[0:00]Memos detailing a woman's accusation against the president from when she was a minor have been withheld from the public.
[0:10]We know they're abusing redactions to hide the truth. Hundreds of pages are completely blacked out. Co-conspiritate identities remain hidden while survivors
[0:19]have been exposed. We're here today to put a shot across the bow of the Department of Justice and the Trump administration that we are going to reveal this massive cover up.
[0:31]We will not rest. It's an allout oversight effort. We're going to pull on every thread. We're going to chase every lead. We'll talk with whistleblowers. We will get to the truth.
[0:43]Our working group Senate Democrats will go review the unredacted files in the coming days. Let me repeat that. Our working group
[0:54]Senate Democrats will go re review the unredacted files in the coming days. Pam Bondi should listen carefully. The truth will come out. The whole ugly ugly truth
[1:06]about what she's doing to protect people in the files will come out. The whole world is going to know exactly what she knew when she knew it and what she did
[1:16]to cover it up. Democrats are going to hold Pam Bondi and everyone involved at the DOJ accountable for this cover up. Today, we
[1:27]are demanding that Department of Justice and the FBI preserve records on what transpired behind the scenes. We want to know who was involved in the decision to hide the truth. And a warning to the
[1:39]Trump cronies working on this. We will know if you are destroying documents and evidence. You will not outrun the law. You will not outrun the truth.
[1:49]This isn't political. The survivors deserve the truth and the American people are demanding it. Democrats and Republicans agree the American people deserve the truth. So, Donald Trump,
[2:01]stop hiding. Stop delaying. Come clean with the American people. And if you don't, Democrats will make sure the
[2:10]truth comes out. Our next speaker is Senator Durban. Thanks, Senator Schumer. With the
[2:24]Epstein files, the Trump administration had an opportunity to secure a win for survivors, for accountability, and for transparency. But after mishandling the
[2:35]files for a year, it took an act of Congress to force Pam Bondi and Cash Patel to even consider providing justice.
[2:45]Even after the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Trump administration decided to violate federal law to protect the rich and powerful.
[2:56]The law required DOJ to produce the files by December 19th. Yet, the vast majority of those files were not produced until January 30th, 42
[3:06]days later. Department of Justice has violated the legislation's protection for victims by publishing records without redacting personally identifiable information of
[3:18]victims, including nude photos where their names and faces could be identified. In sharp contrast, other produced records heavily redacted
[3:28]information identifying powerful business and political figures who are alleged conspirators or material witnesses to Epstein's crimes. Violations of the Epstein Files
[3:39]Transparency Act continue as the Department of Justice has yet to produce all Epstein related records required by law and has removed thousands of records
[3:49]from the website beyond those that inappropriately identify victims. Keep in w mind a whistleblower told my office that FBI agents reviewing the
[4:01]Epstein files were instructed to flag any records that mentioned President Donald Trump. This disclosure is even more damning in light of yesterday's bombshell. The New York Times report
[4:13]that the Justice Department failed to disclose documents related to a woman who alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her when she was a minor. Simply put, Pam Bondi and Cash Patel
[4:25]have mismanaged these records during their tenure in office. That is why as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I'm joining our leadership Charles Schumer and in a letter to the
[4:35]Justice Department and FBI requesting the preservation of records related to the management of the Epstein files over the course of the Trump administration.
[4:46]Preserving federal records and safeguarding information critical to congressional oversight is a legal obligation that all department employees are required to meet. As I told General
[4:56]Bondi during last year's judiciary committee oversight hearing, quote, "Eventually, you're going to have to answer for your conduct in this. You won't do it today, but eventually you
[5:07]will. The survivors deserve better. It's clear that Donald Trump and his Republican enablers are executing a cover up and conceal strategy. Heads are
[5:18]rolling at the highest levels of the United Kingdom. Will heads roll in the United States? When will the Trump administration come clean with the survivors and the American people? The
[5:28]sooner the better. Next, I believe Senator Bloom can't make it. >> He's not here yet. He's another >> Senator Murphy. The Epstein Files Transparency Act that
[5:42]I introduced with Ben Ray Luhan in the Senate was crystal clear. No records shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of any of the following: embarrassment, reputational harm,
[5:53]political sensitivity, including any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary. Well, here we are. Those 99 days have passed, and what we have seen is the
[6:05]files have not been released according to the law. We have seen that victims names and photos that were supposed to be redacted weren't redacted. And all kinds of
[6:16]redactions appear to have occurred for folks who are potential perpetrators. And we're seeing the Epstein files
[6:26]reverberate across the world. the prime minister of Norway, the former ambassador from Britain to the United
[6:36]States, uh, King Charles brother. But what about here in the United States of America? Why is there no accountability here in the United States of America for these atrocious crimes, the place where
[6:47]they occurred? We know that there were about six million pages, of which only somewhat more than three million have been released. We want those other three
[6:58]million released. And among them are these 50 pages that entail, as the New York Times said, claims made in 2019 by a woman who came forward after Mr.
[7:09]Epstein's arrest to say she'd been sexually assaulted by both Mr. Trump and Epstein when she was 13 to 15 years old. And it goes on to say that there were
[7:20]four interviews with this woman and only one of those interviews was released. Where are the other three? Now we know the other three
[7:28]exist because they are in the index and yet the pages are missing. How can anyone justify that these
[7:39]interviews have not been released? So that is a massive cover up by this administration. It's a massive and
[7:49]unacceptable cover up. We also know from the Telegraph that there are six secret storage units rented across the country by Epstein
[8:00]that may have contained information that the Department of Justice hasn't apparently attempted to retrieve. By unanimous consent, the Senate said
[8:11]yes, we passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Senator Schumer came forward and tried to strengthen that act with some real
[8:21]penalties and the Republican whip objected. Well, if Republicans were with us on seeking full disclosure, why object
[8:32]to putting more teeth into this bill? We all together, Democrats and Republicans, should be saying yes on transparency for the public, yes
[8:43]on accountability for the perpetrators, and yes for the closest thing we can get to justice for the victims. >> Senator Ggo has been relentless on this
[8:55]issue. Senator, >> thank you. Um, as we stated, princes, CEOs, the most powerful men in the world are being held accountable everywhere except the United States where we are
[9:07]supposed to be a country of equal justice uh under the law. Uh, we are actually proving quite uh the opposite. You know what we're proving here right now, what the Republicans are proving right now with the help of Donald Trump
[9:18]and Attorney General uh Pam Bundy is that if you are part of the Epstein class, if you are rich enough, you are powerful enough, you can do some really
[9:26]horrific things, raping children, raping women, engaging in sex trafficking, and this administration, the Republicans
[9:36]will engage in an active cover up for you. And even more so now we're getting we're getting more reports of some real serious allegations of this president
[9:46]from a minor a woman who was a minor uh that is accusing the president of some very serious serious crimes. The American public deserves to know what happened, who was involved, not just
[9:58]President Trump, but everyone else involved. All these powerful men that are still walking around the United States right now. We're only talking about a couple years removed a decade removed from a lot of these allegations.
[10:08]These men are still in power. These men are still potentially victimizing women, victimizing children. And the fact that this administration is actively covering
[10:20]up past crimes potentially means they're covering up current crimes. It's time for us to have full transparency. It's time for us to have accountability. It's time for us to throw some people in jail
[10:31]that did some really horrible stuff against kids in this country. And the fact that Donald Trump and the Republicans after talking a big game for se so many years about going after
[10:41]pedophiles are actively covering up for pedophiles right now should tell you exactly what is wrong with this administration. I unfortunately
[10:52]going to have to go read those uh redacted files uh next week. It's one of those things that you don't want to do. uh the disgusting nature of what I'm going to find on there is going to, you
[11:02]know, probably make me uh a very ill. But because we have an administration that's actively covering up pedophiles, uh we have to take this step and we have to take the step to keep them
[11:14]accountable and to expose all these pedophiles that are still in power right now all over this country. Thank you. >> And just one more point which this um
[11:25]this article from the New York Times shows more and more is keep more and more keeps coming out and the more we that comes out the more we see how large their coverup has been. Questions on
[11:37]this subject but yes in the back. >> Yeah, we're all going together. Yeah, I mentioned that in my remarks. Yes.
[11:48]>> Yeah. Yes. I I don't know if we're going to get We're all going and we have set up appointments to go. Yes. Shimmer, you asked for unanimous consent on the floor two weeks ago.
[11:59]What is your core strategy moving forward action on this? >> Well, the bottom line is the Republicans all voted for it, every single one, and we're going to keep at it. We're going
[12:09]to use every strategy we can going to the Justice Department, seeking lawsuits, as well as whatever legislative strategies will work. >> Yes. today.
[12:26]>> Look, all the truth should come out. Period. Yes. colleagues well outlined. I agree.
[12:53]>> Yeah. All we want is the truth. The truth. >> Yes. >> Uh uh there will be efforts to reach out
[13:04]to everyone who's willing to come forward and speak. And do you want to talk about that? Uh Yeah. >> Or please on preserving evidence and witnesses.
[13:16]>> Yeah. So we can get it. Yes. >> When you see the underd >> Well, let's we we're not going to prejudge. Let's see what's in the
[13:27]documents. We want to protect people's identities, but we also want the truth to come out and we will walk that line uh with with with great vigor. Yes.
[13:37]>> There are an additional Yeah, we're going to demand
[13:52]justification for any redactions. And if the redactions are coverups as opposed to protecting identities, we're going to get to the bottom of it. >> We're going to get to the bottom of it.
[14:01]Okay. Thank you everybody.