Epstein Victims Outraged Over Unredacted Info, and the Supreme Court Made Itself More Secretive

0:28From the New York Times, it's the headlines. pages on Friday, was met with outrage from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. The Justice Department had missed a December deadline to release all of its files related to the convicted sex trafficker, and hundreds of government lawyers spent the last month scrambling to review and redact the documents. But the redactions sometimes appeared to be haphazard, and a group of 18 survivors said in a statement that they exposed names and identifying information of Epstein's victims. Of course, the nature of this type of review was the volume of materials that were reviewed.

1:01There would be times when this happened, and so we're working hard to make sure that we've fixed that. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told ABC News that the DOJ is moving to retroactively scrub sensitive information as it's made aware of it. Over the weekend, Times reporters reviewing the documents flagged dozens of unredacted nude images of young women, possibly teenagers, that the department posted to its website during the release. The photos included both their bodies and their faces. One woman, who's testified in court about Epstein's abuse, told the Times, quote, it's hard to imagine a more egregious way of not protecting victims than having full nude images of them available for the world to download.

1:44Meanwhile, as part of the Times' review of Friday's document release, my colleagues found thousands of files that mentioned President Trump, who was a close friend of Epstein's for years. Among the Trump mentions, an FBI memo that said the agency had, quote, salacious information about him. Some of that information appeared to be from tips the FBI had received, including accusations of sexual abuse by Trump and Epstein. The memo didn't contain any corroborating information, and the Times was not able to verify the tips. The deputy attorney general said yesterday that the DOJ looked into sexual misconduct allegations against Trump, but did not find credible information.

2:24Trump, who's denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein, said the new files, quote, absolved him. And beyond Trump, the files underscore Epstein's ties to other prominent men who were in his orbit even after he became a convicted sex offender in 2008. For example, the documents appear to show that Elon Musk was eager to visit Epstein's private island in 2012, writing to him, quote, What day slash night will be the wildest party on your island? That same year, Howard Lutnick, now the Secretary of Commerce, emailed Epstein to arrange a trip with his wife and kids to the island. And Richard Branson, the British billionaire, emailed Epstein in 2013 after a meeting, saying, quote, quote, anytime you're in the area, would love to see you, as long as you bring your harem.

3:12In response to the document's release, a Branson representative said their meeting had been focused on business. Lutnick said he spent zero time with Epstein, and Musk said he'd declined repeated invitations to visit the island.

3:29Now, two more quick updates on the Trump administration. In a surprise announcement yesterday, President Trump said that he plans to shut down the Kennedy Center for two years starting this summer for a major reconstruction project. Trump said that will include a, quote, complete rebuilding, though he did not say how much that would cost or where the money would come from. Since taking office, the president added his name to the building, installed loyalists on the board, and worked to reshape its programming. In response, a slate of high-profile artists have boycotted the venue, and attendance at the National Symphony Orchestra there has plummeted 50 percent.

4:08This man has destroyed the place. He has run it into the ground financially. He's made it a place where performers don't want to perform. In response, Democratic lawmakers, including one who oversees funding for the center, said they've been kept in the dark about the plan and accused Trump of trying to cover up the, quote, financial disaster he's created there. And new reporting has shown that just days before President Trump was inaugurated last year, an investment firm tied to the United Arab Emirates purchased nearly half of the Trump family's cryptocurrency company. The UAE-tied firm quietly poured around$500 million into World Liberty Financial, a move that was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by The Times.

4:52The major investment was one of two large transactions last year involving Trump's crypto firm and the Emirati government. And a few months after Trump took office, the UAE secured a deal with the White House to get hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips, despite national security concerns. Both the White House and World Liberty Financial have denied any connection between the investment and the chips deal. But the blurred lines between Trump's family business and the administration have set off alarm bells for ethics experts and sparked sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers. In a statement yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren said, quote, This is corruption, plain and simple.

5:39At the Supreme Court, a New Times investigation has found that the chief justice has been tightening the court's hold on information by making clerks and staff sign non-disclosure agreements. That push for more secrecy started back in November 2024 amid news reports that raised ethics questions about the justices. There had also been a series of unusual leaks of internal court documents, including the decision overturning the right to abortion. Court staff have traditionally been expected to keep quiet about what's happening behind the scenes, but the NDAs appear to go further, potentially threatening legal action against staff who reveal confidential information.

6:18Supreme Court justices have long said confidentiality is crucial to the court's process, letting them wrestle with big questions without public scrutiny. But critics say that secrecy can undermine trust in the institution. According to a survey last year from the Pew Research Center, about half of Americans have an unfavorable view of the Supreme Court, an almost historic low. A spokeswoman for the court declined to comment about the NDAs. You can read the full investigation at nytimes.com.

6:52We need snow. We need snow. We need snow. This is not normal. Across the western U.S., an unusually warm winter with record low snow cover is threatening water resources for the rest of the year. The good, well-known resorts are cooked dry as the desert. In places famous for deep, natural snow like Park City, Utah and Vail, Colorado, much of the ground has been brown and bare, and people across the region are still hiking and biking in 50 to 60 degree weather. Colorado, for example, is having its warmest winter since 1895. A winter snowpack would normally provide natural storage for water that would melt and run off throughout the year.

7:31But this year's snow drought is a troubling data point in what is now a decades-long dry spell in the West. That's led to extremely low water levels in the two largest reservoirs on the Colorado River, 40 million Americans rely on that river for water, and it's crucial for agriculture. Some water experts are trying to be optimistic, though, hoping for spring snow and summer rain. One researcher in Arizona told The Times, quote, Weird things can happen, so let's hope weird things happen. Otherwise, it's going to be pretty awful.

8:09And finally. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's up? What's up? What's up? At the Grammy Awards last night, one artist after another made history. I'm not good at talking about myself, but I express it through the music. Kendrick Lamar took home five trophies to become the most decorated rapper in Grammy history with 27 total awards. I was a ghost. I was alone. The song Golden from the Netflix mega hit K-pop Demon Hunters became the first ever Grammy for the K-pop genre. And Bad Bunny became the first Spanish-language artist to win the ceremony's top prize, taking the award for Album of the Year for his mix of native Puerto Rican sounds and booming electronic beats.

8:53Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say eyes out. He was one of a number of performers who made explicit political statements at the awards, joining Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, and others who wore pins criticizing the White House's immigration crackdown. We're not savage. We're not animals. We're not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans. The awards ceremony also marked the moment Steven Spielberg became a member of one of the rarest clubs in the entertainment industry. By winning the Grammy for Best Music Film for a documentary about his longtime collaborator John Williams, Spielberg officially became an EGOT winner, locking in the G part of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

9:41He's one of just 22 people, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jennifer Hudson, and Audrey Hepburn, to have ever earned that bragging right.

9:52Those are the headlines. I'm Will Jarvis. We'll be back tomorrow.