The hosts of The View opened Thursday's show by reassuring their audience that the people on Jeffrey Epstein's list of associates have not been criminally charged.
In-house lawyer Sunny Hostin gave a legal note to start the conversation on Epstein's list, which included several public figures' names that were discussed during a defamation suit brought by Virginia Giuffre against Epstein's longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell that was settled in 2017. Some 90 names have been revealed in the unsealed documents so far, and Hostin said the media coverage "concerned" her.
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"What’s important for us to note is we shouldn’t be repeating names that are on the list, because just because your name has — not on the list, but in the documents — just because your name is on the documents doesn’t mean that you have done anything criminally irresponsible or illegal or civilly irresponsible," Hostin said.
"Or that you were a client," fellow host Joy Behar interjected. Hostin repeated her.
BIGGEST REVELATIONS IN EPSTEIN DOCS: After the first batch of what is expected to be hundreds of sealed court filings pertaining to the late sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public Wednesday, #TheView co-hosts weigh in. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/U1TpkVzLoG
— The View (@TheView) January 4, 2024
Alyssa Farah Griffin tried to shift the focus on Epstein and Maxwell being "brought to justice" as the highlight of the story. As a White House staffer during former President Donald Trump's administration, she also commented on her former boss being named in the documents, as well as former President Bill Clinton.
"We know Bill Clinton’s name has come up, but no wrongdoing has been alleged. But Donald Trump’s name has also come up," Griffin said.
"No wrongdoing has been alleged," Hostin interjected several times.
"A lot of photos," Behar also chimed in.
Trump's name came up four times in the most recent release of documents, while Clinton's name appeared 73 times. While neither has been accused of any wrongdoing, with zero witnesses testifying to interacting with either in a sexual manner, accuser Johanna Sjoberg testified that Epstein told her Clinton "likes them young" when referring to girls.
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"I think the long and short being people need to take a beat. They need to be responsible about what they read," Griffin continued. "In 2024, the FBI warned we're going to see a record level of disinformation. We're going to see deepfakes. We're going to see AI affecting the outcomes — or trying to impact our elections. People need to be smart about what they share."
More documents are expected to be unsealed this year.