Ep. 486 Analyzing the Epstein-Bannon Interview
Adam Haman returns, this time to help Bob parse the Epstein-Bannon interview footage that was released with the general Epstein file dump. It reveals a glib character who plays fast and loose with his anecdotes.
Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
- The YouTube version of this conversation.
- The Epstein-Bannon footage.
- This episode’s sponsors, the Scott Horton Academy and The Swan Brothers.
- The HamanNature substack.
- Help support the Bob Murphy Show.
About the author, Robert
Christian and economist, Chief Economist at infineo, and Senior Fellow with the Mises Institute.
I’m sure there are very real reasons to hate Epstein, but this episode was pathetic… no substantial criticism, just awkward mindless tribalism. The first time Epstein went to jail was bullshit – what he was actually convicted for AND his alleged offenses. There was no NAP violation!? It’s amazing how THIS topic makes ~everyone’s brain glitch, only this topic.
That interview was pretty cool – he had a solid grasp of the basics of all those topics, very interesting. He never claimed to be an expert. It forced me to have to reconsider the guy. Maybe they killed him because he was actually one of the ~good guys? As you mentioned in this episode, he’s free market-y … he saw the initial value of bitcoin (that’s a very reliable litmus test of goodness.)
Pretty bold of you to put your real name on a comment defending sexual abuse of a 14 year old and to claim Epstein’s understanding of various topics rose to anything above that one stoner friend we all had in high school.
See, look Bob, these are the kind of nuts you’re dog-whistling to you (eg. Dave H). Implied threats of violence (why else should I be afraid of putting my name out there ;), blind cultish assumption of wrongdoing (THE GIRLS WERE WILLING AND HAPPY, AND LIKED JEFFREY, BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION EVEN YEARS LATER — THIS IS ABUSE?? ;). He had way above-average knowledge of the history of math, AI, money, etc … not genius-level sure, but way above-average. Would you say you’re more knowledgeable than him, in any of those fields?
Bob, address the crux of the argument here, admit that those weren’t NAP violations — aesthetically subjectively unpreferrable at best — or give up your title as a moral authority on anything.
“Implied threats of violence?” Grow up, loser. You are publicly defending a child abuser.
If you think his knowledge of any of these subjects is “way above average,” it says more about you than anything else. His knowledge is hilariously bad. The only difference between him and the average Joe is the average Joe knows they know nothing about these subjects and so doesn’t pretend to speak authoritatively about them. You seem like the kind of person who is impressed by anybody who speaks with confidence about anything at all, no matter how dumb the content ultimately is.
“By their own admission.”
Since when does it matter what a child says they consented to? Children lack the ability to consent. Epstein’s victims were literally trafficked and held against their will. You are truly a sick human being.
I listened to ~4 hour-long interviews from his main victims. To this day they STILL say they liked the guy, even in hindsight, that they saw him as a mentor, as well as a financial benefactor. You are awkwardly transparent with your taboo child-abuse fantasies. There probably is real sex-slavery going on in the world – this isn’t anywhere close to that.
Regarding his intelligence, he saw the value of bitcoin surprisingly early on – I bet he appreciated it before you? I bet he knows more math than you too? He might not be a genius at it, but he did somehow manage to teach a few years of it at a prestigious private school?
What about the specific 14 year old girl who accused him of sexual abuse, which was the reason for his first conviction?
I’ve known about Bitcoin since 2009. I got a 5 on my AP BC Calc test, then got a BS in CompSci with heavy focus on math. Keep embarrassing yourself.
I thought the first conviction was over a ~18yo, and adult “prostitutes”? Also the crux here is what constitutes “abuse” … if there’s no physical harm, not even psychological, use a different word! You can say it was “sneaky” or “dishonest”, but you can’t conflate it with real abuse!? Clown world.
Re: your intelligence, okay fine, but you’re way above average. Epstein is too.
Re: that 2008 financial crisis timeline mistake, Epstein said:
> 43:58 I was in solitary confinement September 14th
That was correct.
> 46:40 The person I had called was Jimmy Cayne, the president of Bear Stearns. And I said, “Tell me what’s going on.” And so that my knowledge of the financial crisis happened with Jimmy who was at the center of the storm telling me about how Lehman had gone under. and they were trying to figure out a way, should they bail out Bear Stearns?
The first part of this is probably correct, it was an emotional day, at the very least he would have remembered who he called … maybe he meant to say “ex-president” Cayne, that’s understandable since he had always been the president of Bear Stearns. They were close, so it makes sense that he’d get his news from him, even if he no longer worked at the non-existant Stearns.
The confusing part is why he’s talking about the bailout of Stearns … maybe he meant to say Lehman Brothers? Cuz surely he would have been familiar with Stearns being bought by JPMorgan in March 2008, if he was free, and a big stakeholder of the company? Ie. couldn’t this be just a tiny one-word slip?