WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.940 Hey everyone, welcome to the show. Ever get that 00:00:01.940 --> 00:00:04.980 feeling, like what you see isn't the whole picture, 00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:07.459 like there's, I don't know, forces at work that 00:00:07.459 --> 00:00:09.539 we're not fully aware of? Yeah, that feeling 00:00:09.539 --> 00:00:11.800 you're describing, like the official story, whatever 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:13.859 it is, just doesn't add up. There's something 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:16.179 more going on, something deeper, maybe even a 00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:18.960 little scary. Exactly. And that feeling that 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.460 intuition is exactly what we're diving into today. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:24.679 We're talking about a real life thriller, exploring 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:27.559 power, money, intelligence, all that hidden stuff. 00:00:27.780 --> 00:00:29.859 It's about those hidden systems and the people 00:00:29.859 --> 00:00:32.780 pulling the levers, shaping things behind the 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:35.340 scenes. Right. If you're into that kind of exploration, 00:00:35.579 --> 00:00:37.420 like understanding how the world really works, 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:40.700 then this is the place to be. Hit that like and 00:00:40.700 --> 00:00:42.979 subscribe button if you want more deep dives 00:00:42.979 --> 00:00:45.100 like this. It's not about conspiracy theories, 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:48.450 you know. It's about taking a hard look at complex 00:00:48.450 --> 00:00:51.130 systems and the people operating within them. 00:00:51.329 --> 00:00:55.070 So today we're going deep on Whitney Webb's One 00:00:55.070 --> 00:00:57.729 Nation Under Blackmail, Volume 2. Link's down 00:00:57.729 --> 00:00:59.289 in the description if you want to check it out. 00:00:59.450 --> 00:01:01.229 And, you know, there's been a lot of sensational 00:01:01.229 --> 00:01:03.130 headlines about some of the people in this book. 00:01:03.350 --> 00:01:05.469 But we're going beyond that. We're digging into 00:01:05.469 --> 00:01:07.870 the deeper currents of influence and potential 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:11.109 corruption that Webb lays out. It's about unpacking 00:01:11.109 --> 00:01:13.849 how power is really used in ways that most people 00:01:13.849 --> 00:01:16.599 never even see. OK, so one of the core ideas 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:18.920 in the book, and it comes from a quote by Gerald 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:22.579 Nadler, is pretty stark. Government by blackmail 00:01:22.579 --> 00:01:26.280 is incompatible with democracy. Whoa. What does 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:28.920 that even mean, though, in this context? Webb's 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:31.239 argument is that blackmail, especially how it's 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:33.799 evolved with technology, plays a huge, maybe 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:36.599 even the biggest role in manipulating powerful 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:39.510 people and shaping world events. It's the evolution 00:01:39.510 --> 00:01:41.269 of blackmail that's key here. We're not just 00:01:41.269 --> 00:01:43.469 talking compromising photos anymore. It's the 00:01:43.469 --> 00:01:45.430 massive amount of personal data that's being 00:01:45.430 --> 00:01:48.189 collected. It creates a whole new level of leverage 00:01:48.189 --> 00:01:50.250 and control. All right, so think of mass surveillance 00:01:50.250 --> 00:01:53.349 as like a giant arsenal of potential blackmail 00:01:53.349 --> 00:01:56.170 material. And it's a perfect segue to Jeffrey 00:01:56.170 --> 00:01:58.730 Epstein. You know, he became infamous for sex 00:01:58.730 --> 00:02:01.230 trafficking, obviously. Horrible stuff. But Webb 00:02:01.230 --> 00:02:02.989 argues that the mainstream narrative kind of 00:02:02.989 --> 00:02:05.349 steered everyone away from Epstein's other connections. 00:02:06.689 --> 00:02:09.330 Specifically... His ties to intelligence agencies, 00:02:09.550 --> 00:02:12.669 the CIA and Israeli intelligence, to be exact. 00:02:12.789 --> 00:02:15.870 The focus stayed very narrowly on the such trafficking, 00:02:16.069 --> 00:02:18.810 which, you know, is obviously important. But 00:02:18.810 --> 00:02:20.689 it also kind of acted like blinders, blocking 00:02:20.689 --> 00:02:23.110 us from seeing this whole other dimension of 00:02:23.110 --> 00:02:25.210 Epstein's network. And this is where things get 00:02:25.210 --> 00:02:27.889 really unsettling. Webb points out that Epstein 00:02:27.889 --> 00:02:30.250 visited the Clinton White House 17 times between 00:02:30.250 --> 00:02:34.460 1993 and 1995. 17. That's a lot. Many of those 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:35.960 meetings were with this guy named Mark Middleton, 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:38.319 who, as the book details, died under some pretty 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.520 suspicious circumstances in 2022. And even more 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:43.879 interesting, Middleton himself was involved in 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:45.939 foreign espionage activities, which Congress 00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:48.500 investigated in the 90s related to some shady 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:50.379 fundraising for Clinton's reelection campaign. 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:52.919 And thinking about the context of that time, 00:02:53.099 --> 00:02:56.039 there were lots of concerns about foreign influence 00:02:56.039 --> 00:02:58.900 in U .S. politics. And Middleton was right in 00:02:58.900 --> 00:03:00.740 the middle of some of that. Here's the really 00:03:00.740 --> 00:03:03.460 messed up part, though. And the book stresses 00:03:03.460 --> 00:03:07.560 how this was totally underreported. Epstein supposedly 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:10.400 brought young women with him to some of these 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:12.819 White House meetings. Think about that. A massive 00:03:12.819 --> 00:03:15.439 scandal, potentially, right at the center of 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:17.560 the Clinton administration. And it barely got 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:19.780 any attention. Why do you think that is? Yeah, 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:21.120 it makes you wonder, right, why didn't these 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:22.860 allegations get investigated more thoroughly 00:03:22.860 --> 00:03:25.560 by the media, by officials, anyone? I mean, think 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:27.620 about the implications. National security, the 00:03:27.620 --> 00:03:29.919 integrity of the presidency is huge. So let's 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:31.560 shift gears a bit and talk about Epstein's earlier 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:34.860 life. Smart guy, clearly, skipped a couple grades, 00:03:35.139 --> 00:03:37.580 graduated high school early, went to Cooper Union 00:03:37.580 --> 00:03:40.919 in NYU, even studied at NYU's current institute 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:43.080 for a while. Never finished his degree, though. 00:03:43.460 --> 00:03:46.639 But it's his leaving Bear Stearns in 81 that's 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:49.080 really weird. Conflicting stories everywhere. 00:03:49.419 --> 00:03:51.340 Yeah, there's the official story, the one Epstein 00:03:51.340 --> 00:03:53.439 put out about leaving to start his own business. 00:03:53.719 --> 00:03:57.039 Yeah, that's what he said. But inside Bear Stearns, 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:59.680 people were talking about a technical infringement. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.639 Later on, Stephen Hoffenberg, his close associate, 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.539 claimed Epstein was actually caught doing illegal 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:10.139 stuff. Even a former executive from Bear Stearns 00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:12.879 said Epstein was asked to leave because of very 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:15.240 serious stuff, supposedly related to something 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:17.759 shady with an airline ticket on an expense report. 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:22.160 But other people deny that. So which is it? The 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:23.439 fact that you have all these different stories 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:25.699 from the same place, it kind of tells you something, 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:27.779 right? Oh, absolutely. All these inconsistencies. 00:04:27.779 --> 00:04:29.740 It means there's more to the story, something 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:31.759 Bear Stearns probably wanted to keep under wraps. 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.279 In the time right after he left Bear Stearns, 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:36.220 before he officially registered as a money manager 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:40.199 in 88, the book describes it as murky, which 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:42.139 directly contradicts his later claims that he 00:04:42.139 --> 00:04:44.240 was managing billions for billionaires starting 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:47.680 in 81. The timeline just doesn't match up. So 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:50.959 what was he doing during those years? That murky 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:54.220 period is a total black box. And those kinds 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:56.680 of gaps in someone's public record, especially 00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:58.699 someone like Epstein, that's where you find the 00:04:58.699 --> 00:05:00.579 secret activities, the shady connections, all 00:05:00.579 --> 00:05:03.920 that. If he wasn't managing billions legitimately, 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:07.560 then where was the money coming from? Who was 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:10.300 he working with? This leads to some really explosive 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:13.339 stuff that Webb brings up. Hoffenberg claims 00:05:13.339 --> 00:05:16.180 that in the early 80s, Epstein was trained in 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:19.339 arms trafficking and money laundering. by Adnan 00:05:19.339 --> 00:05:22.319 Khashoggi and Sir Douglas Lease, no less. And 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:24.120 this was specifically for Israeli interests, 00:05:24.420 --> 00:05:26.079 supposedly to help their intelligence operations 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:28.720 in the UK. Hoffenberg's claims are definitely 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:31.079 attention grabbing. And considering his close 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:33.300 financial ties to Epstein later on, they deserve 00:05:33.300 --> 00:05:35.500 a closer look. even if they're not proven. And 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:37.819 Adnan Khashoggi, man, that guy was a legend in 00:05:37.819 --> 00:05:40.040 the world of arms dealing, known for his wealth 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:42.279 and influence for sure. Oh, yeah. And Khashoggi's 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:44.019 biographer even wrote about how he operated. 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:46.819 It was all about extravagance. Girls, food, cash, 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:49.100 whatever his powerful clients wanted, he provided. 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.660 It was a world of favors, you know, and potential 00:05:51.660 --> 00:05:55.579 compromises. And Sir Douglas Leis, the book mentions 00:05:55.579 --> 00:05:57.980 his connections to intelligence circles, too, 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.399 though maybe more on the periphery. It just adds 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:02.540 another layer to this whole training scenario. 00:06:02.860 --> 00:06:04.899 OK, so it's not just Hoffenberg saying this. 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:07.639 Victor Ostrowski, he was an officer in the Israeli 00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:10.720 Mossad. He also indicated that Epstein had ties 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:13.759 to Israeli intelligence. Hoffenberg even claimed 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:15.660 Ghislaine Maxwell was the one who introduced 00:06:15.660 --> 00:06:18.750 them. And then there's Zev Shalev, an investigative 00:06:18.750 --> 00:06:21.930 reporter. He cited an anonymous source, someone 00:06:21.930 --> 00:06:24.709 high up, who backed up Ben -Nash's claims that 00:06:24.709 --> 00:06:27.569 Epstein was an Israeli intelligence asset. It's 00:06:27.569 --> 00:06:29.050 pretty wild that you have all these different 00:06:29.050 --> 00:06:30.910 accounts all pointing in the same direction. 00:06:31.170 --> 00:06:33.370 It's a pattern, isn't it? This theme of Epstein 00:06:33.370 --> 00:06:35.470 being connected to intelligence, it keeps popping 00:06:35.470 --> 00:06:37.990 up. And even though none of it's been definitively 00:06:37.990 --> 00:06:40.850 proven, that consistency is hard to ignore. Right. 00:06:40.910 --> 00:06:42.889 And then there's Epstein's trip to Israel in 00:06:42.889 --> 00:06:46.180 2008. Super strange timing. It was right in the 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:47.819 middle of his legal troubles in the U .S. just 00:06:47.819 --> 00:06:50.220 before his sentencing. He's dated the Tel Aviv 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:52.879 Hilton, said he was there for Passover. But he 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:55.040 also met with Israeli research scientists and 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:57.379 even toured Israeli military bases. You don't 00:06:57.379 --> 00:07:00.160 just wander onto an Israeli military base, you 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:03.040 know. That trip. especially during such a sensitive 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:05.720 time for him legally, really suggests that he 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:07.699 had some pre -existing connections with Israeli 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:11.000 security folks. Important connections, too. Totally. 00:07:11.240 --> 00:07:13.819 And then there's his friendship with Ehud Barak. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:15.939 You know, the former prime minister and defense 00:07:15.939 --> 00:07:18.259 minister of Israel just has another layer of 00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:20.519 intrigue to the whole thing. Barak and Epstein, 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:23.120 yeah, their relationship was well known. And 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:25.600 given Barak's history in Israeli intelligence, 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:28.319 you have to wonder what their connection really 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:30.970 was all about. And let's not forget about that 00:07:30.970 --> 00:07:33.810 foreign passport found in Epstein's safe after 00:07:33.810 --> 00:07:36.689 his arrest. It was from another country with 00:07:36.689 --> 00:07:39.750 a different name issued back in the 80s. Prosecutors 00:07:39.750 --> 00:07:42.569 used that to argue he was a flight risk, especially 00:07:42.569 --> 00:07:44.649 with all the cash and diamonds they found in 00:07:44.649 --> 00:07:47.149 there, too. And it turned out he had multiple 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:49.649 passports. What does that tell you about the 00:07:49.649 --> 00:07:51.699 kind of life this guy was living? Having multiple 00:07:51.699 --> 00:07:54.160 passports with fake identities? Yeah, that's 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:56.139 not your average tourist. It tells me he was 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:58.379 prepared to travel secretly to operate outside 00:07:58.379 --> 00:08:00.800 the normal system. Secrecy was a big part of 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:03.180 his life. The book also gets into how blurry 00:08:03.180 --> 00:08:05.839 the lines are between organized crime and intelligence, 00:08:06.259 --> 00:08:08.920 highlighting guys like Robert Keith Gray. His 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.379 career supposedly involved intelligence work, 00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:15.120 A &D, sexual blackmail schemes. Plus, he was 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:16.860 connected to the Bank of Credit and Commerce 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:20.579 International, or BCCI. It happens a lot, actually. 00:08:20.620 --> 00:08:22.779 The worlds of crime and intelligence get all 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:25.139 mixed up. People with ties to both, they're powerful 00:08:25.139 --> 00:08:27.399 and they're hard to track. Right. And then there's 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:30.519 Max Fisher. Powerful guy. He supposedly had connections 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:33.120 to both U .S. and Israeli intelligence. Just 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:35.480 shows you how tangled this web is. Fisher's career. 00:08:36.090 --> 00:08:38.470 Yeah, it touched so many sensitive areas, finance, 00:08:38.750 --> 00:08:40.950 politics, intelligence, the whole nine yards. 00:08:41.250 --> 00:08:44.269 So 1987 was a big year, according to Webb's book. 00:08:44.769 --> 00:08:46.870 Epstein got involved in a financial venture with 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:49.169 Stephen Hoffenberg and the Galitis family, big 00:08:49.169 --> 00:08:51.470 names in real estate. And wouldn't you know it, 00:08:51.470 --> 00:08:53.509 that's also the same year he supposedly met Donald 00:08:53.509 --> 00:08:55.970 Trump, maybe through Hoffenberg, who once famously 00:08:55.970 --> 00:08:58.730 said, Donald's crowd was my crowd, all these 00:08:58.730 --> 00:09:00.750 circles intersecting. Not surprising, really, 00:09:00.850 --> 00:09:02.269 when you think about the New York elite, how 00:09:02.269 --> 00:09:05.820 everyone's connected. the timing and the nature 00:09:05.820 --> 00:09:08.259 of their relationships, it's definitely something 00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:11.100 to pay attention to. Oh, and speaking of Trump 00:09:11.100 --> 00:09:13.620 and people with interesting pasts, the book mentions 00:09:13.620 --> 00:09:17.720 how in 88 he bought the Plaza Hotel, which has 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:20.399 a history of sexual blackmail parties involving 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:23.480 minors, no less. And those parties were linked 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:28.720 to Roy Cohn, Trump's lawyer, mentor, friend. 00:09:29.769 --> 00:09:31.870 Another layer to the story. The Roy Cohn and 00:09:31.870 --> 00:09:33.590 those activities. Yeah, there's been reporting 00:09:33.590 --> 00:09:35.830 on that. And Kuhn's relationship with Trump. 00:09:35.850 --> 00:09:38.450 It's definitely another thread in this web. Even 00:09:38.450 --> 00:09:40.549 Epstein's real estate stuff in D .C. is suspicious. 00:09:40.850 --> 00:09:42.909 He kept leasing the State Department building 00:09:42.909 --> 00:09:46.850 until 97. And from 96 on, he sublet it to this 00:09:46.850 --> 00:09:49.549 high profile lawyer named Ivan Fisher. The guy 00:09:49.549 --> 00:09:51.909 was known for representing some major drug traffickers, 00:09:51.990 --> 00:09:54.049 like guys connecting to the French connection 00:09:54.049 --> 00:09:56.330 and the pizza connection. Why would Epstein keep 00:09:56.330 --> 00:09:58.429 that lease and then sublet it to someone like 00:09:58.429 --> 00:10:00.149 that? It's weird, isn't it? Makes you wonder 00:10:00.149 --> 00:10:02.169 what Epstein was doing with that property and 00:10:02.169 --> 00:10:04.009 what his connection was with that lawyer. And 00:10:04.009 --> 00:10:05.990 then there's the Leslie Wexner mystery. He's 00:10:05.990 --> 00:10:08.789 a retail magnate, hugely successful. But he had 00:10:08.789 --> 00:10:10.710 this really close relationship with Epstein, 00:10:10.769 --> 00:10:14.529 who on paper wasn't in his league at all. Wexner 00:10:14.529 --> 00:10:17.049 gave Epstein power of attorney, bankrolled his 00:10:17.049 --> 00:10:19.509 lavish lifestyle, the whole thing. What could 00:10:19.509 --> 00:10:22.230 possibly explain that level of trust and support? 00:10:22.690 --> 00:10:25.330 Wexner's a smart guy. Why take a chance on someone 00:10:25.330 --> 00:10:27.409 like Epstein? Yeah, it's one of the biggest head 00:10:27.409 --> 00:10:30.370 scratchers in the whole Epstein saga. What did 00:10:30.370 --> 00:10:32.710 Wexner see in him and why give him so much power? 00:10:32.970 --> 00:10:36.110 Webb throws out a few possibilities. Maybe it 00:10:36.110 --> 00:10:38.389 was Epstein's alleged connections to arms dealers. 00:10:38.970 --> 00:10:41.450 Those guys with intelligence ties? Or maybe it 00:10:41.450 --> 00:10:43.629 was his financial skills. Those are kind of vague. 00:10:43.850 --> 00:10:46.070 The book also points out that Epstein came into 00:10:46.070 --> 00:10:48.350 Wexner's life right after Arthur Shapiro was 00:10:48.350 --> 00:10:51.070 murdered. That case had possible organized crime 00:10:51.070 --> 00:10:54.629 links. So maybe Wexner saw Epstein's shady connections 00:10:54.629 --> 00:10:57.409 as a form of protection or a way to access certain 00:10:57.409 --> 00:11:00.070 circles. The timing eye is interesting. If Wexner 00:11:00.070 --> 00:11:01.990 was feeling vulnerable or wanted to get into 00:11:01.990 --> 00:11:04.289 certain circles, Epstein's reputation might have 00:11:04.289 --> 00:11:07.620 seemed like an asset. Risky, but an asset. Okay, 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:09.419 and here's another layer to the Wexner thing. 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:12.820 His foundation, the Wexner Foundation, it focuses 00:11:12.820 --> 00:11:15.059 on developing Jewish leaders in North America 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:17.899 and Israel. Lots of their alumni end up in finance, 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:21.740 government, even intelligence agencies. And Wexner's 00:11:21.740 --> 00:11:24.720 tight with AIPAC, which has its own alleged ties 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:27.980 to Israeli intelligence. So this whole network 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:29.940 of connections, it makes you wonder about the 00:11:29.940 --> 00:11:32.419 overlaps in interests and influence. Yeah, it 00:11:32.419 --> 00:11:34.779 creates a really complex web. And Epstein's right 00:11:34.779 --> 00:11:36.259 there in the middle of it. Definitely worth a 00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:38.919 closer look. Oh, get this. Epstein helped channel 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:42.379 huge donations to Harvard through Wexner. That's 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:44.919 how Rosofsky Hall got its name, named after one 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:47.860 of Epstein's buddies at the university. The Wexner 00:11:47.860 --> 00:11:50.340 Foundation also funded the Harvard Kennedy School's 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:52.820 Center for Public Leadership, which was run by 00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:55.419 David Gergen for a while. Gergen, of course, 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:57.700 was an advisor to multiple presidents, and he 00:11:57.700 --> 00:12:00.100 has his own web of connections. All of that puts 00:12:00.100 --> 00:12:02.019 Epstein and his people right in the heart of 00:12:02.019 --> 00:12:04.379 academia and the political establishment. The 00:12:04.379 --> 00:12:06.419 book even mentions this group called the Mega 00:12:06.419 --> 00:12:09.059 Group. It was a low -key philanthropy thing, 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:11.559 supposedly with members like Wexner and Charles 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:14.360 Bronfman. Both those guys have been linked to 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:17.000 organized crime and... Eat or intelligence, at 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:19.159 least in some allegations. And some people even 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:22.700 claim that mega was a code word for a CIA information 00:12:22.700 --> 00:12:25.600 exchange. A group like that with those kinds 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:27.820 of connections definitely raises questions about 00:12:27.820 --> 00:12:30.159 their goals and what they are up to. So let's 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:32.639 talk about Ghislaine Maxwell for a minute. The 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:34.620 book touches on her upbringing, her relationship 00:12:34.620 --> 00:12:37.440 with her dad, Robert Maxwell. He was a media 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:39.600 mogul. With lots of his own ties to intelligence, 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:42.919 some of it pretty controversial. Webb even suggests 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:44.820 that Robert Maxwell might have seen his daughter's 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:47.919 sexuality as a tool for influence. Yeah, Robert 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:50.299 Maxwell was a complicated guy. His background 00:12:50.299 --> 00:12:52.580 definitely cast a shadow over his kids' lives 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:55.460 and who they associated with. Right. The book 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:57.720 also mentions Ghislaine's long -term relationship 00:12:57.720 --> 00:13:00.799 with Andrea Sacagna and how she started her own 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:03.700 exclusive club, the Kit Kat Club. Interesting 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:05.659 name, right? And remember Robert Keith Gray, 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:07.539 the guy we talked about earlier? The book says 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:09.360 he might have played a role in some of Robert 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:11.899 Maxwell's big plans. Understanding Ghislaine's 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:14.419 early life in that world of power and intelligence 00:13:14.419 --> 00:13:16.679 connections, it's really important if you want 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.080 to understand her later choices and who she hung 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:22.539 out with. Let's circle back to Epstein's 17 visits 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:25.679 to the Clinton White House starting in 93. Webb 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:27.980 connects those visits not only to shady fundraising, 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:32.179 but also to possible foreign espionage. He even 00:13:32.179 --> 00:13:34.679 brings up Vince Foster's death and how his office 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:36.620 was searched without authorization afterward. 00:13:36.899 --> 00:13:39.179 And Hillary Clinton's chief of staff was involved 00:13:39.179 --> 00:13:41.340 in that. Thanks, Foster's death. Yeah, that's 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:43.720 been a source of speculation and conspiracy theories 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:46.799 for decades. The book also talks about Foster's 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.580 role in managing private donations for White 00:13:49.580 --> 00:13:52.340 House renovations. Some of that money came from 00:13:52.340 --> 00:13:54.940 Epstein and from Clark Clifford, who was caught 00:13:54.940 --> 00:13:58.200 up in the BCCI scandal. Then there's that suicide 00:13:58.200 --> 00:14:00.500 note they found, which some people say was forged. 00:14:00.860 --> 00:14:03.200 And it mentioned a White House Historical Association 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:06.539 fundraiser that Epstein was involved in. Makes 00:14:06.539 --> 00:14:08.860 you wonder if it was all connected to some espionage 00:14:08.860 --> 00:14:11.100 investigation. All those inconsistencies and 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:13.100 questions about the note. It keeps the speculation 00:14:13.100 --> 00:14:15.860 alive for sure. And Webb even discusses allegations, 00:14:16.179 --> 00:14:18.980 although unproven, that Foster and Hillary Clinton 00:14:18.980 --> 00:14:21.679 were selling secrets. To Israel, maybe other 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:24.399 countries too, like China. And that Foster's 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:25.940 Swiss bank account might have been involved. 00:14:26.490 --> 00:14:29.289 He also brings up the Chinagate scandal, which 00:14:29.289 --> 00:14:31.649 was about illegal campaign donations from foreign 00:14:31.649 --> 00:14:33.929 sources. And guess who was involved in that? 00:14:34.309 --> 00:14:37.269 John Hwang and Mark Middleton, both of them connected 00:14:37.269 --> 00:14:39.289 to Epstein. It's like all these things are somehow 00:14:39.289 --> 00:14:41.610 connected. It's a disturbing picture, isn't it? 00:14:41.649 --> 00:14:43.370 All these alleged connections, the potential 00:14:43.370 --> 00:14:46.450 espionage, vulnerabilities at the highest levels 00:14:46.450 --> 00:14:48.549 of government. So moving on to technology and 00:14:48.549 --> 00:14:50.990 science, the book talks about Isabel Maxwell, 00:14:51.250 --> 00:14:54.389 Ghislaine's sister. She was involved in Israeli 00:14:54.389 --> 00:14:57.570 tech companies. like Comtouch. And she had connections 00:14:57.570 --> 00:15:00.509 to Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the Microsoft founders. 00:15:00.730 --> 00:15:04.029 In fact, Microsoft even said that Magellan, a 00:15:04.029 --> 00:15:06.649 company owned by the Maxwells, would be powering 00:15:06.649 --> 00:15:09.210 the search function for MSN. The Maxwell family's 00:15:09.210 --> 00:15:11.289 influence was everywhere, including the tech 00:15:11.289 --> 00:15:13.509 world and their relationship with Microsoft. 00:15:13.629 --> 00:15:16.129 That's significant. Totally. And then there's 00:15:16.129 --> 00:15:19.470 Nathan Myhrvold. He was Microsoft's first chief 00:15:19.470 --> 00:15:22.070 technology officer, close advisor to Bill Gates. 00:15:22.289 --> 00:15:25.690 He also reportedly had ties to Epstein. And Epstein 00:15:25.690 --> 00:15:27.830 himself was connected to supercomputer companies, 00:15:27.990 --> 00:15:30.669 like thinking machines. He was even close with 00:15:30.669 --> 00:15:33.269 Danny Hillis, the co -founder. Seems like Epstein 00:15:33.269 --> 00:15:35.009 was strategically trying to build relationships 00:15:35.009 --> 00:15:36.929 with people who were on the cutting edge of tech. 00:15:37.289 --> 00:15:39.429 It's like he had this talent for connecting with 00:15:39.429 --> 00:15:41.710 influential people across all sorts of fields. 00:15:41.950 --> 00:15:43.769 Exactly. And then there's John Brockman and the 00:15:43.769 --> 00:15:46.090 Edge Foundation. Epstein was associated with 00:15:46.090 --> 00:15:48.370 them, too. So now he's connected to this network 00:15:48.370 --> 00:15:51.110 of scientists and thinkers. And despite all the 00:15:51.110 --> 00:15:52.970 stuff we know about Epstein, Bill Gates met with 00:15:52.970 --> 00:15:55.789 him multiple times, even donated to MIT through 00:15:55.789 --> 00:15:59.470 him. Melinda Gates was reportedly not happy about 00:15:59.470 --> 00:16:01.570 that relationship, though. Why would someone 00:16:01.570 --> 00:16:04.019 like Bill Gates stay connected to Epstein? yeah 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:06.460 gates and epstein that's caused a lot of debate 00:16:06.460 --> 00:16:08.399 raises questions about his judgment what his 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:10.340 motivations were and here's the really disturbing 00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:12.799 part the book talks about epstein's interest 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:16.740 in eugenics he supposedly wanted to seed the 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:19.159 human race with his dna he even talked about 00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:22.320 it with scientists and get this he had this plan 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:25.080 to impregnate 20 women at a time at his ranch 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:28.120 in new mexico he was also connected to geneticists 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:31.720 like george church at harvard It's really unsettling 00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:33.820 the kind of mindset he had. Yeah, that's some 00:16:33.820 --> 00:16:36.240 dark stuff. Really raises questions about his 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:37.799 motivations and what he was doing with those 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:39.740 scientists. Let's talk about mass surveillance. 00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:43.379 Webb brings up Carbine, which is an NG911 platform 00:16:43.379 --> 00:16:46.360 with ties to Israel. Lots of concerns about the 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:48.419 potential for mass surveillance and data access 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:50.590 with that. Then there's the Promise software 00:16:50.590 --> 00:16:53.929 scandal involving stolen tech, U .S. and Israeli 00:16:53.929 --> 00:16:56.330 intelligence, Robert Maxwell, the whole thing. 00:16:56.450 --> 00:16:58.669 And it was supposedly connected to main core, 00:16:58.850 --> 00:17:01.490 which was all about using big data for domestic 00:17:01.490 --> 00:17:04.130 surveillance. Surveillance technology and the 00:17:04.130 --> 00:17:06.809 role of intelligence agencies and private companies. 00:17:06.990 --> 00:17:10.170 Yeah, it's a complicated and often disturbing 00:17:10.170 --> 00:17:12.690 area. The Total Information Awareness Program, 00:17:12.970 --> 00:17:15.509 or TIA, got shut down because people freaked 00:17:15.509 --> 00:17:18.089 out about privacy. But it allegedly continued 00:17:18.089 --> 00:17:20.500 in secret. and evolved into private companies 00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:23.079 like Palantir, which was initially backed by 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:26.099 the CIA. And Christine Maxwell, Ghislaine's sister, 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:28.519 was involved in Chiliad, a company with software 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:31.079 similar to Promise. So it's like this network 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:33.000 involved in surveillance tech never really went 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:34.900 away. And then there's Epstein's own company, 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:37.220 Southern Trust. They focused on collecting DNA 00:17:37.220 --> 00:17:39.759 data, more concerns about privacy and data harvesting. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:42.039 It just shows you how sophisticated surveillance 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:44.779 tech has become and how easy it would be for 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:46.980 governments and private companies to misuse it. 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.279 We live in a digital world, and that means our 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:53.279 data is vulnerable. OK, so let's talk about the 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:55.180 scope of Epstein's sex trafficking operation. 00:17:55.660 --> 00:17:58.579 Jean -Luc Bunel, he was supposedly key in the 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:01.200 modeling industry. recruiting young models for 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:03.900 exploitation. Ghislaine Maxwell, of course, she 00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:06.339 was allegedly running the whole thing, managing 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:08.940 the victims. And Epstein targeted victims from 00:18:08.940 --> 00:18:11.079 performing arts schools, places like Interlochen 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:13.319 Center for the Arts. The way Maxwell supposedly 00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:16.240 operated, targeting vulnerable young women with 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:19.319 fake promises, is really awful. Yeah, those tactics 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:21.380 are just heartbreaking. Shows you how predatory 00:18:21.380 --> 00:18:24.359 that whole network was, preying on the vulnerable. 00:18:24.740 --> 00:18:27.640 Prince Andrew. Islane Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:29.500 they were all publicly linked starting around 00:18:29.500 --> 00:18:33.019 2000. The book mentions Andrew's role at UK Trade 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:36.019 and Investment, or UKTI, and the accusations 00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:38.240 that he was helping with arms deals, especially 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:41.839 in Indonesia. And Epstein's mentor, Adnan Khashoggi, 00:18:41.940 --> 00:18:44.480 he was big in the arms trade. Makes you wonder 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:46.359 if there's a connection there. Prince Andrew 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:48.400 and Epstein, yeah, that's been a huge scandal, 00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:51.240 especially given his official role in promoting 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:53.900 British trade. And finally, the book looks at 00:18:53.900 --> 00:18:56.039 Bill Clinton's relationship with Epstein after 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:58.920 he was president and how Epstein might have influenced 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:01.799 the early days of the Clinton Foundation. There's 00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:03.980 documentation of Clinton flying on Epstein's 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:07.299 plane to places like Singapore and China. Sometimes 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:09.980 Maxwell was with him. It all raises questions, 00:19:10.299 --> 00:19:12.200 especially when you think about Chinagate. Yeah, 00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:14.799 Clinton and Epstein after the presidency. Another 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:17.000 thing that's raised eyebrows, considering what 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:19.119 we know about Epstein and his circle. Wow, that 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:22.769 was a lot. A really intense deep dive into Whitney 00:19:22.769 --> 00:19:26.210 Webb's One Nation Under Blackmail, Volume 2. 00:19:28.190 --> 00:19:30.569 Gives you a lot to think about in terms of the 00:19:30.569 --> 00:19:33.230 forces shaping our world. What do you think? 00:19:33.329 --> 00:19:35.430 Yeah, it's mind blowing. The number of people, 00:19:35.509 --> 00:19:37.990 institutions, all the stuff going on as detailed 00:19:37.990 --> 00:19:39.529 in the book. It makes you really think about 00:19:39.529 --> 00:19:41.410 how things work. What was the most surprising 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:43.049 thing we talked about today? What really made 00:19:43.049 --> 00:19:45.559 you think? Let us know in the comments. Keep 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:47.619 exploring these topics. Come to your own conclusions. 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:50.559 It's important to do this kind of deep investigation, 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:53.259 to consider all sides of the story. That's how 00:19:53.259 --> 00:19:54.980 you really start to understand these issues. 00:19:55.220 --> 00:19:56.980 Here's a final thought. After everything we've 00:19:56.980 --> 00:19:59.599 discussed about these networks of power, finance, 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.460 and intelligence, how does that change the way 00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:04.940 you see the world? Not just history, but the 00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:07.799 reality we live in right now. Thanks for joining 00:20:07.799 --> 00:20:08.740 us on this deep dive.