Mehdi Hasan, political journalist and broadcaster, and Chris Hedges, veteran journalist and author, dig into the chaotic DOJ release of the Epstein files. They debate whether bungled redactions reveal incompetence or a calculated cover-up. Conversation also touches on crowdsourced scrutiny, transatlantic political fallout, Iran’s internet blackout, and the NFL’s militarized spectacle.
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Chaotic Release Masks Broader Accountability
The DOJ's chaotic release of 3.5 million Epstein files looks calculated to muddy accountability rather than clarify it.
Mehdi Hasan and Chris Hedges argue the redactions and delays protect powerful networks beyond Epstein and Maxwell.
insights INSIGHT
Prestige Became Currency In Epstein's Network
Epstein's network extended across politics, royalty, Hollywood, tech, and journalism and continued growing after 2008.
Chris Hedges stresses that prestige and information were currency used to leverage influence and profit.
insights INSIGHT
U.S. Accountability Lags Europe
Trump appears frequently in the files, yet U.S. political accountability remains minimal compared with Europe.
Chris Hedges and Mehdi Hasan note resignations abroad contrast sharply with inaction in the U.S.
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The latest tranche of the Epstein files contains more than three million documents - the largest release of its kind. In what appears to be a clumsy attempt at a cover-up by the US Department of Justice, the sloppily redacted names of high-profile perpetrators have failed to conceal the intricate web of global elites spanning politics, royalty, Hollywood and tech. The fallout in Europe has resulted in a string of resignations, but in the US, there has been limited accountability for the politicians named in the files, including Donald Trump. Contributors: Mehdi Hasan - Editor-in-chief and CEO, Zeteo News Chris Hedges - Host, The Chris Hedges Report Nikki McCann Ramirez - Politics reporter at Rolling Stone Danielle Moodie - Host, The Danielle Moodie Show On our radar: It’s been a month since Iranian authorities imposed a total internet blackout during a violent crackdown on antigovernment protesters. Since then, the state has ramped up the targeted repression of journalists and progressive politicians in Iran. The limited information that has managed to make it out of the country, via Elon Musk’s Starlink, is now struggling against what experts say are internet filtering technologies from Chinese companies. Tariq Nafi reports on Iran’s nationwide internet shutdown. How the US military took over American football From choreographed flyovers to flags stretching the length of the field, no other sports league has marketed patriotism as aggressively or successfully as the United States’ National Football League, the NFL. Militarism is embedded in sports and entertainment in the US, but, under the Trump administration, more state institutions are trying to get in on the act. Ryan Kohls reports on the power and the spectacle of the Super Bowl. Featuring: Howard Bryant - Sports journalist and author Kavitha Davidson - Podcast host, Sportly Gregory Daddis - Professor of history, Texas A&M University; retired colonel, US Army
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