Family of Virginia Giuffre urges Trump not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell

NBC News
Duration: 20:39 · 112 segments

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeoDyGrz6jw

[0:00]Tonight, we are just hearing from the family of a one of the most prominent accusers of Jeffrey Epstein. Virginia Dupre's two brothers and their wives, all family together, telling me in an extensive and emotional interview in
[0:12]literally just the last hour, that their sister was a person, not an object. They are urging the president not to pardon Gain Maxwell, who they call a monster.
[0:21]Juay died by suicide in April. A senior administration official tells NBC News, "No leniency is being given or discussed." The family of JuRay says her voice is still with them. We're going to
[0:32]play that conversation now for you in full. >> So Danny, you and the family have come out with this statement over the course of the last 24 hours here. >> Can you tell me a little bit what
[0:44]prompted you and the family to come out with this statement about everything that's happened in the last couple of days? >> In the last couple of days. Um, I think
[0:54]what prompted us to come out was that our sister's name was invoked. Um, and I just I feel like anything to do
[1:05]with her uh since her passing, I think that she has to be represented by her family. Um, she's very clear with us how
[1:15]she wanted her legacy pulled forward and I didn't want her name to be said and and
[1:26]not be clear, if that makes sense. >> On that note, when you said the president invoked your your sister's name, he said specifically that word when he described her as being stolen,
[1:37]having been quote unquote stolen. What went through your mind when you heard that? Uh
[1:57]I think we were shocked by it. um especially to use the term stolen uh because she's not an object. She's a
[2:11]person. [Music] Um she's a mom. She's a sister. And
[2:27]she was recruited by Maxwell. It wasn't stolen. She was recruited at Mara Lago, his property, place where
[2:37]she was looking forward to having fun that summer. And it just kind of makes us wonder,
[2:46]I mean, how much he knew. um you know especially and it's in our statement a couple of years later you
[2:56]know he made a statement on Epstein and you know how he liked young girls and so yeah it does make us question how much
[3:07]did he know. >> Um Sky you referenced the comment that President Trump made in 2002. You just you just referenced it there. Did Virginia ever talk about Donald Trump
[3:18]relative to her time at Mara Lago? >> No. >> No, that wasn't really a conversation that we had. She was always really good
[3:28]at protecting us from a lot of these things. So, no, it wasn't a conversation that we had. >> Okay. This is so clearly so emotional for you, Sky, of course, and for all of
[3:39]your family. And I wonder um >> I wonder >> how with the Epstein case being so prevalent in these last few days, these last few weeks,
[3:49]>> how has that been for you personally? >> For you personally, >> I think I can answer that. Um
[4:00]we've constantly had to relive uh since my sister's passing these things from her past. Um, she was pretty open with us about the
[4:12]things that transpired down the line with Epstein and and Maxwell and we know that she was proud of herself. it still
[4:23]impacted her and but she was proud of the work that she did um to take them
[4:31]down and you know reliving it over and over again for us as the family you know it's it just it it does bring up those
[4:40]feelings of sadness for her um but it also brings up you know how proud and I and I can speak
[4:51]for everybody here how proud we were of her and everything that she did. Um, and I think that we need to keep the emphasis on that.
[5:02]>> You mentioned Gileain Maxwell. Uh, this is something else that was referenced in your statement as well when it comes to the possibility of a pardon for her. What is your message to President Trump on that? I
[5:12]>> I can speak for that. I think the word that comes to mind is it would be an abomination. Um, our sister always told us that
[5:23]Maxwell was even worse than Epstein. Um, you know, we said it in the statement that she was a monster, but th this is a
[5:31]woman who used her womanhood to prey on young girls, vulnerable young girls. And she wasn't she wasn't a light participant.
[5:43]She's she's convicted of these crimes. And the thought of offering her leniency or a a complete pardon, it's it makes us
[5:53]feel sick because we're we're letting someone out who could potentially repeat this. We we know the track record and it doesn't seem like there's any
[6:02]information that could be gained that's worth letting out a monster. >> So then Lynette and uh Danny, I'll address this to you. I will tell you
[6:13]that based on our reporting since your statement came out, a senior administration official tells our team and I want to quote here that no leniency is being given or discussed as
[6:23]it relates to Maxwell. Lynette, Danny, Sky, Amanda, and and Danny and Lynette, I'll let you take this first. Does that give you any measure of comfort or relief to hear that?
[6:33]>> To hear that? >> Absolutely. um gives me great comfort and it makes me it makes me think that
[6:45]you know I think that my sister would have been mortified if she were let out
[6:52]of prison. Um, I feel that it is our now our responsibility to make
[7:01]sure that we at least put her voice into our voice and and scream that forward. >> And Amanda, I can I can direct this to
[7:10]you and and to Sky. What do you want President Trump to know uh about your sister and about the possibility of leniency for Gain Maxwell? that
[7:30]she wasn't an object. And none of those women who so bravely came forward and fought for the truth
[7:40]at great risk to themselves. um they're still living with this trauma and the idea to let their monster run
[7:51]free or any type of leniency, any type of break on her is just it's an injustice to them. And it's really
[8:01]important that we create a culture and we provide a culture for victims and survivors to come forward to protect them to trust them and believe them.
[8:13]I think that is the biggest highlight that needs to happen here in moving forward is that survivors deserve
[8:21]the space to be heard always and that if you were to let her free, it would be it would be silencing them all over
[8:32]again. And that is not a culture that any of us want. The public, they don't want that.
[8:43]Sky, if Maxwell were to receive a pardon at some point, what would that mean for you? >> Uh,
[9:02]it would unwind everything that my sister and all the survivors fought for. Um, it would be a disgrace of justice.
[9:17]It would be picking abusers over survivors again. And I truly believe that justice isn't
[9:29]finished here, but I certainly think this is a good start. And by not letting her out, it's the right thing to do.
[9:39]Let me ask you to start learning how to believe. Sorry. >> I'm sorry, Sky. Nope. Please continue. >> Sorry, Sky. Nope. Please continue. >> You're okay. I was just going to say that I When are we going to start
[9:50]believing survivors? I I think it's in our culture that we just immediately dismiss them. And I referenced this in a previous interview
[10:00]that we had given. But like, is it just is it going to take I mean, I said this about my sister. Is it going to take her to die? For us to
[10:11]for us to believe her? And now we're sitting here now having that conversation. So, yes, I think it's important that we
[10:22]believe survivors. We continue to believe survivors. Give them the justice that they deserve. Maxwell's attorney last week suggested
[10:32]that she has had a difficult uh five years in behind bars. Uh that she's been in difficult conditions and that she would welcome any relief. Danny, do you believe that Maxwell deserves any
[10:43]relief? >> No. And that's a that's a quick no. Um
[10:52]I'm a firm believer that you reap what you sow. uh if you're going to put that kind of hate into this world, you should
[11:02]it should be met with hate. And I'm sorry that she's uncomfortable, but she she did that to herself. >> Danny and Lynette, one of the things in
[11:16]the statement here uh that you write is how even 20 years later, Virginia would wake up screaming about what happened to her. your sister has talked about and has appeared with other uh survivors and
[11:27]accusers. Do you see what you're doing here today as a way of carrying on Virginia's legacy? We hope so. That's our intention if she
[11:39]were here. It's what she would be doing. Um, and absolutely this affected her going forward, but she found the strength every day to come forward and
[11:50]try to be that that role model for for anybody to look at and and be able to feel the courage to come forward as well.
[12:01]Danny and Sky, um, so many people talk about a need for answers here. You yourself in this statement talk about wanting to get answers from President Trump, from others. What are the answers
[12:12]that you're looking for? What burning questions do you think Virginia would have had that she wants answered now? >> It's a good question. Um,
[12:25]I just think the answers that I think that my sister would have wanted was, you know, we he had put these
[12:36]people into prison and they were convicted and now, you know, this many years later they're saying that, you know, they're
[12:48]they're they're going to rely on somebody that was locked up for these crimes was tried for perjury
[12:58]to answer questions about other people that may be implicated. I I I personally feel like, you know, maybe that information is there.
[13:10]And you know, I I think that I speak for myself and I speak for my family and I also speak for a lot of
[13:21]people who just, you know, the people that are implicated in this, you know, we don't want them to be hidden or pushed away. >> I think I can also speak to that. one of
[13:36]our very very last conversations um on FaceTime. She had a little bit of hope in her
[13:48]because it was said that the files were going to be released and she wanted everything that happened to her very clearly, very clearly. and everyone who
[13:59]was implicated in that, she wanted that to be released and she was still fighting for that before she left us.
[14:07]So, I think she wants what we all want is transparency and justice. >> So, you're saying, Amanda, that Virginia wanted to see these Epstein files
[14:19]released, that that was important to her, even right up uh until the end. until she was >> she was fighting for that to happen right up until the very end. Yes. She
[14:29]wanted the public to know the crimes that they had committed. >> So then Sky, when it comes to this issue of potential leniency for Maxwell, do
[14:40]you need to hear President Trump rule out a pardon? Would that give you a measure of comfort? >> Yes.
[14:50]I think this is a beginning I think what Amanda spoke about with the release of the files and giving transparency to the
[15:01]public. I mean this is being asked for. So when we are asked what are we asking for and would that give us comfort? The answer unequivocally is yes. That would certainly give us comfort. But we know
[15:13]that that's just that's not enough. There's more to be said and there's more to be done for these survivors. They
[15:20]deserve justice. We deserve to know. >> Sky, will you keep fighting on behalf of your sister, on behalf of other survivors? >> Every day.
[15:38]>> I'd like to speak on that as well. >> Please, Danny. >> Um, >> please, Danny. So, we had the honor of having a a group
[15:48]call with a a very large group of survivors and we got to know them. Um, we got to
[16:00]tell them that my sister that was my sister's like push. she wanted to come back to the United States um from Australia and with
[16:12]her nonprofit sore uh help, you know, and not just help them after the fact, but help them going forward. Uh,
[16:22]one of the things that I took from that conversation that really impacted me was they all in many ways went through the same exact thing that my sister went
[16:34]through and were carrying the same afflictions that she had. But I saw power in them and strength in them. And
[16:44]what I really saw was strength in them in numbers. And I I really want the survivors that are left in weight to
[16:55]know that you your voices individually. You know, many of these girls, they had death threats to them and their families
[17:06]and um threats of financial ruin. I think that if you assemble and and have power in numbers, um, your voice
[17:22]>> is louder. And it it really it really touched me to be in the room talking to them and I I just wanted that to be said.
[17:33]Before I let you go here, you know, one of the things that that strikes me is that this this story, this story around Jeffrey Epstein, um, it is not going away. It doesn't feel like it's going
[17:43]away based on what we're seeing now, you know, from where I live here in Washington, members of Congress who have subpoenaed Gilelay Maxwell, who want to speak to her. And I wonder, and I'll give this to um, Lynette or Amanda, whoever wants to, any of you who want to
[17:55]speak on this, what is your message to lawmakers, these lawmakers who are seeking to talk to Gile Maxwell? What do you want to say to them as this story continues to move forward?
[18:06][Music] >> That is not the change we need. We don't need to be seeking predators for answers. We need to get close and personal with
[18:18]the people who are living this real experience and find out what laws would have been in place that could have made a difference for them, that could have got them out earlier, that could have
[18:28]gave them a chance to try them in court and put them where they belong. Those are the voices you need to be speaking. Those are the questions that we need to
[18:37]ask. We fully intend and we already have since her passing to show up for different survivors all over the US and
[18:48]make sure that we can speak to legislation. It was one of the biggest passions of our sister and we're we're definitely adamant about continuing that work because that's
[18:59]where it starts. We have to look at our laws. We have to look at the loopholes that have been created for predators to get away and we have to say no. Enough
[19:09]is enough. >> Is there anything we haven't talked about that you feel is important to mention here? I'm so grateful to you for
[19:17]being so candid and so so open. >> I think we wanted to just show a photo for you. This was uh
[19:27]>> Virginia at 16 years old, right before >> Oh, that's >> she was taken or prayed upon by Maxwell
[19:39]and Epstein. Sky and Danny, when you look at that photo, what do you think? What do you think? [Music] >> What an incredible
[19:54]human being my sister was. Um,
[20:01]she was a free spirited fighter for all women and survivors. And I believe if she was here with us
[20:14]today, she'd still be fighting. She's still here with us today. It's living through
[20:22]us. It lives through these survivors. Her voice is still here. >> We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top
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