VICTIMS WERE LEFT >>> WE WERE UNDERAGE.
WE WERE LITTLE GIRLS.
>> I WAS 16.
>> I WAS 16.
>> I STARTED GOING TO HIM WHEN I
WAS LIKE 14, 15.
14 TURNING 15.
>> BY THE TIME I WAS 16, I
BROUGHT HIM UP TO 75 GIRLS ALL
THE AGES OF, YOU KNOW, 14, 15,
16, PEOPLE GOING FROM EIGHTH
GRADE TO NINTH GRADE AT JUST
SCHOOL PARTIES IS WHERE I
RECRUITED THEM FROM.
>> ALL JEFFREY CARED ABOUT, WAS
GO FIND ME MORE GIRLS.
HIS APPETITE WAS INSASHTIABLE.
HE NEEDED FRESH FACES EVERY DAY.
>> HE NEEDS TO BE BEHIND BARS
FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY GIRLS FOR
HIM NOT TO BE.
IT’S MIND BLOWING.
>> THOSE ARE JUST A FEW STORIES
FROM THE MORE THAN 80 ALLEGED
VICTIMS FROM SERIAL CHILD
MOLESTER JEFFREY EPSTEIN LEFT
VOICELESS BY THE U.S. JUSTICE
SYSTEM.
SYSTEM. NOW SOME LAURMZWMAKERS ARE DEMAN
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S LENIENT
DEAL FOR EPSTEIN IN 2007.
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS LED BY THEN
U.S. ATTORNEY AND NOW LABOR
SECRETARY ALEX ACOSTA ENTERED
INTO A SECRET DEAL WITH EPSTEIN
THAT ALLOWED HIM TO SPEND JUST
13 MONTHS IN COUNTY JAIL WHEN
THEY HAD ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO PUT
HIM AWAY FOR LIFE.
YESTERDAY SENATOR BEN SASSE
FIRED OFF A SERIES OF LETTERS,
INCLUDING ONE TO THE INSPECTOR
GENERAL OF THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT, CALLING EPSTEIN A
MONSTER AND WRITING THAT THE,
QUOTE, PA THETICALLY SOFT
SENTENCE IS A TRAVESTY THAT
SHOULD OUTRAGEOUS ALL.
JOINING US NOW IS THE
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT EITHER
BEHIND THE EXPOSE, JULIE M.
BROWN.
BROWN. THIS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY ARTICLE
BY YOU AND YOUR TEAM.
PEOPLE CAN READ IT ON THE
WEBSITE.
WEBSITE. FOR PEOPLE TUNING IN TO THE
STORY, THE INDICTMENT LISTED 32
WOMEN, BUT YOU FOUND MORE THAN
80 WOMEN.
80 WOMEN. TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE
DIGGING YOU DID TO GET THEIR
STORIES.
STORIES. >> THIS CASE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR
MANY YEARS.
MANY YEARS. A LOT OF REPORTERS HAVE FOLLOWED
IT AND DONE SOME VERY GOOD WORK
ON THIS.
ON THIS. BUT IT IS NOW A DECADE LATER,
AND AFTER ALEX ACOSTA GOT
NOMINATED AS LABOR SECRETARY, I
REMEMBERED THIS CASE AND I
THOUGHT, WHERE ARE THESE GIRLS
NOW?
NOW? NOW THEY’RE IN THEIR LATE 20s,
EARLY 30s, AND I WONDER WHAT
THEY THINK, QUITE FRANKLY, ABOUT
THIS, AND HOW DID THIS AFFECT
THEM?
THEM? AND SO I DECIDED THE ONLY WAY --
ALL THEIR NAMES WERE ALL SECRET,
OF COURSE,ECAUSE THEY WERE
MINORS AT THE TIME.
SO I HAD TO REALLY DIG THROUGH A
LOT OF COURT FILES IN THE HOPES
OF FINDING CLUES ON WHO THESE
WOMEN ARE NOW TODAY.
SO IT DID TAKE ME QUITE A FEW
MONTHS TO GET A LIST OF NAMES
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. AND I WANTED TO FIND OUT
EXACTLY, YOU KNOW, HOW THEIR
LIVES HAVE GONE AND WHAT THEY
THOUGHT.
THOUGHT. I MEAN, WHEN YOU’RE ADULT WOMEN,
YOU THINK OF THINGS A LOT
DIFFERENTLY THAN WHEN YOU’RE 14
YEARS OLD WHEN THIS HAPPENED.
AND, OF COURSE, I FOUND A FEW --
I TRACKED DOWN MANY OF THEM.
THEY DIDN’T WANT TO TALK, MOST
OF THEM, BUT I DID FIND A FEW
THAT WERE WILLING TO TALK.
THEY REALLY FELT BETRAYED BY
ALEX ACOSTA WHO WAS THE MIAMI
PROSECUTOR AT THE TIME WHO
SIGNED OFF ON THIS LENIENT PLEA
DEAL.
DEAL. >> SO, JULIE, THERE IS A 53-PAGE
INDICTMENT THAT THE FBI HELPED
PUT TOGETHER.
PUT TOGETHER. PROSECUTORS CERTAINLY FELT LIKE
THEY HAD MADE THEIR CASE WITH
ALL THAT TESTIMONY.
SO MANY OF THEIR STORIES FROM
THESE YOUNG WOMEN -- GIRLS,
LET’S CALL THEM WHAT THEY WERE
AT THE TIME, GIRLS -- LINED UP.
THEY TOLD A VERSION OF THE SAME
STORY.
STORY. HOW DID THIS PLEA DEAL HAPPEN?
TAKE US INSIDE ALEX ACOSTA AND
THE DEAL HE MADE WITH JEFFREY
EPSTEIN.
EPSTEIN. >> WELL, YOU KNOW, THIS CASE
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, THE
POLICE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE, THE
PALM BEACH POLICE WERE THE ONLY
PEOPLE THAT WERE REALLY ON THE
GIRLS’ SIDE, SO TO SPEAK.
THEY WERE TRYING TO CONVINCE
FIRST THE STATE PROSECUTOR TO
PROSECUTE HIM, AND THAT FAILED.
AND THEN THEY TOOK IT TO THE FBI
AND FINALLY IT ENDED UP UNDER
ALEX ACOSTA’S PURVIEW.
AND HE HAD WORKED FOR A BIG LAW
FIRM, KIRKLAND & ELLIS, AND WHAT
EPSTEIN DID SHREWDLY WAS HIRE A
BUNCH OF ATTORNEYS WITH TIES TO
THAT LAW FIRM, KENNETH STARR,
JAY LEFKOWITZ, A FEW OTHER
PEOPLE WHO WERE PRETTY POWERFUL,
SHREWD LAWYERS, WHO HAD A
CONNECTION TO THE BUSH
ADMINISTRATION WHO WAS IN OFFICE
AT THE TIME THIS DEAL HAPPENED.
SO THESE LAWYERS REALLY PUT A
LOT OF PRESSURE ON ACOSTA, WHO
WAS A REPUBLICAN AT THE TIME,
STILL IS, AND, YOU KNOW, IT
BECAME INCREASINGLY CLEAR THAT
HE HAD TO MAKE A TOUGH DECISION
WHETHER HE WAS GOING TO GO WITH,
YOU KNOW, PROSECUTING EPSTEIN
DESPITE ALL THIS PRESSURE, OR
CUTTING A DEAL, WHICH IS
EVENTUALLY WHAT HE DID.
>> SO, JULIE, FIRST OF ALL,
CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS REPORT,
AND IT’S ONE OF THE REASONS
NEWSPAPERS HAVE TO REMAIN IN
EXISTENCE AND GETTING STRONGER
EVERY DAY DUE PARTLY TO WORK YOU
HAVE GIVEN US.
FROM YOUR THUMBNAIL DESCRIPTION
OF WHAT JUST HAPPENED BETWEEN
LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND PALM BEACH
COUNTY AND EVEN IN MIAMI, IS IT
THE CASE THAT BASICALLY MONEY
TALKED HERE, THAT EPSTEIN WENT
OUT AND HIRED A BUNCH OF REALLY
HIGHLY SKILLED LAWYERS FROM A
BIG, POWERFUL LAW FIRM, AND THE
LOCAL AUTHORITIES AT THE LOCAL
LEVEL IN CONFRONTING WHAT IS NOW
A FEDERAL CASE WERE JUST
OUTGUNNED LEGALLY?
OUTGUNNED LEGALLY? >> YES.
>> YES. THEY WERE DEFINITELY OUTGUNNED.
BUT ALSO I THINK THAT THE
PROSECUTORS, BOTH STATE AND
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS, WERE -- YOU
KNOW, THEY WERE KIND OF ENAMORED
BY THESE BIG NAME ATTORNEYS.
REMEMBER, IT WAS ALAN
DERSHOWITZ, TOO.
DERSHOWITZ, TOO. ALAN DERSHOWITZ WAS THE FIRST
LAWYER HE HIRED, AND HE FLEW
DOWN TO PALM BEACH, HE MET WITH
ALL THESE PEOPLE.
I HAD ONE PROSECUTOR WHO WAS
INVOLVED IN THE CASE TELL ME
THAT HE REMEMBERS SITTING IN A
ROOM WITH ALL THESE LAWYERS AND
THINKING, WOW, THERE ARE
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
SITTING HERE AT THE TABLE WITH
ME.
ME. SO THEY WERE PRETTY, YOU KNOW,
ENAM MORE
ENAM MORE ENAMORED BY THESE LAWYERS AND
THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN
PROSECUTORS AND THESE LAWYERS
SHOWED HOW ENAMORED THEY WERE.
THEY WERE VERY AMICABLE AND
CORDIAL AND THEY WERE REALLY
TRYING TO WORK WITH HIM FROM THE
VERY BEGINNING.
VERY BEGINNING. >> DIDN’T ONE OF THE GIRLS
IDENTIFY ALAN DERSHOWITZ IN YOUR
STORY?
STORY? >> YES.
>> YES. SHE HAS BEEN ON COURT RECORD AS
IDENTIFYING MR. DERSHOWITZ AS
BEING ONE OF THE PEOPLE SHE WAS
DIRECTED TO HAVE SEX WITH BY
JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN. OF COURSE, MR. DERSHOWITZ HAS
DENIED THAT HE WAS EVER
INVOLVED, THAT HE EVER MET HER.
BUT SHE HAS BEEN STANDING BY
THAT STORY.
THAT STORY. >> AND WHAT IS THAT STORY?
>> WELL, THAT, YOU KNOW, WHILE
SHE WAS, YOU KNOW, WITH EPSTEIN
THAT THERE WAS MANY POWERFUL
PEOPLE THAT HE DIRECTED HER TO
HAVE SEX WITH, AND HER STORY IS
THAT HE DID THIS IN ORDER TO
GAIN LEVERAGE OVER SOME POWERFUL
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. >> BUT SPECIFICALLY ALAN
DERSHOWITZ, WHAT WAS HER CLAIM
AGAINST ALAN DERSHOWITZ?
>> THAT SHE HAD BEEN DIRECTED TO
HAVE SEX WITH HIM SEVERAL TIMES
WHEN SHE WAS 16.
SHE WAS UNDERAGE.
>> LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT THE
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF THIS CASE.
I CAN TELL YOU IN NEW YORK WE
HAD HEARD FROM TIME TO TIME,
EVEN AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS
CAMPAIGN OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN
FLYING AROUND WITH VERY POWERFUL
PEOPLE AND TALK OF, QUOTE, ORGY
ISLAND WHERE HE WOULD FLY VERY
POWERFUL PEOPLE TO AN ISLAND TO
HAVE SEX WITH UNDERAGE WOMEN OR
PERHAPS VERY YOUNG WOMEN WHO MAY
HAVE BEEN OF AGE.
WAS IT COMMON KNOWLEDGE IN PALM
BEACH AS WELL THAT HE WAS
CONDUCTING THE SAME TYPE OF
ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR THERE?
>> NO.
>> NO. IN FACT, I THINK IT KIND OF WENT
UNDER THE RADAR BECAUSE THE
POLICE WERE PRETTY SURPRISED
WHEN THEY REALIZED HOW EXTENSIVE
IT WAS.
IT WAS. BECAUSE REMEMBER, HE HAD THESE
YOUNG GIRLS GOING TO HIS MANSION
LIKE TWO, THREE TIMES A DAY.
IT WAS LIKE A REVOLVING DOOR.
AND WHEN POLICE FIRST DISCOVERED
IT, THEY WERE PRETTY SHOCKED.
>> DID YOU TALK TO NEIGHBORS WHO
NOTICED THAT YOUNG, UNDERAGE
GIRLS WERE CONSTANTLY GOING INTO
THIS CREEP’S MANSION?
>> YEAH, BUT REMEMBER, THIS IS A
PRETTY LEAFY NEIGHBORHOOD WITH A
LOT OF PALM TREES, AND HE HAS A
BIG GATE AND A FENCE IN FRONT OF
HIS HOUSE.
HIS HOUSE. SO, YOU KNOW, THESE GIRLS WOULD
COME IN A TAXI AND GO THROUGH
THE GATES, AND I’M NOT SURE HOW
MUCH -- IT’S NOT LIKE THEY WERE
WALKING DOWN THE STREET OR
ANYTHING.
ANYTHING. SO I’M NOT SURE HOW MUCH THE
NEIGHBORS WOULD HAVE REALLY BEEN
ABLE TO SEE.
>> BASED ON YOUR REPORTING,
BASED ON YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THIS
CASE, ARE THERE A LOT OF
WEALTHY, VERY POWERFUL,
WELL-KNOWN MEN, BOTH REPUBLICAN
AND DEMOCRATIC POLITICIANS AND
POWER BROKERS, WHO WOULD FEAR
THIS CASE BEING IN OPEN COURT?
>> WELL, IT’S HARD TO SAY.
THESE RUMORS HAVE BEEN GOING
AROUND FOR A WHILE.
I THINK THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF
POWERFUL, INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE
WHO, IF THEY WEREN’T INVOLVED IN
THIS, THEY KNEW IT WAS
HAPPENING.
HAPPENING. >> WHO WERE SOME OF HIS POWERFUL
AND INFLUENTIAL FRIENDS, PEOPLE
THAT TRAVELED WITH HIM THAT YOU
KNOW OF?
KNOW OF? >> WELL, PRESIDENT CLINTON, HE
HAD BEEN ON HIS PLANE DOZENS OF
TIMES, INCLUDING WITH THE SECRET
SERVICE.
SERVICE. THERE WERE ACTORS.
KEVIN SPACEY, THERE WERE WORLD
LEADERS, FORMER PRIME MINISTERS.
I MEAN, HE HAD A LOT OF POWERFUL
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. >> WHAT FORMER PRIME MINISTERS?
>> BARACK, HE HAD BEEN FRIENDS
WITH HIM FOR A WHILE.
OTHER THAN THAT, HE ALSO HAD
BEEN DONATING A LOT OF MONEY TO
PEOPLE LIKE BILL RICHARDSON AND
OTHER POLITICALLY ACTIVE PEOPLE.
>> I NEED TO MAKE THIS AS
POINTED AS POSSIBLE.
WHEN THE 2016 CASE WAS GETTING
GOING, THERE WAS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
PRESIDENT CLINTON, THAT HE HAD
TAKEN A LOT OF PLANE TRIPS WITH
JEFFREY EPSTEIN, AND THERE WAS
THE POSSIBILITY IF THERE WAS
EXPOSURE OF THOSE FLIGHTS AND
WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED WHEN HE
WAS SPENDING TIME WITH JEFFREY
EPSTEIN ON HIS ISLAND THAT THAT
MIGHT BE A PROBLEM FOR HILLARY
CLINTON.
CLINTON. AT THE SAME TIME, JEFFREY
EPSTEIN ALSO A GOOD, LONG,
SOCIAL FRIEND OF DONALD TRUMP,
SOMEONE HE SPENT A LOFT TIME
WITH.
WITH. I’M CURIOUS IN A VERY SPECIFIC
WAY WHETHER YOU THINK THOSE
RELATIONSHIPS -- YOU MENTION AID
BUNCH OF OTHER ONES BUT I’M
MOSTLY FOCUSED ON THESE TWO
BECAUSE WE ENDED UP WITH HILLARY
CLINTON AND DONALD TRUMP AS
PARTIES IN 2016 -- WHETHER THOSE
RELATIONSHIPS IN SOME WAY
AFFECTED THE DISPOSITION OF THIS
CASE, WHETHER THERE WAS A WAY IN
WHICH THE POLITICAL CONNECTIONS
THAT JEFFREY EPSTEIN HAD WAS
PART OF WHAT WENT INTO, ON THE
BASIS OF YOUR REPORTING, PART OF
WHAT WENT INTO THE FACT THAT HE
GOT SUCH A SWEETHEART DEAL AND
WAS ABLE TO EVADE SPENDING A LOT
OF TIME IN PRISON.
>> YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT’S THE
BIGGEST MYSTERY ABOUT THIS WHOLE
THING.
THING. I DON’T THINK ANYBODY REALLY HAS
CONNECTED ALL THE DOTS
COMPLETELY.
COMPLETELY. I MEAN, I CERTAINLY ATTEMPTED
TO.
TO. BUT AT SOME POINT I THOUGHT, THE
REAL STORY IS THE CRIMINAL
JUSTICE SYSTEM AND HOW IT FAILED
THESE GIRLS.
THESE GIRLS. I TRIED TO STAY FOCUSED ON THAT
BECAUSE I DIDN’T THINK, QUITE
FRANKLY, I WOULD REALLY GET TO
THE BOTTOM OF EXACTLY WHY ALEX
ACOSTA DID WHAT HE DID EXCEPT
FOR MONETARY REASONS, BECAUSE
THIS MAN HAD A LOT OF POWER AND
A LOT OF MONEY.
>> AND WILLIE, ALSO, NO
DEPOSITIONS TAKEN BY PEOPLE THAT
FLEW ON HIS PLANE.
NO DEPOSITIONS BY PEOPLE WHO
WERE SOCIAL FRIENDS OF HIS.
NO DEPOSITIONS ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED ON THE ISLAND.
NO DEPOSITIONS FROM PRIME
MINISTERS OR FORMER PRESIDENTS
OR POWERFUL MEDIA FIGURES OR
POWERFUL NEW YORK REAL ESTATE
TYCOONS.
TYCOONS. >> IN EPSTEIN’S LATEST
SETTLEMENT, WHICH JUST HAPPENED
IN THE LAST COUPLE DAYS, AS SURE
AS MANY OF THESE WOMEN WE’RE
HEARING ABOUT THANKS TO JULIE
AND HER REPORTING TEAM, WOEPTN’T
HEARD IN COURT.
WE WON’T HEAR THEIR STORIES IN
COURT.
COURT. JULIE, LET ME FOLLOWIT,
DID ANY OF THE WOMEN YOU SPOKE
TO, AND THERE ARE MORE THAN 80,
MAKE ANY SPECIFIC CLAIM ABOUT
EITHER PRESIDENT TRUMP OR
PRESIDENT CLINTON?
PRESIDENT CLINTON? >> NO.
>> NO. NO.
NO. I THINK -- WHAT I’VE BEEN
TELLING PEOPLE, OF COURSE I’M
GETTING A LOT OF FEED BACK ABOUT
THE STORY, WHAT ABOUT TRUMP,
WHAT ABOUT CLINTON?
WHY DIDN’T YOU REPORT ON THIS?
HERE’S THE REALITY.
SEXUAL ABUSE DOESN’T
DISCRIMINATE BASED ON POLITICAL
PARTIES.
PARTIES. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO
KNEW AND WERE INVOLVED ON BOTH
SIDES I BELIEVE.
AND THEY ALL TO SOME DEGREE
PROTECT EACH OTHER.
>> INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER FOR
THE MIAMI HERALD, JULIE BROWN.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS BACK
TO ATTENTION.
TO ATTENTION. WE’LL CERTAINLY STAY ON IT.
>> AND, YOU KNOW, RIGHT THERE,
THANK YOU SO MUCH, JULIE.
BEN SASSE IS EXACTLY RIGHT, THE
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO BLOW
THIS CASE WIDE OPEN.
THEY NEED TO DO IT IN PUBLIC.
JACKIE, THIS IS EXTRAORDINARILY,
THE NUMBERS, 60, 70 UNDERAGE
GIRLS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
CALLING A 14-YEAR-OLD SEXUAL
ABUSE VICTIM A, QUOTE,
PROSTITUTE?
PROSTITUTE? >> IT’S PRETTY SHOCKING,
INCREDIBLE, IMPORTANT REPORTING.
I THINK IT DEFINITELY
DISQUALIFIES HIS CHANCES AT
BECOMING THE ATTORNEY AND
ANOTHER THING ON THIS, IF DONALD
TRUMP IS DRAINING THE SWAMP IN
ANY WAY, HE’S NOW INADVERTENTLY
SO IN A WAY HE DIDN’T ANTICIPATE
BY BRINGING PEOPLE LIKE ACOSTA
AND THESE -- THIS GENTLE
CONNECTIONS TO THE JEFFREY
EPSTEINS OF THE WORLD AND THESE
IMPORTANT STORIES AND HOPEFULLY
THESE WOMEN WILL SEE SOME
JUSTICE.
JUSTICE. >> IT’S AN UGLY, UGLY STORY.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT’S
SURPRISED ME THAT GIVEN THE
LEVEL OF RUMORS THAT WERE
AROUND, GIVEN THE CONNECTIONS,
THESE ARE FACTUAL THINGS.
DONALD TRUMP WAS A SOCIAL FRIEND
OF EPSTEIN’S FOR YEARS.
I THINK WE ALL EXPERIENCED AS WE
HEAD INTO 2016 THERE WAS A SENSE
THIS STORY COULD BECOME AN
EXPLOSIVE THING THAT COULD HAVE
NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THOSE
TWO CANDIDACIES.
TWO CANDIDACIES. AND YET IT NEVER HAPPENED.
I THINK ONE OF THOSE THINGS
HERE, ALTHOUGH JULIE SAYS SHE’S
NOT GOTTEN TO THE BOTTOM OF
EXACTLY HOW THE STORY UNFOLDED.
THIS MAN IS A MONSTER.
HE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH A
LOT OF POWERFUL PEOPLE.
THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
ONE OF THE CENTRAL ONES IS HOW
IS IT THAT THIS STORY THAT
SEEMED LIKE IT WAS ABOUT TO
BUBBLE OVER RIGHT BEFORE THE
2016 CAMPAIGN, WHY DID IT NOT?
I REMEMBER YOU TELLING ME IN
JULY OR AUGUST IN 2015 ON THIS
SET YOU BELIEVED THIS WAS GOING
TO BE A STORY THAT WOULD EXPLODE
IN THE CAMPAIGN AND IT NEVER
DID.
DID. ONE DEAL AFTER ANOTHER DEAL.