In short
The MeidasTouch Podcast Episode Summary: Trump’s Dark Past Surfaces as Prosecutor Folds Under Oath
Episode Overview In this episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast, hosts Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas delve into the resurfacing of Donald Trump's controversial past, specifically focusing on Alex Acosta's deposition regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case. Ben Meiselas, a lawyer and co-host, leads the discussion on Acosta's testimony and its implications for Trump and his administration.
Key Topics Discussed
- Alex Acosta's Deposition
- Background: Alex Acosta, former U.S. Attorney and Labor Secretary under Trump, negotiated a controversial non-prosecution agreement for Epstein.
- Congressional Hearing: Acosta was questioned under oath by the House Oversight Committee, led by Democrats, about his decisions regarding Epstein's case.
- Key Admission: Acosta admitted to responsibility for the "sweetheart deal" but claimed it was the right decision without having read the victim statements.
- Reactions from Congress
- Congresswoman Stansberry: Criticized Acosta's dismissal of the testimonies from over 40 minors, asserting that there was a clear miscarriage of justice.
- Congressman Garcia: Expressed disbelief at Acosta's failure to recognize the gravity of his decisions and suggested that there is a continued cover-up involving the Trump administration.
- Trump's Defense of Acosta
- Press Conference Moments: Trump defended Acosta during his resignation, portraying him as a competent secretary who did not deserve the backlash for past decisions.
- Controversial Statements: Trump described Acosta as a "fantastic Secretary of Labor" and downplayed negative perceptions surrounding the Epstein case.
- Implications of Acosta's Testimony
- Lack of Accountability: Acosta's evasive responses and failure to acknowledge the victims led to frustration among committee members.
- Continuing Investigations: The discussion emphasized that Democrats are committed to uncovering the truth behind the Epstein case and the connections to Trump.
- Future Prospects
- Democratic Strategy: The hosts discussed the potential for Democrats to regain subpoena power and continue pursuing justice in the Epstein case post-midterms.
- Trump's Position: Trump's efforts to cover up the past are depicted as increasingly desperate, with the episode suggesting that he cannot evade scrutiny forever.
Key Takeaways
- Acosta's Testimony: Highlights a troubling precedent in how powerful individuals may manipulate legal systems to evade accountability.
- Political Accountability: The episode underscores the importance of oversight in political positions and how historical injustices must be addressed.
- Ongoing Investigations: The Meiselas brothers emphasize the commitment to unveiling the connections between powerful figures and the protection of sexual abusers.
Conclusion The podcast episode encapsulates a critical moment in the ongoing discussions surrounding accountability for those in power, particularly relating to the Epstein case. The hosts blend humor with serious political discourse, asserting that the truth about Trump's connections to Epstein and his administration’s actions must come to light.
Additional Links
- For more episodes and information, visit [MeidasTouch Network](https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast).
- Check out the hosts on YouTube for live discussions every Monday and Thursday night.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Drip, drip, drip, Donald. Donald Trump's dark past continues to surface. And thankfully, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee Committee are not letting up. They're led by Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic. Robert Garcia, who continues to outmaneuver MAGA Republicans in order to subpoena critical witnesses. Now, the MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump desperately did not want Alex Acosta to have his deposition taken. But Democrats got that deposition of Alex Acosta taken and Alex Acosta, So it was utterly pathetic. Just to remind you, Acosta was the United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida during the 2007-2008 period when Jeffrey Epstein got that sweetheart deal, that non-prosecution agreement that not only related to Epstein, but also to all the other co-conspirators.
1:02And victims were not even consulted about this sweetheart deal. They found out later that Epstein was getting it. So then Alex Acosta became Donald Trump's labor secretary during Trump's first administration. And when Alex Acosta's involvement with Epstein was uncovered, Alex Acosta resigned and Donald Trump just had this bizarre press conference, you may recall, during his first administration. Just to remind you, This is what Trump said when Alex Acosta resigned during Donald Trump's first administration. Just play this clip. I have no idea. You know what I know? You know what I know about Alex?
1:43He was a great student at Harvard. He's Hispanic, which I which I so admire. So that was the guy who got deposed by Democrats in the House Oversight Committee. And we're learning about that testimony. It is utterly pathetic. Now, Acosta admitted that he was responsible for the sweetheart deal. He said he takes responsibility for it and said it was the right thing to do. But then Alex Acosta was asked during his deposition. So did you even read the statements of the victims, the 40 plus victims who were in the file before you cut that sweetheart deal? And Alex Acosta was like, nah, I didn't even read it.
2:25So how do you think it was a good deal if you didn't read the witness statements? Also, your line prosecutors, Mr. Acosta, meaning your day to day prosecutors who would be the ones who handle the case, they prepared a 50 plus page indictment with very specific facts and they wanted Epstein prosecuted. But then the cabal of Alex Acosta and other unidentified, rich, wealthy, powerful people in West Palm Beach swooped in and stopped that from happening. Now, Acosta then got a sweetheart gig at the Trump administration. You saw Donald Trump trying to protect him there as he resigned. More on that in a little bit.
3:10And then Acosta got that sweetheart deal. He resigned when his role was uncovered. More cover ups regarding Epstein. So let me go through with you what we learned about Alex Acosta's deposition that took place on Friday that the Democrats were able to get. I want to give a shout out to Democratic Congresswoman Stansberry, and she's correct. Something doesn't smell right here. Alex Acosta thought the testimony of 40 minors wasn't enough to prosecute Epstein. As I said right now, Congresswoman Stansberry, she's like my all-star Congress member right now. I think she's just crushing it. She deserves more attention, as I've always been saying, because she's doing such great work.
4:00Let's play her perspective of that deposition that she was in yesterday. And I can't wait to get my hands on that transcript. Here play this clip. There were at least 40 minors who gave sworn statements to the FBI as part of the investigation before a decision was made in this case that they had been raped, abused, and trafficked. Over 40 minors. And the line prosecutor in this case wrote an 82-page memo to the leadership in the U.S. Attorney's Office recommending a prosecution. And she was so convinced, based on the evidence and interviews that she had taken and reviewed, that she drafted a 53-page indictment in this case.
4:52And what Mr. Acosta just told us is that based on his assessment of the case with his team that he did not see sufficient evidence to move forward with prosecuting the case, that there were weaknesses in the case. When asked if he made the decision as to whether or not to prosecute, fully prosecute this case, he took responsibility for it. He said it was the decision of him and his team. But when asked if he had directly reviewed the evidence itself in this case, he said that he had not actually read the statements of the victims. So let me just say this. Something doesn't smell right here. Next up, we have another Democratic Congress member.
5:43Let's take a look at what he's got to say. Play this clip. Everyone seems to agree that there is this terrible miscarriage of justice in this case, except Alex Acosta. He thinks that his sweetheart deal was actually the best course of action and still seems to stand by it. And he was investigating Jeffrey Epstein, who is a close friend of Donald Trump's. And this came up during his vetting process to join the Trump administration. And so it seems like it's starting to make more sense every day to me why the Trump administration won't release the files is because Alex Acosta was involved in the sweetheart deal.
6:24And it seems like the Trump administration is going to continue this cover up until oversight Dems gets to the bottom of this, because we're the ones that have actually been pushing the right questions in this case. And here we have Congress member Garcia. Let's listen to his perspective. Let's play it. Now, it's very clear that Alex Acosta ran a deeply flawed investigation of the Epson case. That's clear. He also would not admit that Mr. Epstein received a sweetheart deal, which has been widely reported and agreed upon since that deal was actually made by Mr. Acosta and his team. So he would not admit, in fact, stands by the decision to have given Mr.
7:04Epstein a sweetheart deal, which was only 18 months, and which during that time he went on to abuse multiple women in his questioning. he also agreed and stood by those decisions and would not claim any responsibility to the victims and in fact said and was admitted that he had no knowledge of what happened to those victims even to this day when asked directly if he actually knew that people were being abused that women were abused during that time he would not admit that he knew that information and actually refused to acknowledge when you're buried in credit card and loan debt it's human nature to put it off and say, I'll deal with it later.
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9:07evidence that was being withheld by the defense at that point in time. All these files, the surveillance videos, perhaps called pornography. They were not producing it. She said that that was a smoking gun that would put this whole thing to bed. When I asked Alex Acosta about this, his response was that he didn't actually review the evidence on this case and would have no input on this, which is just impossible to believe given the high profile nature of Jeffrey Epstein at the time, given the fact that Alex Acosta was having meetings with the attorneys or Jeffrey Epstein contemporaneous with all this.
9:37Completely non-credible. I doubt we'll get a lot of honesty out of him today. But what we're hoping to get is a roadmap to the types of evidence that we can demand from, as the Oversight Committee, from the Epstein estate, a roadmap to that. And of course, we're going to continue to get, I believe, a lack of remorse, a lot of obfuscation out of Alex Acosta. Very frustrating, but we are going to get answers. And Congresswoman Ansari, She took a pause from the deposition and then let CNN what was taking place. Let me show you that clip right here. Let's play it. Can you share what you've learned from Alex Acosta so far?
10:12I just stepped out of the transcribed interview with Alex Acosta. We'll be heading back in. We've had several hours of questioning where primarily we are trying to, first of all, understand why Alex Acosta struck such a sweetheart deal for Jeffrey Epstein, why he helped Jeffrey Epstein evade the law. And I'm going to be quite honest with you. Thus far, Alex Acosta does not seem to be a credible witness to me. He is extremely evasive, very difficult to get straightforward answers out of him regarding what happened during this time, what he knew of the relationship between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, why he only focused on a single state prosecution, did not charge Jeffrey Epstein for federal crimes.
10:59Now, as a reminder, I want you to watch this as then Labor Secretary Acosta, July 12th, 2019. He tells reporters why he was resigning from the Trump administration. And then Donald Trump was saying that it was not his decision. And he really liked Acosta. Here, play this clip. He made a deal that people are happy with. And then 12 years later, they're not happy with it. you'll have to figure all of that out. But the fact is, he has been a fantastic Secretary of Labor. And Alex called me this morning, and he wanted to see me. And I actually said, well, we have the press right out here. So perhaps you just want to say it to the press.
11:44But I just want to let you know, this was him, not me, because I'm with him. He was a, he's a tremendous talent. He's a Hispanic man. He went to Harvard, a great student, And in so many ways, I just hate what he's saying now because we're going to miss him. But please, Alex. Thank you, Mr. President. Over the last week, I've seen a lot of coverage of the Department of Labor. And what I have not seen is the incredible job creation that we've seen in this economy. As I look forward, I do not think it is right and fair for this administration's Labor Department to have Epstein as the focus, rather than the incredible economy that we have today.
12:29And so I called the president this morning. I told him that I thought the right thing was to set aside. It would be selfish for me to stay in this position and continue talking about a case that's 12 years old rather than about the amazing economy we have right now. And so I submitted my resignation to the president effective seven days from today, effective one week from today, earlier this morning. And then again, a reminder, July 9th, 2019, Donald Trump said that he felt badly that Acosta had to resign. Donald Trump said he thought Acosta did nothing wrong. Donald Trump says, I'm going to get to the bottom of this whole Epstein thing.
13:11This was in 2019. And then Donald Trump lied and said he was not a fan of Epstein, did not like Epstein. And of course, we now know about the birthday card. We know about Donald Trump's relationship with Epstein and more extensive details. But these were the lies that he was peddling on July 9th, 2019. Donald, you're never going to escape your dark past. It's surfacing. Here, play this clip. What happened 12 or 15 years ago with respect to when he was a U.S. attorney, I think in Miami. Is it Miami? You know, if you go back and look at everybody else's decisions, whether it's a U.S. attorney or an assistant U.S.
13:51attorney or a judge, you go back 12 or 15 years ago or 20 years ago to look at their past decisions, I would think you'd probably find that they would wish they maybe did it a different way. I do hear that there were a lot of people involved in that decision, not just him. I can only say this from what I know and what I do know is that he's been a great, really great Secretary of Labor. The rest of it we'll have to look at. We'll have to look at it very carefully. But you're talking about a long time ago. And again, it was a decision made, I think not by him, but by a lot of people. So we're going to look at it very carefully.
14:28We'll be looking at that very carefully. Okay. Okay. Anybody else? Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don't think I've spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn't a fan. I was not. Yeah, a long time ago. I'd say maybe 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you. I was not a fan of his. So I feel very badly, actually, for Secretary Acosta, because I've known him as being somebody that works so hard and has done such a good job. I feel very badly about that whole situation.
15:07But we're going to be looking at that and looking at it very closely. Well, there you have it, folks. We'll tie all those loose ends together here on the Midas Touch Network. Drip, drip, drip, Donald. The Democrats are not going away. And when Democrats are able to take power again, perhaps after the midterms, they're going to get subpoena power. They're not going away. They're going to get these files one way or the other. I understand that Trump, MAGA desperately covering up. Trump says it is a hostile act. if Republicans help produce the files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Just think about that.
15:47Direct quote from the Trump administration. Hostile act. And of course, you saw my coverage of Kash Patel's hearing this past week, which was just an utter farce. Thanks for watching. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers.
16:33www.podcast.com
From the publisher
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s dark past resurfacing as finally the creepy prosecutor and Trump close friend Alex Acosta who entered into the sweetheart deal with Jeffrey Epstein was questioned under oath by Congress as Democrats forced the deposition.
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