Talk a little bit about why you decided to go there.

Well, I have passion for politics and I wanted to do this when TMZ was part of Warner Brothers and Twice, I was on the eve of launching it, and Warner Brothers killed it because they were nervous.

And they thought that we'd piss off a congressman who had a regulation that Warner Brothers needed, and the congressman would vote against it.

So they blinked at the very end, and both times they shut it down.

This time, I was able to do it, and...

The reason I wanted to do it is, you know, you say incestuous and I think it is, it's also cookie cutter.

That when you look at reporters in DC, they are cut from the same cloth.

Yes.

Was there ever any theory that there was an accomplice in any DNA or evidence that pointed that way? There was no accomplice.

And personally, I think the prosecution got this case wrong.

OJ Simpson went to Nicole's house alone.

And he didn't go to kill her.

Because remember, he had less than an hour before he was being picked up in his limo.

So how was he going to pull this off where he stabbed somebody to death, was a bloody mess, had to get rid of the knife, had to get rid of the clothes? It doesn't make any sense.

He went over there because a month before, out of vengeance, he slit her tires.

Do you have any theories on what happened to the murder weapon here?

I have not used TMZ's YouTube

channel to vent personal feelings about issues, but I'm going to do that today.

Watching Anthony Fauci before a congressional hearing taking the Fifth Amendment is just one of the most heartbreaking things I have seen in government in my lifetime.

And this is something we need to reckon with.

I'm gonna say upfront, I have problems the way the CDC handled COVID.

I think that they did damage to children, to adults, and I don't think they did it maliciously.

I think they did it because they were using their judgment and were overprotective.

Harvey, what do you think of that particular scandal right now? What do you make of that scandal right now?

As a matter of fact, why don't we play that right now? And play some of that, and then we'll get Harvey's tech sorted out.

I have not used TMZ's YouTube channel, uh, to vent personal feelings, uh, about issues, but I- I'm going to do that today.

Um, watching Anthony Fauci, uh, before a congressional hearing taking the Fifth Amendment, um, is just one of the most heartbreaking things I have seen in government in my lifetime.

And, um, a- and this is something we need to reckon with, that I'm gonna say up front, I have problems the way the CDC handled COVID.

I think that, uh, they did damage, um, to children, to adults, um, and I don't think they did it maliciously.

I think they did it because they were using their judgment, uh, and were overprotective, um, and I think at times overstated things, things they said they knew but really didn't.

And I have personal problems with the way that COVID was handled.

Right.

I'm wondering how do these notes compare to the note sent to TMZ?

Well, we received the first one.

Um, and that one, um, added that if, uh, the, the initial ransom was four million, then it went to six million, and then as you read, um, if they didn't meet that deadline, she'd be killed.

Um, it seems like she died, um, two or three days maximum after she was taken.

And, you know, we talked about this at the beginning, and this is kind of what, uh, we know the FBI was thinking as well.

This was always just a money grab, and that whoever did this, and, you know, we believe there are reasons to believe that the person lived in the Tucson area, uh, that they knew that, uh, Nancy's moth- uh, N- Nancy's daughter was Savannah, that Savannah presumably had a lot of money, and they could get some quick cash by taking her and then returning her.

Um, and it did not go that way, and you really see the remorse and the shock almost in that second note that was sent, uh, four days later.

Did anything stand out to you?

Now, what's interesting about that is there was a report about somebody saying, "We know where she's buried in Mexico." But he goes on to say only two-

two-Are directly involved, and I doubt they would be the ones calling to snitch on themselves.

So he is saying that there are two kidnappers, and he had told us, um, in previous emails that there were multiple kidnappers.

There was a main person and at least one other.

Now he's saying there are two.

Now, I want to just say, Michael, real quickly, I am not vouching for this guy because, look, um, he well could be a fraudster.

But I know the FBI, um, because we're in touch with them, that they have been trying to figure out who this guy is, and they've been spending a lot of time on it, and they think that they're making headway.

Yes.

Let's listen to a clip.

[whooshing] I do wanna just say one thing, that, you know, you're referring to this as, you know, politicians being a form of celebrities.

Mm-hmm.

And pop culture can be a lot of things.

You know, it can be sports, it can be entertainment, and pop culture is politics because a lot of the things that affect everybody emanates from Washington, DC.

And, um, it emanates from the courts, it emanates from Congress, from the President, and it affects all of us.

So they are an integral part of pop culture.

So to me, it has never been a stretch.

It went to the media, which I've always found to be so, so much the antithesis of the way they usually conduct business.

Well, it happened with the Zodiac Killer, where they went to the San Francisco Chronicle, so it's not unprecedented.

I believe the Unabomber did the same thing.

So it isn't unprecedented.

What happened was they sent it to a couple of local stations initially, and then shortly thereafter sent it to us, um, the first one.

Um, you know, almost like they wanted this to get out, but they didn't want this thing ...

I don't know ...

I am, you know, tangentially connected to the players who did this, and I have information, but I'm too afraid to go public." I know that you were, like, playing chess with his checkers when you said, "Fine, we'll get the million, you know, the million dollar reward for you, um, and we'll ensure you get paid, and we'll keep you anonymous." Did he ever take the bait?

Why?

What I later found out was that AOL in particular, although I think Warner Brothers as well, but AOL in particular, they were worried because of regulations, that they were afraid that we might piss off a congressman who they needed, you know, for some regulatory act or whatever.

And the more they talked about it, the m- more scared they got, and they killed it.

I mean, this is classic corporate culture.

culture.And, uh, so they killed it twice when we were over there at Warner Brothers.

And, you know, this came about, Kara, really spontaneously, that when Congress could not pass the budget to fund Homeland Security, Charles and I interviewed a woman who worked at TSA, and she was about to lose her apartment, her car was gonna get repossessed, her mental health had gone down the tubes, and we are standing there talking to her and knowing that they were gonna take a two-week Easter recess.

And I was so outraged, we just said, "Look, this is unacceptable, and if anybody out there gets photographs of any member of Congress, Democrat or Republican, it doesn't matter, on vacation, send us the pictures, and we are going to put them up and juxtapose that against people-

Go ahead.

And the question is, does he have a chance? Harvey Levin.

Well, I mean...

I think he's going to be in the runoff.

And I think it's going to be between Karen Vass and Spencer Pratt.

And a lot of this really just has to do with the fact that L.A. is a mess right now.

You know, I have an employee here who was in his car in downtown L.A. two nights ago and was shot at.

And his car got hit.

We're just talking about the everyday average thing that the average person sees and has to deal with in and around the second biggest city in America.

What are Pratt's chances, do you think? Polls aside, what do you think?

Well, I mean, I, I think he's gonna be in the runoff, and I think it's gonna be between Karen Bass and Spencer Pratt.

Uh, and a lot of this really just has to do with the fact that LA is a mess right now.

Um, you know, I have an employee here who, um, was in his car down, in downtown LA two nights ago and was shot at, and his car got hit.

He, he's thankfully okay.

But 10 years ago, 15 years ago, downtown had this renaissance, and people were moving down there.

Restaurants were opening up, businesses opening up, and it was really a place to go.

[laughs]

What's your take on both of these sides declaring victory?

Blake Lively lost, period.

Blake Lively lost this case.

She wanted more than $100 million, more than $150 million, and she ended up getting nothing.

She settled for no money.

There was no apology.

It was, "I acknowledge that, uh, we will take your issue seriously." There's no, "But I'm sorry for what I did." There is no exchange of money, and that's what civil lawsuits are about.

But, I mean, there's something to be said about a, a kid that's really hungry, that really wants to get it done, and really wants change

It's a good example.

I can go back older.

No, I can go way back older.

I mean, when I was, I'll tell you, when I was 14 years old.

I remember Barry Goldwater and Lyndon Johnson.

I was a kid, but it was like- Barry Goldwater.

Barry Goldwater was considered an extremist Republican.

This is back in like October, November, right?

It's a good example.

I can go back older.

No, I can go way back older.

I mean, when I was, I'll tell you, when I was 14 years old.

I remember Barry Goldwater and Lyndon Johnson.

I was a kid, but it was like- Barry Goldwater.

Barry Goldwater was considered an extremist Republican.

This is back in like October, November, right?

Please.

Um, we've been doing politics for years.

And about f- four months ago, um, we just kind of got sick and tired, I certainly did, of the fact that, you know, you, you watch cable news or anything and it is Democrats saying Republicans are the reason things don't work, and then Republicans say Democrats are the reason.

But the reality is they're institutionally failing, and that the Democrats and the Republicans, as far as I'm concerned, are all to blame for what's going on in this government.

And-

So why now? Why this focus at this time?

Well, yeah, I did.

I mean, we were gonna launch TMZ DC back then, and Warner Brothers killed it 'cause they were nervous.

Why did you guys want to do this? This is not something that I normally associate TMZ with, but it seems to be blowing up.

Well, we've been doing politics for years, so it's not anything new to us.

Honestly, this was very spontaneous.

We were interviewing a TSA agent last week.

and she was telling us what she is going through and it's not just worrying about losing her apartment not being able to feed her kids being in food lines but her mental and physical health were just deteriorating and to listen to her and then know that these members of congress were just going to bail and leave town and not fund a bill that would give them something that's lifesaving was just enraging.

And we spontaneously just said, look, if anybody's watching this who cares enough, send us pictures, send us videos of these members of Congress who are vacationing and living their lives as people like this woman are suffering the way she is.

And We got a big response.

That's okay.

What inspired this?

Well, I mean, you're to partly blame for this, Caitlin.

I watch your show.

I do.

I watch your show.

And for two months, I heard Democrats blaming Republicans and Republicans blaming Democrats.

And the reality is, institutionally, they are all at fault, that the job of Congress is to compromise.

What do you make of that explanation from them?

And just given that you got the first unverified ransom note, I wonder what you make of that statement tonight.

Well, I think it aligns with Savannah Guthrie's desperate plea today.

We checked this Bitcoin address because in the first note, they give this Bitcoin address to send the money.

And we have been checking it all day long.

You would be able to see if money was deposited.

We are not seeing anything deposited.

So when I watched Savannah Guthrie talk today, it felt like figuratively a Hail Mary, saying we are getting nowhere with these alleged kidnappers and we need the public's help.

Has anything stood out to you in hindsight, given now what you've heard from Savannah and from her siblings when you look at that again?

You, you said that your IT folks at, at TMZ, uh, who I imagine are very good, looked into the address that the note was sent from, and w- what did they say about it?

Well, uh, it's really complicated, and it's, um, kind of above my, my skill level.

But I will tell you that, um, I had my IT guys talk to the FBI.

I was on the phone with them, and, um, we couldn't crack it.

And honestly, the way my IT team explained it, I don't think, I don't think that authorities have cracked it either.

In fact, the letter even says, "The police will be no help to you." I will tell you that.

Um, I don't think they've cracked it, and frankly, I think that's one of the reasons they were so open today at this news conference, that a lot of what was in this letter that we said we would not disclose, they disclosed today.

Um, you also said it's something about the placement of the Apple Watch that is significant.