‘Let Him Hang Himself’
Question Everything
Brian Reed
4.6 • 707 Ratings
🗓️ 4 December 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When the recent slate of Jeffrey Epstein emails dropped, one line immediately jumped out: “I think you should let him hang himself.”
It was part of a 2015 email exchange between journalist Michael Wolff and his source, Jeffrey Epstein, discussing whether they should give Donald Trump a heads-up that Wolff had heard CNN was planning to question Trump about his relationship with Epstein.
We dissect this startling exchange by talking with three journalists, who each had a different take on it – and what this sentence means for journalism, access, and the boundaries reporters might cross to get information.
Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter.
Guests:
- Isaac Saul, Founder and executive editor of Tangle, a nonpartisan politics newsletter
- Susan Zakin, veteran journalist and Substack writer
- Tara Palmeri, The Red Letter Substack and host of the Tara Palmeri Show
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Trying a little something new today, something we're calling anatomy of a quote. |
| 0:04.6 | We take one line from the news that stopped us in our tracks and get reporters to weigh in on it. |
| 0:09.7 | This week, did a journalist get too cozy with his subject? |
| 0:14.1 | Convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. |
| 0:16.9 | To me, it just seems like a really slimy way to maintain a relationship with a source. |
| 0:24.6 | I can't believe it, but I agreed with him. Oh, no. Send me to journalism jail. |
| 0:30.2 | Giving a sex offender public relations advice, who's also your source, is a huge no-no. |
| 0:37.8 | From Placement Theory and KCRW, I'm Brian Reed. |
| 0:40.8 | This is Question Everything. |
| 0:42.7 | Stick around. |
| 0:47.4 | Our quote this week comes from that recent dump of Jeffrey Epstein emails. |
| 0:55.8 | The email we're zooming in on is from 2015, where a writer, many of you may have heard of, named Michael Wolfe, wrote to Jeffrey Epstein, quote, |
| 1:04.0 | I think you should let him hang himself. |
| 1:06.9 | The hymn in that sentence being Donald Trump. |
| 1:12.2 | Michael Wolf is a longtime media columnist and book author, |
| 1:15.7 | who's built a career by cultivating unusually close relationships with the powerful people he covers |
| 1:20.6 | and getting unique access to their worlds, including with Donald Trump. |
| 1:25.2 | He's written four books about Trump and had pretty exclusive access to the White House in the president's first term. |
| 1:31.7 | In the recent dump of Epstein emails from Congress, Wolf emerges as a major figure, lots of communication with Epstein over the years. |
| 1:40.0 | In this message in question, it's 2015. Trump is running from the Republican nomination. |
| 1:46.0 | There's a debate coming up, and Michael Wolf emails Jeffrey Epstein that he's heard CNN |
| 1:51.5 | is going to be asking Trump about his relationship with the sex offender. |
... |
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