Bombshell NBC Report Reveals Trump DOJ Seeking to Keep Secret Names of Two Epstein Associates
MSNBC anchor Alex Witt reported on a bombshell new story from NBC News’s Tom Winter, who revealed the Trump DOJ is asking a federal judge to keep secret the names of two individuals whom Jeffrey Epstein wired large sums of money.
“Let’s go first to NBC’s Yamiche Alcindor at the White House with an NBC News exclusive. There’s some new information within just this last hour, Yamiche, on the Epstein investigation. So what have we learned so far, and what’s going to come next?” Witt asked on Saturday afternoon.
“Well, good afternoon, Alex. Just in the last hour, our colleague Tom Winter broke the news that the DOJ on Friday asked a federal judge overseeing the case of deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to deny a request from NBC News to unseal the names of two associates who received large payments from Epstein in 2018,” Alcindor began, adding:
Court documents show the Justice Department cited privacy concerns expressed by the two individuals as the reason for not making their names public. Now, the first associate received a payment of $100,000 from Epstein.
The second associate received a payment of $250,000. No,w both of those payments happened in 2018, just days after the Miami Herald began publishing a series of stories where victims criticized a plea deal Epstein received in Florida in 2008.
Now as part of that plea agreement, Epstein secured a statement from federal prosecutors in Florida that the two people would not be prosecuted. Now the payments became public after Epstein was indicted and arrested in New York in 2019. And just last month, NBC News sent a letter asking a federal judge to unseal the redacted names because Epstein’s dead, the criminal proceedings have ended, and the DOJ said in a memo in July that there would be no additional charges filed against uncharged third parties.
The judge has now given NBC News until September 12th to respond to the DOJ’s request that the names remain secret. It’s not known when the judge will make a final decision about NBC News’ request.
Witt concluded the segment by noting, “Got to tell you, it’s a hell of a story from Tom Winter. He may have opened a can of worms here, and you have very carefully and thoroughly reported this, Yamiche, in a very short period of time. Thank you so much.”
Watch the clip above via MSNBC.
