>>> WELCOME BACK TO "VELSHI AND RUHLE."
RUHLE." NEW QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BUSINESS
AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS OF
REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER JEFFREY
EPSTEIN, WHO WAS CHARGED LAST
MONTH WITH SEX TRAFFICKING OF
MINORS.
MINORS. EPSTEIN HAS PLEADED NOT GUILTY
AND ACCORDING TO HIS FILING MADE
THIS MORNING HIS ATTORNEY SAYS
THEY WILL APPEAL TO THE JUDGE’S
DECISION TO DENY HIM BAIL.
IN A CLOSE LOOK AT EPSTEIN’S
CIRCLE, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE
EXAMINES THE, QUOTE, CESS POOL
OF ELITES MANY IN NEW YORK WHO
ALLOWED JEFFREY EPSTEIN TO
FLOURISH WITH IMPUNITY INCLUDING
FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON
AND OUSTED CBS ANCHOR CHARLIE
ROSE.
ROSE. JOINING ME NOW THE DEPUTY EDITOR
OF "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE DAVID
WALLACE WELLS.
WALLACE WELLS. DAVID, I MUST READ THIS.
VERY TOP OF THE ARTICLE.
THIS QUOTE IS STUNNING TO ME.
FOR DECADES, IMPORTANT,
INFLUENTIAL, SERIOUS PEOPLE
ATTENDED EPSTEIN’S DINNER
PARTIES, RODE HIS PRIVATE JET,
AND FURTHERED THE FICTION THAT
HE WAS SOME KIND OF GENIUS HEDGE
FUND BILLIONAIRE.
FUND BILLIONAIRE. THERE IS A LONG LIST OF ELITES.
SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE
IN NEW YORK.
WHY IS IT, HOW IS THAT THIS GUY
WAS ABLE TO GET SO MANY OF THEM
IN HIS WEB?
>> I THINK IT’S A COMPLICATED
QUESTION AND I DON’T ACTUALLY
FEEL LIKE WE KNOW THE ANSWER
YET.
YET. I THINK THE STORY IS STILL VERY
MUCH BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.
WE DON’T YET TOTALLY UNDERSTAND
HOW EPSTEIN MADE HIS MONEY.
HE’S SAID TO BE A HEDGE FUND
MANAGER BUT WE ONLY KNOW HE EVER
HAD ONE CLIENT WHO DROPPED HIM
15 YEARS AGO.
NOBODY ON WALL STREET HAS ANY
MEMORY OF ANY DEALINGS WITH HIM
AT ALL.
AT ALL. THERE IS SOME THOUGHT HE MAY
HAVE BEEN SETTING UP TAX
SHELTERS FOR SOME OF THESE
BILLIONAIRES, SOME THOUGHT HE
MAY HAVE BEEN TRAFFICKING IN
SAUDI MONEY BECAUSE HE HAS
RELATIONSHIPS IN SAUDI ARABIA.
THERE WAS EVEN AN IMPLICATION
KIND OF UNFOUNDED HE MAY HAVE
SOME INTELLIGENCE RELATIONSHIP
WITH ISRAEL OR THE U.S.
I DON’T THINK WE KNOW YET THE
NATURE OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS
BUT IT IS CLEAR HE HAD NOT ONLY
SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE
IN NEW YORK BUT IN THE WORLD.
PRINCE ANDREW FROM THE UK.
NOW, THE NATURE OF THESE
RELATIONSHIPS IS SIMILARLY
UNCLEAR.
UNCLEAR. HE SEEMED TO HAVE A SOCIAL
RELATIONSHIP WITH MANY OF THESE
PEOPLE ALMOST ALL OF WHOM ARE
MEN.
MEN. SOME WERE AT PARTIES WHERE SOME
KIND OF UNSEEMLY THINGS WERE
HAPPENING.
HAPPENING. IT’S NOT CLEAR WHICH OF THEM
WERE INVOLVED TO WHAT DEGREE,
WHO MAY BE IMPLICATED BEYOND
JUST HAVING A FRIENDSHIP
RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
FOR ME, THE QUESTION IS, HOW DID
SO MANY PEOPLE ESPECIALLY AFTER
HE PLED GUILTY TO SOLICITING
PROSTITUTION IN 2008, HOW DID SO
MANY OF THESE PEOPLE CONTINUE TO
ASSOCIATE WITH HIM IN THE YEARS
SINCE?
SINCE? HE HAS BEEN REALLY INVOLVED WITH
HARVARD FUNDING A LOT OF THEIR
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. HE’S BEEN A MAJOR FIXTURE IN THE
NEW YORK SOCIAL WORLD SINCE
PEGGY SIEGEL HAS BEEN THROWING
PARTIES FOR HIM --
>> WHAT HAS BEEN THE ARGUMENT
FROM THESE PEOPLE?
IF I’M THE FOUNDER OF APOLLO AND
I HAVE ACCESS TO THE MOST
SOPHISTICATED TAX PREPARERS ON
THE PLANET, WHAT IS THE
RATIONALE BEING GIVEN BY SOME OF
THESE LUMINARIES AS TO WHY
EXACTLY JEFFREY EPSTEIN WAS IN
THEIR LIFE OFTEN WHEN IT IS A
GENIUS INVESTOR THEY COULD POINT
TO IT AND SAY, JOHN PAULSON IS
THE GODFATHER OF THE SUB PRIME
TRADE.
TRADE. HE MADE ME ALL OF THIS MONEY.
WHAT IS THE EXPLANATION FROM
THESE PEOPLE?
THESE PEOPLE? >> MOSTLY THEY’VE PLED IGNORANCE
AND ACTUALLY DON’T HAVE
FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE
KNOW OF TO HIM.
AS I SAID, THERE IS ONLY ONE
PERSON WE KNOW EVER HAD HIS
MONEY MANAGED BY JEFFREY EPSTEIN
AND THAT IS LES WEXNER THE
FOUNDER OF VICTORIA’S SECRET
AMONG OTHER THINGS AND KIND OF
EPSTEIN’S PATRON AND GAVE
EPSTEIN THE HOME HE LIVES IN
WHICH IS THE BIGGEST HOUSE IN
ALL OF NEW YORK CITY.
>> HAS HE GIVEN ANY RATIONALE
BEHIND WHY WOULD HE GIVE HIM A
HOME THAT IS NOW VALUED AT --?
>> $77 MILLION.
>> -- $77 MILLION.
>> NO.
>> NO. IT’S A QUITE MURKY STORY.
HE MADE A STATEMENT TO HIS
EMPLOYEES LAST WEEK.
>> WHICH WAS?
>> JUST THAT I CUT OFF MY
RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM AFTER
HE -- THE CRIMES CAME OUT IN
2008 BUT GAVE NO FULL ACCOUNTING
WHY THEY HAD A RELATIONSHIP IN
THE FIRST PLACE OR WHAT THE
NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP WAS.
IT IS VERY UNCLEAR AND IT IS
QUITE POSSIBLE AS THE CRIMINAL
PROCEEDING GOES FORWARD WE LEARN
A LOT MORE.
IT IS ESPECIALLY NOTABLE THAT
THE CHARGES WERE BROUGHT BY THE
PUBLIC CORRUPTION UNIT OF THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
WHICH SUGGESTS THAT AT THE VERY
LEAST SOME PUBLIC FIGURES ARE
INVOLVED, ARE GOING TO BE
INVOLVED IN THE SCANDAL.
THEY MAY EVEN IN SOME WAYS BE A
TARGET OF THE INVESTIGATION
THOUGH WE HAVEN’T YET FOUND THAT
OUT.
OUT. >> I WANT TO SHARE A COUPLE
NAMES THAT ARE NOTEWORTHY AND
NEWS WORTHY BUT WE HAVEN’T HEARD
IN A WHILE.
PEOPLE MIGHT NOT RELLIZE THEIR
RELATIONSHIP WITH JEFFREY
EPSTEIN.
EPSTEIN. IT’S ABOUT EPSTEIN’S
RELATIONSHIP WITH CHARLIE ROSE,
SAYING EPSTEIN HAD
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHOM ROSE
OUGHT TO HIRE AS HIS NEXT
ASSISTANT.
ASSISTANT. WRITTEN CALL LOGS FROM 2005 AND
2006 SHOW EPSTEIN AND HIS OWN
ASSISTANT CALLING DOZENS OF
TIMES MAKING PLANS FOR LUNCH AND
TEA IN MANHATTAN OR TO TRY TO
MEET UP IN PARIS.
EPSTEIN ALSO CALLED WITH A TOTAL
OF FIVE WOMEN’S NAMES AND PHONE
NUMBERS.
NUMBERS. ONE WOMAN WAS DESCRIBED AS THE
WORLD’S MOST PERFECT ASSISTANT.
SHE USED TO WORK FOR HARVEY
WEINSTEIN.
WEINSTEIN. HE’S LUCKY IF HE CAN GET HER.
ANOTHER ENTRY READS, JEFFREY
EPSTEIN WANTS TO TALK TO YOU
BEFORE YOU CALL THESE TWO GIRLS.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT JEFFREY
EPSTEIN FOUND GIRLS AND THEN
RECOMMENDED THEM FOR JOBS FOR
PEOPLE LIKE CHARLIE ROSE AND
FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON?
>> I WANT TO BE CAREFUL AND NOT
GO TOO FAR IN SUGGESTING THE
RELATIONSHIP THESE MEN HAD AND
HOW THEY MANIPULATED AND TOOK
ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THESE WOMEN
BUT I THINK IT IS CERTAINLY VERY
TELLING THERE SEEMED TO HAVE
BEEN A QUITE CLOSE NETWORK OF
PREDATORY MEN, POWERFUL,
PREDATORY MEN IN THE NEW YORK
ELITE SOCIAL WORLD WHO WERE IN
SOME SENSE COORDINATING THEIR
ACTIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
WHETHER OR NOT JEFFREY EPSTEIN
WAS MAKING A TOTALLY ABOVE BOARD
RECOMMENDATION FOR AN ASSISTANT
OR SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE
SCANDALOUS WE DON’T YET KNOW BUT
THE FACT THAT THERE WAS THIS
SHARED ASSOCIATION AND THEY WERE
TRADING INFORMATION ABOUT THESE
YOUNG WOMEN IS, ITSELF, QUITE
SICKENING.
SICKENING. >> NEAR PERFECT ASSISTANT.
SHE WORKED FOR HARVEY WEINSTEIN.
WE DID REACH OUT TO CHARLIE
ROSE’S TEAM FOR A STATEMENT AND
HAVE NOT HEARD BACK YET.
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON’S PRESS
SECRETARY DID GIVE US A
STATEMENT.
STATEMENT. I WANT TO SHARE IT.
PRESIDENT CLINTON KNOWS NOTHING
ABOUT THE TERRIBLE CRIMES
JEFFREY EPSTEIN PLEADED GUILTY
TO IN FLORIDA SOME YEARS AGO OR
THOSE WITH WHICH HE HAS BEEN
RECENTLY CHARGED IN NEW YORK.
HE HAS NOT SPOKEN TO EPSTEIN IN
WELL OVER A DECADE AND HAS NEVER
BEEN TO LITTLE ST. JAMES ISLAND,
EPSTEIN’S RANCH IN NEW MEXICO,
OR HIS RESIDENCE IN FLORIDA.