The Philip DeFranco Show - The Epstein Files Release is a Dumpster Fire

Starting point is 00:00:00 This Epstein files release, if we can even really call it that, has been a dumpster fire. But it looks like everyone's losing trust at the exact same time. You've got lawmakers from both parties accusing the DOJ of slow walking, blacking out and selectively hiding information, and one of the most notorious abuse cases in modern history. And that's despite a law that explicitly ordered full transparency. Because with the DOJ released, it wasn't clarity. It was largely hundreds of pages of black boxes.

Starting point is 00:00:21 Where the Epstein files transparency act required the Justice Department to fully release all unclassified records related to Jeffrey Epstein. But instead, this Trump DOJ, they released a partial, and promised more in the coming weeks, which immediately triggered outrage. And so as of this morning, you had Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announcing that he was introducing legislation to initiate legal action against the DOJ, accusing it of just openly violating the law, and he was not alone there. Right, House Republican Thomas Massey and House Democrat Ro Khanna, they floated something

Starting point is 00:00:45 even further. Holding Attorney General Pam Bondi in inherent contempt, which is a rarely used congressional power that would allow lawmakers to find her every single day that the documents aren't released. They're flouting the spirit and the letter of the law. It's very troubling the posture that they've taken. And I won't be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied. The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi. And that doesn't require going through the courts. And give her, and basically, Roe Con and I are talking about and drafting that right now. We only need the

Starting point is 00:01:22 House for inherent contempt, and we're building a bipartisan coalition, and it would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she's not releasing these documents. And their argument was simple. This isn't about pacing. It's about selective concealment. Right, nearly 700 pages of the release were entirely redacted. Not partially, not names removed, completely blacked out. And that includes a 119-page grand jury document that was released as nothing but just black ink. And so you had lawmakers across the political spectrum calling the redactions obscene one writing, most transparent administration in history, these redactions are a mockery of Epstein survivors and the American people. And And another warning, the law allows redactions only to protect victims and their families.

Starting point is 00:01:59 Anything else violates federal law. And then, over the weekend, things got even messier because reporters noticed that the DOJ had quietly removed at least 16 files from the initial release. And among them, this is going to shock you, included photos of Donald Trump. One image showing Trump, Melania, Epstein, and Galane Maxwell together, it's a publicly known photo that's existed for years. Another is showing Trump surrounded by women, including one wearing a bikini. DOJ also removed images of nude paintings from Epstein's estate.

Starting point is 00:02:21 Though after the intense backlash and accusations of political interference, the files were restore. Anyway, the Trump DOJ claiming that the Trump image, it was removed out of an abundance of caution, their words to protect victims, and then they reposted it after determining that no victims were depicted, which then raised a brand new question that lawmakers immediately asked, well, what else was removed and who noticed? And that question, it just blew up after Aaron Parnas revealed that a survivor's full name was left unredacted in the release, which is a direct violation in the law, while the DOJ continues to withhold her full FBI fire. Something that this woman called an indefensible violation. But in the meantime, we've also seen some of the images

Starting point is 00:02:53 his release spreading like wildfire, right one showing Epstein shirtless under covers next to a very young-looking child. You also had others featuring Bill Clinton with Epstein and celebrities like Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross, along with photos of Clinton in a hot tub and a pool with Galane Maxwell and redacted individuals. And there what you saw were Republicans jumping on those images to argue that the files, they actually implicate Democrats more than Trump. Though then you had Democrats firing back that the redactions themselves suggest that the DOJ may be shielding powerful people, potentially even including the president. I mean, even And Republican Senator Rand Paul warned the administration that this was a mistake saying that any hint of a cover-up is going to haunt them for months and urging a full release.

Starting point is 00:03:28 I mean, look, the administration has struggled for months and months with something they initially ginned up and then sort of tried to tamp down. So any evidence or any kind of indication that there's not a full reveal on this, this will just plague them for months and months more. So my suggestion would be give up all the information, release it. And then also, I've got to say, buried beneath all this political chaos is, one of the most devastating revelations in the entire dump. That's a 1996 FBI complaint for Maria Farmer. You see, Farmer, she reported Epstein for allegedly stealing nude photos of her sister, 16 and 12 years old, and for pressuring her to photograph young girls.

Starting point is 00:04:03 And she says not only did Epstein threaten to burn her house down if she told anyone, she begged the FBI to investigate, but they didn't for 10 years. And now, three decades later, her report is finally public, where they're telling the New York Times, I've waited 30 years, they can't call me a liar anymore. And while she says, you know, she feels vindicated. She also said they should be ashamed. They harmed all of these little girls. And saying that her complaint also urged the FBI to investigate powerful people in Epstein's orbit, including Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

Starting point is 00:04:29 And yet, even now, key FBI interviews with survivors are missing names like Prince Andrew, they barely appear, and victims say that the system, it is once again failing them. But as far as what we're seeing with this, you have the Trump White House claiming that the administration has done more for victims than the Democrats ever have. The Trump DOJ says there's no effort to protect Trump, and officials are daring Congress to even try to hold them in contempt. Right, but at this point, with everything that we've seen, there's just one thing that's undeniable. The Epstein files were supposed to bring transparency, but instead, they've just exposed how little trust remains in the DOJ and politics and in a system that has failed survivors and protected the elites for the elites for decades.

Starting point is 00:05:01 But that's also not where the understandable trust issues ends today. Right, because CBS is now censoring the news for the Trump administration, according to staff at CBS. Right, because just three hours before the Sunday night broadcast of 60 minutes, CBS announced that it was pulling a segment. When you know it, it just happened to feature stories of Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration, a prison known as Seacot or the terrorism confinement center in El Salvador, which has become infamous for its brutal conditions. And that decision was made by Barry Weiss, the newly installed editor-in-chief of CBS News. And even though it was reportedly screened five times and given the green light by lawyers and fact-checkers, she reportedly requested a bunch of changes to the segment. Changes that included adding new material like an interview with White House deputy chief staff Stephen Miller.

Starting point is 00:05:38 And to CBS's official statement said that the segment was postponed and, quote, needed additional reporting. With Weiss, and adding later that stories they get pulled all the time for a variety of reasons, including, quote, Quote, that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices. With her adding that she looks forward to airing this piece, quote, when it's ready. Though that, as the veteran correspondent who reported the story, Sharon Alfonzi, wrote in a note to other 60-minute staff, our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and standards and practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision.

Starting point is 00:06:10 It is a political one. With Alfonzi adding that her team tried reaching out to the White House, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security. But saying that they just received no response. And with that, adding, if the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a kill switch for any reporting they find inconvenient. And again, this is a story that not only had a green light, but it was a story that was teased for days on social media. And so you had Alfonzi, adding that this sudden postponant, it's going to harm 60 minutes credibility.

Starting point is 00:06:36 And adding, when it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship, saying we are trading 50 years of gold standard reputation for a single week of political quiet. And with all this, you had Alfonzi referencing another infamously spiked story in 60 Minutes history. Right in there, I'm talking about the Wiggins scandal. Because in 1995, Jeffrey Wigand, of former employee at the Tobacco Company Brown and Williamson, gave 60 minutes information that his company was hiding the health risks of cigarettes. So huge news except that the story was shot down because the network's lawyers were afraid of inviting a billion dollar lawsuit.

Starting point is 00:07:04 With then, the Wall Street Journal, later breaking the story, 60 minutes following, and with that you had Al Fonzi saying, CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wiggand interview due to legal concerns nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that low point. Pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones. And so now you've got some 60-minute staffers, reportedly threatening to quit, the backlash has been echoing across the internet, but Barry Weiss, she is stuck to her guns. With Weiss saying in a call on Monday morning, while the story presented powerful testimony of

Starting point is 00:07:32 torture at Seacott, it did not advance the ball. Saying the Times and other outlets have previously done similar work. The public knows that Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment at this prison. To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more. But for many, they still see this as Barry Weiss running interference for the Trump administration. Especially since Barry Weiss was installed, as CBS is undergoing a number of changes since its parent company Paramount was purchased by Skydance. A move that many were shocked by, as she has no previous experience in TV management and traditional reporting. And its owner,

Starting point is 00:07:58 David Ellison is a Trump ally and has been trying to court the president for his approval. And so you know with all of this, I'd love to know your thoughts, opinions and reactions in those comments down below, definitely share to spread the word, but also some other news you should know today. Rokana says they're hearing that there's going to be another DOJ Epstein release this afternoon. And with that listing, what they'd like to see, TPSA's America First event. was just covered in controversy. Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, and others taking shots at one another, along with Nikki Minaj showing up and accidentally calling

Starting point is 00:08:22 Vice President J.D. Vance and Assassin. And Larry Ellison is now apparently backstopping Paramount's bid for Warner Brothers with a $40 billion guarantee. And again, share to spread the word and subscribe to stay in the loop.

The Philip DeFranco Show - The Epstein Files Release is a Dumpster Fire

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