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New Release: Epstein Mentioned Trump Multiple Times In Private Emails; JFK's Grandson Jack Schlossberg Launches Bid For Congress. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired November 12, 2025 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: Today on Inside Politics, straight from Epstein. Breaking news, you will see for yourself private emails where convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein mentions Donald Trump by name multiple times.

Plus, a Camelot reboot. Decades after, JFK is called for a new generation of leadership, his grandson is taking up that mantle or torch, if you will. He's running for Congress. I spoke to Jack Schlossberg about why now. And hoodies over hierarchy. The senator, known for divine political norms, is using his signature candor to open up about his personal struggle that also impacts millions of Americans. Democratic Senator John Fetterman is my guest this hour.

I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

Any moment now, the House will gavel back into session after a nearly two-month recess. One of the first things that will happen, a vote to reopen the government and end the longest ever government shutdown. Already, the story on Capitol Hill is shifting back to the Epstein files, because this morning, House Democrats on the oversight committee released blockbuster emails from Jeffrey Epstein that mentioned President Trump by name multiple times.

Now the context of these emails is unclear, but here's one of them from Epstein to his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, and it was on April 2, 2011. Quote, I want you to realize that dog that hasn't barked is Trump. And then this part was redacted. It went on to say, spent hours at my house with him. He has never once been mentioned, police chief, et cetera. I'm 75 percent there. And Maxwell wrote back, I have been thinking about that.

Republican members of the House Oversight Committee identified the redacted name as Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein survivor who died by suicide in April. Giuffre does not accuse Trump of any wrongdoing in her own memoir. In another email from January 2019, when President Trump was in office, Epstein emailed Author Michael Wolff, apparently discussing Trump's claim that he kicked Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club.

Epstein writes in the email, Trump said he asked me to resign. Never a member ever. Of course, he knew about the girls, as he asked Ghislaine to stop. The top Democrat on House Oversight, spoke to CNN's Manu Raju just moments ago about these emails they released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): Documents are concerning. They're disturbing. They raise more questions about what the relationship was between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, and what Donald Trump actually knew, and every single piece of information has to be released to the public. The president right now today, could release the Epstein files and fulfill his campaign promise but he refuses to do so, and we believe this is a White House government.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Because Republicans are saying that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now Trump did not send or receive any of these emails. He has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or Maxwell. The White House released a statement saying, quote, the Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.

I'm joined now by a terrific group of reporters, and I want to start with Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, can we just put this into as much context as we can because that's really the key here. Some of these emails don't have context, which is, you know, the whole ball game and understanding what they mean. But explain to our viewers what they should be thinking about as they look at what the Democrats have released.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Dana, I think a little bit of history is necessary to sort of view the context in which we are now seeing these. Of course, this was a soundtrack, a drumbeat throughout the Trump campaign. Why aren't the Epstein files being released? And this is from President Trump's loyal MAGA followers.

And the president has been frustrated for months and months and months that the Epstein, whole situation has not gone away, and in fact, these emails -- this release of the emails is certainly just going to add more questions to this. Added on top of that, of course, the House has been out of session for nearly two months.

[12:05:00]

They were on the verge of having a vote on a discharge petition. It's called to effectively have the House vote to release the emails and the subpoenas that went with it. The speaker had put a hold on that. So, all of this context is important because the White House has still been watching this very carefully.

But for the first time, we are really seeing a connection, particularly between Jeffrey Epstein by saying that the president, who, of course, was not president at the time. He was just a New Yorker developer. He spent hours at my house. That's a direct quote there. So, the White House now is going to, of course, be asked questions about why Donald Trump was spending hours at Jeffrey Epstein's house. There is no suggestion or specific evidence of wrongdoing. However, this just adds more questions, questions that Trump's own supporters raised. So that is one of the reasons this has never really gone away here, because it is something that has come from within the House, if you will.

But now the House Republicans have just released some 23,000 documents this entire cash, and we are going through those here, and hopefully we'll have more context on that. But that is why this is an issue. Because Trump supporters, of course, have made it one, and he has never answered all these questions.

BASH: Yeah. And Mark Caputo, you have spent a lot of time reporting on the notion that Jeff was just talking about that one of the main reasons, maybe the main reason why this is a thing that we're talking about this is because Donald Trump's most ardent supporters and those who are at the highest levels of his administration now made it a thing for years on social media and elsewhere.

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: Yeah. Well, this is the finding out stage of fooling around. They were the ones that drove it as an issue, and now the issue is being driven against them, sort of basic karma that you see in politics. I mean, albeit this circumstance is really different because the 180 that Trump took was remarkable.

One of the things that the White House is saying is that the redaction of Virginia Giuffre name from this email trench, or this email is indicative of the fact that they don't have the goods. Now, whether they can make that stick or not, we'll have to see.

BASH: And just Marc staying with you. What is your take on the specifics of what we have? I mean, you heard Jeff talk about the one email from 2011 when Epstein talks about the then private citizen, Donald Trump, being at Epstein's house. I mean, we've seen pictures of them together. Unclear where it was.

But then going back to, you know, to Mar-a-Lago that was later in the calendar, it was January of 2019. This is seven months before Epstein's death. I'll put this back on the screen. This is Epstein to the author, Michael Wolff. Apparently, to address Trump's claim that he asked Epstein to resign his membership at the president's Mar-a- Lago club.

CAPUTO: Yeah. I can't really say what my take is. What I understand from the context of Epstein grousing about Trump's name not being mentioned in 2011 is Epstein suspected that it was Trump who was the -- one of the first ones who sort of ratted them out. And the Trump administration is going to be making a big deal of that. They're going to be saying, if there's anyone who was a whistleblower, it was Donald Trump. Again, whether people accept this or not, I'll leave that up to them.

Fast Forward over to the other email with Jeffrey Wolf -- our army, it's not Jeffrey Wolf, with Michael Wolff. This is sort of manna from heaven for the Trump administration and for the Trump operation. They've been engaged in a tussle with Michael Wolff over this issue, and now they're going to say, look, it's not Donald Trump who is giving advice to a notorious pedophile that was our critic here, Michael Wolff. And he's going to have questions to answer himself. What he does with that, we'll have to see.

BASH: Tia, let's talk a little bit about what is now going to happen in the House of Representatives because we assume that the Democrat Grijalva, who has -- was elected way over a month ago, maybe even more, is going to actually be sworn in now that the House is coming back. And we just -- we'll put up on the screen.

We have examples of Republicans who are going to cross party lines, although it's kind of odd that they're crossing party lines, since this is a Republican thing that they wanted everything to come out. Tom Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace. So, the expectation is that we will see a vote, thanks to what's known as a discharge petition going over the head of Mike Johnson to say, we should release these files.

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TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: Yeah. And as you -- I talked to people like Marjorie Taylor Greene all the time, and she would argue, she's not the one who crossed party lines, that she's been solid all along and saying, hey, we need to release the files. And if anyone did anything wrong, let's expose them, and they should have whatever punishment is due to them. And it's a lot of Republicans who have run from that position because Donald Trump has also somewhat changed his tone towards the Epstein file.

So, but again, as you know, there are only four Republicans right now who are willing to sign that discharge petition, but it looks like it's going to, you know, come to fruition with this new Democrat being sworn in today. The question will be now kind of, what happens next? We know that Speaker Johnson is not in favor of this.

We hear that he's leaning on Republicans to try to remove names, or he might try to lean. He did that with the previous discharge petition, where he kind of came up with an alternative plan that kind of allowed the sponsor of the petition to recant a little bit. Could that happen on Epstein? We don't know. But, you know, it's definitely an issue that's going to be really, really salient in the next couple of weeks.

BASH: And Jeff, before we go, I do want to get in a clip from this interview that Todd Blanche, now the deputy attorney general, the president's former personal attorney. They released. He went to speak to Ghislaine Maxwell, who was in prison. And listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GHISLAINE MAXWELL, CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER, JEFFREY EPSTEIN ASSOCIATE (voiceover): I think they were friendly, like people are in social settings. I don't -- I don't think they were close friends, or I certainly never witnessed the president in any of -- I don't recall ever seeing him in his house, for instance. I actually never saw the president in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting, in any way, the president was never inappropriate with anybody in the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So, Jeff, we know that there was a very specific reason why he did this interview, why they released it to us, because they wanted these things to be out in the public. And by the way, she was moved to a much swankier prison, if you will. After this, I don't recall ever seeing him in his house. That's a direct contradiction to what now we see in these emails from Epstein himself.

ZELENY: It absolutely is, I mean, because Ghislaine Maxwell, in that response, back in that first email, should I was thinking the same thing. And the reality is, Jeffrey Epstein was asking or was saying that Donald Trump spent so many hours in my house. So that is definitely a contradiction. There is no doubt. But Dana, one other through line here to sort of keep in mind, the White House is repeatedly saying that there is no evidence of wrongdoing for the president, and no one has stepped forward with any.

I think the better question is, was he aware of any wrongdoing that was going on? And that is a difference with the distinction. That's a very important difference, but I think that that is something that the White House will certainly be asked. And Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, is holding a briefing in the next hour. Dana?

BASH: Yeah, yeah. All eyes on that. Thank you all. Don't go anywhere. Up next. At Kennedy Air, social media, somebody who's an expert, I think, is probably a good way to say it. Now he's a candidate for Congress. Does Jack Schlossberg have a shot at the House of Representatives? We'll talk about that after the break.

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[12:15:00]

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KENNEDY, 35TH U.S. PRESIDENT: Let the word go forth from this time and place to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: That was President John F. Kennedy's famous 1961 inaugural address. And now, more than 60 years later, his grandson is hoping he is now that new generation. In fact, new generation is a term Jack Schlossberg used in a conversation I had with him about his decision to run for Congress in New York's 12th district where he grew up.

Here is what he said in a social media video formally announcing his candidacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK SCHLOSSBERG, (D) NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: 250 years after America was founded, and our country is at a turning point. It's a crisis at every level. We deserve better, and we can do better, and it starts with the Democratic Party winning back control of the House of Representatives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Schlossberg is JFK's first direct descendant to run for elected office. My panel is back with me now, including Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times, who happens to be in New York City. Shane, what's your sense of how this race is going to shape up? I should note, as I come to you, that Schlossberg is just the latest in a pretty crowded field of Democrats running in this primary for this coveted seat that is now held by Jerry Nadler. He's retiring.

SHANE GOLDMACHER, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Yeah. I mean, I think he is going to be a test of the attention economy, and how important can it be to get attention because he's not just famous and has famous lineage, but his whole shtick has been getting attention on the internet.

[12:20:00]

He spoke with Maureen Dowd, my columnist colleague, and he gave us, I think, one of the all-time great descriptions of the modern internet. He said, if somebody thinks I'm crazy because they've seen one of my videos, that means they've seen my videos, right? He is going to get attention in this race.

I think the question is, there is -- there is a demand for a new generation of leadership, as he's talking about, as JFK talked about years and years ago. The question is, are people looking for, like, the next generation, literally of existing Democratic leaders? Because we have this question coming up all over the country.

Here in New York, in California, where Nancy Pelosi is retiring. Her daughter says, she's going to run for state senate in that same area. In New Hampshire, where one of the Democrats who just struck this deal to reopen the government is Jeanne Shaheen. Her daughter, also running for Congress, right? All over the country, this interpretation, the next generation means, literally, my children. That's a big question for Democratic voters next year.

BASH: No, that's such a good point. And there are younger people who are in this particular primary already, as an example, who work for like Michael Lasher. He is somebody who worked for Jerry Nadler. He's in the next generation, but he's definitely been part of the democratic system there.

You mentioned the videos. So, I like to sort of think about, did my parents see these things? And do we need to show them? And the answer is no and yes. And before we do, I'll just give you another quote that Jack Schlossberg gave, when I spoke with him about this. Yesterday, he said, in this toxic polluted media environment we're in, I breathe that air. So, that's where he's coming from. Here's a little bit of a montage of him on TikTok.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHLOSSBERG: News flash, Republicans are lying. Hey, JD. It's me. I'm at the pump. And you're the one guy I know who can give me some relief here at this pump. It's possible that Trump is trying to crash the economy on purpose. Dear President Putin, every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart. Why do I have this stuffed animal? Why do I have these stuffed animals? I was a bad, bad boy this weekend. I did some really bad stuff. I can't wait to tell you guys about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Tia Mitchell?

MITCHELL: I mean, on one hand, I find it that I think this is where our politics is going. Quite frankly, we've got a lot of elected officials who are taking the reins of social media, using it to build their platform, build their influence, build a base, and then launch a political career. So, he's not the first to take this model and run with it.

I think it'll be up to the people of New York to decide, in a very crowded Democratic field, who they want to represent them in this safe Democratic district. So, you know, I don't think it's as alarming to me. Even the whole family dynasty thing, Kennedy is a very strong brand. It's part of the reason why his cousin RFK Jr. was able to ascend to the cabinet. You know what I mean.

And American politics is full of family dynasties. Quite frankly, down to even the local granular level, every city or county has a family name that has been in politics for forever. So even that to me, he's, you know, it's not that surprising. And, you know, who wouldn't take advantage of being a Kennedy to run for office?

So, I think at the end of the day, yes, he's getting this platform. He's getting a lot more attention than, quite frankly, anyone else in that race currently, at this juncture, to be, you know, a relatively political novice, if you will, never running for office before. But you know, God bless them and the voters in New York City have a decision on their hands.

BASH: And Marc Caputo, listen to what Jerry Nadler, who again has been in this seat for a very, very long time. What he said when asked about the potential for Schlossberg to run for his seat in September of this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): The Kennedy, unlike Schlossberg, should be somebody with a record of public service, a record of public accomplishment, and he doesn't have one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Marc Caputo?

CAPUTO: Well, Jerry Nadler is being put out to pass here for a reason. His day is over. And it's younger candidates like Jack Schlossberg who are ascendant. Whether he wins or not. Who knows to piggyback off of what Tia just said? Can you imagine just being a candidate and getting the New York Times to do these profiles of you and then be talked on the CNN panel? I mean, talk about advantage for him.

The other advantage of the Kennedy name is sort of in the inverse, which is, he became better known in sort of conventional political circles because of his cousin, RFK. He was the Kennedy went out and attacked RFK for being kooky and wild and crazy. So, he's being seen as sort of the good candidate to restore the democratic name to the brand of the family.

[12:25:00]

And I think his social media skills, his family pedigree, and the fact that we in the news media can't really look away, certainly advantages him way more than other candidates. And whatever Jerry Nadler happens to mutter at a certain point or other doesn't really matter, because, again, that brand of politics is largely descending.

BASH: All right, don't go anywhere. Up next. The lights are back on in the House. But will tonight's vote on reopening the government go without drama like Republicans claim? And later today, I'm in Utah, and I'm moderating a special bipartisan conversation with Senators John Curtis of Utah and Mark Kelly of Arizona. And it's going to be on the Utah campus where Charlie Kirk was assassinated. It's a conversation about political violence, and it will be live on the CNN all access streaming app at 5 pm Eastern, 3 pm Mountain Time. Don't miss it.

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