The Tara Palmeri Show

Episode: Why Epstein victims fear releasing The List - Terry Moran joins
Date: September 9, 2025
Host: Tara Palmeri
Guest: Terry Moran

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the ongoing fight for the public release of the "Epstein List"—the files that reportedly contain the names of powerful men involved with Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. Tara Palmeri, renowned for her investigative work on this story, joined by journalist Terry Moran, breaks down the powerful Capitol Hill event where dozens of survivors gathered, the bipartisan and class-based resistance to releasing the files, and the deep fears—both legal and personal—facing Epstein’s victims. The conversation unpacks the real stakes: justice, accountability, and systemic corruption and protection at the highest levels of power in the US.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Capitol Hill Event: Survivor Voices and Symbolism

[01:08–05:01]

• Tara describes the scene on the steps of Capitol Hill, where more survivors than ever before—many speaking out for the first time—gathered to demand the release of the unredacted Epstein files.

• The survivors were forced to meet outside, symbolically excluded from the halls of power where decisions are made.

• Symbolic Interruption: Military jets, there for a presidential event, drown out the survivors’ speeches, standing as a metaphor for official indifference and masculine power overshadowing vulnerable voices.

  “...the flyover, you know, with these military planes, it's so loud, it's drowning the women out. They had to just stop and look up. And again, it's like the Defense Department, the masculine energy kind of drowning them out.”
  —Tara Palmeri [04:42]

• Notable bipartisan presence: MAGA Republicans like Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Democrats like Ro Khanna, stood together to support the bill to release the files. Khanna, representing Silicon Valley’s elite, signals stakes for both parties.

2. The Political Calculus: Bipartisan, but Not Class-Partisan

[05:01–13:01]

• Resistance to releasing the files comes from both Republican and Democratic establishment figures—“the upper classes of the Democrats and the Republicans, the establishment, are united in the fact that they don't want this out there.” [13:02]

• Victims call out political leadership for patronizing language used to “protect the innocent,” demanding clarity on who exactly is being “protected.”

  “You are betraying the Trumpist Republican Party. And there are consequences for that if you come out now.”
  —Terry Moran [09:49]

• Victims like Haley Robson directly challenge Trump’s dismissal of the event as a “Democrat hoax.” Many victims are conservative or nonpolitical, emphasizing this is about justice, not partisanship.

3. Why Victims Fear the Files’ Release—and the Legal Threat

[38:13–41:05]

• Survivors want the government, not individuals, to reveal the names to avoid defamation suits and harassment.

• There’s a powerful deterrent: “If we do it [name names], then they will come for us...I’m going to be served a defamation suit right away. I’m going to spend the rest of my days in court. Bankruptcy. This, that. We've seen what happened to Virginia Giuffre…”
  —Tara Palmeri [39:24]

• The climate of intimidation—including private investigators, threatening calls, and being followed—helps explain the continued silence.

4. Systemic Corruption: “Grooming the Elite” and the Intelligence Angle

[15:59–25:10]

• The establishment excuses for “protecting the innocent” are seen as protecting enablers and participants.

• Tara outlines how Epstein’s world was constructed to “groom” both victims and the powerful elites: “Once you stepped into Epstein's world, you were a part of it...” [17:13]

• Elite involvement extends to academics, financiers, foreign dignitaries, and heads of major institutions.

• Possible involvement with intelligence services: Epstein’s informant role is traced back to prior criminal investigations; possible value to US and foreign intelligence is suggested but never openly acknowledged.

  “I’ve come to believe that he's...a value to the US Intelligence services in some ways…”
  —Tara Palmeri [22:31]

5. Political Realities: No Appetite from Leadership

[34:42–36:10]

• The Speaker of the House and the President are actively blocking the release.

• Job security and self-preservation—politicians risk upsetting industries and donors who “feed the swamp.”

• There’s bipartisan disappointment, contributing to broader public disillusionment.

  “All of these members just don't want to go there, because wherever they go, it's going to go up against an industry where they get money. It's the swamp. I mean, it really is.”
  —Tara Palmeri [35:48]

6. The Lawfare Chill and Psychological Toll

[38:13–41:41]

• The threat of crippling lawsuits (lawfare) chills both survivors and journalists—even Tara admits fear of naming names.

• Survivors continue to experience real-time surveillance, intimidation, and shaming—starkly illustrating the ongoing power of those implicated.

• The fight has a personal cost for both victims and reporters: Tara discusses her own emotional toll and renewed sense of purpose.

  “They've helped me find that North Star again without having the bias. You know what I mean? Remembering that the North Star is just about humanity and it's not about...political games.”
  —Tara Palmeri [43:00]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Survivors' Determination:

  “For them to speak out on the steps, on the grounds of, you know, the hallways of power, it was, it was a really amazing moment.”
  —Tara Palmeri [02:44]

• On MAGA’s Absence:

  “None of the people that have been talking about draining the swamp were there.”
  —Tara Palmeri [31:50]

• On Class Protection:

  “It's not class partisan, though, it's bipartisan.”
  —Tara Palmeri [12:59]

• Why the Files Remain Hidden:

  “They're destroying their own institutions. They're destroying the institutions that have built this country in a lot of ways. The intelligence institutions... it would take so much rebuilding of trust.”
  —Tara Palmeri [36:10]

• Victim’s Call to Trump:

  “Mr. President, Donald J. Trump, I am a registered Republican and I am here on the Capitol steps...I would love for you to come over here and talk to me because this is not a hoax. I am a real person. We are human beings.”
  [07:43]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening: Overview and Capitol Hill Event | [00:00–05:01]
• Survivors demand action, Trump’s "hoax" comment | [05:01–08:32]
• Political alignments, split in both parties | [09:06–13:13]
• Bipartisan vs. Class Partisan Divide | [12:59–13:22]
• Elite circles, coverup rationale, and moral complicity | [15:01–19:11]
• Epstein’s possible intelligence connections | [21:09–25:10]
• Lawfare and survivors’ fear | [38:13–41:05]
• Personal toll on journalists and survivors | [41:09–43:39]

Episode Tone & Host’s Perspective

Tara maintains a reporter’s rigor but is deeply empathetic and candid, acknowledging both her personal stakes and the larger battle survivors face. Her language is direct, often raw, balancing hard reporting with a palpable sense of frustration at systemic corruption.

Conclusion

This episode offers a raw, detailed look at the obstacles to justice facing Epstein’s survivors—not just from their abusers, but the entire political and institutional ecosystem that prefers silence. The discussion reveals how bipartisan and class alliances operate to shield powerful men, how survivors live in fear of legal retaliation, and how the “files” represent both hope for accountability and a Pandora’s box threatening America’s power structures.