Blog Details

AMY GOODMAN: Days after the December nineteenth closing date for the unlock of all recordsdata linked to the unhurried serial sex culprit Jeffrey Epstein and below colossal stress, the Justice Division has merely released better than 11,000 recordsdata Tuesday, totaling merely about 30,000 pages of paperwork. This involves interior FBI emails from 2019 that level to 10 likely “co-conspirators” of Epstein, including one who’s described as a, quote, “affluent industry man in Ohio,” unquote. The emails also indicate that, quote, “three were located in Florida and served [grand jury] subpoenas; 1 in Boston, 1 in Original York Metropolis, and 1 in Connecticut had been located and served,” unquote. Ghislaine Maxwell is the true Epstein accomplice to be charged criminally. She’s currently serving a 20-year sentence on federal sex trafficking charges.

This comes after the DOJ Monday briefly published thousands of additional paperwork linked to Epstein. The 2d tranche of paperwork had been within the market online for a few hours, but then disappeared from the Justice Division’s web place without clarification. The paperwork relish huge-ranging references to Donald Trump.

One electronic mail, written by an assistant U.S. attorney for the length of Trump’s first time duration in early 2020, discovered Trump was a passenger aboard Epstein’s interior most jet on no longer no longer as much as eight flights between 1993 and 1996. On no longer no longer as much as four of those flights, Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell was also demonstrate. Trump has no longer been straight away accused of prison conduct and claims to relish slice ties with Epstein decades ago.

In a joint statement, a few survivors slammed the authorities’s recent document dump for failing to redact a pleasant sequence of sufferer identities, while also making, quote, “unheard of and vulgar redactions and not using a clarification,” love online page upon online page fully blacked out. This is Epstein survivor Sharlene Rochard speaking on NBC.

SHARLENE ROCHARD: I’m very upset with the justice plot, on myth of there’s elephantine pages that are completely blacked out. And I know — I don’t uncover out about you, but my name is now not any longer a elephantine online page. We supreme asked that our names be redacted. That’s all we asked for. So, pages and pages and pages of shaded on shaded on shaded is merely unacceptable.

AMY GOODMAN: On Monday, 18 survivors of Epstein wrote a joint letter condemning the Justice Division’s unlock of merely a fraction of the recordsdata demanded by laws, and called on Congress to preserve hearings to fabricate determined the Trump administration is totally complying with the Epstein Recordsdata Transparency Act.

This is Epstein survivor Haley Robson, who voted for Trump within the 2024 presidential election, responding to the original recordsdata. She was speaking on CNN.

HALEY ROBSON: At the tip of the day, I’m no longer supporting this administration. I redact any give a plot shut to I’ve ever given to him, Pam Bondi, Kash Patel. I’m so disgusted with this administration. I mediate that Pam Bondi and Kash Patel both must resign, and I’d love to leer quantity 47 get impeached over this.

AMY GOODMAN: This comes as Democratic Congressmember Robert Garcia, the tip Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, is asking the DOJ’s inspector total to analyze why the FBI did now not behave on a 1996 criticism by survivor Maria Farmer against Jeffrey Epstein that he and his mates had been producing child sexual abuse field cloth. Garcia wrote, quote, “For survivors love Maria Farmer, her family, and the whole of us Jeffrey Epstein abused within the decades that adopted this unanswered criticism, this was no longer merely a skipped over investigative opportunity — it was a profound betrayal by their have authorities,” unquote.

Meanwhile, Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna and Republican Congressmember Thomas Massie, who sponsored the Epstein Recordsdata Transparency Act, stammer Licensed legit General Pam Bondi must tranquil be held in contempt, is more seemingly to be fined for every day she fails to unlock the elephantine Epstein recordsdata.

For added on all of this, we’re joined in our Original York studio by Vicky Ward, longtime investigative journalist, host and co-producer of the podcast series Chasing Ghislaine: The Untold Fable of the Girl in Epstein’s Shadow, which also became a TV series by the identical name.

Vicky, welcome aid to Democracy Now! Initially, must you have to answer to what has came about to this level? December nineteenth was the closing date. That was Friday. Now the Justice Division, days later, after releasing thousands of paperwork, then erasing them from the get place, now calling for U.S. — for attorneys within the United States to return to the Justice Division and aid them redact. What has been redacted? What has no longer been redacted? Can you answer to all of this?

VICKY WARD: Yeah. I imply, I mediate shapely from the get-trot — shapely? — shapely from when, months ago, Pam Bondi mentioned in an interview, “Oh, I’ve got the Epstein recordsdata sitting on my desk,” I imply, that was the predominant indication, I mediate, of the contemptuous, cavalier angle that has long gone on interior this Justice Division.

AMY GOODMAN: Excellent. She mentioned she was going to unlock the so-called client record.

VICKY WARD: She was — recordsdata, they had been there on her desk. I don’t mediate that these thousands and thousands of pages had been sitting on her desk. I imply, so, you realize, and it’s heartbreaking, frankly, to leer these recordsdata being dribbled out. It’s so against the spirit whereby the victims went to Capitol Hill, asked for transparency, which a bipartisan Congress agreed with them that they’re owed this transparency, so that crimes love this would maybe presumably never happen again.

And now to relish this mishmash, which even I, who am no longer a sufferer of sexual abuse from Jeffrey Epstein, but I sat by Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, and I discovered it very, very upsetting — I mediate most of us journalists, you realize, had been laborious-bitten. You know, we’ve seen some things. It was the truth is sophisticated to listen to the tales of abuse in that court docket and the truth is sophisticated to be taught the scale of it. And these pages relish that yarn writ good over and over over and over. And given the chaos of this rollout, there’s no easy plot for these survivors to like a flash search what they’re attempting to search out. I wish to leer —

AMY GOODMAN: That was fragment of the laws, incidentally.

VICKY WARD: Excellent.

AMY GOODMAN: That there had to be a working search map on these paperwork.

VICKY WARD: And there isn’t. And in allege that they must battle by online page after online page after online page of very, very sophisticated stuff. I mediate, merely on a shapely foundation, it’s disgusting.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s the truth is important to be speaking to you this day on myth of, years ago, you wrote this piece in Arrogance Elegant. You’re the actual particular individual that spoke to Maria Farmer. Now, that conversation did no longer appear in Arrogance Elegant. And must you have to remind our viewers and listeners what came about? Because this has to carry out with the collusion of the press with Jeffrey Epstein. But you realize her yarn very effectively.

VICKY WARD: Sure.

AMY GOODMAN: This lady who, for decades, has tried to discontinue the abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

VICKY WARD: Sure. Well, I didn’t talk to Maria Farmer merely once. You know, within the autumn of 2002, once I was assigned to write this profile of Jeffrey Epstein, I met with Maria. I spoke to her many, many times. And she mentioned precisely what has now appeared within the FBI’s recordsdata.

She mentioned that in 1996 she had had a horrific night while up in a customer house of Jeffrey Epstein’s home on Les Wexner’s property in Ohio. She’d been up there painting. She was an artist. Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell had come to focus on with her. There had adopted some destructive sexual abuse, after which she had bustle out of the house, taken her canine, bustle —

AMY GOODMAN: The sexual abuse perpetrated by both Ghislaine —

VICKY WARD: By both.

AMY GOODMAN: — and Jeffrey Epstein.

VICKY WARD: By both. But in all of this, she had left on the aid of a lock box of nude images of her sisters — no longer merely Annie, there was yet any other sister. And, you realize, she was a figurative artist. You know, that’s the produce of labor that she did. And she was shrinking that Epstein was going to carry out — excuse me — you realize, something abominable with these. And she got mobile phone calls from both Epstein and Maxwell saying — threatening her.

So she phoned — basically, she instructed me she phoned the police in Original York first, and they mentioned, “We can’t — that is now not any longer for us. This is, you realize, going across impart traces. It be vital to mobile phone the FBI.” She did mobile phone the FBI. Now, the FBI, aid within the day — I phoned the FBI. They —

AMY GOODMAN: They threatened to burn her.

VICKY WARD: But she phoned the FBI in regards to the lock box, and was shrinking, desperately shrinking, you realize, what would maybe they carry out with nude images of her sisters, who had been infants, young of us.

AMY GOODMAN: They had been her younger sisters.

VICKY WARD: And, you realize, once I was reporting this piece, you realize, the FBI tend no longer to answer journalists love me, so I wasn’t in a plot to get that document aid then. I also phoned the police, and they didn’t — they didn’t do their records, which I wish they’d, on myth of they’d a document, too.

But, you realize, as I mediate you realize and a quantity of journalists perceive how this tragic yarn ends, which was that after, in the direction of the closing of the piece, I had to trot to Jeffrey Epstein and to Ghislaine Maxwell with the allegations of both Maria Farmer as to what had came about, and her younger sister Annie, who had mentioned very clearly on the document that she had been taken to Original Mexico for a weekend and had — 

AMY GOODMAN: To his property there.

VICKY WARD: Sure, and, you realize, on the age of 16, and had to relish a topless rubdown from Ghislaine Maxwell. After which, Jeffrey Epstein, one morning, jumped into bed for, quote-unquote, a “cuddle” with her. Epstein went berserk once I place those allegations, as did Ghislaine Maxwell, fully berserk. He, you realize, without warning sent over a whole bunch of forms that he claimed had been letters from their mom, letters from them, that showed that, no, you realize, this would maybe presumably no longer be appropriate.

And, you realize, the next ingredient I knew was that as we had been closing the piece, a fact-checker sent me a indicate saying, “You’re no longer going to explain who’s now within the workplace at Arrogance Elegant.” It was Jeffrey Epstein. You know, who knows what came about?

AMY GOODMAN: Meeting with?

VICKY WARD: Graydon Carter, the editor of the journal. I carry out no longer know what was mentioned in that assembly. I may stammer, Amy, that I did —

AMY GOODMAN: You had been about to provide birth to twins?

VICKY WARD: I was at home on bed leisure. I believed we had been carried out with this piece. I did accumulate in these recordsdata that — within the predominant batch that was released, that there was a fraction in a binder containing images, that was called Arrogance Elegant. I did stare that the images in that binder, in that fragment, had been folks who had been outmoded accompanying my piece within the journal, which is intensely odd, on myth of Arrogance Elegant on occasion prides itself on its images as necessary because it does on its observe. So, one has to mediate they offered the images. One has to query: What was the quid legit quo?

My piece sooner or later ran. The Farmer sisters and their allegations weren’t in it. And the reason that is so, so, so abominable and devastating is that we had uncovered them — I had uncovered them — to Ghislaine Maxwell and to Graydon Carter.

And the yarn doesn’t discontinue there. The FBI then phoned me about, I wish to stammer, a year later, 2004, in regards to the Farmer sisters. And I did assert them what had came about. So, I’d love to leer my interview notes someplace in these recordsdata.

AMY GOODMAN: And you haven’t seen them yet.

VICKY WARD: No, I even relish no longer.

AMY GOODMAN: But that without a doubt is now not any longer classified recordsdata.

VICKY WARD: No.

AMY GOODMAN: That is proof, once extra —

VICKY WARD: Excellent.

AMY GOODMAN: — of all of the easy activity that has no longer been released.

VICKY WARD: 100%. 100%. The assorted ingredient I mediate you leer, it’s no longer merely the rollout itself that’s shambles. The notify material in it produce of paints a image of a shambolic FBI. You know, that is an FBI that appears to be like to grab its lead rather continuously from the press. I may stammer it’s racy. You know, I learned that something I’d reported is produce of laid out on the internet page clearly, which is that had been it no longer for David Boies, the criminal legit who represented Virginia Giuffre in her civil litigation against Ghislaine Maxwell — Virginia sued for defamation.

AMY GOODMAN: Who brought down — 

VICKY WARD: Sure.

AMY GOODMAN: — Andrew, the prince.

VICKY WARD: Sure.

AMY GOODMAN: No longer.

VICKY WARD: Excellent. Virginia, as we know, tragically, died of suicide earlier this year. But you have to leer in these recordsdata, in that litigation, which was in 2016, you have to leer notes of conversations. David Boies went to the feds. He went to the Southern District, mentioned, “It be vital to leer at what is in these — this discovery, must leer at these depositions, on myth of this reveals the simpler crime.” You leer the feds tracking this, but you don’t leer them doing something, till, again, you leer them pass around links to the Miami Herald, links to Julie Brown’s yarn in — discontinue of 2018. And it’s practically love they’re having to notice, you realize, practically love Inspector Clouseau, these breadcrumbs that are left for them by all people else. And I’m determined the survivors accumulate this the truth is disheartening, in a approach, to survey.

AMY GOODMAN: Why carry out you explain President Trump has approached this the plot in which he has? And what in regards to the easy activity and all that has come out around him — no longer basically prison — 

VICKY WARD: Yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: — but the elimination of his name from so many varied paperwork? After which you leer his name once in a document that was redacted, and so that you realize that it’s the truth is him. He’s the one who campaigned on the unlock of the —

VICKY WARD: I know.

AMY GOODMAN: — Jeffrey Epstein paperwork. Now he had to ticket this unlock into laws, but the plot in which they’re dragging their toes. Disclose, as we wrap up, about what you quiz to leer, the improbable energy of the survivors banding together.

VICKY WARD: Well, you realize, my — that is idea, but my intestine — and I carry out know President Trump — tells me that he doesn’t love a myth whereby there’s any produce of gray or nuance that he isn’t come what could the supreme, completely the very most life like. And, you realize, that is a myth which over and over over and over brings up his past, and a past that presented a extremely varied portrait of Donald Trump than the one he would favor to painting now.

I may stammer that, you realize, having sat within the Maxwell trial, we did leer his name come up on the mask mask on the flight logs in that key duration, when Maxwell and Epstein had been grooming and recruiting one of their major victims up, who was attending Interlochen, a college for creative gifted young of us. You potentially did leer flight’s name again and — Trump’s name over and over over and over on the manifest. And it was a head scratcher, on myth of it was the truth is very unlikely on the 2d to place the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle together.

AMY GOODMAN: Because he denied being on any flights — 

VICKY WARD: No.

AMY GOODMAN: — and he denied being on the island.

VICKY WARD: Well, and I never saw any records of him being on the island. I don’t know if he denied being on any flights. But I mediate that, you realize, you have to leer, must you’re Trump, that is all too shut for comfort, and it’s no longer very joyful to relish these items out. And Trump being Trump, he’d fairly no longer handle it.

AMY GOODMAN: And where carry out you leer this going for the survivors and for Pam Bondi? Would possibly perchance she be held in contempt?

VICKY WARD: Well, I the truth is hope Congress does their job. I imply, you realize, one of many things we must leer within the Trump administration is the assorted branches of authorities the truth is doing what they’re supposed to carry out and maintaining every varied to myth.

AMY GOODMAN: Sooner or later, you is more seemingly to be the knowledgeable on Ghislaine Maxwell. She is now in a minimal-safety penal advanced. No sex abuse — no sex perpetrator has been place in a penal advanced camp love she has,  after she had interviews with, what, the deputy attorney total, who was Trump’s frail attorney. Would possibly perchance you leer Trump pardoning her? And she has appealed for the reopening of the case.

VICKY WARD: Well, I mediate two of the of us that come out fully appallingly from this newest document dump is Ghislaine Maxwell in her correspondence with the frail Prince Andrew, arranging, quote-unquote, “inferior” women for him. I mediate of us will be sickened by that.

As concerning a pardon, never, never stammer “never.” But I mediate President Trump is a one that’s concerned at this level with legacy and with ancient past. And I mediate if he had been to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, that blot would stain the whole varied things he — accomplishments he likes to chat about that he’s carried out. So I for my part would be scared.

AMY GOODMAN: I wish to thanks, Vicky Ward. We’ll continue to notice this yarn. Longtime investigative journalist, host and co-producer of the podcast series Chasing Ghislaine: The Untold Fable of the Girl in Epstein’s Shadow, which also became a TV series by the identical name.

When we come aid, we talk to longtime immigrant rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez. She was merely released Monday from a Colorado ICE jail after better than nine months. A identify ruled her detention was unconstitutional. Support in 30 seconds.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: “Nunca Más (Never Again)” by La Santa Cecilia in our Democracy Now! studio.