CNN anchor Jake Tapper felt compelled to warn viewers as he dove in and recounted the stunning meeting on unconfirmed claims of “nipple abuse” by President Donald Trump, telling them “apologies in advance” for the content.

Maggie Haberman and co-author Jonathan Swan dropped an epic deep dive on Wednesday, based on their upcoming book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, that was chock-full of splashy revelations.

Those revelations included a stunning account of a Situation Room meeting on the release of the Epstein Files that veered into what the authors described as “the nipple materials.”

On Wednesday’s edition of CNN’s The Lead, Tapper recounted the surreal meeting by offering “Apologies in advance for some of the blunt language and visuals it will impart,” and adding that CNN would “edit some of it just because we don’t need to go into all of it”:

JAKE TAPPER: We’re going to start with the eyebrow raising report today detailing a “White House freakout,” that’s in quotes. “White House freakout” over the Epstein files last summer. This New York Times article is drawn from reporting done for the new book “Regime Change,” which comes out in roughly two weeks. It’s by New York Times White House reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.

Here are some of the highlights of today’s excerpt, on July 17, 2025, about a year ago, a chunk of Trump’s top officials who you see listed on your screen, led by the vice president, filed into the White House Situation Room without the commander in chief, without President Trump, they were trying to figure out how to regain control over the growing ugly narrative that the Trump administration was at the very least complicit in a cover up for the crimes of now dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and other predators in his orbit. Ten days earlier, the Justice Department and FBI had released their nothing to see here memo saying that their review found no client list of the powerful men to whom Epstein had allegedly trafficked girls, underage and women. Vice President Vance reportedly told the group this is a huge problem and he argued that all the Epstein files should be released. The report says, quote, “Vance had also floated to colleagues an extraordinary P.R. gambit that the White House enlists Tucker Carlson to interview Epstein’s longtime girlfriend and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in prison. It might help the President if Maxwell was willing to state that Trump had not been part of any wrongdoing with Epstein.”

Spoiler alert, Tucker did not get that gig. You will note, however, that the goal here, as stated, seemed to be to get Trump cleared by Maxwell, who is a criminal with questionable credibility, to say the least. The task of the interview ultimately went to then Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who Trump has now nominated to be full time attorney general. Cut to August 13, 2025, the Epstein scandal still raging. A similar Situation Room meeting is convened where the conversation turns to what allegations might be in those files about the president.

One official reportedly raised the subject of a disturbing but unverified accusation against Trump that had come to light in case filings unsealed in 2023 and that included e-mails sent to a journalist by Epstein victim Sarah Ransome. Apologies in advance for some of the blunt language and visuals it will impart, we are going to edit some of it just because we don’t need to go into all of it. You can read the New York Times story if you want more.

Ransome claimed, quote, “Ransome claimed that she knew a girl in Epstein sex trafficking ring named Jen, who said she had sex with Trump. Ransome also claimed that Jen had told her that Trump had a predilection for nipples,” unquote. It goes on into more graphic and disturbing details. Again not corroborated allegation.

The New York Times report also notes that Ransome’s credibility was not uncomplicated, given that she had made another claim, that she had footage of prominent men having sex with young girls in Epstein’s ormit — orbit. And Ransome later retracted that claim, saying she was fearing for herself and her family if she went forward.

Again, just to underline, these are all unverified allegations. Trump has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in any sort of court of law. He denies any wrongdoing. But Trump officials were concerned about this allegation resurfacing. If the Justice Department released all the Epstein files in its searchable library, which they only did, by the way, after being compelled by Congress.

Now, here’s how some of the Situation Room debate went down. According to this Times report by Haberman and Swan, quote, “The vice president said he thought the president would be OK with releasing the nipple related documents, arguing that Trump had been accused of worse. “I think we should put it out,” he said. It would cause people to say we’re going further than we need to. Trump White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles quickly responded that the president would not, in fact, be OK with it.

It was a point no one wanted to continue debating.”

Now, this story summed up the White House dilemma, as the report put it, quote, “Piles of accusations were impossible to disprove and equally impossible to make go away. Every door they opened led to another room and in every room were more claims from more women,” unquote.

Watch above via CNN’s The Lead.

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