which is a dramatic increase. 90 % of them were not vaccinated. You know, RFK likes talking about the infant mortality rate has gone up and he tries to blame it on Biden. By and large, the reason the infant mortality rate went up is because Texas outlawed abortion and women can't get the health care that they need.

10:14There are children dying as a direct result of Trump policies and the conservative agenda, right? So it's not just making fun of a wildly incoherent and utterly ignorant person testifying on the Hill. It's looking at the dramatic and real world effects, the fatal effects of this kind of misinformation. I was stunned by not just his incoherent, seemingly hypocritical attitude towards Operation Warp Speed, but the fact that he doesn't know about Medicare premium increases. He doesn't know how many people died of COVID-19. He never met with the vaccine experts at the CDC before the CDC building was shot up.

10:51He never talked to the people who had the science before he embarked on a radical reorientation of American vaccine policy. This is someone who doesn't have his head in the sand. He has blinded himself. And the people that are going to pay for it are American children. And I totally agree with Dr. Dean on this. You know, it is one thing to kind of live the MAGA experience in the abstract. It is another thing when your child is at risk of dying because of a political agenda. And what we saw on the Hill today was staggering and scandalous and completely unacceptable in terms of American health. Yeah.

11:26And I appreciate you're speaking about it as what the facts are, not normalizing it. Oh, here we go again. No, you're speaking about the actual standard. Dr. Dean, there was also this exchange where you're reminded that RFK Jr. is bad at this. He seems comfortable saying a lot of loony, false things. And then other times says, but he's not anti-vax. It's almost as if the one talking point you got from some media training was, well, don't admit to that. That's too far. Here's an exchange with Senator Smith.

11:57Andrew Ross Sorkin:So let me ask you, when were you lying, sir, when you told this committee that you were not anti-vax or when you told Americans that there's no safe and effective vaccine? Both things are true. Dr. Dean? Yeah, well, look, we're not going to dissect this guy. I mean, he's a wacko. I mean, if somebody were muttering and mumbling as we're walking down the street, you're not going to dissect what he says. And so this is a waste of time. I'll let you finish, but we do that from time to time. Listen to Bobby Kennedy as a waste of everybody's time. He doesn't know anything about science. He doesn't even know what he believes.

12:35He is driven by something that I wouldn't want to try to diagnose as a psychiatrist. I don't know what it is, but he's the wrong guy for this job. That's for damn sure. Can I say, I think the reason it's worth paying attention to his incoherence on Operation Warp Speed is because it's a it's a it's a wedge that Democrats and reasonable Republicans, I guess there's at least one left in the Senate, are trying to drive between him and Trump. You know, they began this day saying we want Bobby Kennedy out as HHS secretary. And the way we're going to do that is trying to pit him against dear leader Trump.

13:05And we're going to try and stoke Trump's ego and say, you don't like Operation Warp Speed. It's one of Trump's crowning achievements and he should be celebrated for it. and say something good about it or say something bad about it. We're going to use this against you as a cudgel. And I don't know that it worked because Kennedy was trying to have it both ways, but this is clear political strategy on the part of Democrats who see that as the daylight that they can use to their advantage to try and weaken RFK's position in the administration. Yeah, I think, and again, you're speaking to the politics that are based on something true, which is things can get worse, which is why you have to stay engaged in society.

13:39and some people are longing for the days when Donald Trump was vocally pro-vaccine, which was just last term. I'm going to fit in a break. Governor Dean, I'll give you a quick pop quiz, okay? Sure. What's coming up on the rest of the beat? Is it more Alex Wagner? Is it Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah? Or is it both? It's both. It was both. The answer was a C-smart guy. Medical degree? TV degree. TV degree. Well, he's been around. We know how teases. Because teases, we don't know if they work. They'll say, hey, tell people what's coming up. We have no idea. I think Alex will. We have no idea. I knew I was going to stick around.

14:21No, but do you know whether people watch more if we name upcoming things? Oh, yes. They do? I mean, don't take it from me. I don't know. We don't know if it works, but we know that we tell people what's coming up. We're testing a hypothesis. Very medical. And Howard Dean knows. I wouldn't mention a bunch of guests who aren't coming. Everybody does it, and I think it works. All right. Our thanks to Governor Dean. As mentioned, it's Wu-Tang Night on the Beat coming up. But first, the Trump DOJ going after opponents and the naming of the Epstein names. Finally, we have our shortest break. I'm back with you in 90 seconds.

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16:25turning to an issue for donald trump that simply won't go away trump aids had hoped to quiet this by Labor Day, get it done in the summer, that's not happening. Jeffrey Epstein's accusers demanding accountability. They've got bipartisan backing. Republicans have also joined some of them, the chorus of those saying it's time to release those Epstein files, which the Trump administration has clearly been not only hiding, but sometimes misleadingly so by claiming they're releasing something, then it's nothing. Republican MTG, who says she will support the bill to override House Republican leadership that are defending Trump and the secrecy to try to get the documents, says she also will try to play a role to reveal the names.

17:07It's a scary thing to name names, but I will tell you, I'm not afraid to name names. And so if they want to give me a list, I will walk in that Capitol on the House floor and I'll say every damn name that abused these women. That was at that press conference. Today, the issue goes forward. Congressman Massey discussing who could be on this list.

17:31Andrew Ross Sorkin:I don't think Donald Trump's name is on the list, no. I think there are probably some people in his administration who would be embarrassed, like Acosta. I think there are some very rich donors to the Republican Party and some, ironically, to the Democratic Party as well, who are going to be on that list. The entire issue, as we've covered, has moved farther and farther away from the facts, what happened, what the DOJ did or failed to do, and why so many of the women, so many of the accusers have been completely mistreated through this process. Often, not exclusively, but often by leadership of the Trump administration.

18:13And so it was important that we witnessed this time for them to speak in their own voice about what they've been through. After meeting Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, it felt like someone shut off the lights to my soul. I have never been more scared in my life than I was that first time that he hurt me. I remember crying the entire way home, thinking about how I couldn't ever tell anyone about what actually happened in that house.

18:44Andrew Ross Sorkin:He gave me an ultimatum. Either you come here and massage me when I call you or you bring me friends of yours to massage. The days of sweeping this under the rug are over. We, the survivors, say no more. These are real people dealing with real crimes that too often have been weaponized for political reasons. We are going to stay on the story, and I'm going to get back into it with Alex Wagner when we return.

19:14We're back with Alex Wagner, of course, our MSNBC colleague, senior political analyst. She's also the author. A future face. Alex, a lot of times these days, the task, the challenge is to hold the line about how things are and what the facts are and not get normalized that we just saw. These women's stories were completely politically weaponized. Wall, as they said yesterday, the Trump DOJ and Trump officials didn't brief them, didn't consult with them. They say, not my words, didn't care about them as victims of the crimes that the administration claims they still are focused on. I would say I actually think the thing that was weaponized was the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, and actually the women were the last thing that this administration and those who seek to cover up more information were considering.

20:06I think what we saw yesterday was a re-centering of the victims at the heart of the story, and that is essential, I think, in pushing this past partisan politics. Side note, a few of the women got up at the podium yesterday and said, were Republicans. They didn't say who they voted for, but they really want to make clear to the American public, this isn't about taking down an administration we don't agree with. This is about our truth. This is about being abused. This is about surviving abuse. And this is about getting to the truth. And I think the reality of them coming forward like this is that it now pits those who want transparency on the side of the victims and those who don't, it pits them against the victims.

20:47And that is a very challenging fight to wage, to be out there. It's not that they're fighting. The president said yesterday in the Oval Office, this is a Democrat hoax. The women out there aren't part of a Democrat hoax. These are women who are survivors. And I think the country looks at these, hears these stories, looks at these women, says this isn't about Democrats trying to gain a leg up on Trump. This is about women who have gone through something horrible, trying to get at the essence of that hurt and trying to find some kind of closure here. And if you're standing in their way, then you're against these women and these survivors.

21:21And the obsession or conspiracy theory, which it's hard for people to appreciate if you don't spend a lot of time on the MAGA digital spaces and podcasts, this is a huge, long-running thing. Yeah. What we're now witnessing is months now of the difference between treating it as content and the more messy, factually-related process of treating it as reality. That hasn't gone as well for the Trump administration. Well, I mean, it does it does beg the question, why did Trump gin up all of this heat around Jeffrey Epstein beginning in 2015 if he knew the information in the files was not politically expedient at best for him?

22:03Right. But, you know, the reality is that the reason this theory and the Jeffrey Epstein controversy and saga and crimes are so resonant with the MAGA basis is because it gets to the essential proposition of MAGA. which is there is a cabal of elites that are out there to screw you. And they are doing everything in their power to keep you down, to keep you in the dark, and to keep the real truth in the shadows, right? Epstein is a placeholder for that feeling, for that thesis. And that's why it's also not going away. I mean, you know, you have some MAGA members of Congress who are trying to brush this under the rug.

22:35You have some people at the office of the director of national intelligence who are trying to brush this under the rug. You have the House leadership and the Speaker of the House trying to further the president's political ends by brushing this under the rug. But the reality is MAGAverse writ large from Joe Rogan on is still very much interested in what's happening here. It's not going away. And you have the added fuel in the fire of the victims coming forward, taking it out of the Washington firefight mud pit and saying, we want the truth. And by the way, if we can't get the truth, we're going to release the name of the client list on our own.

23:07On our own. Yeah, exactly. High stakes, Ari. Yeah. We love when you come by. I love coming by. Straight facts. I mean, I'll just, you know, take a couple lighters, few pens, some cough drops. We'll find you a lighter. Or the jacket. I don't know. We've got a cough drop. Thanks so much. Thanks. I'm done with TV for the night, but it did just serve my long nightlife. Alex Wagner. I appreciate it. The one and only. Thank you. When we come back, we've got Andrew Ross Sorkin and Ghostface Killa and the Trump free market crash out. Stay with us.

23:45Donald Trump wants to control everything, and the financial markets are finding they don't like it. Trump's DOJ is now opening what they're calling a criminal investigation into an independent Federal Reserve official, Lisa Cook, who Trump is already trying to oust, which raises questions over whether this is a sham or partisan probe to continue to hassle her out of a job. Cook, meanwhile, is taking Trump to court, saying that he has not substantiated the high bar it takes to oust an independent federal official like that from the Fed. The new criminal probe follows a referral from a Trump appointee to the Housing Finance Agency.

24:22We also have today, in exchange with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, an official refusing to even explain the basis for investigating this official, Cook.