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<v Speaker 1>What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to get right

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<v Speaker 1>back to that New York Times article about Donald Trump

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<v Speaker 1>and the Epstein files. This article was authored by Maggie

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<v Speaker 1>Haberman and Jonathan Swan. At the start of last summer,

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<v Speaker 1>as far as outside observers could see, Trump appeared to

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<v Speaker 1>be at the pinnacle of his power. He had just

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<v Speaker 1>bombed nuclear sites in Iran, completed the blitz of executive

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<v Speaker 1>orders to reshape the immigration system, and ran through Congress

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<v Speaker 1>his signature piece of domestic legislation, the Big Beautiful Bill.

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<v Speaker 1>He was using the levers of the government to go

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<v Speaker 1>after his enemies, and out of fear and desperation, America's

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<v Speaker 1>corporate titans were falling over themselves to genuflect. Look a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of those people they wanted favorable deals, and they

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<v Speaker 1>knew that the Trump administration was gonna wheel and deal,

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<v Speaker 1>so they're going to do what's best for their companies.

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<v Speaker 1>My beef is with the administration and their nonsense. The

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<v Speaker 1>absolute greed and corruption that we see on a regular

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<v Speaker 1>basis is just unreal. But behind the scenes, the Epstein

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<v Speaker 1>crisis was paralyzing the Trump administration to a far greater

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<v Speaker 1>extent than the public knew. In their public statements, Trump's

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<v Speaker 1>advisors were full of bravado, dismissing the crisis. In reality,

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<v Speaker 1>it was consuming the highest ranks of the administration, As

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<v Speaker 1>no issue had for the President's team since the Russia

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<v Speaker 1>investigation in his first term. His aids were determined to

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<v Speaker 1>keep their rising sense of panic out of public view. Yo,

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<v Speaker 1>this should have been more than Russia. That Russia shit.

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<v Speaker 1>I hate to tell you a lot of it was contrived.

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<v Speaker 1>I know people don't want to hear it because it

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't fit in with their confirmation bias and shit, But

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<v Speaker 1>it's true and all the way back then that there

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't enough there there to send anybody to prison. Meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 1>the Epstein files were rife with all kinds of corruption,

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<v Speaker 1>and if people would have just focused back then when

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<v Speaker 1>this was all happening in real time, we could have

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<v Speaker 1>actually got something done. But unfortunately that never happened. The

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<v Speaker 1>Justice Department had struggled with just how to dispose of

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<v Speaker 1>the Epstein matter since the beginning of Trump's second term.

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<v Speaker 1>The issue was all consuming for the president's political base,

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<v Speaker 1>but also potentially compromising for the president himself in ways

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<v Speaker 1>that officials in the new administration didn't fully understand any

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<v Speaker 1>path forward would be fraud. Some of that complexity was

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<v Speaker 1>self inflicted. Yes, it was all of it. They created

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<v Speaker 1>this problem for themselves. Donald Trump created this problem for himself.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's an idea. Just live up to the promises you

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<v Speaker 1>made while you were on the campaign trail. Let the

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<v Speaker 1>chips fall where they will, let the American people decide.

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<v Speaker 1>But instead you got a gatekeep and said you got

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<v Speaker 1>to protect your people. Instead you have to bring Leon

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<v Speaker 1>black Sun into the administration. So, yeah, all your problems

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<v Speaker 1>self inflicted. Some of that complexity was self inflicted. In

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<v Speaker 1>the engine room of the MAGA movement, the Epstein files

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<v Speaker 1>were potent fuel. Elon Musk had used as social media

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<v Speaker 1>platform to repeatedly question why a client list had not

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<v Speaker 1>been released. Donald Trump Junior and JD. Vance had invoked

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<v Speaker 1>the Epstein files as a broader campaign message to argue

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<v Speaker 1>that powerful people were hiding the truth from Americans. Tucker

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<v Speaker 1>Carlson and the young Conservative leader Charlie Kirk had each

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<v Speaker 1>insisted that the government should release the documents, and each

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<v Speaker 1>floated the idea that there was an expansive cover up

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<v Speaker 1>and progress. Well, that's because there is. And you don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to agree with Charlie Kirk or agree with Tucker

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<v Speaker 1>Carlson to understand that just because you don't agree with

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<v Speaker 1>somebody doesn't mean they're not right. Look. I don't agree

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<v Speaker 1>with Maggie Haberman all the time she's writ in this article,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think that whole entire thing of having to

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<v Speaker 1>agree with everything somebody says is dumb as hell. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not going to agree with everything somebody says. Ever, I

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<v Speaker 1>have my own opinions on a wide variety of things,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm willing to listen to anybody whoever has the

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<v Speaker 1>best ideas. That's who I'm voting for. Trump himself had

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<v Speaker 1>been cagi on the Lex Freeman podcast in September of

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty four. When asked about releasing the client list,

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<v Speaker 1>Trump responded, I'd certainly take a look at it, adding

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<v Speaker 1>I'd have no problem with it. The list probably will

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<v Speaker 1>be made public, he said, but he sounded less than

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<v Speaker 1>enthusiastic in private. Trump later told Representative Marjorie Taylor Green

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<v Speaker 1>that a release of Epstein material could hurt some of

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<v Speaker 1>his friends. He repeatedly insisted that he had done nothing

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<v Speaker 1>wrong and that the whole saga was fake news designed

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<v Speaker 1>to harm them politically. And that's his go to move.

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<v Speaker 1>Right anytime that Trump is truly in jeopardy, he calls

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<v Speaker 1>it a hoax, and he gets purchased with that because

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<v Speaker 1>of what happened with Russia. I mean, the American people

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<v Speaker 1>heard Russia, Russia, Russia for or how many years, how

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<v Speaker 1>many hearings, and then what came of it. So when

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<v Speaker 1>people hear this, they're like, oh, just another routine move,

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<v Speaker 1>another hoax to try and get Trump. That's what his

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<v Speaker 1>base thinks. And you can say what you want about

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<v Speaker 1>Trump and the administration, but they're effective communicators when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to their own party, their own people, very effective.

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<v Speaker 1>They know exactly what buttons to push. And he has

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<v Speaker 1>carefully built this whole entire persona of him being some

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<v Speaker 1>kind of martyr, and he knew that it was going

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<v Speaker 1>to be effective. He knew that if he used that

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<v Speaker 1>strategy and said that that it would protect him. And

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<v Speaker 1>it sure has hasn't it. All the people out here

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<v Speaker 1>that were running their yap for all these years about

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein who now say it's a hoax? What a bunch

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<v Speaker 1>of morons, Like, why would anyone believe anything they have

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<v Speaker 1>to say? Now, It's one thing if the evidence would

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<v Speaker 1>have pointed you in a different direction after you had

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<v Speaker 1>one belief, right, Like if somebody was to show up

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<v Speaker 1>tomorrow with all all of the evidence of what happened

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<v Speaker 1>in that Geil cell and it turned out that it

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<v Speaker 1>was one hundred percent suicide, I'd be the first one

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<v Speaker 1>to get on here and tell you, Look, I've been

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<v Speaker 1>wrong the whole time. It was obviously suicide. Because for me, anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>the only thing that matters is getting as close to

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<v Speaker 1>the truth as we possibly can, and anybody standing in

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<v Speaker 1>the way of that, well, I have questions. But his

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<v Speaker 1>posture was overtaken by the growing frenzy among his supporters

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<v Speaker 1>throughout twenty twenty four. Green had made it he remission

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<v Speaker 1>to force the release of the files, and there were

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<v Speaker 1>so many others, the far right influencer Laura Lumer, the

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<v Speaker 1>conservative activist Scott Presler, Chaia Raychik from Libs of TikTok.

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<v Speaker 1>But when it came to propagating the Epstein files as

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<v Speaker 1>evidence of the deep state capable of evil, two podcasters

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<v Speaker 1>were not to be outdone. Cash Betel and Dan Bongino. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>there's no doubt that those two were the loudest voices

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<v Speaker 1>talking about the Epstein files. And then they get access

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<v Speaker 1>to them and we get nothing. We get told that

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<v Speaker 1>there's nothing there and that it was all just a

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<v Speaker 1>big mistake. And they really thought people were going to

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<v Speaker 1>buy it. They really thought that they were going to

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<v Speaker 1>get Joe and Jane America to buy into that nonsense. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>how's it working out for him? Patel, a National Security

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<v Speaker 1>Council Director for counter Terrorism and Defense Department Chief of

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<v Speaker 1>Staff in the first Trump administration, had repeatedly claimed in

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<v Speaker 1>podcast interviews that the government was hiding Epstein's black book

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<v Speaker 1>or a client list, and he frequently asserted that the

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<v Speaker 1>FBI was deliberately withholding names to protect the powerful they were.

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<v Speaker 1>That's true, but so is Cash Pattel. It's all one

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<v Speaker 1>big ass club, folks, and none of us are invited.

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<v Speaker 1>Battell promised that the second Trump administration would release everything

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<v Speaker 1>to restore public trust, and they've made it worse, promises

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<v Speaker 1>on a Boulevard of Broken Dreams on the Dan Bongino Show.

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<v Speaker 1>Bongino's background as a Secret Service agent had lent authority

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<v Speaker 1>to his claims of a cover up. What the hell

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<v Speaker 1>are they hiding with Jeffrey Epstein, He'd ask his large

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<v Speaker 1>audience of magadavotees. The release of the client list would

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<v Speaker 1>rock the political world, he predicted, though Washington Swamp was

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<v Speaker 1>not telling you the truth. Well, that's true too, they're not,

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<v Speaker 1>and neither did Dan Bongino. Just another useless son of

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<v Speaker 1>a bitch. Another person who promised that he was going

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<v Speaker 1>to do the right thing, going to expose people, bring transparency,

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<v Speaker 1>didn't do any of it. In fact, tucked his tail

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<v Speaker 1>between his legs and dipped right back to the podcasting world.

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<v Speaker 1>So as they took office in twenty twenty five, Trump's

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<v Speaker 1>advisors were subject to intense pressure of their own making.

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<v Speaker 1>Attorney General Pam Bondi quickly made things much worse. First,

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<v Speaker 1>in a Fox News interview on February twenty, first appeared

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<v Speaker 1>to confirm the existence of an Epstein client list, something

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<v Speaker 1>that the Mega base had believed was sitting in the

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<v Speaker 1>files hidden, and hinted that its release was imminent. Asked

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<v Speaker 1>whether the Justice Department might release the names, she responded,

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<v Speaker 1>it's sitting on my desk right now to review. But

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<v Speaker 1>many viewed what came six days later as even more

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<v Speaker 1>of an egregious misstep. The whole entire thing was poorly planned,

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<v Speaker 1>poorly managed, and poorly carried out. And if we can't

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<v Speaker 1>prove a cover up here, it's not because there's no evidence,

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<v Speaker 1>it's because the willpower isn't there. On February twenty seventh,

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<v Speaker 1>the White House Communications Office scheduled a lineup of cabinet

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<v Speaker 1>officials to brief popular right wing influencers in the Roosevelt Room.

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<v Speaker 1>The session began with Vice President Vance, followed by Secretary

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<v Speaker 1>of State Marco Rubio walking the influencers through the administration's agenda.

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<v Speaker 1>In attendance was a who's who of online Maga, Mike Cernovich,

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<v Speaker 1>Liz Wheeler, Colin rugg d C. Draino. The President himself

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<v Speaker 1>brought them to the Oval Office and gave them custom

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<v Speaker 1>design Challenge coins as a token of his appreciation. Before

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<v Speaker 1>everything went wrong, one of them would a remark, it

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<v Speaker 1>was the best day of my life. What a bunch

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<v Speaker 1>of clowns. Those people are. All those people with the

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<v Speaker 1>white binders, all part of the sciot, all part of

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<v Speaker 1>the cover up. Imagine sacrificing your morality to have a

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<v Speaker 1>few minutes at the White House when the Attorney General

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<v Speaker 1>and her team walked into the Roosevelt Room carrying boxes.

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<v Speaker 1>Bondi had brought binders as handouts for the influencers. Her

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<v Speaker 1>ades would later tell colleagues that the FBI had prepared

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<v Speaker 1>them with the assurance that they contained revelatory details. Someone

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<v Speaker 1>on her staff said, watch this, this is cool. This

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<v Speaker 1>is going to be epic yet an epic disaster, epically ridiculous.

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<v Speaker 1>But as Bondie staffsart distributing the binders, the blood pressure

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<v Speaker 1>of other officials in the room skyrocketed. They had no

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<v Speaker 1>idea what was in the handouts. The Attorney General was

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<v Speaker 1>distributing something she was calling the Epstein Files that had

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<v Speaker 1>not been vetted by anyone in the White House. One

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<v Speaker 1>official opening the binder began flipping through the pages to

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<v Speaker 1>see if Trump's name was mentioned anywhere. A few pages in,

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<v Speaker 1>right in the middle of the page, there it was. Boy,

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<v Speaker 1>I bet they were happy to find the other what

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<v Speaker 1>thirty eight thousand mentions Cure Starmer, the British Prime Minister,

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<v Speaker 1>was at the White House that day. If news broke

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<v Speaker 1>that the Epstein files had been released before the President

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<v Speaker 1>was to meet the press with the Prime Minister. That

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<v Speaker 1>would be all the journalists would want to talk about,

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<v Speaker 1>and Trump would be blindsided. Oh, poor Trump, gonna get blindsided,

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<v Speaker 1>Gonna have to talk about his buddy Jeffrey Epstein again. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>guess what, it's not going anywhere time to meet that

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<v Speaker 1>shit had on. One of Trump's aids hastily steered the

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<v Speaker 1>influencers out of the White House, telling them that the

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<v Speaker 1>content of the binders was embargoed until after the President's

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<v Speaker 1>news conference with Starmer, but the Communications Office would be

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<v Speaker 1>more than happy to talk about the files afterward. As

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<v Speaker 1>the influencers left, they snapped selfies in front of the

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<v Speaker 1>White House holding the binders, quickly posting the pictures on

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<v Speaker 1>social media. They had now created a new shock wave

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<v Speaker 1>of anticipation of what might be in them. And I

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<v Speaker 1>remember when it happened. I knew for a fact that

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<v Speaker 1>we were getting dog walked. I knew that we were

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<v Speaker 1>going to get nothing. And guess what we got nothing?

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<v Speaker 1>Not a zilch ounngts. Like some others in the White House,

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<v Speaker 1>BONDI had either grossly underestimated or simply been blind to

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<v Speaker 1>the voracious appetite of the MAGA base for information about Epstein.

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<v Speaker 1>Her binders contained information about him and his activities, flight logs,

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<v Speaker 1>contact lists, some rease of items taken from the residents

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<v Speaker 1>after his twenty nineteen arrests, and other material, but nearly

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<v Speaker 1>all of it had been previously released. Bondie had somehow

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<v Speaker 1>simultaneously over sold and trivialized the Epstein files, and now

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<v Speaker 1>the influencers made to feel like dupes. Well they are.

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<v Speaker 1>They're just a bunch of grifters. Do you think any

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<v Speaker 1>of those people care about Jeffrey Epstein or the survivors

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<v Speaker 1>or any of the story. It's about engagement to them. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>they cared about it when they thought they were going

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<v Speaker 1>to use it politically. That's when they cared, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>just like the other side cares. Now, Oh we got

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<v Speaker 1>a political inroad here, we all of a sudden care. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I hate to break the news to you, but if

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<v Speaker 1>you would have cared when it mattered the most, when

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<v Speaker 1>this was all happening, maybe, just maybe we wouldn't be

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<v Speaker 1>here today. And it was people like Maggie Haberman, the

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<v Speaker 1>author of this article, who was calling people like me

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<v Speaker 1>conspiracy theorists. Meanwhile, we've been over the target for seven years,

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<v Speaker 1>and all you had to do was listen. Just listen

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<v Speaker 1>to what the survivors were saying. Listen to Virginia, Listen

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<v Speaker 1>to what Maria had to say, Listen to all these

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<v Speaker 1>women who actually lived it. And then you go when

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<v Speaker 1>you look at all the core documents, you look at

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<v Speaker 1>everything that came out, and the picture that it paints

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<v Speaker 1>is not very hard to recognize. In the Roosevelt Room,

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<v Speaker 1>Bondi told the influencers that this was just the first

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<v Speaker 1>tranch of files. There would be more coming, she assured them,

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<v Speaker 1>But that story would change too. Yeah, everything they told

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<v Speaker 1>us changed the campaign. It was Oh, we're gonna have

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<v Speaker 1>everything out, then it was oh, no, there's nothing coming out.

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<v Speaker 1>And then after the discharge petition, well, we're the most

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<v Speaker 1>transparent administration in the history of transparency, so we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to get everything out for you. Nothing comes out, nothing

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<v Speaker 1>of substance, and they fight tooth andel the whole entire time.

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<v Speaker 1>If Donald Trump wanted to be transparent, he could be

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<v Speaker 1>him and his Justice Department could have been as transparent

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<v Speaker 1>as they wanted to be. But instead we had to

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<v Speaker 1>jump through hoops and it became a circus. And for

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<v Speaker 1>what so Trump could protect his donors, protect a few

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<v Speaker 1>of Jeffrey Epstein's best friends, or is there something more

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<v Speaker 1>sinister that he's trying to protect. The Justice Department officials

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<v Speaker 1>were reviewing the Epstein material, but months would pass before

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<v Speaker 1>the Department or any of Trump's closest advisers knew just

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<v Speaker 1>how many documents. There were more than three million pages

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<v Speaker 1>of files related to Epstein, and potentially as many as

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<v Speaker 1>six million. In the early months, officials were focused on

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<v Speaker 1>going through the trove of what are known as three

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<v Speaker 1>O two forms, records of FBI agents interview notes with witnesses,

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<v Speaker 1>some of whom were victims of Epstein. These were raw records,

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<v Speaker 1>often containing unverified information. Trump was mentioned numerous times, as

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<v Speaker 1>were other prominent men. Look, the three or two reports

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<v Speaker 1>are telling. These are the words of the people who

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<v Speaker 1>are interviewed, who the investigators think have knowledge of what's

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<v Speaker 1>going on. So I would suggest that you take the

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<v Speaker 1>three O two profers seriously. Now, does that mean that

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<v Speaker 1>people won't lie? Of course not. You have to be guarded,

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<v Speaker 1>and I would suggest that you're very cautious with what's

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<v Speaker 1>sort of slop you're put into your brain when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to this topic. There's a lot of people out

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<v Speaker 1>there just serving up a bunch of nonsense. In June,

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<v Speaker 1>four months after the circus, in the Roosevelt Room with

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<v Speaker 1>the influencers, Bondie and Blanche brief the President on the

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<v Speaker 1>status of the Epstein review. We've gone through the files,

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<v Speaker 1>blanched old Trump. There's not a lot there a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of child pornography. Obviously, we can't put any of that out.

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<v Speaker 1>There are some mentions of you, but nothing substantative. Most

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<v Speaker 1>of Trump's advisors had rejected out of hand the idea

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<v Speaker 1>of releasing the fbis raw interview notes. More important, they

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to avoid putting out anything that could damage the president.

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<v Speaker 1>Cover up, folks, That's what this is. This is a

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<v Speaker 1>cover up emotion. Everything's being done to protect Donald Trump.

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<v Speaker 1>It has nothing to do with justice, it has nothing

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<v Speaker 1>to do with thrill transparency. It's about protecting Donald Trump

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<v Speaker 1>on Donald Trump's orders. If that's not a cover up,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know what is. With full transparency a non starter,

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<v Speaker 1>a small group of White House and Justice Department officials

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<v Speaker 1>decided to draft a memo that would explain why the

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<v Speaker 1>department was not releasing any further information about Epstein, but

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<v Speaker 1>even the process of composing the memo was fraud in

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<v Speaker 1>part because no one wanted their name on it, and

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<v Speaker 1>in part because of a deep concern within the leadership

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<v Speaker 1>of the FBI. You know what we need here, a whistleblower.

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<v Speaker 1>We need somebody that was working on this behind the

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<v Speaker 1>scenes to come out and drip all that tea. You

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<v Speaker 1>know that there were people that weren't down with what

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<v Speaker 1>was going on. You know that there were people that

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to go a different way. But all of this

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<v Speaker 1>was done at the behest of Donald Trump. And it

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<v Speaker 1>seems like every time we get new information, it just

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<v Speaker 1>reaffirms that. For weeks, Ptel and Bongino, the deputy FBI director,

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<v Speaker 1>had grown more infuriated as they realized the scale of

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<v Speaker 1>the mess for which they were now being blamed. They

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<v Speaker 1>repeatedly raised alarms internally that the Epstein crisis was gathering

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<v Speaker 1>momentum with Trump supporters. Bongino wanted to convey something definitive

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<v Speaker 1>to the MAGA base, and he and Patel pushed for

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<v Speaker 1>the immediate release of the surveillance footage from the federal

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<v Speaker 1>facility where Epstein was found dead in his cell that

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<v Speaker 1>proved to be a disaster as well. What an absolute

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<v Speaker 1>and utter disaster, missing minute, nothing adding up, couldn't see anything.

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<v Speaker 1>And then of course there's the orange blob that nobody's explained.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh it's Toevin o weel, Well, no it's not. She

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<v Speaker 1>says it's not her, So who is it? Bongino hated

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<v Speaker 1>the Justice departments nothing to see here memo being drawn

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<v Speaker 1>up for public release. He told Patel this would in

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<v Speaker 1>no way a line with their promises of transparency after

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<v Speaker 1>taking over the FBI, and he objected to putting the

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<v Speaker 1>FBI seal on the letterhead, but he was overruled. Patel

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<v Speaker 1>privately shared many of Bongino's concerns, but in an internal

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<v Speaker 1>email on July second, the FBI director gave his support

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<v Speaker 1>for the memo. Well, what's he gonna do? Donald Trump

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<v Speaker 1>wants the memo out, They're gonna put it out. These

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<v Speaker 1>people aren't courageous. They're not willing to stand up to

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<v Speaker 1>somebody like Donald Trump if that means their career is

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<v Speaker 1>going to be over. Thanks for the edits. I still

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<v Speaker 1>believe that this is the correct vehicle forward. Petel wrote

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<v Speaker 1>with the occasional typo to a small group of colleagues,

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<v Speaker 1>including Blanche. I'm happy to add any additional sentences to

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<v Speaker 1>compete the shortfall, but I do think we address specifically

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<v Speaker 1>why Mora can't be released, as it relates to specific topics,

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<v Speaker 1>i e. Coord Order see sam victims protections, et cetera.

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<v Speaker 1>Bondi rarely used her Justice Department email and was not

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<v Speaker 1>on the chain where the group worked on the memo.

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<v Speaker 1>She was aware of both the memo and the release

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<v Speaker 1>of the prison video, but was not involved in editing

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<v Speaker 1>the document. So what was she doing just to figurehead?

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<v Speaker 1>I think that Blanche has been the boss this whole

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<v Speaker 1>entire time. That's what I believe, and I think that

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<v Speaker 1>he was put there by Donald Trump for this exact reason.

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<v Speaker 1>If Chic goes south, Blanche takes the reins and he

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<v Speaker 1>guides the ship home. And that's exactly what's happening right

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<v Speaker 1>now as we speak. But Blanche needs to understand that

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<v Speaker 1>Trump's not going to be president forever, and at some

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<v Speaker 1>point this bill is going to come due. Inside the

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<v Speaker 1>White House, Trump had no interest in releasing anything, and

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<v Speaker 1>senior officials, including Wiles and Blair, were initially unconvinced about

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<v Speaker 1>the reach of the Epstein crisis. They told colleagues that

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<v Speaker 1>Republican voters didn't care, and they had early data from

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<v Speaker 1>Trump's chief polster Tony Fabrizio to demonstrate it. The Epstein Brwaha,

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<v Speaker 1>in their view, was driven by fringe conspiracy theorists and

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<v Speaker 1>amplified by noisy online influencers who didn't represent a meaningful

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<v Speaker 1>block of voters. If the White House engay, it would

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<v Speaker 1>only pump it up, putting the official stamp on the matter. Wiles,

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<v Speaker 1>Blair and others around Trump had seen weather, every storm

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<v Speaker 1>imaginable for years, and in their view, this wasn't a storm.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a passing cloud at most. I wonder if

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<v Speaker 1>he feels that way now. Bongino told anyone who would

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<v Speaker 1>listen that this was a grave miscalculation. It's not an

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<v Speaker 1>online story. He told White House advisors. You don't understand.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, folks, We're gonna wrap up right here and

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<v Speaker 1>in the next episode we'll finish this bad boy off.

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<v Speaker 1>All the information that goes with this episode can be

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<v Speaker 1>found in the description box.