'Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein' podcast, two-hour ABC News special on Epstein and women who survived his crimes
New episodes in the eight-part podcast will be available on Thursdays.
This page has been updated with the "Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein" podcast episodes 1-4. Scroll down for more. The podcast, hosted by ABC News’ Mark Remillard, is available for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and the ABC News app with new episodes posting Thursdays.
Introduction:
More than a decade ago, mysterious financier Jeffrey Epstein was investigated by local and federal authorities in Florida for allegedly sexually abusing dozens of teenage girls.
But despite what appeared to be overwhelming evidence of a horrifying pattern of abuse, Epstein managed to escape all but minor charges, striking a sweetheart deal with the government that required him to spend just 13 months in jail while granting him and his alleged co-conspirators immunity from federal prosecution.
Years later, in the wake of Epstein’s sudden arrest and shocking demise, those teenage girls -- now women -- are still seeking answers to their fundamental questions about their abuser and his allies.
The ABC News Investigative Unit and ABC Audio share the stories of those women who have fought to have their voices heard, as well as the lawyers and investigators who tried to bring Epstein to justice. We also retrace Epstein’s rise from modest roots to the very intersection of wealth and power, seeking to uncover the forces that shielded Epstein from justice.
PODCAST EPISODE 1: Palm Beach Predator
The first investigation of Jeffrey Epstein began like any other case, but it wasn’t long before the veteran investigators in Palm Beach encountered obstacles they had rarely seen before.
Police believed they had collected overwhelming evidence of Epstein’s disturbing pattern of sexual abuse, a scheme in which Epstein and his associates allegedly employed a vast network of underage victims and recruiters to facilitate his abuse of dozens of young girls.
And yet Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter still found the powers-that-be in the state so aligned against him that he ultimately sought help from federal authorities to pursue charges against the mysterious millionaire.
“We felt as though we were speaking to a defense attorney instead of a prosecutor,” Reiter said. “It was unbelievable then and it's more unbelievable now.”
PODCAST EPISODE 2: I Tried To Warn You
Maria Farmer was a promising young artist living in New York City when she says she was introduced to a pair of mysterious benefactors named Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It was an encounter, she says, that would change the course of her life.
Epstein appeared to take an interest in Farmer's work, hiring her to work for him in New York and eventually offering her a place to stay Ohio while she completed an art project. But what first appeared to be a dream gig quickly devolved, she says, into a nightmare that forced her to flee her one-time patrons.
Decades later, Farmer, who is now suing Epstein’s estate, says she is still grappling with the lingering trauma of those events, haunted by the thought that many of Epstein’s victims could have been spared if only authorities had not ignored her warnings.
“When I look at those other girls-- they were ruined, too. And I can see it. We're all broken. I spot it in them, and it kills me,” Farmer said. “If the authorities had heeded my report and done something about it, none of the women would have been harmed.”
PODCAST EPISODE 3: Man of Mystery
How did a college dropout end up teaching at one of New York City’s most prestigious prep schools? How did a onetime math teacher end up rising in the ranks at a powerful Wall Street firm? And how did an ill-fated financier end up ingratiating himself to one of the world’s richest men?
Even after multiple federal law enforcement investigations, Jeffrey Epstein’s past remains murky. One thing is certain: His rise to wealth and power seems to defy conventional logic, and even a close examination of Epstein’s resume leaves many burning questions unanswered.
In audio recordings made by journalist David Bank and shared with ABC News, Epstein can be heard describing his ambitions in his own words.
“If you have a lot of money,” Epstein told Bank in 2003, “the last thing in the world, it seemed to me, is that you should worry about your money.”
But according to his former business partner Steven Hoffenberg, a convicted Ponzi schemer who describes himself as Epstein’s onetime mentor, Epstein was more than a sexual predator. He says he was a financial one as well.
“I call him a criminal mastermind,” Hoffenberg told ABC News. “There is no explanation in the world, none, for Jeffrey Epstein not to have been charged with me as a co-defendant.”
PODCAST EPISODE 4: Friends In High Places
Leslie Wexner, 82, built some of the most recognizable clothing brands in the world, including the lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret, and he became fabulously wealthy in the process, with Forbes listing his current net worth as roughly $4.5 billion.
Wexner met Jeffrey Epstein, a college dropout with little financial pedigree, in the mid-1980s, and in only a few short years, Wexner gave Epstein power of attorney over his vast personal fortune. For more than 15 years, Epstein had the ability to act on behalf of one of the richest men in the world.
ABC News poured through thousands of pages of S.E.C. filings and other financial records, tracing Epstein’s work for Wexner and his own growing fortune.
Was this relationship the source of Epstein’s mysterious wealth? And did he use this connection to the billionaire’s iconic businesses to prey on young women and girls?
PODCAST EPISODE 5: The Lady of the House
Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who once jet-setted around the world with the mysterious multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein, finds herself at the center of a massive global scandal. And it’s not the first time.
The Oxford-educated daughter of Robert Maxwell, the larger than life publishing baron whose rags-to-riches story captivated England, lived an extravagant life among the British elite. But all that came to an end when her father's business empire collapsed in the wake of his death. She fled to New York looking for a fresh start. And it worked. For a while.
But now, sources tell ABC News that Maxwell is currently under federal investigation for her alleged involvement in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, and she’s also facing a spate of lawsuits from women who say she played a critical role in Epstein’s abuse of them.
Maxwell has previously staunchly denied any wrongdoing, but more recently, neither Maxwell nor her lawyers have responded to requests for comment, and her whereabouts remain unknown.
Who is Ghislaine Maxwell, and what was she to Jeffrey Epstein? His girlfriend? His confidant? Or was it something more nefarious? Was this charming, elegant woman an accomplice to crimes he committed against girls and young women?
“You know, I convinced myself I was safe because she was there. And then she normalized certain things, you know, by introducing me to them,” said Annie Farmer, who filed suit against both the Epstein estate and Maxwell in 2019. “But so much of me making excuses about it was based on the fact that she was there. So, he understood that. And she understood how powerful her presence [was]. And they worked together as a team, I think.”
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