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The Origins of Jeffrey Epstein

The latest release of files related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein left key questions unanswered about his rise to power and his connections to the president. David Enrich, an investigations editor at The New York Times, explains how he worked with a team of reporters to fill in those mysteries and reveal the truth about Mr. Epstein’s origins.
Duration
32m
Broadcast on
23 Dec 2025
Audio Format
other

The latest release of files related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein left key questions unanswered about his rise to power and his connections to the president.

David Enrich, an investigations editor at The New York Times, explains how he worked with a team of reporters to fill in those mysteries and reveal the truth about Mr. Epstein’s origins.

Guest: David Enrich, a deputy investigations editor for The New York Times.

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For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. From the New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams and this is The Daily. The latest release of files related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein left key questions about his rise to power and his connections to the president unanswered. Today, my colleague David Enrich explains how he and a team of reporters worked to fill in those mysteries and revealed the truth about Jeffrey Epstein's origins. It's Tuesday, December 23rd. David Enrich, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. David, I think this is probably your fourth or fifth appearance on the show this year to talk about Jeffrey Epstein. And this time we're having you back because on Friday, there was obviously this massive file released from the Justice Department that as far as I understand it, did not really advance our understanding of Jeffrey Epstein or his crimes or the people in his orbit. Can you tell us what you think the biggest takeaways were? It's a hard question because there were not huge takeaways and we got lots of bits of incremental color and detail that reinforced the deep depravity of Epstein's crimes and the horrible things he was doing. We also got some new tidbits. We saw, for example, Bill Clinton in numerous photos with Epstein and his associates, including in a swimming pool. We saw that one of Epstein's victims back in 1996 had reported him to the FBI for having child sexual abuse material. And that's a decade before we know the federal prosecutors actually started investigating Epstein. So that was definitely a new development. But for the most part, there was nothing here that fundamentally altered our understanding of Epstein and his network. And notably also very little about Donald Trump, whose name was barely mentioned in these files.

Transcription truncated.

The latest release of files related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein left key questions unanswered about his rise to power and his connections to the president. David Enrich, an investigations editor at The New York Times, explains how he worked with a team of reporters to fill in those mysteries and reveal the truth about Mr. Epstein’s origins.