PRESS, JONATHAN LA MERE, AND WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR
PBS NEWS HOUR, YAMICHE ALCINDOR.
THE SPEECH YESTERDAY WAS ABOUT
THE ECONOMY, AND AS ONE WOULD
EXPECT IT DRIFLTTED TO THE
PRESIDENTIAL RACE, AND POP
CULTURE, AND TRUCKS AND CRANES.
>> THIS IS THE WHITE HOUSE FINDS
THEMSELVES FACING TIME AND TIME
AGAIN.
AGAIN. THIS WAS NOT A CAMPAIGN RALLY,
JUST AN EVENT ON THE ECONOMY,
TOUTING THE WORK HE HAS DONE FOR
PENNSYLVANIA, SUGGESTING THE
MANUFACTURING JOBS THAT HAVE
RETURNED TO THE STATE, AND IT
BECAME AN HOUR LONG ABOUT EVERY
SUBJECT YOU TOUCHED AND TAKING
CREDIT FOR THE PLANT THERE THAT
HE WAS VISITING, SUGGESTING THAT
HIS ADMINISTRATION WAS THE
IMPETUS BEHIND IT CREATING JOBS
FOR PENNSYLVANIA.
FOR PENNSYLVANIA. THE PLANT WAS GIVEN THE GO AHEAD
IN 2012, WHICH WAS NOT ONLY
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, BUT
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S FIRST
TERM.
TERM. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. EASILY DEMONSTRABLE.
EASILY DEMONSTRABLE. WE’RE GOING TO GET MORE INTO THE
PRESIDENT’S SPEECH IN
PENNSYLVANIA IN A MOMENT.
WE WANT TO BEGIN WITH NEW
INFORMATION SURROUNDING THE
JAILHOUSE SUICIDE OF SEX
OFFENDER JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL
TELLS NBC NEWS THAT A TEAM OF
THE BUREAU OF PRISONS WILL BE AT
THE METROPOLITAN CORRECTIONAL
CENTER.
CENTER. PROTOCOL, WHENEVER THERE IS A
SIGNIFICANT EVENT AT A DETENTION
FACILITY CALLS FOR THAT MOVE.
AN ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TELLS
NBC NEWS THE FBI AND DOJ
INSPECTOR GENERAL WHICH ALSO ARE
INVESTIGATING THE CIRCUMSTANCES
AROUND EPSTEIN’S DEATH ARE BEING
STYMIED BY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WHO
ARE QUOTE LAWYERING UP.
THIS COMES AFTER YESTERDAY’S
NEWS THAT THE THE WARDEN AT THE
FEDERAL LOCK UP HAS BEEN
REASSIGNED AND TWO GUARDS TASKED
WITH MONITORING EPSTEIN HAVE
BEEN PLACED ON LEAVE.
WE ARE LEARNING MORE ABOUT ONE
OF THE WORKERS WHO WAS SUPPOSED
TO BE GUARDING EPSTEIN AT THE
TIME.
TIME. THE EMPLOYEE WAS NOT A FULL-TIME
CORRECTIONS OFFICER.
CORRECTIONS OFFICER. NOW A PERSON FAMILIAR WITH THE
INVESTIGATION TELLS NBC NEWS
THAT EMPLOYEE HAD BEEN A
CORRECTIONS GUARD FOR SEVEN
YEARS.
YEARS. HE THEN ACCEPTED A DIFFERENT JOB
WITH BETTER HOURS BUT ROUTINELY
TOOK AN OVERNIGHT SHIFT AS A
CORRECTIONS OFFICER TO GET
OVERTIME PAY.
OVERTIME PAY. A SOURCE WOULD NOT SAY WHETHER
THE EMPLOYEE WAS ONE OF THE TWO
PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE.
"THE NEW YORK TIMES" IS
REPORTING THE TWO STAFF MEMBERS
GUARDING EPSTEIN’S JAIL UNIT
FELL ASLEEP AND FAILED TO CHECK
ON HIM FOR ABOUT THREE HOURS,
THEN FALSIFIED RECORDS TO COVER
UP THAT MISTAKE.
ACCORDING TO SEVERAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AND PRISON OFFICIALS
WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE MATTER,
TWO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS
TELLING NBC NEWS, INVESTIGATORS
ARE LOOKING AT WHETHER EITHER OR
BOTH EMPLOYEES ON DUTY
RESPONSIBLE FOR CHECKING ON
EPSTEIN WERE SLEEPING P, THEY SA
NO CONCLUSION HAS BEEN REACHED.
A FACILITY LIKE THIS, A FEDERAL
JAIL THAT THEORETICALLY IS A
MAXIMUM SECURITY KIND OF PLACE
WITH THAT KIND OF A HIGH PROFILE
INMATE THAT THE TWO GUARDS COULD
FALL ASLEEP LIKE SOMETHING OUT
OF A BAD MOVIE.
>> FELL ASLEEP, AND FALSIFIED
RECORDS INDICATED THAT THEY HAD
CHECKED ON HIM EVERY HALF HOUR.
CLEARLY THEY HAD NOT.
ONE OF THE LARGEST ISSUES IS THE
WARDEN HIPS
WARDEN HIPS WARDEN HIMSELF AT THAT PRISON,
HOW THE WARDEN ALLOWED EPSTEIN
TO BE IN A CELL BY HIMSELF.
NORMALLY IT’S PROTOCOL, ANYONE
ON SUICIDE WATCH HAS A CELL MATE
FOR VARIOUS OBVIOUS LOGICAL
REASONS.
REASONS. YOU ALERT SOMEONE IF SOMEONE
TRIES TO COMMIT SUICIDE IN THE
CELL WITH YOU.
THAT CELL MATE WAS REMOVED FROM
THE CELL FOR INEXPLICABLE
REASONS YET TO BE EXPLAINED, A
WEEK OR TEN DAYS AGO, AND
JEFFREY EPSTEIN WAS ALONE TO DO
THE DEED.
THE DEED. >> THERE’S REPORTING THERE THAT
THE STAFF IS SO OVERWORKED THAT
THERE WASN’T ENOUGH TIME BETWEEN
SHIFTS, THE GUARDS WERE SO
TIRED.
TIRED. SOME WOULD SLEEP IN THE CARS AT
THE FACILITY INSTEAD OF DRIVING
HOME AND COMING BACK.
>> THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THEM NOT
ACCOUNTING AS OFTEN AS THEY
SHOULD HAVE, AND THEY WENT BACK
AND FALSIFIED THE RECORDS.
IT’S WHAT MIKE IS TALKING ABOUT
THAT IS LEADING RISE TO THESE
CONSPIRACY THEORIES.
CONSPIRACY THEORIES. IF PEOPLE ARE REALLY TIRED AND
THEY DO THEIR JOB SHODDILY,
ANOTHER THAT YOU LEAVE A
PRISONER ALONE AND THE CELL MATE
WAS MOVED OUT THE NIGHT BEFORE.
THAT’S WHAT’S LEADING PEOPLE TO
THINK THIS IS JUNSST ONE
COINCIDENCE TOO MANY.
IT LOOKS LIKE A DECISION WAS
MADE CONSCIOUSLY TO PUT THIS
PRISONER IN A POSITION WHERE HE
CAN DO THIS KNOWING THAT HE HAD
ALREADY TRIED TO DO THAT.
>> HE HAD A CELL MATE THAT WAS
TRANSFERRED OUT.
TRANSFERRED OUT. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP IS DEFENDING
HIS DECISION TO PROMOTE AN
ONLINE CONSPIRACY THEORY TIEING
THE CLINTONS TO THE DEATH OF
JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN. >> I THINK THEY VERY HIGHLY
RESPECTED, HE’S A BIG TRUMP FAN,
AND THAT WASN’T FROM ME, THAT
WAS FROM HIM.
HE’S A MAN WHO HAS HALF A
MILLION FOLLOWERS, A LOT OF
FOLLOWERS AND HE’S RESPECTED.
>> DO YOU REALLY THINK THE
CLINTONS ARE INVOLVED IN JEFFREY
EPSTEIN’S DEATH?
EPSTEIN’S DEATH? >> I HAVE NO IDEA.
HE WAS ON HIS PLANE 27 TIMES,
AND HE SAID HE WAS ON THE PLANE
4 TIMES.
4 TIMES. WHEN THEY CHECKED THE PLANE,
BILL CLINTON, WHO WAS ON THE
PLANE ABOUT 27 OR 28 TIMES, SO
WHY DID YOU SAY FOUR TIMES, AND
THE QUESTION YOU HAVE TO ASK IS
DID BILL CLINTON GO TO THE
ISLAND.
ISLAND. EPSTEIN HAD AN ISLAND, IT WAS
NOT A GOOD PLACE, AS I
UNDERSTAND IT, I WAS NEVER
THERE.
THERE. DID BILL CLINTON GO TO THE
ISLAND.
ISLAND. THAT’S THE QUESTION.
YOU FIND THAT OUT, YOU’RE GOING
TO KNOW A LOT.
>> RICK TYLER PROMOTED IT ONCE
BY RETWEETING TO HIS 63 MILLION
FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER AND POURING
GAS ON IT.
>> YOU HAVE THIS SUICIDE OF A
PEDOPHILE, A PEDREDATOR WHO BILL
CLINTON AND DONALD TRUMP WERE
FRIENDS WITH.
FRIENDS WITH. THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES DECIDES THAT, YOU KNOW,
HIS FRIEND BILL CLINTON WAS FAR
WORSE THAN HE WAS.
I JUST WENT TO A FEW PARTIES
WITH HIM, BUT HE AFTER ALL WAS
ON THE PLANE 27 TIMES, MAYBE 26
TIMES, PROBABLY 27 TIMES
SKPSHLGS, AND
SKPSHLGS, AND WENT TO THE ISLAND, YOU GOT TO
ASK HIM ABOUT THE ISLAND.
IT’S JUST CLEAR DIVERSION NARROW
TACTICS, HE THINKS JEFFREY
EPSTEIN HURT HIM BECAUSE THERE’S
A LOT OF PICTURES GOING AROUND
OF THEM TOGETHER.
HE WANTS TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE
THAT THE STORY IS GOING TO BE
ALL ABOUT BILL CLINTON BECAUSE
IT CAN’T BE ABOUT HIM.
>> JONATHAN, HE REVELS IN THIS
KIND OF THING, OBVIOUSLY, AND
PLAYS TO A CERTAIN AUDIENCE.
HE LIKES TALKING ABOUT THE
BIZARRE PARLOR GAME OF WHO
KILLED JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
>> SOME OF IT IS A DISTRACTION.
THE CLINTON FLIGHT ISSUE WE HAVE
FACT CHECKED.
FACT CHECKED. THE FOUR TIMES, LONG FLIGHTS,
DIFFERENT LEGS OF DIFFERENT
FLIGHTS, THAT’S WHERE YOU GET 27
OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE.
THE FORMER PRESIDENT NEVER SET
FOOT ON THE ISLAND.
THIS IS WHAT THE PRESIDENT LOVES
TO DO.
TO DO. THIS IS NOT A NEW PHENOMENON.
HE TRAFFICS IN CONSPIRACY
THEORIES.
THEORIES. HIS ENTIRE POLITICAL CAREER IS
BASED ON THE BACK OF ONE,
BIRTHERISM, SUGGESTING THAT THE
FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES WAS
INELIGIBLE FOR THE POSITION.
THAT IT’S TIME AND TIME AGAIN,
HE THOUGHT THAT TED CRUZ’S
FATHER MAY HAVE KILLED PRESIDENT
KENNEDY.
KENNEDY. HE SUGGESTED THAT SUPREME COURT
JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA MAY HAVE
BEEN MURDERED.
BEEN MURDERED. WHAT HE ALSO DID YOU DESCRIBE IS
PUT IT OUT THERE AND NEVER
ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY.
ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY. IT’S JUST A RE-TWEET.
HE FORGETS THAT HIS WORDS, THE
PRESIDENT CONTAINS WEIGHT.
>> IT’S ALWAYS INVOLVED IN HOW
GREAT IT IS.
IT’S A RE-TWEET FROM A WELL
RESPECTED GUY.
RESPECTED GUY. HE’S GOT HALF A MILLION
FOLLOWERS AND HE’S A BIG TRUMP
MAN.
MAN. >> IN TERMS OF IT MIGHT BE NAIVE
TO THINK THIS NOW, BUT IS THERE
ANYONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE, NOT
SAYING TO THE PRESIDENT, OR
ANYONE THINKING, THIS IS NOT
GREAT TO BE TAKING ON A FORMER
PRESIDENT LIKE THIS, EVEN IF
THEY’RE NOT SAYING IT TO DONALD
TRUMP, ARE THERE STILL PEOPLE
WHO FEEL QUEASY ABOUT THE
PRESIDENT STANDING UP THERE AND
GOING AFTER PRESIDENT CLINTON
THERE.
THERE. I’LL REFER TO WILLIE’S ANSWERS.
THE GUARDRAILS ARE GONE.
THERE IS NO ONE IN THE WHITE
HOUSE THAT ARE GOING TO GET IN
THE WAY OF ANY SORT OF TWEET.
THEY HAVE GIVEN UP.
>> HOPELESSNESS.
>> HOPELESSNESS. >> THAT’S RIGHT.
>> YAMICHE, WE HAVE HEARD THIS
TIME AND AGAIN, I’M THINKING
ABOUT THE ELIJAH CUMMINGS WEEK,
THE REPORT INSIDE THE WHITE
HOUSE, STAFFERS HUDDLED IN THE
ROOM, ARE YOU GOING TO TELL HIM
THIS IS BAD, AND ULTIMATELY NO
ONE TELLS HIM.
>> THE WHITE HOUSE FUNCTIONS,
REALLY, AS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE
ARE TRYING TO CONSTANTLY DECIDE
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE PRESIDENT’S
TWEETS.
TWEETS. IT’S NOT A PLACE WHERE ANYONE IS
TRYING TO ALTER THE PRESIDENT’S
BEHAVIOR.
BEHAVIOR. THEY REALIZE 2 1/2 YEARS INTO
HIS PRESIDENT THAT THAT’S JUST
NOT THE WAY YOU SURVIVE AND KEEP
YOUR JOB.
YOUR JOB. ALL THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING
TO, ALWAYS STRESS TO ME IF YOU
WANT TO KEEP AND BE SUCCESSFUL
IN THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE, YOU
HAVE TO BE CONSTANTLY ADJUSTING,
CONSTANTLY BEING WILLING TO TRIP
OVER YOURSELF AND CONTRADICT
YOURSELF AS SOON AS THE
PRESIDENT COMES OUT.
THAT’S ALSO AT TIMES WHY HERE
WHITE HOUSE AIDS, AND THE
PRESIDENT TWEETING ANOTHER.
THERE’S THIS IDEA THAT THEY ARE
FEARFUL OF GOING ON RECORD A LOT
OF TIMES BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT
ONE TWEET CAN COMPLETELY UP END
WHATEVER THE WHITE HOUSE MESSAGE
WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY.
I THINK THE PRESIDENT IN SOME
WAYS HAS SEEN HIMSELF HAVE
SUCCESS WITH THE WAY HE’S DONE
THINGS AND HE DOESN’T AT ALL
FEEL AS THOUGH THERE’S ANY
REASON TO CHANGE THAT.
THAT GOES BACK TO WHAT JONATHAN
WAS SAYING, THIS IDEA THAT HE
STARTED HIS POLITICAL CAREER AND
HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN DOING
THAT, AND HASN’T HAD TO FACE
CONSEQUENCES.
CONSEQUENCES. >> AND JONATHAN, AGAIN, BACK TO
THE INTERNALS OF THE WHITE
HOUSE, THERE’S A TRACK RECORD
HERE OF ANYONE WHO SPEAKS BACK
TO THE PRESIDENT.
ANYONE WHO SAYS WAIT A MINUTE,
LET’S THINK ABOUT THIS, JOHN
KELLY, GENERAL MATTIS, GONE.
>> THEY FALL INTO FAVOR, WHETHER
QUICKLY OR EVENTUALLY.
THERE HASN’T BEEN ANYONE
CONSISTENTLY ABLE TO BE A FORCE
TO STAND UP TO THE PRESIDENT.
HIS DAUGHTER AND SON-IN-LAW,
THEY RARELY DO IT.
THERE WAS AT LEAST AN EFFORT
WITH CHIEF KELLY IN PARTICULAR
WHEN HE CAME INTO THE CHIEF OF
STAFF ROLE TO TRY TO RAIN THE
PRESIDENT IN.
PRESIDENT IN. FOR A LITTLE WHILE, THE
PRESIDENT WAS INTO IT.
HE BEGAN TO CHAFE, THREW OFF THE