[0:00]with the significant development that the Justice Department has now begun the release of the Epstein files. What Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch has
[0:10]said would com be comprised of hundreds of thousands of documents. Kelly, please stand by. I'm going to go now to Tom Winter. Give you a chance to start looking through some of these documents,
[0:21]what will undoubtedly be a dayslong effort by much of our news organization. Tom, you will be among those reading, sifting through these documents line by
[0:31]line, word by word. What specifically will you be looking for? >> Well, I can tell you what I'm already looking at, Kristen. Here's how it's broken down. The Justice Department has set up on their website, and you'll forgive me for looking down at my
[0:42]screen. There are files that are released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. That's a column. There's the first phase of declassified Epstein files. Those were already released this summer. We've seen those.
[0:54]There's BOP video footage. That's the Bureau of Prisons. That's video footage from the Epstein cell block area uh prior to his suicide that was previously appears mostly to be previously
[1:05]released. I haven't watched every second obviously. Uh there's information from Galain Maxwell's profer session with the deputy attorney general of the United States Todd Blanch. Those materials have previously been made uh public as well.
[1:16]Uh there's memoranda in correspondence. So, there's a uh 2011, excuse me, a 2020 DOJ, Office of Professional Responsibility report and summary that
[1:27]looked into the nonprosecution agreement that was whether or not there was any sort of impropriy uh conducted uh uh in the course of the investigation and that nonprosecution agreement uh back in the
[1:38]mid 2000s. Uh there's uh reports about that uh the Office of Inspector General uh reports as it pertains it appears to Epstein suicide. So, those are a lot of
[1:48]materials that we have previously seen and were frankly sitting on my laptop uh ahead of time. Some of the things I've seen already are uh documents and photographs of evidence, including
[1:59]Epstein's massage table uh that was the the table he apparently used to victimize so many of these girls at his home in Palm Beach. And I'm looking down at my screen to see if I can actually pull it up. So, this is just a typical
[2:10]kind of an evidence photo. That's an actual photo of the top of the massage table. Um those are the types of photos that are being presented. So we are uh getting what the Justice Department said
[2:21]uh which is the evidence photos uh in a lot of uh uh I would say multimedia. It's unclear if there are any other reports. There's four big batches Kristen that are coming down in large uh
[2:32]large volume uh zip files. So we're opening those up and then going into them. Uh, but it's definitely a significant amount of material and we'll be going through it to see exactly what
[2:43]are the some of the things that we've seen before and what we haven't. I'll use the massage table as an example. Some of these photos do not appear to have been previously entered into exhibits in federal court. So, they
[2:54]would be new, but we've seen photos of them before. And we also have in this particular instance and just got lucky with this example. The actual massage table was shown to jurors during the
[3:04]course of the Gain Maxwell trial. Now, what we're looking at on screen are a series of photographs. There's a link to that that's also included in this uh in this website uh that allows people to
[3:15]look at uh what the House Oversight Committee has released uh uh several dozen photos so far. And so that's something that's also uh attached to this or I should say linked out to this
[3:26]but does not appear uh to be new material from the Justice Department. So, we're still going through it. There's no possible way at this early juncture to say uh what is uh particularly new things that we haven't
[3:37]seen, if there's any sort of significant revelations. It's been our reporting uh just based on folks that we've spoken to that have worked on this investigation and a memorandum that the Justice Department released in July saying
[3:48]there's no information in these files that they can find that points to even opening a new criminal investigation, let alone charging anybody else. But of course, this is our first time looking
[3:58]at it, so we'll see what we see. All right, Tom, we will let you dive in to the files and I'm going to go to Capitol Hill. Ryan, let me just read a little bit. Uh, the Justice Department saying
[4:09]in view of the congressional deadline, all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive
[4:18]materials from disclosure. That has been a big part of the effort that has been underway in the days and weeks leading up to this release. Obviously, the
[4:30]battle to get these documents released uh has erupted on Capitol Hill. Talk a little bit as our colleagues start to
[4:39]read through the Epstein files, Ryan, about that backdrop, the fact that you had this what turned into a bipartisan
[4:47]effort to pressure DOJ to release these documents. You also had survivors of Jeffrey Epstein come forward, hold press
[4:58]conferences with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to try to make the case that these documents need to see the light of day. Ryan? >> Yeah, let me talk about that in a
[5:08]second, Kristen. But there is one thing of interest, I think, when we begin to dive into whether or not the Department of Justice is being fully compliant with the law that was passed by Congress to
[5:18]release these files. There is a tab on this page that you go to uh that allows you to search the database. This was a requirement of Congress that not only do
[5:29]all the files be released, but that the American public would have the ability to use a searchable database to find information quickly that they might be looking for. I went in and obviously
[5:39]this has only been up for about uh 15 minutes if that and typed in a few obvious search terms that folks might be looking for and so far it returned no information yet. So maybe they're still
[5:51]working out the kinks there. But I do have to tell you one of the big questions that we're going to have and it it leads into what uh the question that you asked me is how uh will Congress view compliance when it comes
[6:02]to the release of this information. And one of the things that kind of created this ground swell of support behind a congressional effort to force the
[6:13]Department of Justice to release this information was this idea that the Department of Justice was going to hold nothing back. That they were going to provide everything that they had in all of their case files and all of the evidence collection and all the
[6:25]different court cases and that the American public would have the ability to go through that information on their own without any kind of filter. Now, there's obviously a few caveats that
[6:34]have to do with um active investigations and the protection of survivors and their victims. Um but one of the things that is happening right now are these members of Congress that have pushed
[6:45]hard for this. They're going through these documents to see exactly if their vision of what compliance looks like matches what we see in what's come out
[6:55]of this early uh release of these documents. And I think there's a right now a kind of divide on Capitol Hill as to how much space they're going to give
[7:06]the Department of Justice to get into compliance. We saw Roana, who's one of the authors of the legislation, say, "Let's give them some time here. They say they're going to do what they're going to do. Uh if they don't get everything out today, as long as they
[7:17]get everything out, that'll be okay." But then you saw Robert Garcia, who's the ranking member of the oversight committee, along with Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the judiciary committee, take those words we saw from Todd Blanch earlier today that they
[7:29]weren't going to release everything today and already declare them not in compliance. So this is a really important part of this puzzle is what does compliance look like? How do you
[7:39]determine that? And if there is the perception that they aren't complying, what are the consequences associated with? And I think that's going to be one of the big storylines that plays out here over the next couple of days. >> I think you're absolutely right, Ryan.
[7:51]And as our colleagues sift through all of this paperwork, I want to read a statement from Maria Farmer, one of the Epstein survivors. This was a statement
[8:00]released today, prior to the start of the release of the document. She says, "This is a moment for which I have waited three decades, over half my life.
[8:10]When I was ignored and hung up on by the FBI in 1996, my world turned upside down, and I felt frozen in time. I faced death threats, ridicule, and mockery by
[8:21]some of the most powerful people on Earth. When my FBI reports are finally made available, I am hopeful that I will be able to pick up where I left off at
[8:31]age 26. I am also hopeful that this will be an important step for many of the survivors and to hold the government accountable for their grotesque law
[8:40]enforcement failure, one of the largest in US history. Again, this the statement today uh coming just before this release
[8:49]of the Epstein files, which has now started to come in. Ryan, let me go back to you because the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein played a large role in this push
[9:01]that we saw on Capitol Hill to make this day possible to push these papers out into the public. >> Uh Kristen, I don't think that you can
[9:12]overstate the amount of uh impact that the Epstein survivors and victims had in making this day a reality. They uh were
[9:22]apolitical. uh they reached out to Republicans and Democrats. They reached out to journalists uh many of them uh speaking to us at NBC News and they did
[9:32]so under very courageous and very difficult circumstances. As uh we've already seen, there are very very powerful men uh who are uh that were
[9:43]connected to this uh controversy and this scandal and in many in many different ways these survivors uh had had their livelihoods threatened, their
[9:54]actual lives threatened and obviously they went through the pain and trauma of the experience as well. So it took a lot for them to come forward, put their names and faces uh on in front of
[10:04]television cameras and tell that story and demand action. And I I think what's interesting about the germination of this process is in many ways it started at least the the kind of the real
[10:16]momentum behind this started in the conservative influence and blogosphere. These were uh conservative influencers who had the theory of a conspiracy
[10:26]theory that perhaps the Epstein controversy was in many ways the keystone to a a vast Democraticled conspiracy that involved some of the
[10:36]most powerful leaders in the Democratic party and Hollywood and in other places in big tech. Uh and that's kind of what got the ball rolling and Donald Trump adopted that as a campaign platform in
[10:47]2024 promising that these files would be released. And then Donald Trump got elected and the Department of Justice handed out over the summer kind of a half-hearted effort to release all these
[10:58]files. And that's when you saw the survivors come in and seize on this opportunity, say that this is not enough. We have been begging for this for the better part of three decades.
[11:10]And now we see an opening where it has gotten the consciousness of the average American who hadn't paid that close attention to it. uh and they were able to tell their stories as the real
[11:20]victims of this situation. And from a political perspective, regardless of whether or not you are a Republican or a Democrat, you could not stand in the way of that momentum going forward. And once
[11:31]Roana and and Tom Massie got to the point where they got enough signatures on that discharge petition to go around Republican leadership and get this bill
[11:40]on the floor, all but one member of Congress knew that they could not risk being someone that stood in the way of this release. That's why you saw it passed by a nearly unanimous vote in the
[11:52]House, only one member voting no. Uh and it passed without even any sort of debate in the Senate under unanimous consent. And so I there is no doubt that
[12:02]you have to give credit to the survivors who risked everything by telling their story. And I also believe Kristen as as shown in that statement that you just uh read is that it's going to be the
[12:13]survivors that are going to be the drivers of the Department of Justice fully complying because not only are we going to hear their voices and hear them say no, this isn't enough. We know there's more out there. But they also
[12:24]have the ability to take legal action on their own to force this this compliance. So their their their role in this is just so unbelievably important. >> Well, Ryan, so important to have that
[12:36]background and to remember how we got to this moment. I I am going to go to Gabe and John in just a moment, but I do want to head back to Tom because Tom, I think
[12:45]you have uh you're seeing something you think needs to be highlighted. >> I think a couple things. one want our audience to be aware that uh as the law is provided as Ryan has uh and Kelly
[12:57]have been reporting that there is supposed to be a search function on the Justice Department's website that would allow you to be able to search for specific individuals. I ran the names Epste and Maxwell, the two individuals
[13:07]charged in this case, the two principles in this case and I received no return. So that link does not appear to be uh working up to its task just at the moment. Um, some of the items that have been released here, Kristen, we touched
[13:19]on it a little bit before are photographs that have not previously been made public of things that we have seen before. But there are some other things in here that are potentially quite disturbing, which we're not going to show, which are heavily redacted
[13:30]photos either in their entirety or have significant portions of the photos that have been redacted that may have to do with underage victims. Uh, and these photos are highly sexual in nature or
[13:42]nude in nature. And so that's something that we were aware of that was seized by the uh New York field office of the FBI in the course of their investigation into Epstein when after that Miami
[13:52]Herald story by Julie Brown broke that they were able to uh recognize that hey there's these case files in Miami. Maybe we could go down there and be able to start this investigation. They then conducted additional search warrants
[14:03]after Epstein was taken into custody in the summer of 2019. And it appears that we're looking at some of the fruits of that. Now, as the law provides, the Justice Department has said they're not going to produce any child sex abuse
[14:14]material. So, the material here is heavily redacted. You can't make out the identities, but it's clear that at some point uh at least according to the FBI and the fact that we have uh uh in the
[14:25]fact that these documents are included in this release that Epstein had these materials on him at some point. And so, we're still in the process of going through. It's not clear if some of the photos are from an island or his island
[14:36]or from some sort of vacation, but uh uh that's at least the information that we have so far. Again, we've made it through a percentage of a percent. So, we're still going through these things,
[14:46]but just wanted to get people an understanding as we talk here this afternoon. >> Well, and Tom, we appreciate it. Please continue to update us as you go through those files. and your reporting
[14:57]highlights how disturbing in nature this case was. Uh Gabe, let me turn to you at the White House because it's my understanding that you are getting
[15:08]reaction from the White House. What do you have? >> Uh yeah, that's right. A few moments ago, we just received that statement, the first statement uh from the White House uh um following the release uh of
[15:17]these uh of these files and spokeswoman uh Abigail Jackson saying that the Trump administration is the most transparent in history. Go on. She goes on to say by releasing thousands of pages of
[15:29]documents cooperating with the House Oversight Committee subpoena requests and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein's Democrat friends. the Trump administration has done more for the
[15:40]victims than Democrats ever have. And while President Trump is delivering on his promises, uh she goes on to describe uh allegations that Democrats solicited
[15:50]money uh and meetings from Epstein's from Epstein. And she also goes on to say that the American people deserve answers. So Kristen, this is the Trump administration really trying to cast
[16:01]relationships with Jeffrey Epstein as being more related to Democrats. That's something President Trump has done repeatedly. Also making the claim without evidence that former President
[16:11]Clinton visited Jeffrey Epstein's island. A a claim contradicted by Chief of Staff Susie Wilds in that recent
[16:20]Vanity Fairs Vanityh Fair series of interviews where she said that that claim was not true. But Kristen, uh, the White House has repeatedly wanted to move on from this story. Just a short
[16:32]time ago, earlier this afternoon, the president was here at the White House at a separate event regarding drug prices. He declined to take questions at that event. A rare instance of the president
[16:43]uh not wanting to take questions uh but perhaps wanting to avoid questions on other topics which reporters were sure to ask him about this. So again, we just received that statement from the White
[16:53]House uh trying to recast this as a transparent administration and trying to place some blame uh for uh Jeff Jeffrey Epstein's crime somehow on Democrats or
[17:04]at least raising questions about the associations that Democrats had with Jeffrey Epstein and of course the White House wanting to move on from this story. Yeah. And of course, Gabe, Democrats, Republicans, people of all stripes
[17:16]pictured uh with Jeffrey Epste and some of the files that we have already seen released. President Trump of course uh acknowledges he did have a social relationship with Epstein in the 1990s
[17:28]that he says he cut off when he felt as though Epstein was engaging in inappropriate behavior. I want to go now to my NBC News colleague, Holly Jackson, who joins me now on the phone. She's been speaking with Epstein survivors for
[17:39]months as this story has developed. Hie, thank you for joining us on this significant day, this significant moment where they are starting to release the
[17:49]Jeffrey Epstein files. You have spoken to so many survivors who have been calling for this, who have painfully spoken about what they endured. What do
[18:01]you make of this moment, Hie? And what are you going to be watching for? Hey Kristen, you know, it is what so many of them have wanted to see, but that doesn't mean that today is an easy day or an easy afternoon, I think, for
[18:12]for some of the survivors that we've spoken to over the course of these last many months here. Um, yes, these calls for accountability and transparency to see exactly what we're seeing now. This fight that has lasted um for for quite a
[18:24]while on the part of these survivors is now culminating in the release of at least the starting of the release of the files at the DOJ. And as you've noted in your coverage here, there may be more to come. But I will tell you that um for many of these survivors, here's what I
[18:34]hear again and again, Kristen, and what I've heard is that every time this comes up again, especially at a significant moment, as you call it like this, it is again traumatic. It is they are reliving
[18:45]now what they have gone through, many of these survivors, they are seeing these pictures um and they are taken back to in many instances for many of them some of those worst moments in their life. And so I think that while the
[18:57]accountability and the transparency piece is critical for so many of them, I think there is also um a really emotional impact that you see uh on a day like today, we've heard from one
[19:07]survivor already, Maria Farmer, who says in just the last couple of minutes as the release is coming out that it's a moment she's waited for for more than half her life, some three decades here. She's hopeful. She says that this will be an important step for many of the
[19:19]survivors to hold the government accountable. I will also tell you um Kristen, aside from Maria Farmer, just having had prior conversations with other survivors, I do hear from from many of them that they see this as
[19:29]almost like a new beginning, Kristen, that this is not the end for them. This is the start of the next phase of what they see as an accountability and a transparency um process. I you know, I
[19:41]hesitate to use a word like, you know, healing, etc. because because for so many of them, this is something that they've been grappling with for so many decades of their life. Uh but at this point at least there is a release. I think that is sort of the overwhelming
[19:52]sentiment that we heard even before this once the obviously transparency act passed there was this deadline put in place. You know it was it became clear that the DOJ was going to have to legally release these files. Um I think
[20:03]many see this moment as a step forward but again not not necessarily one that that comes uh with with no emotional uh difficulty here for so many of them. Kristen.
[20:13]>> Well, I'm so glad you lay out that piece of this puzzle, Hie, because it's such a critical one. And it is impossible, Hie, to have this moment and to not think
[20:23]about Virginia Du Frry. She of course died by suicide, but she was one of the first people to speak out about what she
[20:32]endured with Jeffrey Epstein when she was >> very young. You have spoken to her family. They have been incredibly
[20:42]emotional in their push to see this moment come to pass. Take us inside what their main message has been. Hie, leading up to today,
[20:52]>> that the fight cannot stop. Um that on behalf of their sister, they are now picking up the mantle along with these other survivors, the women that Virginia herself called her survivor sisters to
[21:04]continue the fight to pursue justice and accountability. that is without a doubt their legacy that they are raising her voice, a voice that her family, Virginia herself in her postumous memoir felt had
[21:15]been silenced at points in her life and to raise her voice. Um, and I I'll say this too again and again in my conversations with with some of these Epstein survivors, what I hear is that
[21:25]they felt the courage to come forward because they saw Virginia come forward. That her bravery gave them the strength to be able to move forward themselves. And so she comes up in every single
[21:37]interview I've done. Kristen, just women saying, "Listen, it's because of Virginia. I wish she were here." That's a refrain that we hear again and again to see this moment. Um because she's the one I think there's a lot of credit
[21:49]given to her from these survivors. She's the one who catalyzed this moment for what she had dubbed and and is sort of widely known now as her so-called survivor sisters, if you will. And so I think that her voice is a critical one
[21:59]here. Um and and again, I think for her family, you are right. these the some of these interviews that we've conducted and the public statements that they've made, you can tell that there is a lot of emotion. There is um some degree of
[22:10]anger at the way that some of this has been handled. But above all, there has been a demand and a push and a fight to see a moment like this happen, the release of more information, the transparency piece of it, uh and the
[22:22]call to justice. >> Yeah. and you have captured so uh many of those conversations, those sentiments, hie, and the push to see
[22:32]this day actually come to pass. Hie, thank you so much for joining us. Stand by if you would. John Allen, let me turn to you. You have been talking uh throughout the course of the past 48
[22:42]hours with Trump supporters at the Turning Point USA conference. What are they saying to you, John, about this moment? What has the reaction been so
[22:52]far? Hi Kristen. Uh it is much the same as what you're hearing across the country, which is a demand uh a demand for
[23:02]justice, for accountability, for the powerful, for the rich, for the well-connected. Uh and this is the reason that this is not an issue that has gone away for the White House because it's not Democrats that are
[23:13]calling for it, although many are. It's not never Trump Republicans that are calling for it, although many are. Uh this is a hotbed of the president's base here at the Turning Point USA
[23:23]conference, the group founded uh by the slain Charlie Kirk. Uh and folks are talking about it and what they want is that transparency and accountability. Uh let folks uh listen to what some of the
[23:34]things we heard today are. >> That was great. >> Only way we can we can get rid of the deep swamp, the deep state, and it's there and it's alive and it's growing.
[23:46]The only way it's ever we're gonna get get that resolved is by being transparent transparent and getting those files so we can see so the
[23:57]American people can see. >> If you made a promise and that's what you ran on, we need to see results. You can't just redact everything and release some fake Epstein binder and expect us all to fall for it. Um, as an
[24:09]enlightened citizenry, that's not how you win our vote in the next election. Do you expect that we're going to get to see everything today or that? >> I I hope so. Regardless of whoever is on
[24:20]that list or in the files, whether they're Republican or Democrat, I think what we need to do as a country, hold people accountable that have done wrong. >> And you heard it there, Christian. They
[24:35]don't care whose ox is gored. They just want to make sure that there is that accountability. They want to be able to judge for themselves uh what happened, who was involved, uh not just uh who the
[24:46]victims were, but who the perpetrators were, and in some cases uh condemn them or hold them accountable politically if they can. Uh this is an a universal feeling among uh the folks we talked to here in Phoenix.
[24:57]>> John, this was one of the first issues where we actually saw cracks begin to form in the MAGA base. talk a little bit
[25:07]about that and is that on display there? >> Absolutely, Christian. Look, there are plenty of disagreements over policy uh and over the future of the MAGA movement
[25:18]that we're hearing here, lively debates over those things, but the one thing that again seems so unifying among the people here is they really want to see this transparency. And to your point, it is one of the first places we saw cracks
[25:30]in the MAGA movement. And the reason is uh because President Trump promised this transparency. And here we are almost a year later. We're still seeing delays from the Justice Department. And uh this
[25:40]is a group of people that really felt like they were going to be pro that felt that they were promised and would get some accountability for the people who were friends with Jeffrey Epste for the people uh who may have uh assisted him
[25:51]or abetted him. Obviously Gain Maxwell already in prison, but folks want to know who else uh that rode on his plane. who else who visited his island, who else may have helped him victimize so
[26:02]many young women uh has been getting away with it. >> John, great interviews. Thank you for bringing that to us. Ryan Nobles, let me go back to you on Capitol Hill. You are
[26:14]getting a glimpse at a letter that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch sent to Congress. What can you tell us about it? Yes. And in fact, my colleague Frank Thorp was able to obtain this, and I'm just taking a look at it right now, but
[26:24]it's basically uh that the deputy attorney general informing Congress of his efforts to comply with the law that they had passed. And he he talks about
[26:35]as part of the collection and review process, the department is continuing to review additional documents and other items for potential responsiveness. Uh he goes into some of the stuff that
[26:45]they've gone through the review process. uh they're producing hundreds of thousands of pages of documents in responsive to this act. Um and basically just goes through line by line the
[26:57]efforts that they made to make sure that they are complying with it from stem to stern. Uh this it's a six-page letter. Uh it it goes into a lot of different aspects. The review team consisted of
[27:07]more than 200 department attorneys working uh to determine whether materials were responsive under the act and if so whether redactions or withholdings were required. So that kind
[27:17]of goes uh into the redaction process. They talk about the specific production from today. Uh they say it includes portions of the FBI New York investigative file from 2018, the
[27:28]Epstein criminal case filed for child sex trafficking uh and the 2019 Maxwell criminal case, the FBI investigative file from the 2006 Epstein criminal case
[27:38]for child prostitution, the FBI uh Miami investigative file from 2009. So uh it has kind of line by line all the materials uh that they uh plan to
[27:48]release today. Um, and uh, I'm just checking here to see if it says anything about how much longer it may take for everything to come out. The department's commitment to transparency and compliance with the law has been
[27:59]historic. The attorney general is great to the department attorneys and staff employees who work long hours to ensure that the department complied with the act. [snorts] Um, and in the letter he
[28:10]it also reads, I anticipate this ongoing review being completed over the next two weeks. So, that's that's an important part about this disclosure. And we've heard Todd Blanchard already say uh on
[28:22]television earlier today that they this would not be the wholesome amount of material that they have at their disposal that would be released today. This is him informing Congress of that fact in a formal fashion that it will
[28:34]take at least two weeks for them to get all the documents out in a way that the American public will have access to them. >> Well, that timeline is significant and underscores the volume of documents that
[28:44]we may be anticipating. Tom Winter, let me go back to you, have you weigh in on what we just heard from Ryan, that letter from Todd Blanch. >> Well, we could have timed it uh any better. I'm going to show you something.
[28:56]And just so that we're clear, none of this is uh uh material that depicts any sort of victims or any identifying information. Uh this that you're looking at here on screen, that is the Palm
[29:06]Beach Police Department initial report. So, what's included in here is something that Ryan pointed out. According to the attorney general, they've included a uh FBI case file from Miami. This case
[29:16]started with the Palm Beach Police Department, uh back in 2005. And then because of some concerns that the police chief, Michael Ryder, had at the time is how this case was being handled by the local prosecuting office, then the
[29:27]state's attorney's office, uh he referred this and they contacted the FBI and the US attorney's office in Miami and say, "Hey, do you guys want to take a look at this? Do you want to potentially open a case?" And so the
[29:38]Palm Beach Police Department file was sent over to the FBI in Miami that became part of the case file and it was critical in developing the eventual prosecution that was brought in New York. So that's one of the items that
[29:50]we're seeing. Another uh big series of documents that we're seeing here and I'm just uh trying to bring this up in the best way for you to see it. Uh these are what's called toll records. So what they do is they in a law enforcement
[30:00]investigation you want to find out who is talking to who. Uh these are toll records that they get by grand jury subpoena. So they reach out to any one of the cell phone providers and they
[30:11]say, "Hey, we're looking for this particular number, all inbound, outbound calls, where they were made from, duration of the call." The information wasn't as specific back then in the mid
[30:22]2000s that we would have now. Now, if I was to show you the similar record uh from say from the the most recent investigation we've been covering here, which is the investigation, the shooting in Brown and and MIT of the the press
[30:33]professor from that university, we would have a lot more detail, but for our purposes here today, a lot of this detail is completely redacted. We've seen that in the past. And so, uh
[30:44]there's probably a pretty good reason for that. One, it would potentially identify victims. Secondly, a lot of those phone numbers, as you can imagine, nearly 20 plus years later, have likely changed as well. And that's personal
[30:56]identifying information that typically is redacted in any of these releases, whether it's Jeffrey Epste or any one of the uh FOYA type releases or public releases of documents that we see. Those
[31:06]phone numbers are almost always uh redacted. So, uh that's uh again a huge component of what we're seeing so far. We're seeing a number of photographs as I mentioned earlier. And so just want to
[31:17]give people a sense of what's included in these files. And again, it remains consistent with our reporting, which is that uh once that story came out in the Miami Herald, they effectively took uh the case file from Florida. And
[31:29]certainly once the Epstein nonprosecution agreement was entered into in the 2007208 time period uh after that point, it's there's no indication the investigation
[31:40]ever continued. So there's a big gap in time that I know a lot of people want to know about. Uh but it's not material that would have been covered under the FBI investigation which is of course under the umbrella of the Justice
[31:50]Department. So just so people understand a bit of the timeline here Christristine. >> Yeah and fascinating just to have a glimpse at these documents as they come in. Tom Kelly O'Donnell let me go back to you. I know you've been pouring over
[32:02]these documents as well. Any takeaways at this point, Kell? Well, if we catch our breath for a moment and just try to share with the audience that uh the
[32:11]volume is enormous and it is uh sort of a a journey into a world, some of which is quite plain and boring. A number of the photos indicate uh just really sort
[32:23]of a snapshot of an empty room. But then there are some that contain famous faces. I've seen uh Bill Clinton's face. I've seen Michael Jackson, Diana Ross. There are a lot of celebrities in the
[32:35]Jeffrey Epstein world, a lot of notable people. There is a contact book with 95 pages and it is filled with uh the names of notable people. Now, there are
[32:46]redactions that I presume are their address and phone number information, but their names are present. Includes people who are in nobility, people who are in the entertainment business, the
[32:56]supermodel world, authors, interesting people of many kinds. That of course it's important to point out is a description of the world in which
[33:05]Jeffrey Epstein lived. His illicit and illegal behavior may have been a far more narrow space. But Jeffrey Epstein sought to have influence by attaching
[33:17]himself to prominent people, by creating entertainment experiences that were completely lawful, uh, where notable people would be present, whether they were political figures or entertainment
[33:28]figures, global faces, bold, big names. Their presence in these files does of course not mean anything in terms of determining any improper behavior. uh
[33:38]that is uh certainly something that will draw interest though. So for people who will themselves look at these files, you get a sense that this will certainly fuel the sort of public interest uh the
[33:50]group of people who have been very deeply interested in these issues for a long time who will want to review file by file. But unlike other kinds of big government releases, there's no
[34:02]executive summary to tell you what it all means. there's no roadmap for how to know is this important or is that important. Uh we'll do all our best and why we have a team a very large team of
[34:13]people reading and going through all of this to cull curate and provide that context later. But just in these initial moments, the half hour or so that we've been diving into this, Kristen, you're
[34:25]just struck by those dimensions of Jeffrey Epstein's world. His life ended in detention with suicide, but his living years included some very
[34:36]controversial behavior and some very fast life, big prominent world that he he lived in. So, some of the pictures show you a little about the decor of
[34:46]that place. some of it's quite uh ordinary and then as Tom alluded to earlier there are also redacted photos that are deeply troubling and the kind of thing that is not suitable for uh the
[34:56]public to be seen and that of course always takes us back to the very real people who were victimized by this uh both in the United States and brought in
[35:06]from around the world and for them this day as Hie indicated brings some relief but it also certainly opens some old wounds Kristen
[35:15]>> well Kelly so important to have that big picture perspective as you're getting a deeper glimpse into Jeffrey Epstein's incredibly complicated and layered
[35:27]orbit. Kelly, thank you for that. I now want to bring in NBC News legal analyst Misty Maris. Misty, thank you so much for joining us. Talk a little bit. Kelly
[35:37]talked about how we have a big team pouring through these documents that are just starting to come in and that work is ongoing as we are on the air here and
[35:47]having this conversation. But give us a sense of what can be released and also what will likely be withheld in this release. >> Yeah, Kristen. So yeah, I'm I'm working
[35:58]my way through these documents as as with the rest of the team, but there are a couple of buckets of information that can be legally withheld under this law. The first is what Kelly and Tom were
[36:10]both speaking about. You have information that is redacted or or taken out of this uh drop of information to protect those who were victimized. We
[36:21]saw these photographs uh some of which are very very graphic. They are redacted. There's phone numbers that are redacted, non-public identifiable
[36:30]information taken out to protect those individuals. That's one bucket. Then we have another bucket which is a bit of a loophole in this law and it's a bit more subjective than that and it's documents
[36:41]and information that relate to ongoing investigations. So this is an exception in the act for what the Department of Justice has to make public. So that
[36:52]would be anything that is related to what we now know uh Pam Bondi opening up an investigation earlier in September
[37:03]relating to ties between some Democrats and Jeffrey Epstein. So they have 15 days after the release of these documents. the Department of Justice has
[37:12]to say why and basically set forth a justification for materials that were not disclosed because they fall into that loophole in the law. So that's some
[37:24]of what we might not see as we work our way through this tremendously voluminous amount of information. >> Misty Maris, thank you so much. Please stand by. I do want to go uh to
[37:35]Congressman James Wenshaw. Uh he is on the House Oversight Committee. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it. Understanding
[37:46]that you that our team of reporters, reporters all across the globe just starting to pick through these documents that are now being released for the
[37:57]first time after this immense pressure campaign to see this day come to pass. What are your early takeaways from this
[38:07]release today? Well, thanks for having me and and first I want to credit the courageous survivors. You know, without uh their
[38:17]voices, we would not be at this point today where we're starting to get some transparency. Uh it's enormously frustrating that the
[38:26]law is clear, the files in full were supposed to be released today and the Trump administration is not in compliance with that law. So, that's
[38:36]very frustrating. That notwithstanding, our team, uh, House Democrats oversight Democrats team, we're going to be combing through what has been released
[38:46]to determine what is there and what might be missing so that our investigation can proceed. You say that DOJ is not in compliance
[38:57]with the law and yet [clears throat] we did hear Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch say there are hundreds of thousands of documents that are going to be released over the course of two
[39:06]weeks. Do you need to wait until the conclusion of that time to make that firm statement that DOJ has not been compliant or are you certain at this
[39:16]very moment that there has been non-compliance? Well, the law is clear that the files in full are supposed to have been released today. Uh if the Department of Justice
[39:27]felt like they weren't on track to meet that legal deadline, they should have communicated that to Congress days or weeks ago. They've had 30 days to redact
[39:37]what need to be redacted from the files and release them in full to to the public. So, they have not followed the law. We're going to explore all of our legal options to make sure that the
[39:48]complete files with obviously information related to victims and survivors redacted uh comes to light. >> Well, let me follow up with you on that.
[39:58]Can you be more specific? What exact recourse or actions are you prepared to take to bring DOJ fully in compliance? >> We're having those conversations now.
[40:09]Ranking members Garcia and Rascin from the oversight and judiciary committees released a statement that they're consulting with our council to determine what the legal options could be
[40:20]consulting with the uh legal representation for the survivors, but we're going to pursue every possible remedy. I don't I have additional information for you right now in terms
[40:31]of exactly what that will be. and talk about the significance of this day understanding that and Congressman Roana who's one of the uh lawmakers who led
[40:42]the charge to see this day come to pass uh has put out a statement saying he's disappointed that the documents are not being released in full. But talk about
[40:53]the significance of the fact that there is this large trunch that is starting to be released. Something that lawmakers
[41:02]but also the survivors have called for. >> I think it's incredibly significant. And it's significant because it's one of the
[41:11]very few instances that Republicans in Congress have found their backbone and stood up to Donald Trump. They resisted it for a long time. But, you know, it's
[41:21]important to remember President Trump has done everything in his power to block these files from being released. He tried to browbeat Republican members of Congress to remove their name from
[41:33]the discharge petition. He was actively lobbying against the uh discharge petition and the vote before it was held until he realized that he was going to
[41:44]lose. Uh so, he's tried everything in his power to block it. and in Congress in a rare instance in this particular Congress stood up to him and said, "The
[41:54]American people want to see these files. The American people deserve transparency and the survivors especially deserve accountability for those involved in the crimes committed." >> And I've just gotten the statement from
[42:06]Congressman Connor. Let me read it to you, Congressman. I'll get your reaction on the other side. He says, "I have to say that the release has been disappointing from the initial read of it, but I I reserve judgment until we go
[42:18]through all of the release. Again, what I'm calling for in terms of a constructive next steps is for Todd Blanch or Pam Bondi to get in front of the country to share the timeline for
[42:29]the full release. If they were to do that, would that satisfy what you are calling for, Congressman?" Well, I think that's a necessary step and it's not
[42:40]what I'm calling for. It's what the law that President Trump signed calls for, which is for the files to be be released today. So, yes, at a minimum, they need to come before the country and Congress
[42:52]and explain why they haven't released the full files today and lay out the timeline moving forward. I hope a rapid timeline for the American people to get the transparency that they want here.
[43:03]And Congressman, as you start to go through these files, what specifically are you looking for? Well, I think for me and and I think for most people across the country, we want
[43:15]to know uh who, if anyone, who maybe hasn't been yet implicated was involved in Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. Who were the accompllices who helped him to
[43:26]commit these crimes? Who perhaps knew that these crimes were taking place and didn't go to the authorities at the time? I think those are all really, really important questions. But this is
[43:38]a story of, you know, rich and powerful men abusing, raping and abusing young girls and women. And we need to get the
[43:47]full truth. Everyone who knew about it, everyone who was involved, everyone who might have helped it happen. >> And Congressman, just finally, once the
[43:58]files are released, what do you anticipate happens next? Well, on the oversight committee, our investigation is is ongoing. And it's also worth noting, even separate from
[44:09]the legislation requiring the release of the files, we have an active subpoena, an active subpoena with both the Department of Justice for them to turn over the files to the oversight
[44:20]committee and to the Epstein estate for them to continue turning over files. And our philosophy is we're going to follow the investigation wherever it leads. I'm not prejudging uh where that
[44:32]investigation will lead. Uh but we need to get all of the information and follow the investigation wherever it leads. >> All right, Congressman James Wenshaw, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.
[44:44]>> Thanks for having me. >> I want to go back to Ryan Nobles on Capitol Hill. Ryan, just get your reaction to what we just heard from the congressman who very clearly stated he's
[44:55]not satisfied by the release so far because it is not, he says, in compliance with what the law has ordered the Justice Department to do. Are we
[45:06]going to see a big battle? >> That's the the vibe you're getting right now, particularly from Democrats in Congress. Uh Kristen, you heard from Congressman Walenshaw his concerns with
[45:18]what has not been released yet. And we also were just listening in to a press call that Congressman Ro Kana was uh holding. That's part of what you were reading that transcript from. And if I
[45:28]can get a little bit further into some of the points that Kana was making, uh he wants not only all the files to be released, which the Department of Justice has said could take up to two weeks, but he also wants ex explanations
[45:40]for why things were redacted. So if there's a page that is just completely black uh or if there is a name that has been redacted, he believes that the Department of Justice needs to come to
[45:50]Congress and explain that even if it has to be in a classified setting because uh there needs to be some level of accountability as it relates to those redactions. And in terms of the consequences, because I think that's a a
[46:01]big question we keep coming back to. the Department of Justice is not going to sue itself or not uh prosecute itself for not doing uh the proper compliance
[46:11]with Congress, who then offers up those consequences. And uh Connor went into a number of different examples as to what options Congress has at their disposal.
[46:22]Uh there is first of all the opportunity for lawsuits to be filed. Those lawsuits could come from the survivors which we've already seen a degree of moxy from them to take on the powerful interests
[46:33]that are connected to Epstein. So there's that stage. There could also be a group of independent journalists who our news organization for instance could sue and claim that this law exists and we are members of the public and we
[46:44]should have access to those files and a judge could say show me all the files and those files need to be released. But then he said this and which I thought was interesting that the Congress could
[46:54]ultimately hold impeachment hearings for Pam Bondi or Todd Blanch if they are not being compliant enough. And the first uh point you'd make right now is that
[47:05]Republicans are in charge of the committees that would hold impeachment hearings along those lines. Uh and there's just no way they would take that step. Well, we have an election coming
[47:13]up uh in about 10 months. Uh and so there is the possibility of 12 months. Uh there is a possibility uh that if Democrats were to gain back control and Kristen there's a world where they could
[47:25]be back in control uh this time next year if there is still a sense that they're not being fully compliant the Democrats would have the the opportunity
[47:35]and the power to take those steps. So, uh, there is a lot here that you almost kind of see a car and stick, uh, kind of, uh, tactic being held by members of Congress that are demanding a wholesome
[47:46]release of this information. And they want to make it clear that there are options at their disposal to enforce that. And I would say just the last point I'd make about it in terms of why these members of Congress are initially
[47:56]unhappy with it, it is a the level of redactions, b the fact that they at, you know, the first glance have not been able to really get into some of the things that the survivors were spec specifically looking for. But I can't
[48:08]emphasize enough the fact that that searchable database is not working. That was a key part of the law that they wrote that you be able to go in there, type in a name and get and kick out
[48:20]every single file where that name exists. And right now that function is returning nothing. So I think that's important too, Kristen. [snorts] >> That is hugely significant. And as soon as these files had started to be
[48:30]released, Ryan, it's something that you noted the fact that here we are at the end of the hour, it is still a problem. Hugely significant. Ryan Nobles, thank you so much for all of your reporting throughout the hour. Uh Tom Winter, let
[48:42]me go back to you. You have learned a little bit more. What do you have? >> Yeah, Kristen. So, I'm going to show you something on our screen right now, and it's a note I just put in. Our control room doesn't have a prayer of getting
[48:53]this up to show you full screen, but just to give you a sense of what we're looking at. Um, this comes from uh an FBI file that's included in here. And this appears to be new to me. it in in
[49:04]March of 2011. There's a request here uh for two FBI agents uh to travel to Sydney, Australia, uh to conduct an interview uh that was approved by the
[49:14]criminal investigative unit of the FBI, CI in the crimes against children unit. Um there was appears to have been a squad supervisor out of Palm Beach County. So that's somebody who oversees
[49:25]a uh uh a particular squad of FBI agents and they wanted to uh conduct an interview apparently in connection with an ongoing investigation to Jeffrey Epste and Gla Maxwell. Why that date
[49:37]could be potentially significant is it's clear that the FBI did not let go of the matter once Jeffrey Epste was prosecuted in Florida uh and signed that nonprosecution agreement. They were
[49:47]clearly uh had their ears open for new information and wanted to travel to Australia. Now, the name of the person who they wanted to talk to uh is redacted. Uh if it was a potential victim, I wouldn't have shown you the
[49:58]document anyway. Uh but it is interesting to note that the FBI appears to have still been on the case at least as far back as March 2011. Um and that's several years after Epstein had already
[50:09]signed that non-prosecution agreement. So, we'll see if there's some more information uh that's contained here. We might know who that specific individual is as well. So, we'll continue to do a little bit more reporting, but it did
[50:19]stick out to me that the FBI uh definitely was uh in the process. This trip appears to have been approved uh and that it actually happened and that the FBI was still continuing this investigation again after Epstein signed
[50:31]that nonprosecution agreement. I'll mention in in uh alongside this that the FBI did want Epstein charged and was prepared to charge him on complaint prior to the US Attorney's Office uh
[50:42]signing off on it. They were ready to go when he returned from the US Virgin Islands in the middle of their investigation. They felt they had enough and were told to stand back down by the US attorney's office. Then US attorney
[50:53]Alex Acasta overseeing it. Of course, he became Trump's uh Department of Labor Secretary uh during Trump's first term and resigned as a result of some of the revelations uh that came out uh in the
[51:04]2019 2020 time period. Kristen. >> All right. Well, just a few of the critical nuggets that we are learning there. Tom Winter, thank you for your excellent reporting. We'll let you continue to keep reading. Kelly
[51:16]O'Donnell, let me go back to you as we continue to pour through these documents. What will you be watching for as we head into this evening? >> Well, again, to give people some
[51:27]framework here, we have learned through the documents that have been produced today, including the letter from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch to Congress, that 200 Department of Justice
[51:38]lawyers participated in this review. 187 of them from the National Security Division. And then a second group, 25 lawyers, did a review of the reviewed
[51:49]materials with a special view of looking for victim information and to make certain that there was protection of those victims. So that's part of the process being explained. We've also
[52:00]learned that in recent weeks the there have been judges rulings about grand jury information being releasable. That typically does not happen. Uh even when
[52:11]a case goes to court and is prosecuted to an outcome. Typically, grand jury material is secret. In light of all of this context, there have been some
[52:22]rulings allowing for that. And so, they acknowledge here that there's additional information that is being reviewed because that came to light or came to the awareness or access to it became
[52:33]available to the Department of Justice later in the process. So that explains part of why, at least according to the Department of Justice, why there may be
[52:42]more material coming out uh in in the time ahead. There's also um a category of things that they can choose to
[52:53]exclude and some of that includes what uh you might commonly think of as privileges. We know about an attorney client privilege. what you say to a lawyer who represents you is kind of a
[53:05]sacred space that can't be made public. But there are other kinds of privileges. They include work product. So lawyers working amongst uh themselves that could be interesting deliberative discussions.
[53:16]And I raise that because it does open the door to might there have been documents, communications, internal records that deal with uh some of the decision-making process with respect to
[53:28]Epstein that might be held back. Kristen. All right, Kelly O'Donnell, thank you for being with us for the hour to pour through these documents as they come in. And all of our team of reporters uh for being with us
[53:38]throughout the hour. We will be back Monday with more Meet the Press Now. And if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press on your local NBC News stations. I'll have exclusive interviews with Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Kaine. Don't miss it. We're going to have continuing
[53:50]coverage of this breaking news on NBC News Now. Top of the hour here on News Now. We
[54:01]come on the day on the air again, I should say, with this developing story we've been following. I'm Tom Costello in for Halley Jackson and we are following the developments pouring in by the minute. And right now, we are
[54:13]sifting through thousands of records from the Epstein files that have just dropped. We're talking several gigabytes of information here now released by the
[54:23]Justice Department related to nearly two decades worth of government investigations into Epstein sexual abuse of young women and underage girls. We're learning some of these items released
[54:34]are photos that had not been made public previously. Many of these photos highly sexual in nature. Other documents include heavily redacted phone records. Other photos, like this one we're going
[54:46]to show you, include people you will recognize, including former President Bill Clinton, appearing to show him in a hot tub next to a person whose face has been redacted. Important to note here,
[54:57]this does not imply any wrongdoing by Mr. Clinton. We still still do not know when this was whose face was redacted and what context this photo was actually
[55:07]taken in. The White House saying in a statement just moments ago coming into us that the Trump administration is the most transparent in history. Going on to say that by releasing these documents,
[55:17]the Trump administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have. We've got team coverage on this story. NBC's Ryan Nobles is here in Washington. NBC's Danny Savalos has our
[55:28]legal analysis and Yamisha Alendor is covering this all from the White House. Tom Winter also reporting on these developments in New York. Ryan, can we first uh talk about what we are seeing,
[55:39]what you are seeing, and probably should be uh setting the record straight that in fact the Trump administration fought not to have these documents released and then finally gave in when it when it
[55:51]appeared that they had lost the vote in Congress. >> That's right, uh Tom. And there are a number of people on Capitol Hill that are are are pouring through these documents to see uh if they feel
[56:01]confident that the Department of Justice has followed the letter of the law here and releasing all the files that they have available to them in a way uh that the American people can easily get
[56:11]through them. And uh you know at this point uh we are just really cracking the surface of what are hundreds of thousands of documents. There are images, there are videos, there are
[56:22]court filings, uh there are interview transcriptions. Uh and we are starting to see little things start to trickle out. For instance, you're showing those pictures of Bill Clinton as an example. There are pictures of uh many other
[56:33]celebrities as well that we're starting to uncover. But already the initial response uh from particularly Democrats in Congress uh who had concerns about the level of compliance from the
[56:45]Department of Justice in particular because President Trump himself was so much opposed to the release initially opposed to release of this files is that they feel that this release is
[56:56]underwhelming. First of all, they are unhappy with the fact that the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanch, made it clear that not all the files are going to be released today, that it could take another two weeks uh before we see
[57:08]everything that the Department of Justice has at its disposal. Uh they are also concerned about the level of redactions uh in the files that were released here today. uh Roana who is one
[57:19]of the authors of the law that required this disclosure has said that the department of justice needs to come and sit down with Congress and explain each and every redaction uh to see whether or
[57:29]not they are in compliance. And then the third reason that we're starting to see uh some kind of uh disappointment with this initial release is that the law clearly states that there has to be a
[57:41]search bar, a search tool that it would make it easy for people who are looking through these documents to find information pertaining to a certain topic or person that they might be interested in learning more about. And
[57:52]there is a a a toolbar there, but it is inoperable. If you put in any name, like for instance, if you put in something as obvious as Jeffrey Epstein, it returns no results. And so there's going to take
[58:02]some time, I think, to work out the kinks. It's important to keep in mind that they have until midnight uh to fully comply with that. So if that search bar is up and running by midnight, then uh that would be a level of compliance. But the members of
[58:14]Congress that have taken this initial look right now are very disappointed and have warned the Department of Justice that they will seek uh consequences uh if they do not take the effort to be fully in compliance. Tom,
[58:25]>> let's underscore though, Ryan, and you cover Capitol Hill. The law states that all the files had to be released today. >> That's right. That's exactly right. in the twoe period. I mean the argument
[58:36]that members of Congress have first of all is that they have had a month since the release or since the law was passed but they go back even further. Uh and you know there have been calls to
[58:47]release these files for decades. Uh so the idea that they wouldn't be in a position to get this out to the public, at least the Democrats in Congress feel
[58:57]is an empty excuse like that this information should have been ready to go today to be in compliance with the law. >> Yeah. And to be clear, this was a bipartisan law that was passed. Uh Tom
[59:07]Winter who covers uh investigations for us and law enforcement. Tom, what else stands out to you as you've been reading through these documents? Yeah, just to give you a high level overview, Tom, there's obviously gigabytes as you of
[59:19]data as you mentioned. What they were able to do is take the documents and scan them into PDF or photographs and scan them into PDF form and that's how you're able to go through them. The documents are available to the public as
[59:29]well as us obviously on the Justice Department's website. One thing that sticks out to me is just how much material is in here uh that has been redacted as it pertains to young girls
[59:40]and some of the uh material is particularly graphic in nature. There's a number of photographs that have been redacted in part or in full uh that appear to show uh naked women uh and
[59:52]perhaps naked girls who are under the age of 18 as well. And this would have been in Epstein's possession and been seized by the FBI uh in accordance with the search warrants. So, uh, that speaks
[1:00:03]to a little bit about what they found. What we found was something that was kind of interesting here. It's this document. If you can take my shot full, uh, it's redacted here, as it should be. This is would be redacted consistent
[1:00:13]with other redactions I've seen in the past. And what it shows us is an effort by the FBI to travel to Sydney, Australia, and then conduct an interview in another part of the country in an
[1:00:24]ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epste and Gain Maxwell. And you might say, "Well, Tom, obviously they were doing that and obviously they were traveling for interviews." That would be true, except for this request came in March of
[1:00:35]2011 by the FBI field office in Miami and their Palm Beach squad, which was looking into apparently an investigation they kept cooking after Epstein uh had already pleaded out to state charges and
[1:00:47]signed that nonprosecution agreement. So, it's clear that the FBI in Florida did not give up uh on this investigation even after they even after Epstein had signed that MPA and certainly after what
[1:00:58]appears uh that they received new information. This was after somebody reached out uh to federal prosecutors in Miami. We are also now starting to see in the course of looking over these
[1:01:08]documents uh information that the FBI New York field office put together uh in connection with their investigation in 2019, the grand jury subpoenas, the New York State DMV records that would
[1:01:19]contain where they could send subpoenas to uh to potential victims. It appears because a significant amount of the folders and filings are redacted. So uh TC, that's just a bit of a sense of what
[1:01:30]we're looking at here. There's obviously some very disturbing information if there's not anything that grounds us more uh in the uh in the gravity and the sadness of what this case was. Uh it's clearly apparent for anybody who's going
[1:01:41]through these documents today. >> So Tom, you are a veteran of looking through court documents and law enforcement documents. As you look through these, you know what all the all of the conspiracy theories out there. Is
[1:01:53]there any evidence yet that a name has been redacted? a name of a high-profile person, not just individuals, not just young ladies and underage girls.
[1:02:04]>> Sure. Sitting here at 5:08 p.m. uh Eastern time on Friday afternoon, having looked through a couple of percentage points of the documents that the Justice Department
[1:02:15]says they're releasing today. Uh I have not seen any any names that have been redacted that would stick out to me as a potential subject or target of investigation or an uncharged third party. So, I haven't seen that yet. Uh
[1:02:26]the redactions, as I just mentioned here, uh they typically redact the names of specific FBI agents. The person that they're looking to interview in Australia might be a victim. That name is redacted. So everything that I'm
[1:02:37]looking at here, uh there's there's two uncharged uh parties who I believe I know who they are. Uh and without asking them for comment, it'd be a little unfair for me to disclose their names here. Uh but those individuals are all
[1:02:49]redacted. And that's all the information I would typically see redacted. Same type of thing. I mean, there are huge files here, Tom, that are phone records, but those are always generally redacted when they're released to the public, uh,
[1:03:00]and not part of evidence because that's personally identifying information as consistent with just department policy, as frustrating as it might be for reporters like us. >> Understood. You and the team have a lot of work ahead of you, Tom. Thank you.
[1:03:12]Let's go to Yamich Alendor at the White House. And Yamich, we've heard from the White House now on this uh, and we're also now getting a lot of back and forth from the president. He didn't always
[1:03:23]support the release of these documents. In fact, he didn't support it until he it was clear he was losing that vote in Congress. Right. >> That's right, Tom. This was a story that President Trump tried to push away. He
[1:03:34]tried to tell his supporters that they were not being smart by focusing on Jeffrey Epste by asking for these files over and over again. But it was really this revolt within the Republican party
[1:03:44]that then pushed President Trump to support the Jeffrey Epstein Transparency Act that then was passed by Congress and that the president signed into law that essentially told the DOJ that they had to release these files. Now today, as
[1:03:56]these files are now being released, um the White House here is saying that they were seeking transparency, but they were not acknowledging that the president was vehemently against releasing these files. I want to read to you part of that White House statement that came
[1:04:08]out. You read part of it. The other part of [snorts] it is that the president saying while President Trump is delivering on his promises, Democrats like Hakee Jeff and Stacy Plask have yet to explain why they were soliciting
[1:04:18]money and meeting from Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender. The American people deserve answers. So, this is a White House that is now sort of trying to push this and make this political and specifically call out
[1:04:28]Democrats. We've also already seen the White House press secretary online reposting that photo of former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, in that hot tub. As uh a number of her colleagues
[1:04:39]have said, there's no evidence of wrongdoing in that photo, but it is a photo that is striking to see a former president in a hot tub. And there is someone next to him whose face is redacted. We don't know, of course, who that person is, but here's the White
[1:04:50]House essentially pushing and saying, "Well, look at what the Democrats are doing here." I think it'll be very interesting to see what these other files pull out, whether or not there are going to be more photos possibly of President Trump. The other thing I should note is that the president had an
[1:05:02]announcement here at around 1:00 this afternoon. A lot of reporters wet. The president would not take questions. Um, and that is striking because this is a president who often talks to reporters, but on a day like today where there are
[1:05:13]a lot of questions about Jeffrey Abstein, the president decided he didn't want to take questions. We might see him again out on the White House lawn later this evening. Of course, we want to get those questions answered, but as of now, the White House, other than this statement, has not said anything else.
[1:05:25]>> Yamisha, any comment at all from the uh from the Clinton uh not the administration, but the Clinton camp about that photograph? >> Our colleagues have reached out to Bill
[1:05:34]Clinton and his um camp and his office. And so far, we have not received a comment as of now about that that bathtub photo or about the release of these files overall. Tom >> Yumich, thanks. Uh Danny, let's go to
[1:05:46]you for the legal analysis here. And and what are the things, what kinds of things are we seeing here? The redacted items here, things that the Justice Department simply can't release. And I
[1:05:57]guess the question is, are they all names and photographs of young underage women? The short answer right now is largely we don't know. That's the magic
[1:06:07]of redactions is you often don't know exactly what's behind it. And redaction exists in the eye of the beholder. the person who originally makes the redaction and the decision to redact.
[1:06:18]So, this release was always going to be controversial because if you just look at the wording of the statute, reasonable minds are going to differ on what constitutes or what is uh within
[1:06:30]the statute's power to DOJ to withhold or redact. And when you ask about what we can expect to see redacted, you look no further than the language of the statute under permitted withholding. And
[1:06:41]the attorney general can withhold things that for example contain personally identifiable information of victims or victim's personal or medical files and
[1:06:51]all of that language. uh as you go into similar files or related to or concerning, those are words that are a large tent with a lot of space underneath and a lot of people are going
[1:07:03]to disagree about what is related to victims or what is related, for example, something that might jeopardize an active federal investigation. We don't know exactly yet as we're just going
[1:07:14]through this what might uh be in the DOJ's mind possibly affecting an investigation. But we know, and candidly, I think many of us expected we
[1:07:24]would see gigantic swaths of fully redacted pages. I don't know that I've ever seen the completely redacted page with no white whatsoever, but I've seen close to it. We're seeing a lot of that.
[1:07:35]It's exactly what I expected. >> Uh Danny, thank you. Stand by if you don't mind. You've got a lot of work also ahead of you, but we'll check back. Hi Jackson is joining us now on the phone. Uh and Hie, you've been speaking
[1:07:46]to some of the Epstein survivors. you've been in touch with them for for quite a long time now. What are they how are they reacting now to this moment? >> And you have to remember and Tom, it's good to be with you. You have to
[1:07:57]remember that this exact moment, this afternoon, this this development that we've been spending the last uh hour and 10 minutes talking about is exactly what so many of them have said they've wanted to see for months. And you know that
[1:08:08]we've had a number of conversations with with some of these Epstein survivors. And this has been the culmination of a fight that they have been public about that they have traveled to Washington for that many of them have done u
[1:08:19]pursued a great you know personal expense candidly emotionally uh financially and otherwise and I think at this moment for this day it is obviously um it is it is the next step for them
[1:08:31]and transparency and accountability I have to tell you Tom I think it's also really emotional one thing that I heard again and again in these conversations is that every time there's some development in the news right in the headlines about the Epstein case. It is
[1:08:43]ret-raumatizing for so many of these survivors. And uh I think that that it is tonight you're seeing the vivid images, you're seeing the photographs, you're seeing some of these places where
[1:08:53]the worst moments of some of these women's lives occurred. And so while there is, I think, a sense um of moving forward of sort of quote, you know, finally this happening, this this these
[1:09:04]documents, this set of documents, this first trunch of documents being released. I think there's also some really difficult emotions here for some of these for some of these people and I'll say we have heard from one of them already just as the release of the files
[1:09:15]is happening and that's Maria Farmer who said this is a moment I mean to the point that we're just talking about Tom she says this is a moment for which I have waited three decades for over half my life. She goes on to say that she's hopeful she'll finally be able to pick
[1:09:27]up where she left off at age 26 and that this will be an important step for many of the survivors to hold the government accountable for what she calls their grotesque law enforcement failure. And so I think even in that statement from
[1:09:37]Maria Farmer, you see that, you know, the the idea that this is the next step in accountability and that this is, you know, obviously an emotional moment I think for many. I I will I want to play a little bit of one of my conversations
[1:09:49]with a group of survivors where we talked about um alluded to this moment um what this could mean for people. Let me play it with a show of hands here. How many of
[1:09:59]you want to see more documents released publicly related to the Epstein case? every single one of you. Ma, why
[1:10:08]>> alone we are afraid, together we are feared. >> And I think what you hear there, Tom, is really powerful. The idea that for so many of these women, and this is another really common thread that I've heard
[1:10:20]over the course of my interviews, watching these women speak publicly over and over again is that they feel like there is power in numbers. This is a phrase I've heard, courage is contagious. the idea that once Regina
[1:10:31]Roberts Juy came forward um and really used her voice uh as an advocate for the women that she called her survivor sisters that it gave strength to others to be able to do the same thing. And
[1:10:42]that is um you know a I will say a fairly recent development just maybe the last few years or so according to some of the women and some of the survivors that I've spoken with here. And so I think it's an incredibly important uh
[1:10:52]night. It is also I think in many ways Tom not the end. It is in fact a new beginning. And I've had some of the survivors use that exact language to me that this is the start of sort of the
[1:11:03]next phase of the fight for justice and accountability and transparency. A fight that is so critical and so deeply deeply personal for so many of them. Tom. >> Yeah. And Hie, uh, your reporting and
[1:11:14]your interviews have been so compelling and have really added to the pressure to get these files released. Thank you very much. Hi, by the way, will be on NBC Nightly News on Sunday. Then, of course,
[1:11:24]back on the air here next week. And thank you also to the team including Ryan Nobles, Danny Savalos, and Yamish Alsendor as well. Now to another big story that we're watching here at NBC
[1:11:35]News. Now we have new details about the Reddit poster who helped lead police to a breakthrough in the Brown and MIT murder investigations, though a possible motive is still unknown. Rhode Island's
[1:11:46]attorney general confirms that the Reddit poster referred to as John is seen in this surveillance video at the same time as the suspect who appears there in that blue circle. John is seen
[1:11:58]walking by in that red circle on your screen. John told investigators he encountered the suspect multiple times on the day of the Brown University shooting where two students were killed,
[1:12:09]nine others injured. Investigators now say that suspect also killed an MIT professor in Massachusetts just two days later. The suspect and the professor both studied engineering at the same
[1:12:21]school in Portugal more than 20 years ago. Police have been searching for the suspect.