1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Today we are producing 2 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: more than three million pages, including more than two thousand 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: videos and one hundred and eighty thousand images. 4 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 2: On Friday, Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General who was 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:26,279 Speaker 2: previously President Trump's personal defense lawyer, announced the Justice Department 6 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 2: was making public a massive cache of documents related to 7 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 2: the federal investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, 8 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:35,239 Speaker 2: who died in twenty nineteen. 9 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: Today's release marks the end of a very comprehensive document 10 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 1: identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American 11 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: people and compliance. 12 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,160 Speaker 2: With the DOJ has published nearly three and a half 13 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 2: million pages from the so called Epstein Files since late 14 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 2: last year. Blanche says that the latest batch, coming more 15 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 2: than a month after Congress's deadline, fulfills the Justice Department's 16 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 2: obligation to lawmakers from the Epstein Files Transparency Act. 17 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:08,480 Speaker 3: My biggest takeaway from these documents is that every powerful 18 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 3: name or individual that you could think of somehow found 19 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 3: their way to Jeffrey Epstein. 20 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 2: That's Bloomberg investigative reporter Jason Leopold, with a slight exaggeration. 21 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 2: He spent his weekend pouring over the documents. 22 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 3: Whether it was wanting to do business with him, wanting 23 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 3: to take a trip to his island. Here, we're seeing 24 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 3: these emails back and forth between people in business and banking, 25 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 3: in entertainment, in politics, So it's not a huge surprise. 26 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 3: It's just the fact of how long the list of 27 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 3: names are. 28 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 2: Many of these names are familiar, but being in these 29 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 2: files doesn't mean an individual or a company engaged in wrongdoing. 30 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 2: Jason specializes in requesting federal documents through transparency laws like 31 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 2: the Freedom of Information Act, records he can use to 32 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 2: piece together how the government works behind the scenes. With 33 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 2: the Epstein files, Jason is on a team of reporters 34 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,799 Speaker 2: here at Bloomberg sifting through a flood of names and allegations. 35 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,239 Speaker 2: Jason points out these documents aren't in any particular order 36 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 2: and pretty much everything lacks context, and he says he's 37 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 2: still looking for some key files that appear not to 38 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 2: have been released. 39 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 3: Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General, said that about two 40 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 3: hundred thousand pages were withheld due to privilege. They were 41 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 3: privileged materials. 42 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 2: These are files that the Justice Department says it has 43 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,399 Speaker 2: a legal justification for holding back for privacy reasons or 44 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 2: to keep from interfering with a live investigation. 45 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 3: That's a lot of material that they withheld, but we 46 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 3: don't have a real understanding of what was exactly in 47 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 3: those records. 48 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 2: I'm David Gera, and this is the big take from 49 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 2: Bloomberg News Today. On the show what's in the latest 50 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 2: drop of Epstein files and what isn't and will this 51 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 2: be the last set of files made public by the 52 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 2: Justice Department, my colleague Jason Leopold on what's likely to 53 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 2: happen next? Jason, we now have access to three and 54 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 2: a half million pages of Epstein related documents. I assume 55 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 2: you've gone through all of them over the. 56 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:32,639 Speaker 3: Course of this weekend. 57 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 2: But seriously, though, this is just an incredible quantity, and 58 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 2: I'm very curious sort of what your strategy has been 59 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 2: trying to make your way through them. 60 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 3: There's instances where I'm typing names of certain individuals into 61 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 3: a search box on the Justice Department's website, or trying 62 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,119 Speaker 3: to download, you know, a bunch of files and see 63 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 3: if I can thematically review a set. But you know, 64 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 3: my interest has been in following the money to really 65 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 3: get an understanding of how Epstein made his money, looking 66 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 3: at anything that may revolve around you know, money laundering 67 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 3: or you know, financial crime. So I've been focusing on 68 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 3: that and trying to separate records because it's not just emails, 69 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,719 Speaker 3: you know, we're also talking about business documents as well, 70 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:30,840 Speaker 3: and really separating those records, reading through them. And that's 71 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 3: essentially where I'm starting. 72 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 2: You mentioned you've been searching for names. I'm genuinely curious 73 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 2: how good the search functionality is. 74 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 3: I'm going into it immediately using the Justice Department's own 75 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,479 Speaker 3: search engine, and it's not bad. It's just a lot 76 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 3: to plow through. But what I've been noticing over the 77 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 3: weekend is that there have been documents disappearing. Essentially, they've 78 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:01,239 Speaker 3: been taking it down. Document I may have been looking 79 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 3: out on Friday on Deutsche Bank, for example, would disappear, 80 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 3: and then other documents would reappear. I'm still unsure of 81 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 3: why that is the case, if there's anything that maybe 82 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 3: needed to be redacted and they're pulling it down and 83 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 3: maybe adding later on. 84 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 2: You and our colleagues have reported on what this redaction 85 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 2: process was supposed to be like, and maybe you can 86 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,359 Speaker 2: remind us sort of what's been happening behind the scenes 87 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 2: in the federal government over the last few months that 88 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 2: they've been preparing these documents for public release. 89 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 3: The Justice Department, because the agency had to respond to 90 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 3: the Epstein Files Transparency Act, had been working over time 91 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 3: going through these records and having their lawyers review and 92 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 3: redact certain material. The law itself dictated how the redaction 93 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 3: it in some way should work, or at least what 94 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 3: needed to be disclosed. First, let me just note they 95 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 3: had more than four hundred Justice Department attorneys working on 96 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:11,159 Speaker 3: this pretty much exclusively for the past month and a half. 97 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 3: And there are names of victims that are redacted. But 98 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 3: then there is there's a ton of victims' names, victims 99 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 3: who never came forward revealed over the weekend. Then there 100 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 3: is I looked at a document and it kind of 101 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 3: blew me away. They redacted the JP in JP Morgan, 102 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 3: just the JP. I don't know why they did that, David, 103 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,719 Speaker 3: but they just redacted the JP. So easy to figure 104 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 3: out they're talking about JP Morgan. But there's no real, 105 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 3: you know, understanding, like why is this being redacted? There's 106 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 3: no index to go along with it to see this 107 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 3: was redacted for national security, this was redacted for privacy, 108 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 3: this was redacted for you know, the deliberative process. So 109 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 3: it's been chaotic. 110 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,160 Speaker 2: Jason, you mentioned the victims, who, of course are front 111 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,720 Speaker 2: and center here, and I saw a story in the 112 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 2: New York Times over the weekend that reporters there found 113 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 2: in all of these documents photographs of victims. Those reporters 114 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 2: flagged that to the Department of Justice, and ultimately the 115 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 2: DJ took many of those photos down. We have heard 116 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 2: a lot of talk from the DJ about how important 117 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 2: it would be to protect victims in this process, to 118 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 2: hide their identities, to not retraumatize those victims. What have 119 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 2: you taken away from the care with which they've approached 120 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 2: it in that regard. 121 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 3: I think that the way in which they have approached 122 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 3: redacting victims' names or trying to protect victims has been 123 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:52,679 Speaker 3: really messy. There are names that have been revealed while 124 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 3: other names, say on the same page, were of victims 125 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 3: that were redacted. So it begs for a deeper understanding 126 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 3: as to why did they leave this name unredacted? How 127 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 3: did that happen? The fact that you have Justice Department 128 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 3: attorneys handling the reactions is problematic because that's not usually 129 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 3: how it works when government documents are being released. You 130 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 3: have document experts, people who are experts on the Privacy 131 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:34,200 Speaker 3: Act and going through records and handling the reactions here. 132 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 3: You have attorneys you know, who are working on cases 133 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:41,080 Speaker 3: that have been kind of shifted over to this process. 134 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 3: In some ways, you have to understand that they were 135 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 3: going through millions and millions and millions of pages and 136 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 3: trying to meet a deadline that has since passed. You're 137 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 3: bound to have some details that are just going to 138 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 3: be left unredacted. It's just it's not a surprise for me. 139 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,959 Speaker 3: I think it's really really unfortunate. 140 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:07,319 Speaker 2: Though, coming up the most surprising details in the Epstein 141 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 2: files Jason has identified so far and what comes next? Jason, 142 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 2: you and I last spoke in December, so when the 143 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 2: run up to this big release, and something you mentioned 144 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:29,839 Speaker 2: then is that you'd obtained what's basically an index of 145 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:32,959 Speaker 2: the Epstein files. How good a guide has that been 146 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 2: for you as you've begun to go through this latest 147 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 2: tranch of documents. 148 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:40,840 Speaker 3: I don't think that has been a very good guide 149 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 3: in terms of what's been in here. I believe what 150 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 3: is missing based on what the index says is communications 151 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 3: with foreign governments, additional banking records, financial records. This was 152 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 3: an index that we when we discussed, came from the FBI. 153 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 3: R The FBI was documenting all of the records that 154 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 3: they had collected during the course of their investigation between 155 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 3: two thousand and seven and two thousand and eight and 156 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:20,680 Speaker 3: a few years beyond. I have not seen much of 157 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 3: the material that they documented. There are some FBI interview summaries. 158 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 3: That's something that I had been waiting for, but there's 159 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:32,520 Speaker 3: a lot missing. 160 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 2: Jason, I want to talk about the sweep of federal 161 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,960 Speaker 2: investigations into Jeffrey Epstein. So the first was in Florida. 162 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 2: Federal investigators started looking into allegations back in two thousand 163 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 2: and six, but Epstein signed a plea bargain, pleading guilty 164 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 2: to one state charge before federal charges could be filed. 165 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,439 Speaker 2: That deal became notorious for its leniency. Victims later said 166 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 2: they weren't told about it. Then almost a decade later, 167 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 2: federal prosecutors in Manhattan investigated and then indicted Epstein, and 168 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:02,839 Speaker 2: he died. The ruling was by suicide while he was 169 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 2: in jail. In twenty nineteen, what have we learned about 170 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,239 Speaker 2: that federal investigation and potential offshoots. 171 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,880 Speaker 3: So in the you know, two thousand and six to 172 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 3: two thousand and eight investigation, what the files that we 173 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:21,080 Speaker 3: do have show the emails, right, particularly the ones that 174 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 3: have been released over the weekend, It really shows how 175 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:31,439 Speaker 3: this investigation evolved, how the US Attorney's Office in Florida 176 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:36,959 Speaker 3: approached it, notably, you know, one particular prosecutor there pretty aggressively, 177 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 3: and how this prosecutor was in many instances kind of 178 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 3: blocked from higher ups in terms of going further, really 179 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 3: really going to the mat in terms of wanting to 180 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 3: indict Epstein and being forced into negotiations in order to 181 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 3: get him to you know, sign a non prosecution agreement 182 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 3: and plae to a stage charge. And you could see 183 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 3: the evidence she was collecting and it was pretty extraordinary. 184 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 3: You know. You fast forward to the investigation that took 185 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 3: place more than a decade later, and that was quite 186 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:18,839 Speaker 3: aggressive as well. What stood out from that investigation is 187 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:22,679 Speaker 3: that there were co conspirators, right that the government had 188 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:25,199 Speaker 3: alleged that there were a number of co conspirators that 189 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 3: they were interested in indicting as well. They were scooping 190 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 3: up evidence in the form of records from banks. They 191 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:40,559 Speaker 3: interviewed a number of people in Epstein's orbit. It looked 192 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:45,079 Speaker 3: like they had the goods already, but that first investigation 193 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:50,559 Speaker 3: you could see it moving aggressively and aggressively, and it 194 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 3: was you know, the evidence was damning, and then you 195 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 3: know they were blocked. 196 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 2: You mentioned Jason. These FBI documents indicated that there had 197 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:03,319 Speaker 2: been about a number of individuals, including Jeffrey Epstein. How 198 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 2: should we look at those particular documents. What do they 199 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,600 Speaker 2: tell us, what don't they tell us? And do these 200 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 2: files indicate what the FBI did with those tips that 201 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 2: they received. 202 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 3: The FBI documents there are interview summaries, so there's interviews 203 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 3: that the FBI conducted with people who may have been 204 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:27,080 Speaker 3: witnesses who provided information to the FBI, confidential human sources, 205 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:31,199 Speaker 3: essentially informant. And then there are folks that just called 206 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,920 Speaker 3: up the FBI offering up tips, and the FBI memorializes 207 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,560 Speaker 3: this and you know in a document that's what we're 208 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 3: looking at. None of those records are something that you 209 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:46,960 Speaker 3: can rely upon in terms of verification, because it doesn't 210 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 3: appear that the FBI followed up on it, and if 211 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:54,080 Speaker 3: they did, we're not seeing the records in here that states, 212 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 3: you know, that they did follow up on the tips 213 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,439 Speaker 3: or that they investigated any of the allegations that were 214 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 3: being made. And that's one of the problems with these records, right, 215 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 3: is that we have three and a half million pages 216 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 3: of records, you know, millions of pages of emails, but 217 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 3: they're completely out of context. So when we're reporting it, 218 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 3: we're actually going out and doing additional reporting right to 219 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 3: understand what it means what happened in this particular timeframe. 220 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 3: So there's lots of FBI documents that contain allegations against 221 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 3: President Donald Trump, but we don't know if it's true. 222 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 2: You mentioned your interest in following the money, Jeffrey Epstein's money, 223 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 2: how he made it, how he used it, any more 224 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 2: specifics on what you have learned from this cash of 225 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 2: documents or what you are learning about them. 226 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 3: What I'm kind of blown away by from reviewing the 227 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:58,359 Speaker 3: documents thus far is the inclusion of suspicious activity reports 228 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 3: from various financial institutions, and the suspicious activity reports comes 229 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 3: directly from FINSEN. FINSEN is the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. 230 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 3: It's part of the US Treasury Department and their job 231 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 3: is to combat money laundering and other financial crimes, and 232 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 3: so financial institutions whenever they see signs of money laundering 233 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 3: or financial crime, they send over to Finsen a suspicious 234 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 3: activity report. Finsen then puts it into a database. Here. 235 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:39,040 Speaker 3: Those are impossible to get. First of all, you can't 236 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 3: foia them. They're never usually introduced in court cases. But 237 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 3: there are a whole bunch of them here in these files. 238 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 3: They come in around twenty nineteen, and they show how 239 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 3: some of the financial institutions flagged Epstein's movement of money. 240 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 3: And there's a lot of it there. And to me, 241 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 3: that really stands out as a noteworthy document because it 242 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:13,400 Speaker 3: provides a bit of a roadmap to understand one how 243 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 3: he was moving the money, why it may have been suspicious, 244 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,360 Speaker 3: and potentially following it up in a much deeper way. 245 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 2: There was a moment when Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General, 246 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 2: took the stage at Main Justice around the release of 247 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 2: these documents and said, effectively, this is it. Here you go, 248 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 2: these are the last documents that we're going to make public. 249 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 3: Can he do that? 250 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 2: Can the DOJ do that? How do you see that 251 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 2: part of this story evolving from here, if at all. 252 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, I was actually surprised that he said that that's it. 253 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 3: We're done here. We're not going to release anything else. 254 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 3: I mean, he as I noted, he said that they're 255 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 3: going to withhold two hundred thousand pages. One thing that 256 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:56,240 Speaker 3: they're supposed to provide Congress with is a document that 257 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 3: explains what names were redacted, what information was redacted, justifying 258 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 3: the redactions, what records were withheld, why they were withheld. 259 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 3: So we do need to see that, but this fight 260 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 3: will play out between Congress and EOJ. However, when we 261 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 3: spoke late last year, I mentioned the freedom of information 262 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 3: at case right that had been winding its way through 263 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 3: the courts to try and gain access to this. Well, 264 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 3: there was a hearing in the Second Circuit Court of 265 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 3: Appeals in New York last week, and in fact, that 266 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,600 Speaker 3: case is still alive. There may be, in fact, you know, 267 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,520 Speaker 3: additional records that come out as a result of that 268 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,479 Speaker 3: freedom of information at case. So I don't think this 269 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 3: is a last you're going to see of the Epstein files, 270 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 3: but we do already have three and a half million pages. 271 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 3: It's a lot, and I believe Over the next six 272 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,679 Speaker 3: seven months, you know you'll see some deeper reporting about 273 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:56,880 Speaker 3: what this reveals, including from us here. 274 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 2: This is the Big Take from Bloomberg News. I'm David Gura. 275 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 2: To get more from The Big Take and unlimited access 276 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 2: to all of Bloomberg dot com, subscribe today at Bloomberg 277 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,360 Speaker 2: dot com slash podcast offer. If you liked this episode, 278 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 2: make sure to follow and review The Big Take wherever 279 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:18,920 Speaker 2: you listen to podcasts. It helps people find the show. 280 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 2: Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.