Epstein files: What happens next? | Global News Podcast

Welcome to the Global News podcast on. YouTube where we go behind the headlines. to focus on one story and why it. matters. Today we are looking at the. continuing fallout of the release of. more than 3 million Epstein files from. the US Department of Justice and what. could happen next. Well, today I'm. joined by our North America. correspondent Nomia Ikbal. Nomia, great. to have you with us. You've covered this. from the beginning. The latest release. was huge. Millions of files. >> Oh, it's massive, Julia. Yes. three. million files. There were thousands of.

images, 2,000 videos, and it's so vast. and it takes real time to go through. them. So, when you go on the Department. of Justice website, it's really clunky. The search function isn't great. You'll. put in a name and it just nothing. sometimes appears. So, you have to go in. into the the different areas. There's. all these data sets. You go through bit. by bit and so much is redacted. uh there. are um so many images and videos without. any captions any context. So you have to.

sort of work out what it all means and. we do have BBC teams as you know uh. verifying everything trying to you know. analyze what it is to understand what. these files mean and so that's obviously. taking a lot of time. So all these files. are out for the whole world to see. And. yet despite the fact that there is so. much information out there, it's not. resulted in any further arrests. And. that has really upset victims and. lawmakers because they want. accountability. I mean, they've been. pressuring the Trump administration to. release these files which relate to all.

the criminal investigations into Jeffrey. Epstein. I mean, the only person to ever. be held to account was Gla Maxwell, as. we know, his co-conspirator. She's. serving a 20-year sentence. uh she's. actually trying to appeal a sentence at. the moment and saying that she was just. a scapegoat for for his crimes. He died. by suicide in 2019 in a jail cell. Uh. she was convicted of basically being his. sidekick and luring the victims into his. world. Um and and actually I should.

mention that uh the accusers accounts. were included in this document tranch. and so they appear to track the court. testimony from the accusers at her. trial. Um, but yeah, there's there's. just not been any any arrest or criminal. investigation. I just want to quote you. what the deputy attorney general Todd. Planch said when he was asked about. this. He said, "New charges for anyone. are unlikely. Um, so much of this is. because of the statute of limitations.". And he said, "The whole point of us. releasing all this stuff is that the.

entire world can look at it now and see. if we got anything wrong.". >> That sounds like they are outsourcing a. lot of this investigation. So who is. actively on a governmental level. actually investigating Epstein? >> So we know that the the police can't do. it because of statute of limitations. So. you've got the congressional committee. and the congressional committee is made. up of uh this particular committee, Democrats and Republicans. It's led by a. Republican and so they are investigating. Jeffrey Epstein, but they don't have the. power to charge anyone. All they can do.

is summon people to give evidence. And. but here's the thing. If you're not a US. citizen, you don't have to do it. Nothing compels. you to do it. So, take the former Prince. Andrew or Lord Mandolson. They are. British, but they could issue a summon. or a subpoena as they call it in. America. And they would only be arrested. if they then step on US soil, but that's. just the likelihood of that, you know, is so small. So I guess in the end what. what's happening is that it you're sort.

of relying on um publicly naming people. as a way of holding individuals to. account and that's a really poor. substitution for criminal justice. system. Um and so yeah that's that's. what's upset um survivors and lawmakers. who are saying well we want not just. transparency but we want actual. accountability. Nomia, we've seen a. number of revelations here on this side. of the pond as a result of this massive. dump of files. I mean, as revelations.

continue, could there be another method. for holding people accountable? Could. new charges be brought despite the. statute of limitations? >> I think if there was brand new evidence. that was relevant, there could be an. argument to open up these cases. Again, I mean, interestingly, Julia, in in the. um the files, there are there's evidence. of potential indictments that that that. had been made and then they didn't go. anywhere. And so, there are all these.

questions around what were these. indictments, why didn't they go. anywhere, what was stopped? So, and this. is the whole thing going through the. file still, we're still trying to. understand, you know, what happened and. what this means and what that means. and. the congressional committee um alongside. this um the department of justice is. also doing its own work and there might. be a situation in which that could. happen where there is this actual. holding people to account but so far.

none of that's happening. I mean it's. worth remembering as well that Congress. only passed this law that that has now. allowed us to have access to these files. after President Trump was under huge. political pressure to sign it. I mean, he's done a massive U-turn. He promised. to release the files day one. And and. bear in mind, he could have done soon as. he entered the White House. He could. have just had the files released, but it. took some time for that to happen. And. so, yeah, survivors, lawmakers are all. just it's it's not satisfying uh the. people that are demanding transparency.

Nomia, let's talk about the Clintons. because this latest disclosure from the. DOJ happened on a Friday. By Monday. night, something happened, which was. that the Clintons said that they would. appear before Congress after previously. insisting that they would not comply. Talk us talk to us about that. >> It's a staggering U-turn. I mean, it was. only earlier this month, they sent a. four-page letter to the committee, which. suggested they were in for a protracted. fight with them. They wouldn't, you.

know, they they said they wouldn't. respond to the subpoena. They felt that. there was some partisan politics going. on. And I think that's that's true. There is some of that. I mean, even. though the committee is made up of. Republicans and Democrats, which shows. you there is this Epstein is a common um. is is a is an issue that that that that. you likes both sides. There is some of. that going on. The Clintons feel that. there's too much focus on them. Yes, Bill Clinton did have a relationship. with Jeffrey Epste that goes back to the. 1990s, early 2000s. We saw in December. those pictures of him in the swimming.

pool with Gla Maxwell. They've been. pictured together, but he's always. denied any wrongdoing. And it's worth. mentioning just because you're in the. files doesn't mean there's any. wrongdoing. Um, and he said that he. wasn't aware of any of Jeffrey Epstein's. crimes, but they feel that there's been. too much of a focus on them. They want. others held to account in terms of. answering questions by the congressional. committee. But this U-turn means that. they will now. attend a hearing potentially. We don't. know what it will look like, but they.

were re President Clinton was in danger. of becoming the first president to be. held in contempt by Congress because. they're due to vote on it. I mean, that. might still go ahead. They might feel. that they need to look at exactly how. the Clintons plan to give evidence. But. I think the fact that they've done this, like I say, is is a staggering U-turn. But I suspect it's also the way it's a. it's a way that the Clintons are sort of. saying to others, including the. president, President Trump, who's been. named in the the documents multiple. times, although again, no evidence of.

any wrongdoing, that if we're going to. give evidence, then everyone should give. evidence. >> All right. Thank you, Nomia. You've been watching the Global News. Podcast here on YouTube. And if you. liked this video, don't forget to. subscribe so you never have to miss. another episode. If you have any ideas. for any stories you'd like us to cover, please do leave a comment below. Don't. forget, you can always stay up to date. with all the latest world news with the. Global News podcast wherever you get. your podcasts.