Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / University of Maine Strips George Mitchell’s Name Over Epstein Ties (9/30/26)

Transcript

University of Maine Strips George Mitchell’s Name Over Epstein Ties (9/30/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. A couple of days ago I was asking
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: when somebody like George Mitchell was going to be held
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: to account over the allegations made against him by Virginia. Well,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: looks like the University of Maine was paying attention because
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: the system board of trustees voted 9-5 to remove Mr.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: George Mitchell's name from programs and any branding Around the university.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: And it's certainly a good step to take. Because this
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: dude right here. George Mitchell. Has largely flown under the radar.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: We're talking about somebody. Who at one point. Was literally
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: three steps away. From being president. This man was the
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: senate majority leader. This is a man that. Was allegedly
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: well respected. A man that. Was involved in all kinds
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: of negotiations. And. whether it's Ireland, and if you remember,
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: he was also involved with the Catholic abuse scandal and
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: the restitution that came with it. Meanwhile, all these allegations
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: are already out there, were already out there, and up
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: until recently, nobody's paid attention. But maybe that's starting to change,
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: and hopefully what happened up here in Maine is the
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: first step in more people understanding what George Mitchell was
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: accused of and how those accusations have been ignored basically
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  Speaker 1: for all these years. So today, we have an article
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: from the Daily Mail and the headline, Democrat Suffers Humiliating
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  Speaker 1: Blow After His Close Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein Was Exposed.
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  Speaker 1: You mean re-exposed, right? Because we've been talking about this
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  Speaker 1: for years, ever since Virginia came out and said what
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: she said. This article was authored by Wilco Martinez Cachero.
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  Speaker 1: A longtime leading Democrat was dealt an embarrassing blow over
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: his links to dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The University of
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Maine System Board of Trustees voted 9-5 on Monday with
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: one abstention to rebrand programs named after former U.S. Senator
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: George J. Mitchell, a Democrat from Maine. Mitchell, 93, served
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: in the Senate from 1980 to 1995, including a years-long
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  Speaker 1: stint as Senate Majority Leader to cap off his legislative career.
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  Speaker 1: And when I tell you that this shit doesn't care
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  Speaker 1: about party lines, it does not care about party lines.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein had his fingers in many pies. Whether it
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: was Republican, Democrat, it didn't matter. Whoever offered him the most.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: And whoever was willing to go the furthest. That's what
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Epstein was looking for. And according to everything we know,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: that's what he found in George Mitchell. His name appeared
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: more than 300 times, including duplicates in the files released
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: by the Department of Justice about Epstein, according to the
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Irish Times. In emails dated August 2009, Epstein listed Mitchell
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: as a participant of a gathering he said he intended
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  Speaker 1: to fully fund. The gathering came one month after Epstein
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: had been released from prison after pleading guilty to charges,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: including soliciting a minor for prostitution. Well, the thing is, Mr.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: Mitchell thought that none of this would ever become public.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: He thought that everything was locked in, that he was
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  Speaker 1: going to be safe, right? There'd be a buffer. Well,
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: guess what? There isn't a buffer. And we all know
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: what Virginia told us. And I guess I can only
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: speak for myself, but I believe what she said. And
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  Speaker 1: I believe that George Mitchell has a lot to answer for. Now,
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  Speaker 1: there has not been an investigation and no law enforcement
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  Speaker 1: source has ever said George Mitchell has done anything wrong.
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  Speaker 1: That's not what I'm asserting. What I'm saying is that
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: I believe the allegations that were made against him by Virginia.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: And I think those allegations warranted an investigation. But we
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: never got that. A correspondence from October 2014 also showed
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Epstein's then-assistant, Leslie Groff, asking the disgraced financier if he
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: wanted her to forward the number we have for George
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Mitchell to a redacted person. Some of the institutions that
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: will be renamed by the University of Maine include Senator
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: George J. Mitchell, Center for Sustainability Solutions, as well as
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: the George Mitchell Peace Scholarship. Mitchell has denied knowing about
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Epstein's heinous sex crimes. He has never been charged with
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: any crime in relation to Epstein, whose 2019 death in
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: jail was ruled a suicide. Yeah, I would think that
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  Speaker 1: you'd want to mention what Virginia said about Mr. Mitchell.
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  Speaker 1: probably a good idea because that's the most important part
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  Speaker 1: of this story. Not that Mr. Mitchell was friends with Epstein.
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  Speaker 1: That's to be expected at this point. The fact is,
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  Speaker 1: there's a lot more here. And it's just like Bill Richardson.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: The sugarcoating of that was just unbelievable. And I know
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  Speaker 1: he's wearing the other team's colors, blah, blah, blah. Who cares, right?
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  Speaker 1: If somebody was involved in this, if somebody was taking
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: part in the abuse, and you're still playing Is he
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  Speaker 1: Republican or Democrat? Chances are you're suffering from some kind
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: of CTE. Because you have to be brain dead to
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  Speaker 1: think this is a team sport. He mentioned the senator
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  Speaker 1: shortly after being released from prison in Florida on sex
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  Speaker 1: offenses in 2009. That July 28th, he wrote a message
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  Speaker 1: to a redacted figure asking to email Mitchell, whose name
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: he misspelled. Tell them I am free and home. They
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: can call me the home number, Epstein wrote. A spokesperson
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  Speaker 1: for Mitchell said in February that the former senator declined
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  Speaker 1: invitations from Epstein after learning of his criminal conduct, the
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  Speaker 1: BBC reported. Yeah, was that before or after? You allegedly
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  Speaker 1: did what you did to Virginia, Mr. Mitchell. That's where
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  Speaker 1: the investigation should be. And the question I have is,
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: how come that never was initiated? If somebody brings those
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  Speaker 1: allegations against normal people, there's an investigation. But George Mitchell... Ah,
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  Speaker 1: you know, he's George Mitchell, he could have never done this.
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  Speaker 1: Mitchell previously handwrote a letter to Epstein as part of
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: the financier's 50th birthday book in 2003, according to the
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  Speaker 1: New York Times. The beginning of a new year is
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: an appropriate time to count our blessings, Mitchell wrote per
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  Speaker 1: the outlet. The Mitchell Center will be temporarily renamed as
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  Speaker 1: the University of Maine Center for Sustainability Solutions per centralmaine.com. Meanwhile,
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: the scholarship named after Mitchell will be temporarily called the
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  Speaker 1: University of Maine Peace Scholarship. The University Task Force found
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: that using Mitchell's name would compromise the public trust and
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: reflect adversely upon the university and its reputation. However, it
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  Speaker 1: has not found any findings of wrongdoing by Mitchell. Oh, okay,
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: I guess not. The elephant in the room is not
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: even being addressed. And that right there just shows you,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: in a nutshell... One of the biggest problems with the
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Epstein story, and that of course is fragmentation. People don't
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: look at this as a whole. They just look at
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: it as little pieces. Whatever piece might fit their story.
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  Speaker 1: But the truth is, you have to take the HD view, right?
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: You have to get up in a plane and get
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: that bird's eye view. Because if not, you're never going
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  Speaker 1: to understand what's really happening here. A spokesperson for the
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: University of Maine system told the Daily Mail that the
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: renaming was effective immediately, but that updating institutional websites, signage,
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: and other material may take several months. One of the
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: board's student members, Matthew Weber, said that students at the
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: university felt that Mitchell getting put on a pedestal was
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: an injustice of what they feel is almost entirely wrong. Well,
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: it's true. Virginia's allegations were never investigated. George Mitchell is
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: never brought in for questioning. Nobody ever showed up at
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  Speaker 1: his house and sat him down and interrogated him. So
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: we're just going to take George Mitchell at his word?
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  Speaker 1: All right, I guess, if that's what you want to do.
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  Speaker 1: Almost all the students of the university are in agreement
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  Speaker 1: of that, so to rename, I believe, is in the
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  Speaker 1: best interest of us as well, Weber said, according to
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  Speaker 1: the outlet. The chair of the board, Roger Katz, called
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  Speaker 1: the scenario a huge tragedy and insisted that the university
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: needed to listen to students who said there was reputational damage. Yo,
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  Speaker 1: there is and was. You can't have this man's name
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  Speaker 1: plastered all over the university with these allegations out there.
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  Speaker 1: Especially if you're going to say, oh, I believe Virginia here,
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  Speaker 1: but not here. Like, you don't get to pick and choose,
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  Speaker 1: especially as investigators. Everything has to be looked at without
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  Speaker 1: fear or prejudice. And whoever's involved... They need to be
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  Speaker 1: held accountable. Whether that's fair or not, we could talk
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: about that all day, Kat said, the outlet added. A
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  Speaker 1: trustee who voted against the renaming, Donna Loring, said Mitchell
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  Speaker 1: was exemplary as far as what he's done internationally. Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: What do you think about what he did to Virginia,
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  Speaker 1: Donna Loring? What if that was your daughter? Would you
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  Speaker 1: have a different opinion about his name on the building's end?
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  Speaker 1: I think by removing his name, that also sends a message,
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  Speaker 1: Loring said. According to the outlet, I think that all
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  Speaker 1: of his good work, and he's done lots of good work,
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  Speaker 1: should not be diminished, should not be disappeared, because of
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: unproven accusations. Huh, I wonder if you hold the same
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: standard for everybody involved. Would she say the same thing about, oh,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know, Donald Trump? Because if not, then you're
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: the one who's an idiot. Because everybody needs to be
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  Speaker 1: held to the same standard, George Mitchell included, and I
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: don't care what the fuck he did. I don't care
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  Speaker 1: if this dude moonwalked across Saturn on national TV. That
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  Speaker 1: doesn't change what Virginia said about him, and it doesn't
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  Speaker 1: change the fact that in ever investigated it. Loring added
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  Speaker 1: that she believed there was no due process here, there's
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: no trial, and it goes against everything that I believe in. Well,
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  Speaker 1: that's the big problem, Miss Loring. You should be upset
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  Speaker 1: because this was never investigated in the first place. But now,
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden... There's an investigation, people are looking
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  Speaker 1: at what Mitchell was up to, and now there's a
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  Speaker 1: big problem? Emily Kane, a trustee who voted in favor,
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  Speaker 1: said she would never stop being a fan of Mitchell's work,
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: particularly when it came to Northern Ireland. Well, maybe we
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  Speaker 1: can tell that to Virginia's family. You know, it's really
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: not that big of a deal what he did in Virginia, because,
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  Speaker 1: you know, he did great work over here in Ireland. Like,
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  Speaker 1: what are we even talking about right now? Do these
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  Speaker 1: people really hear themselves when they say this shit? But
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: I also think the reality of right now is we're
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: not able to just talk about the work, Cain added,
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  Speaker 1: per the outlet. No, not just right now. Forever. That's
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  Speaker 1: how it should always be. Great, he did a good job.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: He was good at his work. Fine. But he was
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  Speaker 1: also credibly accused by Virginia. And not just of enabling folks,
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  Speaker 1: of taking part in the abuse itself. As of Tuesday afternoon,
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  Speaker 1: a University of Maine website for the Mitchell Center still
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  Speaker 1: featured a photo of the former senator, but did not
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  Speaker 1: make any further mention of Mitchell in its mission statement.
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  Speaker 1: The website touted that the center was created to address
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  Speaker 1: sustainability challenges and address people's well-being. Boy, isn't that ironic.
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  Speaker 1: People's well-being? It would have been nice if Mr. Mitchell
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  Speaker 1: would have cared about Virginia's well-being. Mitchell had already resigned
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  Speaker 1: from the role as honorary chair of his scholarship funding
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  Speaker 1: program in February. Program leaders said in a statement published
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  Speaker 1: on February 5th that this is an appropriate time to
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  Speaker 1: initiate a thoughtful, responsible process to consider a potential name change.
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  Speaker 1: In addition to being a senator, Mitchell was also known
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  Speaker 1: for leading negotiations in Northern Ireland and the Middle East,
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: having been appointed as a U.S. special envoy by Bill
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Clinton and Barack Obama. And that's another elephant in the room.
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  Speaker 1: How many people officials were in positions under the Obama
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  Speaker 1: administration that ended up being connected to Epstein? Plenty, right?
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  Speaker 1: And once again, what does that tell you? This is
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: not a team sport. All of these people, both sides
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: of the aisle, hate you. And the sooner you realize that,
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: the better off you're going to be. A spokesperson for
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: the University of Maine system told the Daily Mail on
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  Speaker 1: Tuesday that nearly three-quarters of those who responded to a
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: university and public comment solicitation from the task force requested
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: Mitchell's name be removed to avoid negative associations. The Daily
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: Mail has reached out to Mitchell saying, as well as
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: the University of Maine and its Mitchell Center for comment. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I doubt we'll get that. But look, this is a
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  Speaker 1: good first step, and I think other universities should follow suit.
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  Speaker 1: If you have somebody that was tied to Epstein the
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: way George Mitchell was, and you have the allegations that
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: were made against George Mitchell, well, I would say that
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: his name shouldn't be on any buildings. And before anyone
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: yells about due process, I'd throw that right back at you.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: How come there was never an investigation into when the
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: allegations were made. So you can't yell about due process now,
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  Speaker 1: while ignoring the due process, and ignoring the rights of
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: the victims. So you can't even make that argument as
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: far as I'm concerned, because it can be turned right
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: back around on you. And when it comes to a
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: guy like George Mitchell, those allegations were very clear, and
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: they were very credible. So we'll keep an eye on
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: this one, like the rest of them, and when we
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: have some more information one way or the other about
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: George Mitchell and the University of Maine, we'll get that
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: added to the catalog. All the information that goes with
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: this episode can be found in the description box.