The Growing Fallout From the Epstein Files

0:05Khadeeja Safdar:Do you remember when you first started reporting on Jeffrey Epstein?

0:09Jessica Mendoza:I first started reporting on Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, and at the time we were really interested in the sources of his wealth.

0:16Khadeeja Safdar:That's our colleague, investigative reporter Khadeeja Safdar. She's been reporting on Epstein's network for years.

0:24Jessica Mendoza:We set out to find out how did this guy get so much money, and we found out that he had wormed his way into the lives of many wealthy clients and that he was making his money through those connections. And then over time, how did that reporting evolve? There were always just unanswered questions about Epstein, and it just didn't feel like the reporting that was out there really answered the questions that the public had. There was questions about his death. And then just people wanted to know, like, how deep do his connections go? Who did he know? And how was he able to get away with what he was able to get away with?

1:02Khadeeja Safdar:For years, the public and the press have been asking these questions and more about Jeffrey Epstein. And last month, a massive release of new Epstein files by the Justice Department started to give some answers. These documents further expose Epstein's varied connections, ranging from British royalty to the wealthy New York elite to intellectual powerhouses.

1:24Jessica Mendoza:Just the depth and breadth of people's involvement with Epstein and the types of institutions and the way he had his tentacles in all sorts of aspects of society and politics and business and academia.

1:39Jessica Mendoza:I think it speaks to people's feelings about the elite. the global elite, the institutions, just a general sentiment that there's widespread systemic corruption and I guess in some ways moral depravity in the upper echelons of our society. There's been that sentiment for a while and I think the Epstein case kind of ties into that and it goes beyond what people could have comprehended.

2:06Khadeeja Safdar:Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Friday, February 13th.

2:19Khadeeja Safdar:Coming up on the show, the extraordinary breadth of Jeffrey Epstein's elite network.

2:32Khadeeja Safdar:This episode of The Journal is presented by Intuit Enterprise Suite. If your finance team spends more time finding data than using it, if there's one entity here and one here and one here and one here, if scaling your business feels like starting over, you need the Intuit ERP. Intuit Enterprise Suite. The AI native ERP is here. From the makers of QuickBooks. Learn more at Intuit.com slash ERP. Brought to you by Apple Card. Hey, you could be earning 2 % daily cash back on that purchase. And that one. And even that one. That's because Apple Card users earn 2 % daily cash back on every purchase, including everyday items you buy online or in-store, when using their Apple Card with Apple Pay.

3:17Khadeeja Safdar:Not an Apple Card customer? You can apply in the Wallet app on iPhone. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at apple.co slash benefits.

3:36Khadeeja Safdar:In the 1990s and early aughts, Jeffrey Epstein was known as a financial consultant who socialized with the wealthy and powerful. A 2003 Vanity Fair profile described him as the bachelor financier, noting the presence of, quote, many women in his life, mostly young. Epstein's public fall from grace started in 2006, when he was charged with soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. He pleaded guilty and became a registered sex offender in 2008. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and got out after serving 13. What did Epstein do when he got out, according to the documents you've seen?

4:14Jessica Mendoza:I mean, he did a lot of things when he got out. But basically, he continued maintaining and growing his social network and tried to accumulate and gain additional clients beyond the ones he had originally. He continued also networking with people in academia, in politics, in business, and was involving himself in all sorts of business deals, government affairs, you name it, he got himself involved.

4:44Khadeeja Safdar:Ten years later, at the height of the Me Too movement in 2018, an investigative series from the Miami Herald reexamined the circumstances around his 2008 plea deal and the abuse allegations made by underage girls. Those reports triggered the federal investigation, which led to Epstein's second and final arrest in 2019. Today, we announce the unsealing of sex trafficking charges against Jeffrey Epstein. The charges allege that Epstein sexually abused young girls by enticing them to engage in sex acts for money.

5:20Jessica Mendoza:And so he was arrested and then he actually died in prison shortly thereafter.

5:26Khadeeja Safdar:The disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Epstein took his own life while he was behind bars here in New York. Am I right to believe that that was basically when things really, when the story really took hold in the public?

5:41Jessica Mendoza:Yes, the death and like the circumstances of his death have raised so many questions. The government really hasn't been able to provide a response that has satisfied the public.

5:52Khadeeja Safdar:Since Epstein never went to trial for his crimes, much of the Justice Department's evidence wasn't made public, as it would have been in court. Although, his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors. In Maxwell's trial in 2021, some documents were released as evidence, but the public called for more. By then, Khadija was already deep into reporting the Epstein story. Specifically, she was digging into what his social network looked like post-2008, when he was convicted the first time.

6:28Jessica Mendoza:I found a source who told me that there was a trove of documents that may be able to help answer some of my questions. And then eventually I was able to review the documents, and they were essentially schedules of Epstein's day-to-day life. And they documented his meetings with people almost like in a real-time way. And so you could basically see the time, the date, and who he was meeting. And then there were also some emails that I came across then.

6:56Khadeeja Safdar:Khadija's reporting in 2023 showed just how expansive Epstein's network continued to be, even after he was a known and registered sex offender.

7:05Jessica Mendoza:He maintained connections amongst, like, the top of politics, business, academia. He was a prized client of JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank. We reported that Epstein had attempted to blackmail Bill Gates, so we learned a little bit more about the tactics that he was using to get his, you know, tentacles into people. And we reported how he actually used his vast network to lure victims because he was promising them jobs and opportunities associated with the people that he was networking with.

7:40Khadeeja Safdar:Previously, a spokeswoman for Gates said that Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Gates. Bill Gates also said it was a mistake to meet with Epstein, and he regrets it. J.P. Morgan has said that it was a mistake to deal with Epstein and that the bank would never have associated with him if it knew about his alleged sex trafficking. Did anyone distance themselves from him after his conviction?

8:04Jessica Mendoza:Some people did distance themselves, but I think what was most surprising was the astounding number of people who didn't distance themselves.

8:10Khadeeja Safdar:Right. That the story was not just about Epstein and what he did. It was also about the network he built, the people, the connections. Right.

8:18Jessica Mendoza:And those connections actually helped him abuse women. Because post-2008, he focused a lot on women in their late teens and 20s and many of them from Europe and Russia. He would broker visas and tell them that he was going to set them up with famous people to help them get jobs and go further in their career. And many of those were just completely false. Like, there was no opportunities there for these women.

8:48Khadeeja Safdar:Although a significant number of documents had become public through reporting and through Maxwell's trial, there was a large trove of documents that were still private. the Justice Department's Epstein files that it had collected as part of its criminal investigation into him, dating as far back as 2006. Release the Epstein files became a rallying cry, especially on the right. We should probably see who's been to that island. Yeah, we should probably see who's been to that island. What we want is the client list. I look forward to having an FBI that will work to help get these records in.

9:23Jessica Mendoza:Just give us the full list. Give us the full video footage of what happened inside and outside the prison.

9:29Khadeeja Safdar:Last year, there was widespread expectation that President Trump's return to office would quickly trigger a release of the Epstein files. But that wasn't the case. Over the summer, the Justice Department announced that they would not release any further documents. A memo on its website said that after an exhaustive review, the department had found no incriminating client list or additional documents that warrant public disclosure. It also said, quote, we did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties. The memo added that much of the material would have been sealed in a trial to protect victims and to block the dissemination of child pornography.

10:10Khadeeja Safdar:Soon after, Khadija reported on a 2003 book of letters Epstein had received for his 50th birthday.

10:16Jessica Mendoza:We have some breaking news that we're following. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Donald Trump sent the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a body letter for his birthday in 2003.

10:30Khadeeja Safdar:The book included letters bearing the signatures of big names like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Trump has denied writing the letter or drawing the picture, calling it a fake thing. He has filed a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal alleging defamation. The journal has said it stands by its reporting and has asked a judge to dismiss the suit. In the past, President Trump has also said he had a falling out with Epstein before he pleaded guilty in 2008. A spokesman for Bill Clinton declined to comment on the birthday message. He referred the journal to a previous statement that the former president had cut off ties more than a decade before Epstein's 2019 arrest and didn't know about Epstein's alleged crimes.

11:09Jessica Mendoza:There was a lot of pressure that was building on Trump. Our story on the birthday book led to congressional oversight. They subpoenaed the birthday book from the Epstein estate and released it. That emboldened many of the Epstein victims to come forward and ask for the release of the files. And then additionally, some Republicans bucked Trump on the issue and asked for the release of the files. And then despite Trump's initial resistance, he signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, which has now contributed to the release of the DOJ files. I just want to take a quick step back, Khadija.

11:46Khadeeja Safdar:Releasing files like this to the public, is that a standard procedure?

11:50Jessica Mendoza:The government does not normally release these types of files to the public. And in this case, though, many of the Trump officials had pressed for the release. But when those Trump officials didn't release them to the public, that raised questions.

12:05Khadeeja Safdar:And so that brings us to sort of more recent events. the Justice Department released over 3 million pages, along with 180 ,000 images and 2 ,000 videos from the Epstein files at the end of January. I want to talk about what you learned from looking through these documents. You know, you're somebody who's looked through Epstein's calendar, his schedules. You've looked through other documents in the past. What struck you about what you were looking at this time? What were some of the themes that emerged?

12:35Jessica Mendoza:In some ways, it has confirmed our reporting from 2019 and 2023, it shows that the ties he had with the people that we highlighted back then were actually in some ways deeper than what we reported. And some new people have also emerged. People not only maintained ties with him, but they consoled him and they advised him. Can you say more about those ties?

12:57Khadeeja Safdar:What was the nature of those relationships?

12:59Jessica Mendoza:There was like a lot of favor trading going on there. Alpstein was cultivating relationships with powerful people. Brad Karp, who's now resigned as chairman of law firm Paul Weiss, the files show that he asked Epstein to help his son get a job on a Woody Allen film. Kathy Rumler, the Goldman Sachs general counsel, she received gifts from Epstein, including boots and a handbag. And she referred to him as Uncle Jeffrey in their correspondence. Then there's British politician Peter Mandelson. He was forwarding sensitive government emails to Epstein.

13:30Khadeeja Safdar:From the UK.

13:31Jessica Mendoza:Yeah, from the UK and helping him navigate policy questions. So there's just a lot of exchanging of introductions and favors and just a lot of that going on.