>> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY! WELCOME BACK TOW "THE LATE
SHOW." FOLKS, MY FIRST GUEST IS AN
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST WHO WON A PULITZER PRIZE FOR HIS
REPORTING ON HARVEY WEINSTEIN. HIS NEW BOOK, ABOUT THE
CORRUPTION AND COVER-UPS HE ENCOUNTERED DURING THAT
INVESTIGATION, IS CALLED "CATCH AND KILL." PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO "THE LATE
SHOW" RONAN FARROW! ♪ ♪ ♪<i>
( APPLAUSE )</i> >> NICE TOW SEE YOU AGAIN. >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME. >> Stephen: LET ME ASK YOU A
QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THE PULITZER PRIZE. >> I LOVE A QUESTION ABOUT ABOUT
THE PULITZER PRIZE. >> Stephen: I HAVE A LOT OF
PRIZES. I DON'T HAVE ONE OF THOSE. IS IT NICE? >> IT HELPS TO FILL THE YAWNING
VOID OF INSECURITY I'M CONSTANTLY TRYING TO FILL. >> Stephen: I HAVE ONE OF
THOSE, TWO. THE NEW BOOK "CATCH AND KILL",
WHICH DIGS INTO YOUR REPORTING ON HARVEY WEINSTEIN AND THE
CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND IT. HOIHOW LONG AGO DID YOUR ORIGINA
ARTICLE COME OUT? BECAUSE WE ARE-- BEFORE THAT,
YOU KNOW, HASHTAG ME TOO EXISTED AND THERE WAS AN AWARENESS OF
SEXUAL ABUSE HAPPENING IN THE WORKPLACE, SEXUAL HARASSMENT
HAPPENING IN THE WORKPLACE. IT AMPLIFIED, IT CERTAINLY
ACCELERATED, BROADENED WANT PEOPLE'S KNOWLEDGE OF THIS AND
CREATED A NEW CULTURAL ERA FOR US. WHAT WAS-- WHEN DID THAT
ACTUALLY COME OUT, THAT ARTICLE? >> IT'S BEEN ALMOST EXACTLY TWO
YEARS. YOU'RE RIGHT, THERE WAS
GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM. BUT IT HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY
MOVING TO SEE AN INDUSTRY AFTER INDUSTRY PEOPLE STANDING UP AND
SAYING ENOUGH AND STARTING TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE SYSTEMS
THAT KEPT THIS QUIET FOR SO LONG. >> Stephen: LET'S TALK ABOUT
THE SYSTEMS. THAT'S WHAT'S FASCINATING TO ME. WE KNOW A LOT ABOUT SOME OF THE
REVELATIONS OF POWERFUL MEN NOT HELD TO ACCOUNT. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE WAYS WERE
PROTECTED. WHAT'S "CATCH AND KILL." IT'S AN OLD TERM, ISN'T IT? >> IT'S A TABLOID JOURNALISM
TERM. I USE THE TERM "JOURNALISM" VERY
LOOSELY. A LOT OF OUTLETS, INCLUDING THE
"NATIONAL ENQUIRER," USED TO AQIERT RIGHTS TO A STORY IN
ORDER TO NOT PUBLISH IT BUT BURY IT AT THE BEHEST OF A POWERFUL
PERSON. >> Stephen: A PROTECTIVE BUY
WHERE YOU TAKE IT AND YOU GO AWAY. >> THAT'S RIGHT. AND IT WAS USED IN THIS PLOT IN
LITERALLY I'M FOLLOWING A TRAIL OF CLUES FROM THE "NATIONAL
ENQUIRER" WORK FOG SMEAR VICTIMS WILL OF HARVEY WEINSTEIN AND
BURY STORIES FOR HIM, AND ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP, IF YOU WILL,
THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE
"NATIONAL ENQUIRER." AND IT'S USED FIGURATIVELY,
STEPHEN, BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT THESE BROADER PATTERNS IN OUR
PROFESSION IT'S MEDIA WORLD-- THAT KEPT THESE STORIES BURY GLD
I'M NOT SURE WE HAVE THE SAME PROFESSION, BUT THANK YOU VERY
MUCH. >> I CONSIDER YOU A TOUGH
JOURNALIST AND YOU MAKE A CAMEO ON "CATCH AND KILL." >> Stephen: I DID SEE ON PAGE
401-- JUST RAPIDOMLY. >> HE DID NOT READ THE BOOK. HE WENT STRAIGHT TO THE INDEX,
STRAIGHT TO HIS NAME GLI GO STRAIGHT TO THE FILET OF THE
NEIGHBORHOOD. >> IT'S THE IMPORTANT PART. >> Stephen: "ON CBS STEPHEN
COLBERT LOOKED AT ME NARROWLY"-- >> RIGHT. >> Stephen: AND I SAID, "I
DIDN'T WANT THE STORY TO BE ABOUT ME AND CHANGED THE
SUBJECT." I WAS ASKING ABOUT NEEBSZ NOT
RUNNING THE STORY ORIGINALLY. AND I SAID-- COLBERT SAID, "PART
OF THE STORY IS THE STORY NOT BEING TOLD FOR SO LONG, AND YOU
EXPERIENCING THE STORY NOT BEING TOLD." FIRST OF ALL, THIS COLBERT
CHARACTER SEEMS PRETTY SHARP. >> PRETTY SHARP. <i> ( LAUGHTER )</i>
>> IT'S A GOOD MOMENT. >> Stephen: I'M SURPRISED IT
TOOK YOU TO PAGE 401 TO GET HIM IN THERE. >> WE'LL SEE ABOUT MOVING HIM UP
IN THE REPRINTS. >> Stephen: BUT LET'S TALK
ABOUT THAT. WHAT WAS THE STATUS OF THIS
STORY BEFORE YOU TOOK IT TO THE "NEW YORKER"? WHERE WERE YOU WITH NBC ON THIS
STORY? >> SO, THERE'S BEEN MUCH
DISCUSSION OF THIS. THE FACT IS-- AND IT'S LAID OUT
VERY CLEARLY IN THE BOOK-- WE HAD WHAT I CONSIDERED TO BE AN
REPORTABLE BODY OF EVIDENCE. WE HAD PASSED STANDARDS AND
LEGAL REVIEWS OF VARIOUS KINDS. WE ARE TAPES OF HARVEY WEINSTEIN
ADMITTING TO SEXUAL ASSAULTS, NAMES OF MULTIPLE WOMEN. BUT THAT IS A DISTRACTION FROM
THE MAIN STORY WHICH YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT AND I WAS DODGING
QUESTIONS ABOUT, MY PRODUCER AND I AT NBC WERE ORDERED AGAIN AND
AGAIN TO STOP. IT WAS, "DON'T TAKE THIS
INTERVIEW. CANCEL THIS INTERVIEW WITH THE
RAPE VICTIM. DON'T TAKE A SINGLE CALL ON
THIS. STAND DOWN." >> Stephen: WHY DIDN'T YOU
TELL ME THAT STORY AT THE TIME? WOULD IT HAVE TAKEN YOU 401
PAGES TO TELL THE ANSWER TO THAT? >> PART OF THE ANSWER IS YES. RUNNING THROUGH THE BOOK IS THIS
STRUGGLE ABOUT WHETHER TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS. AND WE HAVE ALL, IN OUR
PROFESSION IN THE LAST FEW YEARS DEALT WITH THIS STRUGGLE OF WHAT
DO YOU DO WHEN THESE ALLEGATIONS HIT YOUR OWN HOUSE? WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT HITS SO
CLOSE TO HOME. >> Stephen: SO THE PEOPLE
PROTECTING "QUEER E HARVEY WEINS THAT MOMENT WERE PEOPLE AT NBC. >> A LOT OF PEOPLE CAUGHT ON IT
THAT AND IT IS VERY HARD TO SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER WHEN IT'S
YOUR OWN BOSSES. I DID A LOT OF REPORTING ON CBS,
AND YOU WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO BE REALLY PRINCIPLED AND GET ON
TV AND SAY, "HE'S MY BOSS. BUT HE HAS TO BE HELD
ACCOUNTABLE." THAT'S A TOUGH THING TO DO. I WON'T MAKE YOU BLUSH BY
TALKING ABOUT IT. BUT I ADMIRE THAT. WE SEE PEOPLE AT NBC SAYING
THAT. PEOPLE LIKE CHRIS HAYES SAYING
THESE ARE THE TOUGH QUESTIONS TO ASK AND THE KILLING OF THE STORY
IS WRONG. AND I WAS IN THE SAME POSITION,
STEPHEN, STRUGGLING WITH I DON'T WANT TO BE THE STORY. I'M THE REPORTER. I SPENT A YEAR LIVING IN THE
DRAMATIC ACCUSATIONS THESE BRAVE WOMEN DID, AND THE LAST THING I
WANTED WAS TO BURN MY PROFESSIONAL BRIDGES AND MAKE
THE STORY ABOUT ME. BUT AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE CAME
FORWARD AND TALKED ABOUT COVER-UPS AND THE PATTERN OF
SECRET SETTLEMENTS TO BURY THIS KIND OF STUFF, I REALLIED IT WAS
A STORY I HAD TO TELL AND IT WOULD TAKE 400 PAGES TO DO IT. >> Stephen: HERE'S HOW I KNOW
WE'RE NOT IN THE SAME PROFESSION IS I LOVE BEING THE STORY. YOU TOUCHED ON THIS A MOMENT
OKAY. WE HAVE BEEN TALKED ABOUT TRUMP
AND QUID PRO QUO, LATELY. EXPLAIN THE RELATIONSHIP THAT
DONALD TRUMP HAD WITH THE "NATIONAL ENQUIRER", WHICH IS
OWNED BY A.M.I., WHICH IS AMERICAN MEDIA... >> INCORPORATED. >> Stephen: INCORPORATED,
OKAY. WHAT WAS THE QUID QUO PRO
BETWEEN A.M.I. AND TRUMP. I KNOW WHAT TRUMP WAS GETTING,
WHICH IS TO GET HIS BUTT COVERED-- AND IT TAKES A FAIR
AMOUNT OF PAPER. <i> ( LAUGHTER )</i>
WHAT WAS A.M.I. GETTING OUT OF THIS. >> I FOLLOW A TRAIL OF CLUES
FROM HARVEY WEINSTEIN WORKING WITH A.M.I., AND TRUMP WORKING
WITH A.M.I., THE PRACTICE OF CATCH AND KILL, DURING THE 2016
ELECTION, TRUMP ASSOCIATES WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE
"NATIONAL ENQUIRER" TO SUPPRESS, FOR INSTANCE, VARIOUS STORIES
ABOUT AFFAIRS. THERE WAS A DOORMAN AT TRUMP
TOWER WHO CLAIMED TO HAVE A STORY ABOUT A TRUMP LOVE CHILD,
NOT CLEAR IF THE UNDERLYING STORY WAS ACCURATE, BUT THE
TRANSACTION WHERE THEY WERE PAYING PEOPLE TO BURY THE TRUTH
OR BURY A RUMOR WERE NEWS AND THEY WERE POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS
OF ELECTION LAW. AND ULTIMATELY AFTER-- I GET
LIED TO A LOT IN THIS BOOK, STEPHEN, LIED TO, LIED TO, LIED
TO. AND A.M.I.SAID, "NO, WE DIDN'T
PUBLISH THIS STUFF BECAUSE IT DIDN'T MEET OUR EXACTING
JOURNALISTIC STANDARDS." AND THE BOOK REVEALS A COUPLE OF
INSTANCES INCLUDING COLLABORATION GOING AFTER A
STORY INCLUDING TRUMP AND EPSTEIN. >> Stephen: WHAT'S THE STORY
BETWEEN TRUMP AND EPSTEIN? >> THERE WAS AN ANONYMOUS
LAWSUIT FILED BY AN UNNAMED JANE DOE, ALLEGING WHEN H SHE WAS
UNDERAGED THERE WAS AN ASSAULT INVOLVING TRUMP AND EPSTEIN AND
HUMAN TRAFFICKING. THE STORY, WHERE IT'S NOT CLEAR
IF THE UNDERLYING ALLEGATION WAS TRUE. THE SOURCE PROVED TO BE ELUSIVE. BUT THERE WAS AN EFFORT WHERE
THERE WERE CLOSE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN THE TRUMP CAMP AND
A.M.I., AND THEY SENT A REPORTER OUT TO TRY TO GET THAT STORY. ALL OF THIS BECOMES IMPORTANT
BECAUSE AS YOU SAY, IT IS A QUID QUO PRO, AND ON TUSM'S END YOU
WIND UP WITH VARIOUS STORIES SUPPRESSED THAT COULD HAVE A
MATERIAL EFFECT ON OUR POLITICS--
>> Stephen: DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY STORIES? >> I SEE FOR THE FIRST TIME ANY
JOURNALIST HAS HEENE SEINE IT IN THIS BOOK A MASTER LIST OF ALL
THE HISTORICAL DIRT THAT TRUMP-- ABOUT TRUMP IN THE A.M.I. ARCHIVES. >> Stephen: HOW MANY STORIES. >> IT'S CALLED "KILLED STORIES
ABOUT DONALD TRUMP." AND IT'S ABOUT 60-- I SHOULD SAY
THE HEADLINE HERE IS NOT THAT THERE'S SOME EXPLOSIVE UNKNOWN
HEADLINE. THE STORY IS THE COVER. THE UNDERLYING CONDENT IS THERE
ARE ABOUT FIVE AFFAIRS, AND THE JILL HARTH CASE WHICH HAS BECOME
PUBLIC. REALLY THE STORY WAS THEY MADE
THIS LIST, THAT THEY WERE WORKING WITH TRUMP, AND THAT
RIGHT BMPT ELECTION, THEY ACTUALLY SHRED A BUNCH OF STUFF
ON IT. THERE'S A SHREDDING PARTY. >> Stephen: BUT THEY STILL
KNOW THAT THESE STORIES EXISTED, AND AS YOU WERE SAYING, THEY
HAVE THAT OVER THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES? >> RIGHT, SO THERE'S A COUPLE
WAYS THE POWER FLOWS IN THIS RELATIONSHIP. ONE IS DAVID PECKER, THE HEAD OF
THE NARCO NARCO "NATIONAL ENQUIR PERKS, INAUGURAL EVENTS AND
FLYING ON TRUMP'S PLANE TO DINNER AT THE WHITE HOUSE AND
INTRODUCTIONS TO WEALTHY SAUDIS THAT COULD REVIVE THE AILING
"NATIONAL ENQUIRER," AND ON TRUMP'S END, YOU COULD GET A
DISTORTION OF THE ELECTION. THESE ARE PATTERNS THAT KEEP THE
TRUTH AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC. THIS MATTERS FOR OUR DEMOCRACY. >> Stephen: WHEN WE COME BACK,
I'LL ASK RONAN ABOUT SOME OF THE CRAZY STUFF THAT HAPPENED TO HIM
WHEN HE WAS REPORTING THESE STORIES. RONAN FARROW, EVERYBODY. STICK AROUND.
