On Monday night’s episode of The Last Word, MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell and guest Tim O’Brien made over-the-top claims and speculations into the relationship between recently indicted Jeffery Epstein and President Donald Trump. The host began the discussion with a vaguely dramatic and ominous claim: “Now, sometimes the indictment of an old friend of Donald Trump's for sex trafficking has nothing to do with Donald Trump, but this is not one of the times.”
O’Donnell explained: “Because the Florida federal prosecutor who made a very forgiving deal with Jeffery Epstein on similar charges that allowed Epstein to avoid prison is now Donald Trump’s Secretary of Labor.” In liberal media world, this of course means that Donald Trump is sympathetic to sex offenders.
O’Donnell continued on, with an apparently damning quote from Trump: “Here's what Donald Trump said about his old friend, Jeffrey Epstein in 2002: ‘I have known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it, Jeffrey enjoys his social life.’”. This 17-year-old quote was supposedly evidence that Epstein still stands in the President’s good graces, despite accounts that Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago years ago for inappropriate behavior.
Even so, O’Donnell theorized that the men were in cahoots: “On the younger side. Donald Trump knew about Jeffrey Epstein and what Donald Trump called ‘the younger side.’” Of course, ‘younger women’ does not and should not imply underage girls, just adult women younger then Trump. He then added: “To this day Donald Trump has not said a negative word about Jeffrey Epstein.” Not once, never. MSNBC knows this, because as seen in previous episodes, they possess an omniscient knowledge of the President's thoughts, opinions, and musings.
The host prompted guest and anti-Trump author, Tim O’Brien, asking: “What is the Trump problem in this case?”
O’Brien responded: “He admired Epstein’s lifestyle, he admired his freedom, and I think there is a sort of synchronicity between these two guys. They’re not that much different.” The President of the United States is "not much different" than a registered sex offender? In an effort to back up this claim, O’Brien offered up some conspiracy theories: “At one-point Trump and I went, he took me to the Miss Teen America Pageant headquarters on the East Side… And I suspect that that's something tied into Jeffrey Epstein.” This of course stems from the infamous 2002 Trump quote, which O’Brien quoted: “He likes younger women.” Apparently MSNBC doesn’t distinguish between young women and teens.
O’Brien presented more conspiracy evidence: “He is very bold-faced and bald-faced about it and they spent a lot of time together. They ate in one another’s homes, Jeffrey Epstein was a member at Mar-A-Lago.”
But it’s not just Trump who should be worried, O’Brien vaguely noted: “And I think what a lot of people, probably on both sides of the aisle politically who are connected to Jeffrey Epstein, are probably worried about is what else investigators are going to find when they examine files in his homes in the Virgin Islands, and in Palm beach, and in New York. Because there could be a sort of Pandora’s box of embarrassing information.”
Incredibly, the only mention of Bill Clinton was in his defense, citing the statement written by Clinton that he hadn’t known about Epstein’s crimes.
Here is the transcript from the July 8 episode of The Last Word:
The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
07/08/19
10:04:49 PM ET
LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Now, sometimes the indictment of an old friend of Donald Trump's for sex trafficking has nothing to do with Donald Trump, but this is not one of the times. Because the Florida federal prosecutor who made a very forgiving deal with Jeffery Epstein on similar charges that allowed Epstein to avoid prison is now Donald Trump’s Secretary of Labor. Now we have no idea tonight whether William Barr would have blocked this prosecution of Jeffery Epstein if he had not decided to recuse himself from the case, we don’t know whether William Barr would have saved President Trump from the problem of now having to deal with Labor Secretary Alex Acosta’s decision to let Jeffrey Epstein off the hook for the same kind of conduct that the U.S. Attorney in the southern district of New York just indicted Jeffrey Epstein for. Here's what Donald Trump said about his old friend, Jeffrey Epstein in 2002: “I have known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it, Jeffrey enjoys his social life.” On the younger side. Donald Trump knew about Jeffrey Epstein and what Donald Trump called "the younger side." "Terrific guy," that's what Jeffrey Epstein was to Donald Trump, "terrific guy." To this day Donald Trump has not said a negative word about Jeffrey Epstein. Donald Trump has attacked the leaders of countries that are our strongest allies, Donald Trump has attacked Congressman Justin Amash this weekend for leaving the Republican Party, Donald Trump has attacked Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, he's attacked me. Donald Trump attacked hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people but he has never once said a single negative word about Jeffrey Epstein, not one word. Jeffrey Epstein did not see it coming when his private plane took off from Paris.
10:09:55 PM ET
O’DONNELL: What is the Trump problem in this case?
TIM O’BRIEN [AUTHOR, TRUMPNATION]: Well, the Trump problem is there's possibly other shoes to drop about his relationship with Jeffery Epstein. I -- you know, Donald -- I spent a lot of time with him in the mid-2000s and he routinely spoke, you know, fawningly of Jeffrey. He admired Epstein’s lifestyle, he admired his freedom, and I think there is a sort of synchronicity between these two guys. They’re not that much different. At one point Trump and I went, he took me to the Miss Teen America Pageant headquarters on the East Side. He had just acquired the rights to it and we went to the headquarters and he was saying to me, he was really glad that he had acquired this business to find girlfriends for his son, Eric. And then we got up there and he was, you know, very jazzed to show me the different women, young women, who were part of the pageant. And I suspect that that's something tied into Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump himself has not really kept that under wraps very much. He likes younger women. He is very bold-faced and bald-faced about it and they spent a lot of time together. They ate in one another’s homes, Jeffrey Epstein was a member at Mar A Lago. And I think what a lot of people, probably on both sides of the aisle politically who are connected to Jeffrey Epstein, are probably worried about is what else investigators are going to find when they examine files in his homes in the Virgin Islands, and in Palm beach, and in New York. Because there could be a sort of Pandora’s box of embarrassing information.
