Everybody: the details in this episode are extremely hard to listen to. But I believe Katie Johnson's story and I felt that I had to share it. I usually try to keep things light, but sometimes another approach is called for. I hope you understand.
Definitely hard to watch and to contemplate that this is the same man who millions see as soome sort of God-given savior for the US. The whole citizenry is f--- up.
I’d like to see a woman interview her. Re: Ronan, I hoped he would expose the abuses of American Magdalene Laundries and RC Industrial Boarding Schools (for “wayward and incorrigible girls”), since it seemed to dovetail with Catch and Kill, but that didn’t happen.
Carol Leonnig is the investigative journalist. I'm sure she is aware of this woman. Perhaps this story is just too dangerous to investigate even for her.
Snopes provide reasons to question this video, not doubt per SE, but question, such as a producer from the Jerry Springer show being involved. I looked at snopes because I found troubling aspects in the video: "everyone was scared," yet a minute later "no one else was there to help us." Trump called her "derogatory comments," and Tiffany "consulted" (not consoled) her? And many other issues.
If you listen it is clear that Katie Johnson communicates that no one was there to help two children, one of them raped violently and one saddled with the impossible responsibility of "managing" the client and situation. Katie Johnson said no one was there to help them.
I think it is worthwhile for you and others to sit down and ask yourself why it is necessary for your psychological comfort to point out possible 20- second passages that could reveal that a 29-minute testimony about physical, sexual and verbal abuse is somehow fake.
The transcript has errors, but if you listen to her rather than read the transcript, those issues are cleared up. I did wonder about the claim that she wear gloves and use a condom. Stormy Daniels said he didn't use a condom with her, and we know she wasn't a virgin...
Hi Carla, thanks for your reply. Actually I did watch the video. The couple of stumbles I quote made me wonder if it was rehearsed. Of course many of us stumble in a long conversation, more when under stress. It was the specific manner that caught my attention. If she had said Trump "made" derogatory comments it makes sense, but she said "called derogatory uhm (as if pausing in recognizing "comments" following "called," not "made" did not make sense but now committed goes on...) comments," suggesting this was scripted. There are many such stumbles in this edited video.
She says Trump insisted on gloves and condoms for fellatio, but then didn't when he raped her vaginally. (She says she was afraid of getting pregnant). Of course Trump is inconsistent, but the inconsistency here seems odd for a germaphobe.
And she chose as a pseudonym as a rape victim "Johnson." Seriously?
It could all be true, but the Snopes link goes into so much more detail about the many "red flags" about her story. Many journalists tried to or did in fact go further at the time, including The Guardian, leading at least one of them wondering if the person behind the pseudonym even existed. There are so many women with more obviously credible accounts of sexual assault by Trump that perhaps they are the ones to highlight.
One of the problems of testimony that is common to most victims of trauma is the desire to put it behind, far behind, and forget it. Just move on with their lives. That, with the mental blocking that takes place during the trauma can make for a shaky cross examination.
These women are dealing with very powerful, obviously evil men. They are scared. They have been intimidated by the perpetrators and betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect them. They may not know who to trust. If we parse every goddamn word, we are also betraying them.
she withdrew from the legal case BECAUSE SHE AND HER FAMILY RECEIVED DEATH THREATS. she chose a pseudonym in an attempt to protect herself but I will bet you dollars to donuts Trump's legal team found out during the discover process who she was. I think Michael Cohen was still Trump's personal attorney/fixer at the time and he has since gone on record as saying how Trump acted then and still acts now like a mob boss (stochastic terrorism).
While your mind may jump to something dirty, "Johnson" is one of the most common names in America, making it safer for the victim, who, along with her family, was inundated by death threats from trump/maga when she first tried to go public, back in2015. Would you be happier if the raped girl chose "Smith"?
Please, everyone, read the Snopes account of this issue. (9.3.2024). Many journalists found many red flags. Knowing Lebow, the guy who apparently created staged fights for the Jerry Springer Show, promoted the Johnson claims, I wouldn't be surprised if he chose that name specifically because he found it funny.
Thank you for listening to her and airing her story, Andy. You’re doing a great service for her, and all of us who sympathize and empathize with Katie. She’s very brave.
I have read this heartbreaking, horrific account of what Katie had to endure. I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t more widely known. Thank you, Andy, for shining a light on this. People need to understand the extent of Trump, Epstein, and Maxwell’s utter depravity.
It’s not more well publicized because this kind of news horrifies but doesn’t sell well. Understandably. People do not want to believe in such depravity and horror. They don’t understand the importance of accountability and the intense desire of those responsible to bury this as deep as possible. The money thrown at this to bury the whole sordid mess would fund several government programs.
Let's not forget Alan Dershowitz. What a well-educated, urbane, eloquent, fucking scumbag. I saw a wonderful YouTube clip where he made the mistake of taking on Jasmine Crockett.
Update: I cannot find the YouTube clip. It said it was withdrawn. God, imagine the power it takes. Now I see Jasmine is being attacked by Kirks widow. Every word Crockett ever said is being parsed. Examined for any chink any excuse real and imagined to sue. It is disheartening to see what we are up against. The forces of evil are before us.
Epstein and Maxwell were big on death threats. The Miami Herald, I believe, reported testimony from a young immigrant woman who said she was hired as a cleaner and then assaulted by the pair in Epstein's home. They forced her to work for them, saying they would have her son deported if she didn't. They also marched her and her son in front a body of water with alligators in it and said, "We will feed you to the alligators if you ever tell anyone...This is what happens to people who talk."
Having now watched Katie Johnson fully relating her story on YouTube and listening to your interview with Kate, Andy, I feel so much pain and anguish for the poor 13 year old girl Katie Johnson was and for the pain she continues to live with. She is broken, or was at the time of the video, and I pray she finds peace and justice, and other survivors to bond with to surmount the horrifying ordeal(S) trump inflicted on her. He is a very, very sick, twisted, evil man - his inner sexual fantasies show how absolutely and irreversibly evil and dangerous he is, inside and out. That he's essentially inflicting his rape fantasies on the nation now is disgusting. I really hope Katie can realize in her core that the one who deserves the shame, the appalled hatred and the ENTIRE force of the law to come down on him is donald j. trump, president of the united states.
Your courage is always in evidence—whether through satire or your pointed but sensitive interviews. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you are a national treasure.
This is perhaps the most important subject I have read about in your reports. We read of murderers, rapists, con artists, frauds, thieves... This guy is layer upon layer of heinousness, criminality and danger. He has apparently spent a lifetime harming individuals, companies and banks. Now he has the power to hurt the entire planet and is making substantial progress in doing so. What a staggering shame!
Thanks for doing this Andy. I’ve always wondered why women’s stories of being sexually assaulted as children are always discounted and muted by both men and women and by the victim herself. My younger sister was friends with a girl that lived next door to us and discovered the poor girl (and her four sisters) had been sexually assaulted by her father. She never brought charges. When I was researching white evangelical supremacists for my murder mystery I was astounded by the large number of pedophiles that are embedded within the evangelical churches. This fact has been documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Dirty little secrets….Opening the blinds and letting the sun in is hard to do but it is the best cleanser. Thank you again for doing the right thing.
I finally agree with something Trump has said. He did have a very bad relationship with Epstein.
Every NDA that the rich have imposed on their victims must be deemed illegal. This only allows for a mere rounding error to be used by their accountants and they then proceed to perpetuate their crimes onto others.
The candid excerpts from the first batch of released emails, in Epstein’s own words, confirm what all the readers here know; that Trump’s criminality is and has always been pervasive, his sex crimes are only one category of all his lifetime and continuing criminality.
Thank you, Andy, for a sobering story. I learned about Katie when she disappeared in 2016. Given how sorrowfully Michael Cohen spoke to Tara Palmieri, I assume he was one who threatened her. Epstein pointed out the rarity of a fixer turning on his boss.
Corporate media? You’re making a joke here, right? Andy, we turn to *you* for truth in satire, and today, truth in harsh reality - not corporate media…! They’re worthless.
Legacy media is worthless, and it’s also desperate for clicks. They’d run Virginia Giuffre for her marquee value. Those networks can all die when Trump does, fine with me, but they must wonder what they’ll do in the jubilee day of a Donald-free world, at least in the ample, decaying flesh. They’ve gotten fearful and utterly lazy from trimming Trump’s colorful 24/7 footage to fit any news hole. Fuck ‘em.
Networks already may have approached Katie. ABC spiked a ready-to-go feature on Virginia Giuffre after Buckingham Palace said that if it ran, the network would never get an interview with William or Catherine.
What “corporate media” should be doing every chance is directly confronting Trump with hard questions about Epstein that he can’t duck. Even if they are all banned from the White House except for Fox and Onan America New Network! He can only tell so many reporters they are stupid and work for losing networks before people begin to realize he’s over.
Onan American News Network is sheer genius, Paul. Can’t give you the MacArthur grant you merit, but please accept with thanks a canary like Dorothy Parker’s Onan, so named because he spilled his seed upon the ground.
I have to (with the utmost respect) disagree with this, only because she has definitely been through enough and shouldn’t be hunted down by over zealous journalists.
Debbie -- I disagree. A sensitive journalist would not HUNT her down; rather, they would show her respect and compassion and give her the opportunity to expose the predators. ALSO....by doing so, those who engage in sexual abuse might stop. Maybe.
I also disagree and think that this particular issue and the ramifications of this disgusting pig running the country, a "good" journalist should be able to handle this with empathy and discretion.
You’re assuming all journalists are sensitive. That’s a slippery slope. But I do hope there are more sensitive journalists than those who just hunt for the top story.
Some are sensitive. I watched Nicolle Wallace interviewing an Epstein survivor yesterday, and she has what it takes to do a good interview. She was close to tears several times during the interview.
All rape survivors deserve to take care of themselves in whatever way is best for them. She bravely came forward already and was met with death threats, intimidation and disbelief. I can only imagine how she was re- traumatized by this whole ordeal. The important thing right now is knowing that many people believe her, support her and respect the strength it took to come out in the first place. Lets face it, we can’t guarantee that she would be safe going public again and for that reason she should be left alone.
Having watched her video, I disagree, Debbie. I think she was being very, very brave and *wanted* her story told in order to show trump for was he is: he’s as sick and twisted (moreso) in private as he is in public, and is now playing out his evil rape fantasies on all of us.
I think she should be given the *opportunity * to speak out again, without pressure or obligation, and allow her to say if she wants to or not.
Trump was one of those creepy types who likes to watch, and liked Katie in particular because she reminded him of his own 13 year old daughter (I can’t “EWWWW” here enough), so he bought her to play out very disgusting scenarios.
I respectfully disagree. After her door-to-door hejira for justice, having doors slammed in her face, Virginia would have welcomed a professionally lit, attractive setting for telling her story for the umpteenth time, rather than on some doorstep. Abusers carry our stories every day whether we share them or not.
I absolutely understand where you are coming from on this, my only concern is that many in media will do anything to get the story, and I only hope that they tread very lightly and compassionately with the survivors/victims.
I hope that Katie Johnson has some type of security looking out for her. I will never believe that Epstein committed suicide. Starting to wonder about Virginia Giuffre.
I often wonder about the suicide. He had a great deal to say and like his bff/gf Ghislane, would be ever so eager to talk if it meant some kind of pardon. His revelations would have confirmed that which we are now learning. The whole situation smells like trumps toilet....even though we can't resurrect Epstein, Ghislane is in her prison/spa and might be convinced to talk. She's English; couldn't she be tempted to do a Big Reveal & then be deported back to UK. She could hang out with Andy. He probably has room.
Interesting point about Michael Cohen. He’s very publicly against Trump these days, but I’ve never heard him comment about the girls. Not sure how he could not have been involved with that in some way since he admits that he did all of Trump’s dirty work. He needs to come clean. Once the Dems gain control of the House, they need to make him testify.
Cohen. He sings the right song now -- but remember that he was Trump's tough guy enforcer. He needs to come fully clean to occupy the pulpit at this point. Despite the prison sentence, he has not paid his dues.
He'll never fully repay his dues, but I think his ongoing writing and speaking about what happened is 1) his apology/therapy and 2) required information for people who shy away from the reality of trump and his minions.
Michael Wolff has daughters. One’s only nine. Like Michael Cohen, whose gorgeous daughter Trump hit on at fifteen, they’re tenderhearted. No like bloodless Trump, Acosta, Lefkowitz, and Not-prince Andrew, happy to shtup girls their daughters’ ages. I don’t think the lawyers did, but those four excel in dismissing and ignoring girls tossed like Kleenex.
If Biden or Obama or Clinton, or George W for that matter, had been accused by 25 or so women of sexual assault; had been deemed in court to be a sex offender; had a 250-page book written about them with a title like "All the President's Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator" by Barry Levine and Monique El-Faizy; and was overtly trying to cover up the case of a convicted sex trafficker; they would have been impeached and thrown out of office long before the public learned about allegations of child molestation (aka statutory rape).
Nothing more grotesquely illustrates the mutation of the Grand Old Party of Honest Abe Lincoln into the (lower case gop) gutless obsequious puppets of pathological liar Donald Trump than their cowardly hypocrisy of shielding this corrupt, adulterous, rapacious sexual predator while still having the temerity to call themselves Christian.
I had heard about this a long time ago and wondered the same thing. Why was this not publicized. I believe there were a number of these cases and all were settled with NDAs. Shameful.
Agree with others. Satire all the time is like too much dessert. And the serious coming from you is more meaningful, and noteable, exactly because of the rest.
Trump's pervasive lying for over 10 years does nothing but reinforce the truth of what Ms. Guiffre, Ms Johnson & others have said!
He campaigned on the release of the Epstein files, has persistently tried to prevent their release, and now the shutdown is finally at an end he wants to stymie the vote to release them!
Whatever is contained within those files must chill that cold-hearted bastard to the bone! I believe he's being pressured by billionaires backing Project 2025 & those who funded his campaigns. Some of the gray-haired elites don't want their 'private business' to become public! 🔥❌️
The Epstein files are his Sword of Damocles. If he doesn't or won't release them, his presidency will be immediately imperiled. It could get him tossed & impeached for the 3rd time!
I read about this case brought by Katie many, many years ago as it was news at the time, at least on the East coast. At that time I was able to access a lot of the information on line, and it was so damning, then, suddenly the story just disappeared. This is really OLD news that has been covered up for too long.
I find it so interesting that a comic can wield such gravitas. I guess when somebody who usually points up the funny in situations gets serious it really stands out. Good on you, Mr. Borowitz.
How do we bring this case back to life in NY or Calif???
It would certainly keep the heat on our Pervert in Chief.
Also, I was sorry the Trump's hot-mic confession on the bus about how he can grab pussy and they love it, wasn't mentioned. It's all the same Alpha Pervert behavior we see today and probably Kate Johnson saw.
Nobody believes a child especially when powerful players are involved. Just look at how long it took the Catholic Church sex abuse scandals to come to light and how Native American children were treated at boarding schools. Our great shame in western society is that we think children cannot be believed and must be making up stories
Can't tell you how much I appreciate you showcasing Kate Manne. I truly can't praise her enough. The new information she gave about the videographer and the fact that Katie Johnson is still alive----is so telling. Our vaunted "legacy" media and its pursuit of the truth--hah! Do we know for sure that Ivannka wasn't molested? Just asking. I do believe, I have to believe, that this will make a difference. Kate's right---we have to keep pushing. All we need is enough---enough Trump supporters who finally have had enough, finally see him for what he is, who don't want to be a part of the slime. Just enough. Thank you, Andy, for all you do.
Everybody: the details in this episode are extremely hard to listen to. But I believe Katie Johnson's story and I felt that I had to share it. I usually try to keep things light, but sometimes another approach is called for. I hope you understand.
Here is Katie Johnson’s 2016 interview: https://youtu.be/Qk38JAwEUOg?si=vhxyzaIKZLovHvTq
Definitely hard to watch and to contemplate that this is the same man who millions see as soome sort of God-given savior for the US. The whole citizenry is f--- up.
Not "the whole citizenry". At least half of all U.S. citizens despise the man, and what he's doing to our country.
Just watched the interview through tears.. Thank you for the link.
thank you for providing this link.
I’m trying to think of the journalists who can interview her … maybe Carol Lanning ( sp) of times
Sounds like a job for Ronan Farrow.
YES!!
I’d like to see a woman interview her. Re: Ronan, I hoped he would expose the abuses of American Magdalene Laundries and RC Industrial Boarding Schools (for “wayward and incorrigible girls”), since it seemed to dovetail with Catch and Kill, but that didn’t happen.
Carol Leonnig is the investigative journalist. I'm sure she is aware of this woman. Perhaps this story is just too dangerous to investigate even for her.
Wish it were put to her about how to interview Katie.
the people at Reveal.org are damned good at finding shit out...
AB: have you read "Nobody's Girl?"
Snopes provide reasons to question this video, not doubt per SE, but question, such as a producer from the Jerry Springer show being involved. I looked at snopes because I found troubling aspects in the video: "everyone was scared," yet a minute later "no one else was there to help us." Trump called her "derogatory comments," and Tiffany "consulted" (not consoled) her? And many other issues.
If you listen it is clear that Katie Johnson communicates that no one was there to help two children, one of them raped violently and one saddled with the impossible responsibility of "managing" the client and situation. Katie Johnson said no one was there to help them.
I think it is worthwhile for you and others to sit down and ask yourself why it is necessary for your psychological comfort to point out possible 20- second passages that could reveal that a 29-minute testimony about physical, sexual and verbal abuse is somehow fake.
The transcript has errors, but if you listen to her rather than read the transcript, those issues are cleared up. I did wonder about the claim that she wear gloves and use a condom. Stormy Daniels said he didn't use a condom with her, and we know she wasn't a virgin...
Hi Carla, thanks for your reply. Actually I did watch the video. The couple of stumbles I quote made me wonder if it was rehearsed. Of course many of us stumble in a long conversation, more when under stress. It was the specific manner that caught my attention. If she had said Trump "made" derogatory comments it makes sense, but she said "called derogatory uhm (as if pausing in recognizing "comments" following "called," not "made" did not make sense but now committed goes on...) comments," suggesting this was scripted. There are many such stumbles in this edited video.
She says Trump insisted on gloves and condoms for fellatio, but then didn't when he raped her vaginally. (She says she was afraid of getting pregnant). Of course Trump is inconsistent, but the inconsistency here seems odd for a germaphobe.
And she chose as a pseudonym as a rape victim "Johnson." Seriously?
It could all be true, but the Snopes link goes into so much more detail about the many "red flags" about her story. Many journalists tried to or did in fact go further at the time, including The Guardian, leading at least one of them wondering if the person behind the pseudonym even existed. There are so many women with more obviously credible accounts of sexual assault by Trump that perhaps they are the ones to highlight.
One of the problems of testimony that is common to most victims of trauma is the desire to put it behind, far behind, and forget it. Just move on with their lives. That, with the mental blocking that takes place during the trauma can make for a shaky cross examination.
These women are dealing with very powerful, obviously evil men. They are scared. They have been intimidated by the perpetrators and betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect them. They may not know who to trust. If we parse every goddamn word, we are also betraying them.
I posted a separate comment, but I want to respond to your comment as a survivor: you do not forget - ever.
she withdrew from the legal case BECAUSE SHE AND HER FAMILY RECEIVED DEATH THREATS. she chose a pseudonym in an attempt to protect herself but I will bet you dollars to donuts Trump's legal team found out during the discover process who she was. I think Michael Cohen was still Trump's personal attorney/fixer at the time and he has since gone on record as saying how Trump acted then and still acts now like a mob boss (stochastic terrorism).
While your mind may jump to something dirty, "Johnson" is one of the most common names in America, making it safer for the victim, who, along with her family, was inundated by death threats from trump/maga when she first tried to go public, back in2015. Would you be happier if the raped girl chose "Smith"?
Please, everyone, read the Snopes account of this issue. (9.3.2024). Many journalists found many red flags. Knowing Lebow, the guy who apparently created staged fights for the Jerry Springer Show, promoted the Johnson claims, I wouldn't be surprised if he chose that name specifically because he found it funny.
Just because she didn't mention that he wore a condom when he raped her doesn't mean he didn't.
Thank you for listening to her and airing her story, Andy. You’re doing a great service for her, and all of us who sympathize and empathize with Katie. She’s very brave.
I have read this heartbreaking, horrific account of what Katie had to endure. I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t more widely known. Thank you, Andy, for shining a light on this. People need to understand the extent of Trump, Epstein, and Maxwell’s utter depravity.
It’s not more well publicized because this kind of news horrifies but doesn’t sell well. Understandably. People do not want to believe in such depravity and horror. They don’t understand the importance of accountability and the intense desire of those responsible to bury this as deep as possible. The money thrown at this to bury the whole sordid mess would fund several government programs.
Most likely.
Let's not forget Alan Dershowitz. What a well-educated, urbane, eloquent, fucking scumbag. I saw a wonderful YouTube clip where he made the mistake of taking on Jasmine Crockett.
Update: I cannot find the YouTube clip. It said it was withdrawn. God, imagine the power it takes. Now I see Jasmine is being attacked by Kirks widow. Every word Crockett ever said is being parsed. Examined for any chink any excuse real and imagined to sue. It is disheartening to see what we are up against. The forces of evil are before us.
I love her, she's fearless and a lawyer.
It's there. I just watched it.
well, not urbane!
Ive read about this before and it is believable and shocking. She and her family were threatened with death, so that may be why it fell silent.
Epstein and Maxwell were big on death threats. The Miami Herald, I believe, reported testimony from a young immigrant woman who said she was hired as a cleaner and then assaulted by the pair in Epstein's home. They forced her to work for them, saying they would have her son deported if she didn't. They also marched her and her son in front a body of water with alligators in it and said, "We will feed you to the alligators if you ever tell anyone...This is what happens to people who talk."
Having now watched Katie Johnson fully relating her story on YouTube and listening to your interview with Kate, Andy, I feel so much pain and anguish for the poor 13 year old girl Katie Johnson was and for the pain she continues to live with. She is broken, or was at the time of the video, and I pray she finds peace and justice, and other survivors to bond with to surmount the horrifying ordeal(S) trump inflicted on her. He is a very, very sick, twisted, evil man - his inner sexual fantasies show how absolutely and irreversibly evil and dangerous he is, inside and out. That he's essentially inflicting his rape fantasies on the nation now is disgusting. I really hope Katie can realize in her core that the one who deserves the shame, the appalled hatred and the ENTIRE force of the law to come down on him is donald j. trump, president of the united states.
People need to know. Our demented dictator needs to be stopped.
Thank you for honoring her story.
Absolutely believe her! I have daughters, and I could have strangled the bastards with my bare hands.
I do not have any biological kids. I could strangle the scumbags too, with my bare hands. Oh the rage and grief I feel.
Your courage is always in evidence—whether through satire or your pointed but sensitive interviews. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you are a national treasure.
This is perhaps the most important subject I have read about in your reports. We read of murderers, rapists, con artists, frauds, thieves... This guy is layer upon layer of heinousness, criminality and danger. He has apparently spent a lifetime harming individuals, companies and banks. Now he has the power to hurt the entire planet and is making substantial progress in doing so. What a staggering shame!
I have been aware of this, but many aren’t. I appreciate you having the courage to publicize it. Thank you, Andy and Katie.
Yes! I forgot to thank Katie, as well! So very courageous. But I suspect with people like she and Andy, it just feels necessary.
Thanks for doing this Andy. I’ve always wondered why women’s stories of being sexually assaulted as children are always discounted and muted by both men and women and by the victim herself. My younger sister was friends with a girl that lived next door to us and discovered the poor girl (and her four sisters) had been sexually assaulted by her father. She never brought charges. When I was researching white evangelical supremacists for my murder mystery I was astounded by the large number of pedophiles that are embedded within the evangelical churches. This fact has been documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Dirty little secrets….Opening the blinds and letting the sun in is hard to do but it is the best cleanser. Thank you again for doing the right thing.
I am a paid subscriber but it won’t let me watch
Sorry to hear that. If you are logged in you should be able to. If you’re still having issues contact support@substack.com
Same. Tells me to upgrade to paid, but I’m already a paid subscriber.
It took a few tries but the video finally came on. In the meantime I was able to access the transcript.
Same here.
Ditto for me
I finally agree with something Trump has said. He did have a very bad relationship with Epstein.
Every NDA that the rich have imposed on their victims must be deemed illegal. This only allows for a mere rounding error to be used by their accountants and they then proceed to perpetuate their crimes onto others.
We need to know these things. We can laugh later. Thanks.
We understand.
Yes! Get it all out to show what a creep of a rapist we have in the WH!
The candid excerpts from the first batch of released emails, in Epstein’s own words, confirm what all the readers here know; that Trump’s criminality is and has always been pervasive, his sex crimes are only one category of all his lifetime and continuing criminality.
Being sensitive to her at the same time, focusing on trump’s heinous crime, I agree, Jorg!
Thank you, Andy, for a sobering story. I learned about Katie when she disappeared in 2016. Given how sorrowfully Michael Cohen spoke to Tara Palmieri, I assume he was one who threatened her. Epstein pointed out the rarity of a fixer turning on his boss.
According to Kate Manne, Katie is alive. One would hope that corporate media could make some effort to talk to her.
Corporate media? You’re making a joke here, right? Andy, we turn to *you* for truth in satire, and today, truth in harsh reality - not corporate media…! They’re worthless.
ABC should do the story to get revenge upon Trump for his multimillion dollar
lawsuit.
We have the three major networks in eastern Iowa. NBC won't even cover the Epstein news we have now. It is astounding.
Appalling. Thank God for Substack and TBR…
Legacy media is worthless, and it’s also desperate for clicks. They’d run Virginia Giuffre for her marquee value. Those networks can all die when Trump does, fine with me, but they must wonder what they’ll do in the jubilee day of a Donald-free world, at least in the ample, decaying flesh. They’ve gotten fearful and utterly lazy from trimming Trump’s colorful 24/7 footage to fit any news hole. Fuck ‘em.
Networks already may have approached Katie. ABC spiked a ready-to-go feature on Virginia Giuffre after Buckingham Palace said that if it ran, the network would never get an interview with William or Catherine.
That decision didn't age well.
Couldn’t find the spitting-mad ABC reporter who was caught on camera explaining the whole mess, but I’ll send it if I do.
What “corporate media” should be doing every chance is directly confronting Trump with hard questions about Epstein that he can’t duck. Even if they are all banned from the White House except for Fox and Onan America New Network! He can only tell so many reporters they are stupid and work for losing networks before people begin to realize he’s over.
Onan American News Network is sheer genius, Paul. Can’t give you the MacArthur grant you merit, but please accept with thanks a canary like Dorothy Parker’s Onan, so named because he spilled his seed upon the ground.
Thank you for noticing! Most probably think it’s a typo.
I have to (with the utmost respect) disagree with this, only because she has definitely been through enough and shouldn’t be hunted down by over zealous journalists.
Debbie -- I disagree. A sensitive journalist would not HUNT her down; rather, they would show her respect and compassion and give her the opportunity to expose the predators. ALSO....by doing so, those who engage in sexual abuse might stop. Maybe.
I also disagree and think that this particular issue and the ramifications of this disgusting pig running the country, a "good" journalist should be able to handle this with empathy and discretion.
You’re assuming all journalists are sensitive. That’s a slippery slope. But I do hope there are more sensitive journalists than those who just hunt for the top story.
Some are sensitive. I watched Nicolle Wallace interviewing an Epstein survivor yesterday, and she has what it takes to do a good interview. She was close to tears several times during the interview.
All rape survivors deserve to take care of themselves in whatever way is best for them. She bravely came forward already and was met with death threats, intimidation and disbelief. I can only imagine how she was re- traumatized by this whole ordeal. The important thing right now is knowing that many people believe her, support her and respect the strength it took to come out in the first place. Lets face it, we can’t guarantee that she would be safe going public again and for that reason she should be left alone.
Having watched her video, I disagree, Debbie. I think she was being very, very brave and *wanted* her story told in order to show trump for was he is: he’s as sick and twisted (moreso) in private as he is in public, and is now playing out his evil rape fantasies on all of us.
I think she should be given the *opportunity * to speak out again, without pressure or obligation, and allow her to say if she wants to or not.
Trump was one of those creepy types who likes to watch, and liked Katie in particular because she reminded him of his own 13 year old daughter (I can’t “EWWWW” here enough), so he bought her to play out very disgusting scenarios.
I respectfully disagree. After her door-to-door hejira for justice, having doors slammed in her face, Virginia would have welcomed a professionally lit, attractive setting for telling her story for the umpteenth time, rather than on some doorstep. Abusers carry our stories every day whether we share them or not.
I absolutely understand where you are coming from on this, my only concern is that many in media will do anything to get the story, and I only hope that they tread very lightly and compassionately with the survivors/victims.
I hope that Katie Johnson has some type of security looking out for her. I will never believe that Epstein committed suicide. Starting to wonder about Virginia Giuffre.
I often wonder about the suicide. He had a great deal to say and like his bff/gf Ghislane, would be ever so eager to talk if it meant some kind of pardon. His revelations would have confirmed that which we are now learning. The whole situation smells like trumps toilet....even though we can't resurrect Epstein, Ghislane is in her prison/spa and might be convinced to talk. She's English; couldn't she be tempted to do a Big Reveal & then be deported back to UK. She could hang out with Andy. He probably has room.
We wish......
Interesting point about Michael Cohen. He’s very publicly against Trump these days, but I’ve never heard him comment about the girls. Not sure how he could not have been involved with that in some way since he admits that he did all of Trump’s dirty work. He needs to come clean. Once the Dems gain control of the House, they need to make him testify.
Cohen. He sings the right song now -- but remember that he was Trump's tough guy enforcer. He needs to come fully clean to occupy the pulpit at this point. Despite the prison sentence, he has not paid his dues.
He'll never fully repay his dues, but I think his ongoing writing and speaking about what happened is 1) his apology/therapy and 2) required information for people who shy away from the reality of trump and his minions.
Michael Wolff has daughters. One’s only nine. Like Michael Cohen, whose gorgeous daughter Trump hit on at fifteen, they’re tenderhearted. No like bloodless Trump, Acosta, Lefkowitz, and Not-prince Andrew, happy to shtup girls their daughters’ ages. I don’t think the lawyers did, but those four excel in dismissing and ignoring girls tossed like Kleenex.
If Biden or Obama or Clinton, or George W for that matter, had been accused by 25 or so women of sexual assault; had been deemed in court to be a sex offender; had a 250-page book written about them with a title like "All the President's Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator" by Barry Levine and Monique El-Faizy; and was overtly trying to cover up the case of a convicted sex trafficker; they would have been impeached and thrown out of office long before the public learned about allegations of child molestation (aka statutory rape).
Nothing more grotesquely illustrates the mutation of the Grand Old Party of Honest Abe Lincoln into the (lower case gop) gutless obsequious puppets of pathological liar Donald Trump than their cowardly hypocrisy of shielding this corrupt, adulterous, rapacious sexual predator while still having the temerity to call themselves Christian.
I had heard about this a long time ago and wondered the same thing. Why was this not publicized. I believe there were a number of these cases and all were settled with NDAs. Shameful.
Reportedly, she got death threats. But there's nothing definitive.
Well there is that. We could've asked Epstein.
who I'm thinking did NOT commit suicide
Yeah! So suspicious!
I agree with you. From what I've seen, suicide is not something that a person decides on suddenly. It's something that builds up over time.
No one went full Benghazi on that coincidence and that is probably why Ghislaine Maxwell hasn't met with an accidental drowning in her cell.
Wasn’t Gloria Allred involved? It Lisa Bloom. I remember when the victim bailed on a press conference…
Agree with others. Satire all the time is like too much dessert. And the serious coming from you is more meaningful, and noteable, exactly because of the rest.
Thank you for bringing Katie Johnson's story out of its dark cover and into the light. Perhaps the power of this shocking story is in its timing.
Yes, thank you.
I have just watched/listened to her testimony ["Katie Johnson"] on YouTube - See link below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk38JAwEUOg
As a psychologist, my strong sense it that this young woman is 100% credible.
Thank you for bringing this to the attention of your subscribers. Every adult who
considers themselves a responsible citizen needs to bear witness to this reality
and to share the information - as a public service. The evidence here is horrifying.
Trump's pervasive lying for over 10 years does nothing but reinforce the truth of what Ms. Guiffre, Ms Johnson & others have said!
He campaigned on the release of the Epstein files, has persistently tried to prevent their release, and now the shutdown is finally at an end he wants to stymie the vote to release them!
Whatever is contained within those files must chill that cold-hearted bastard to the bone! I believe he's being pressured by billionaires backing Project 2025 & those who funded his campaigns. Some of the gray-haired elites don't want their 'private business' to become public! 🔥❌️
I like what you say and we all must realize that all his current, cruel actions are
consistant with a lifetime
pattern of his bullying.
Accountability is the only 4-letter word trump knows. And those files being released would bring him to accountability.
The Epstein files are his Sword of Damocles. If he doesn't or won't release them, his presidency will be immediately imperiled. It could get him tossed & impeached for the 3rd time!
May the sword fall!
SPOT ON, Barbara Ewart !👏👏👏
I read about this case brought by Katie many, many years ago as it was news at the time, at least on the East coast. At that time I was able to access a lot of the information on line, and it was so damning, then, suddenly the story just disappeared. This is really OLD news that has been covered up for too long.
Ugh. Heavy and serious. Nothing like i have seen andy before. This is real and not to be taken lightly.
I find it so interesting that a comic can wield such gravitas. I guess when somebody who usually points up the funny in situations gets serious it really stands out. Good on you, Mr. Borowitz.
Thanks, Steve!
Great! Great Interview.
How do we bring this case back to life in NY or Calif???
It would certainly keep the heat on our Pervert in Chief.
Also, I was sorry the Trump's hot-mic confession on the bus about how he can grab pussy and they love it, wasn't mentioned. It's all the same Alpha Pervert behavior we see today and probably Kate Johnson saw.
Nobody believes a child especially when powerful players are involved. Just look at how long it took the Catholic Church sex abuse scandals to come to light and how Native American children were treated at boarding schools. Our great shame in western society is that we think children cannot be believed and must be making up stories
Can't tell you how much I appreciate you showcasing Kate Manne. I truly can't praise her enough. The new information she gave about the videographer and the fact that Katie Johnson is still alive----is so telling. Our vaunted "legacy" media and its pursuit of the truth--hah! Do we know for sure that Ivannka wasn't molested? Just asking. I do believe, I have to believe, that this will make a difference. Kate's right---we have to keep pushing. All we need is enough---enough Trump supporters who finally have had enough, finally see him for what he is, who don't want to be a part of the slime. Just enough. Thank you, Andy, for all you do.
THANK YOU...for finally talking about this...it wasn't adjudicated because HER LIFE WAS THREATENED.