00:00We now have a clear reason why it's so important that Congress and law enforcement undertake a full vetting of Jeffrey Epstein's intersection with Donald Trump.
00:09That's because the latest round of emails are getting loads of attention, and one fact isn't getting enough attention.
00:15Epstein was an unreliable narrator.
00:18In the 20,000 pages of documents and emails released by both Republicans and Democrats, it's clear Epstein considered himself deeply familiar with Trump.
00:26He described Trump as a dirty business operator, adept at maintaining a public image at odds with who he was in real life and up close.
00:35Epstein also seemed to allege that Trump kept company for hours with one of the disgraced financiers' victims.
00:41Trump and Epstein were pals, although Trump hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing in connection to that relationship.
00:47And for its part, the White House dismissed the trove as nothing more than a fake narrative to smear President Trump.
00:53The Trump who emerges from this recent round of Epstein emails seems very much like the same man that I and other writers have encountered over the years.
01:01Epstein made his fortune and forged a formidable social network by offering financial advice and strategic acumen alongside gossip, and in some cases sex, to the rich and powerful.
01:12He had every incentive at every turn to inflate his expertise and to claim unusual proximity to the celebrated.
01:18That's why inaccurate accounting of the Trump-Epstein relationship shouldn't be dependent on unreliable narrators and conspiracy theorists.
01:27Trump's own constituents and some members of his party have been clamoring for that.
01:31Representatives Thomas Massey and Ro Khanna are already trying to do it.
01:35What's most significant about the Epstein episode transcends questions about Trump's character alone.
01:40The public deserves to know whether he secured sexual liaisons through Epstein or made use of some of Epstein's murkier financial services.
01:49When conspiracies take flight, transparency and accountability are useful counterweights.
01:55Republicans and Democrats would be wise to keep pushing for it.
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