MSNBC Rachel Maddow (video) - 07-18-2025-221159

MSNBC Rachel Maddow (video)

NBC News

Congress, Madow, Politics, Issues, Campaign, Policy, Election, News & Politics, Public, Nbc, President, Washington, Government

4.4 • 12.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Through her unique approach to storytelling, Rachel Maddow provides in-depth reporting to illuminate the current state of political affairs and reveals the importance of transparency and accountability from our leaders. Maddow works with unmatched rigor and resolve to explain our complex world and deliver news in a way that's illuminating and dynamic, connecting the dots to make sense of complex issues. Maddow also conducts thoughtful interviews with individuals at the center of current news stories to provide important perspective.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, the Papers
0:05.3	publisher, two journalists, News Corp, the paper's parent company, and Rupert Murdoch.
0:11.4	At the core of that lawsuit is this piece that the Wall Street Journal published last night.
0:16.5	The piece, based on documents that the journal reviewed, alleges that Trump sent Jeffrey
0:21.5	Epstein an incredibly lewd letter on the occasion of Epstein's 50th birthday.
0:26.5	Now, I should say that NBC News has not independently verified the information reported,
0:31.9	and Trump, of course, vehemently denies the letter's veracity.
0:35.6	In his newly filed lawsuit, Trump claims that the journal's story has done billions of dollars in damage to his reputation,
0:42.3	and he is seeking $10 billion in relief.
0:46.3	Now, on its own, this story certainly made a splash.
0:50.3	However, it's not as if this is the first story about Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein allegedly being friends.
0:57.2	In 2002, the year before, the journal alleges that Trump wrote that birthday letter to Epstein,
1:03.3	Trump told New York Magazine that Epstein was, quote, a terrific guy and a lot of fun to be with.
1:08.9	He also notably told New York Magazine that Epstein, quote,
1:12.2	"...likes beautiful women as much as I do,
1:14.5	and many of them are on the younger side.
1:17.3	All to say that it is not entirely clear
1:19.9	whether this Wall Street Journal's story
1:21.6	inflicted lasting reputational damage.
1:24.4	But what is clear is that the new lawsuit
1:26.8	has fueled interests in the alleged friendship
1:29.3	between Epstein and Trump, a story that the president has been at great pains to diffuse.
	...

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