-Good evening. I'm Seth Meyers. This is "Late Night.
" We hope you're doing well. And now, if you don't mind, we're gonna get to the news. Today was Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter when he emerged from his burrow and immediately shattered.
[ Laughter ] According to analysis from The New York Times, the new batch of Epstein files released by the Justice Department on Friday contained more than 5,300 references to President Trump. They do? Who was in charge of redacting the files?
Hillary Clinton? [ Laughter ] Did the -- Did the Sharpie just run out of ink? [ Laughter ] That's right.
The Justice Department released more documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files, including 180,000 images. And I just got to ask, like, what's with all the pictures? I'm not trying to help anyone be a pedophile.
I'm just saying, if I were going to a sex island, I'd hope it was a phones-off kind of deal. [ Laughter ] These guys took pictures like they were making a coffee table book. [ Laughter ] According to newly released documents, Jeffrey Epstein corresponded with New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and appeared to connect Tisch with women.
The Giants haven't been this embarrassed since, well, you know, recently, but still. [ Laughter ] You never get used to it. [ Laughter ] According to the same documents, Elon Musk appeared to ask Jeffrey Epstein in 2012 if he could visit his island and said, "What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?
" I don't know. If I had to guess, the day you leave? [ Laughter ] President Trump criticized the Grammy Awards in a post early this morning on Truth Social, and said the ceremony was, "virtually unwatchable.
" And that's saying something coming from the guy who sat through "Melania" twice. [ Laughter ] President Trump also threatened to sue Grammy Awards host Trevor Noah for joking that Trump spent time on Jeffrey Epstein's island and said, "It looks like I'll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless dope of an emcee. " Unfortunately, his lawyer showed up to the wrong "grammies.
" [ Laughter, applause ] I think they seem -- Those grammies seem too happy to see him. [ Applause ] Oh, look, Rudy! Rudy's back!
[ Laughter ] That's right. President Trump threatened to sue Trevor Noah for joking that Trump spent time on Jeffrey Epstein's island and said, "Get ready, Noah, I'm gonna have some fun with you. " Which, not for nothing, sounds like something you might hear on Epstein Island, so.
. . [ Laughter ] When asked last week what audiences will feel after watching First Lady Melania Trump's new documentary, President Trump said, "It really brings back a glamor that you just don't see anymore.
" And Lord knows he's tried. [ Laughter ] Amtrak last week unveiled a limited edition so-called Trak Suit inspired by its next-gen Acela fleet. Not to be confused with the New Jersey Transit tracksuit, which is just a tracksuit.
[ Laughter ] And finally, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued an executive order last week allowing residents to collect green iguanas that have been temporarily paralyzed by cold temperatures and bring them to designated collection sites, like this one. [ Laughter ] Just. .
. Just. .
. so much run-up just to burn Arby's. I have so many questions about that news story, but do we get to that?
Nope. We just got to burn Arby's. That was a monologue, everybody!
[ Cheers and applause ] We got a great show for you tonight. You know him from hit shows such as "Big Little Lies," "Succession," and "True Blood," as well as films like "The Northman" and "The Aftermath. " He's starring in "Pillion," which is in select theaters this Friday and nationwide on February 27th.
Alexander Skarsgard is here, you guys. . .
[ Cheers and applause ] . . .
who was a fantastic "SNL" host this weekend, and I'm looking forward to talking to him about that. She is one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life. She's a fantastic writer.
For close to 20 years she worked on "Saturday Night Live. " You also know her from work on "Girls5eva," "A. P.
Bio," and the "Inside Out" movies. She stars in "The Burbs," which premieres February 8th on Peacock. My very good friend Paula Pell is back on the show, everybody!
[ Cheers and applause ] A couple of heavy hitters. Before we get to that. .
. the president and his family got a large investment from an Abu Dhabi royal for their private crypto company, he's suing his own government for $10 billion, and he's named in the new Epstein files, along with many other wealthy and powerful people. For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look.
" ♪♪ First off, congratulations to the Trump family on "Melania," which reportedly grossed over $7 million, the best showing in a decade for a documentary, excluding concert films. And this must mean so much to the Trump family, as they are well-known documentary heads. I can only imagine Donald calling up Melania as the news came in.
[ As Trump ] "Honey, are you sitting down? We beat 'Winged Migration. ' [ Laughter ] I can't believe it either.
'[Bleep] those dumb birds' is right, my love. " Congratulations as well to everyone involved in the making of the film, including the director Brett Ratner, seen here on the red carpet at the premiere -- Oh! Now, hold on!
That's not a red carpet! That's a picture of Brett Ratner from the Epstein files that were released this weekend! God, can we not let him enjoy his day?
[ Laughter ] Shame on us. Sadly, the Trumps can't bask for too long in the glow of their Hollywood success, because today is another one of those days where there are about half a dozen stories in the news that would be major scandals for any other president. In fact, it turns out that $7 million box office was nothing compared to what the Trump family raked in from the Middle East.
-The Wall Street Journal reports the Trump family's cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, sold nearly half the company -- a 49% stake -- to a member of the Emirati royal family before Trump's inauguration. Months later, the Trump administration approved a deal to send highly coveted American AI computer chips to the UAE. -An Abu Dhabi Royal agreed to give the president's private crypto company, World Liberty Financial, half a billion dollars, which in movie terms is like 71 "Melanias.
" [ Laughter ] And in return, the president gave his country access to tightly guarded American technology. If you wanted to go back in time and give Ben Franklin an aneurysm, all you'd have to do is read that sentence to him, and then he would say, "Just a couple of questions -- What's Abu Dhabi, what's crypto, and what's a billion? " And then we would say, "It's too long to explain, Ben.
Also, we are still having No Kings rallies. " [ Explosion ] And by the way, World Liberty doesn't even do anything or make anything. It just sells invisible tokens.
They didn't have the decency to run a scam that even made a fungible product. Like, even if they made chintzy Trump-themed Labubu knockoffs called Latruetrues. .
. [ Laughter ] . .
. you know, that would be better, because at least they'd need a [bleep] factory. By the way, the same people who are cool with the president getting half a billion from a foreign government lost their [bleep] when Barack Obama wore a tan suit and put Dijon mustard on his burger and called him -- this is real -- "President Poupon.
" [ Laughter ] They're also suing the government that Trump is in charge of. -President Trump and two of his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr, are suing the IRS and the Treasury Department. The lawsuit stems from what they say was the unauthorized disclosure of the president's tax information during his first term.
An IRS contractor pleaded guilty to that. The Trumps are seeking $10 billion in damages. -$10 billio-- You know how you know a lawsuit is [bleep]?
When you sue for a cartoonishly large and round number. $10 billion? His total IRS budget is predicted to be around $11 billion.
So Donald Trump is suing for almost the entire IRS budget. And I do feel like he should know those numbers because it's his [bleep] government. By the way, not only is he suing the government that he's currently in charge of, he's suing over something that happened in 2020 when he was also president.
This is like the coach of the New York Jets suing the New York Jets for emotional trauma. "They never know the plays. No one's ever prepared.
" [ Laughter ] And now the same party that used to pretend to care about the Constitution and fiscal discipline is claiming the president can just write himself a check for whatever he wants. -It's very interesting. I have another one where, you know, I've virtually won the Mar-a-Lago break-in suit, and I have to work out some kind of a settlement.
I'm supposed to work out a settlement with myself. -Hey, man, if you're trying to work out anything with yourself, make it why you keep trying to fill the hole in your heart with money and it's still an empty cavern of loneliness. [ As Trump ] "My therapist.
. . [ Cheers and applause ] My therapist keeps saying I need to have a talk with Donald, and I always say, 'No, thanks.
That guy seems like a dick. [ Laughter ] Wears a tuxedo on an airplane. [ Laughter ] Pretty dicky thing to do.
" [ Chuckles ] But, of course, Trump doesn't actually care about justice. He just wants to get paid, which is why it's so funny he says this. -It's very interesting.
-[ Chuckles ] Oh, man. He makes it sound like he's drawn to this lawsuit because of the intellectual challenge. [ As Trump ] "You know, it's very interesting.
It's fascinating, really, because there's one outcome where I don't get money and another one where I do. So there's really no telling which way I'll land. " So the president wants to give himself $10 billion of taxpayer money, but the country doesn't even have time to focus on that, because he's also arresting journalists and sending his masked paramilitary force to violently occupy American cities.
And his own intelligence director was seen mysteriously lurking in the shadows during a raid at an elections office. -This week, an unprecedented raid unfolded in Georgia when the FBI carried out a search warrant Wednesday at an election center in Fulton County seeking 2020 in-person and absentee ballots, tabulator tapes, and voter rolls. And while agents loaded up boxes with these materials, photographs showed Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence -- in other words, the United States' top spy leader -- was on the scene speaking on the phone.
-She was seen literally creeping in the shadows of the Trump administration's latest abuse of power. That's Gabbard last night at the edge of a loading bay at the elections office of Fulton County, Georgia, while the facility was being raided by the FBI. -This brings us to a segment called "Seth Has a Very Complicated Question.
" [ Laughter ] The [bleep]? [ Laughter ] Seriously, what's going on here? Why is the director of national intelligence lurking in the shadows during an FBI raid at a Georgia elections office?
And also, why is she so bad at lurking? You're supposed to be our top spy. We see you.
Your black hat isn't fooling anyone. It doesn't turn you invisible. This is like when you play with a five-year-old and they crouch behind a chair and you have to loudly say, "Oh, my goodness, where could Tulsi be?
" [ Laughter ] By the way, I'm not the only one who's at a loss to explain what's going on here. Even the Justice Department claims they have no clue. -Why was the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, present at an FBI raid?
-First of all, it wasn't an FBI raid. It was a search warrant being executed by -- by FBI agents in the middle of the day. -But why was she -- Why was she there?
-And secondly, I don't -- [exhales sharply] I. . .
Secondly, I don't know why the director was there. -[ As Blanche ] "I -- I don't know why the director was there. My best guess is she's taking a series of photos for a children's book in which the goal is to identify where she's hiding.
" [ Laughter ] So, it's just been one scandal after another. But all of that took a backseat on Friday when the Justice Department released another batch of Epstein files, a story the president and his administration have been desperately trying to make go away. I mean, seriously, how is it possible that this story has faded so quickly from the front pages?
Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in a jail? And now we just don't talk about it?
Wait. Sorry. That wasn't me saying that.
I was quoting the vice president, who tweeted those exact words almost five years ago. [ Cheers and applause ] Now, now, wait. But in fairness, JD Vance has been consistent.
He's been talking a lot about the Epstein scandal, a lot, even when it's uncomfortable for his boss, who was the Statler to Epstein's Waldorf. I mean, here are all the times Vance has discussed the latest batch of Epstein bombshells since Friday. -Just.
Kidding. I was. Full of [bleep].
[ Laughter ] -These latest Epstein files are truly shocking. They reveal a world of wealthy and powerful people on both sides of the aisle who were deeply connected to a notorious sex trafficker, and who lied about those connections. That includes prominent Democrats and Republicans, among them the president and several of his closest allies.
-The Justice Department's final Epstein files release -- the revelations we've uncovered so far and the big names mentioned, including Elon Musk, former President Clinton, and President Trump. -There's also a huge blast radius of so many people -- Bill Clinton, Howard Lutnick. .
. -The files released today indicate President Trump's current commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, apparently did plan a visit to Epstein's island. -You have names like Bill Gates or Larry Summers.
-Billionaire Richard Branson shows up in the files, too -- hosting Epstein twice and exchanging friendly e-mails in 2013. New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch shows up hundreds of times. -In a number of e-mails, Musk and Epstein seem to be discussing plans for Musk to visit Epstein's private island in the Caribbean -- in one 2012 e-mail, Musk asking, "What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?
" -You know, sometimes I think Elon Musk is a lump with no charisma, but then he writes a line of poetry like "What day/night will be the wildest party on your island? " and I stand correct-- "What day/night will be the wildest party on your island? " is not a question you should ever ask anyone, but especially not a guy who at that point was already a registered sex offender.
You're being about as slick as Tulsi Gabbard at an FBI raid. [ Laughter ] We're living in MAGA's warped world where everything is upside-down and nothing matters except who has power and who does not. They hail violent January 6th rioters as heroes and call peaceful ICE protesters domestic terrorists.
Hunter Biden sells a painting, they say he's part of a crime family, but the Trumps sell half a [bleep]-coin company to an Abu Dhabi royal and it's just businessmen doing deals. The feds raid Mar-a-Lago looking for stolen classified documents and find them, and MAGA calls that lawfare. But the feds raid an election office looking for nonexistent evidence of a disproven conspiracy theory, and they say it's just the normal course of investigation.
The government rounds up children and families and citizens and claims they're going after the worst of the worst, while at the same time they cover up for wealthy and powerful elites named in the e-mails of a guy who is actually the worst of the worst. All they've done is proven once again that they believe in nothing other than power. Our elites and institutions have lost all credibility.
Their only consistent principle is that they are. . .
-Full of [bleep]. -This has been "A Closer Look.
