[0:00]Straight to Chappaqua, where House Oversight Democrats are briefing reporters now on Hillary Clinton's behind closed doors deposition on Jeffrey Epstein. Let's listen in. >> Ranking member Ranking member Robert
[0:11]Garcia for Oversight Democrats and going to make some uh some brief statements as will uh my colleagues and then perhaps a question or two and then we're going to get back to the deposition. As a reminder, uh
[0:21]this deposition has now gone on for uh about 2 hours, 2 hours plus, 2 and 1/2 hours and so that will it will continue throughout the day and so going to be also uh respectful of not being uh
[0:32]specific, but I do have we do have some overall uh statements to make. Uh and a lot of this obviously ties into what the secretary has already put out herself in her opening statement. Uh just want to
[0:41]begin by just clarifying and putting emphasis on something that's very important and it's something the secretary herself has said. Secretary Clinton
[0:51]never met Jeffrey Epstein. She never visited the island. She never flew on his plane. And she also had no knowledge
[1:01]of Jeffrey Epstein's horrific crime. So, zero knowledge of any wrongdoing and you've also all heard that uh directly from her. Secretary Clinton is also completely
[1:15]cooperating with the deposition and the committee and is answering questions in full faith and in good faith.
[1:25]What is not acceptable is Oversight Republicans breaking their own committee rules that they established with the secretary and her team
[1:37]which you've all reported and you've seen by releasing photos. It's not acceptable and it was gracious of the secretary and her team to continue the deposition.
[1:48]What we also want to say at this very moment is it's becoming more clear every single day is the questions continue to build around this DOJ and the White House
[1:59]and the focus of the majority. We want to understand right now where the missing FBI files are.
[2:09]These are files that accuse the President of the United States about serious serious accusations around sexual abuse. And the fact that they're not in the
[2:21]files and have been apparently either removed or discarded is incredibly concerning. And so we're calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to
[2:33]immediately release those files. And lastly, I want to also add that this committee has now set a new precedent about talking to presidents
[2:45]and former presidents. And we're demanding immediately that we ask President Trump to testify in front of our committee and be deposed in front of Oversight
[2:56]Republicans and Democrats. And that should happen immediately. He is the person that appears almost more than anyone else in the committee and it needs to happen right now. >> Mr. Chairman, do you distinguish at all do you distinguish at all between a
[3:07]president and a former president and a sitting president? I mean, is there something in there because they will say, "Wait a minute. We know what the court We know what the court ruled on his immunity." >> The We should We should depose the person
[3:19]that is mentioned in the FCIA files almost more than any other person next to Ghislaine Maxwell and that's Donald Trump. >> Mr. Raskin >> We're going to We're going to have a couple of comments and then I'm going to I'm going to answer a couple of questions. >> Thank you.
[3:31]Thank you. House Republicans need to get serious about this investigation. I understand now fully why Secretary Clinton wanted to make this deposition
[3:42]or in her hearing public because the reality is we are talking to the wrong person today. Who we should be talking to instead are people who are actually mentioned in the files. People who have
[3:53]made misleading statements about their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Earlier today, Chairman Comer mentioned being open to talking to Secretary Lutnick. Well, let's get him in. Let's talk to Secretary Lutnick instead. Let's
[4:05]talk to someone who is neighbors with Jeffrey Epstein, who actually associated with Jeffrey Epstein. Not someone who never ever met Jeffrey Epstein to their knowledge. And so, let's try to talk about people who will help us with our
[4:16]investigation. And let's release the 2 and 1/2 million files so we can know who else to talk to, and so we can do right by the victims and actually bring justice. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'm Congresswoman Yasmani
[4:28]Perry representing Arizona's 3rd District. I am extremely, extremely appalled by the Republican chairman's behavior today and by the behavior of
[4:40]the entire committee and how unserious they are about this investigation. Let's remind the country about what we are actually talking about. Jeffrey
[4:51]Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and a list of many rich and powerful people from around the United States and around the world abused and raped more than a
[5:03]thousand people who were children, many of whom were children at the time. And today, we are sitting through an incredibly unserious clown show of a
[5:15]deposition where members of Congress in the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their photo off of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth and holding anyone
[5:26]accountable. I also want to talk about the reporting from this week and the fact that we now know that the Department of Justice in their ongoing
[5:36]cover-up, the most egregious cover-up in American history, intentionally seem to have redacted more or withheld more than 50 pages of allegations from a minor
[5:47]against President Trump. Do not forget that Kash Patel went in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee
[5:55]and said under oath that the FBI had no credible allegations of any other people being involved in this child sex trafficking operation. These documents
[6:07]that the Department of Justice intentionally has withheld from the American public in regard to the allegations against President Trump came from the FBI. The FBI had interviewed
[6:18]this witness four times. You do not do that if it is not serious. So, Kash Patel needs to be immediately brought back before the Oversight Committee. He
[6:28]needs to answer these questions again, and we need answers immediately. Again, America is watching. Young people in this country are watching to see if powerful people will continue to protect
[6:38]other powerful people and whether or not Congress will actually hold these perpetrators accountable. Thank you. >> Wesley Bell, Missouri's first
[6:49]congressional district. Um and as a former prosecutor, I've been involved in leading investigations in serious
[6:58]offenses, and this ain't it. Uh what we're seeing is political theater. What we're seeing is folks that are looking for headlines and tweets as opposed to
[7:09]doing the business of going about uh getting justice for the victims um in this case and survivors in this case, I should say, as well. And I think that
[7:20]that's what I think some of our friends on the other side are losing sight of is that we are here um to to to make certain that justice is served, and um
[7:31]and it's important for us and as Oversight members to do our job to ensure that all the evidence, any information is heard, and that any
[7:43]victims, any survivors voices are heard as well and that's what we're supposed to be doing. And so what we're seeing today is a
[7:52]we have not learned one new thing. The secretary is here. She is more than happy to have all of you come in there and into this deposition and hear her out.
[8:04]But there there those on the other side of the aisle who do not want that for whatever reason. And so we're going to continue to push for justice. We're going to continue to work to make certain that the victims and survivors
[8:15]are given their due and their voices are heard and that justice is ultimately served. >> Thank you. I'm James P. Moran from Virginia's 11th District. The Trump
[8:27]administration's treatment of the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes has been a callous disregard. We've seen
[8:36]that in his refusal to release the files. We saw that this week at the State of the Union was his with his refusal to acknowledge the survivors who were in the chamber.
[8:48]One of the things that's been confirmed today is that in addition to having no relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Secretary Clinton had has no
[8:58]relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell. But there are important questions we should be asking the Trump administration about Ghislaine Maxwell. And I hope that our Republican
[9:10]colleagues will join us in asking these questions. Why is it that Donald Trump has refused to rule out the pardon, the clemency
[9:20]that Ghislaine Maxwell is campaigning for? We held a deposition in this committee with Ghislaine Maxwell. She used that deposition as an opportunity to campaign for a pardon.
[9:31]Chairman Comer then walked out before many of you and gave her talking points as to why she should get a pardon. Donald Trump needs to direct Attorney
[9:42]General Bondi to release all the files, to unredact the illegal redactions, and he needs to unequivocally
[9:51]rule out a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, who is a monster convicted of child sex trafficking. Why has he not ruled out pardoning her?
[10:03]Why did the Deputy Attorney General spend hours with her? And then why was she transferred to a cushy lower security prison? Those are important questions we should be asking
[10:13]about Ghislaine Maxwell. We no longer have to ask whether there's any relationship between Secretary Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell. There was not. >> Can you give us >> I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to answer a couple questions. Let me I'm
[10:25]going to answer a question one second. I'm going to one statement, one question. One last thing I'm going to say and I'm going to begin with a question is we want to make a very clear demand right now, which is that the
[10:36]transcript unedited of the Secretary's questions and the answers need to be released by the majority in the next 24 hours.
[10:46]We need the public and the American people have a right to know exactly what she said, what questions were asked of her, and how she responded. That's transparency. She
[10:56]herself requested that the press and the public be allowed into the deposition. That was denied. And so at the very minimum, they need to immediately release the
[11:08]full transcript, and we're hopeful that tomorrow for the former president that the press will be allowed in and the public as well. That's been the request. >> Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member. How did that leaked photo get out, and do you believe there should be any repercussions?
[11:20]>> Well, the repercussions should come from the majority and from Chairman Comer. I mean, it was it was very clear uh that that leaked photo was sent out by a member. I think it's not hard to figure out what member that was by looking at the photo. And the fact it
[11:31]was not just one photo, it was one photo and then a second post that also included a photo as well. And so that was completely against the rules. I think we're grateful that the secretary
[11:41]continued the deposition, but not not acceptable. >> You said that this is a very unconvincing hearing. The secretary's been clear that she has no relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein
[11:51]said a few times that she has had encounters with Ghislaine Maxwell. She clarified what those meetings were like. Did she talk about Ghislaine Maxwell attending her daughter's wedding? Did you get any new insights into those of
[12:03]her answers? >> I think obviously we can't get into specifics about the answers. But we will get all those as soon as the video is released. And so we have to be very careful about about about giving specifics about what was actually said
[12:15]in the deposition per committee rules. So which is why we're demanding right now that James Comer and the Republicans release the full transcript where all of the questions that were asked will be fully answered by Secretary Clinton.
[12:26]What I can say is that she again never met Jeffrey Epstein, never went to the island, never went to the plane, and had no knowledge of any of his crimes. This is completely unacceptable. >> What about Howard Lutnick? When Comer
[12:36]went in, he said it's a possibility when I asked him if Lutnick could be subpoenaed. Mason said she had an email printed out that she wanted to ask Clinton about. What was that line of questioning like in the room and was there any discussion about moving
[12:48]forward on a request or a subpoena for Lutnick? >> We've we've made the request of Howard Lutnick. It is It is unacceptable that we have the the Commerce Secretary who has lied and lied and lied about his
[12:59]relationships with Jeffrey Epstein, the fact that he went to the island, he went on the plane, he went into business with Jeffrey Epstein, and yet sat there in a chair with the reporter and lied to the
[13:09]American people. He should resign today. He should be removed from office and at minimum should come before the committee. I think everyone's been clear that we need to hear from Howard Lutnick. >> What was that like in the room? The questioning in the room. >> I want
[13:21]I want all of the secretary's responses to be released immediately or I want the press to be allowed in to get to get details on that. >> sense >> of what it was like in the room? Is this a very tense deposition? And also, can
[13:32]you give a little bit more color of what exactly happened when this moment on social media is shared? Was there back and forth about a fourth about letting the press inside the room? >> So, yeah, what I can't say is obviously
[13:43]everybody was very taken aback by the committee by the committee rules being essentially not in force and certainly just broken immediately. That is not acceptable, especially when the secretary said it from day one that she
[13:55]wanted the press in the room. When the incident happened, I think this is something that that can be reported. The secretary's team continued to demand, even after the incident, to let
[14:05]the press into the room because what was important for her is that her answers to the questions not be edited. That the video not be edited. And so, we we understand that and we're committed to
[14:16]getting this video transcript out immediately. One >> answering every question? >> To be clear, she's she's she's answering all the questions. >> the fifth at all? >> Uh to be clear, she's answering all the questions. I think I can I can safely say that she's not taking the fifth.
[14:27]>> Mr. Garcia, >> Last question. >> In terms of her relation her understanding of her husband's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, is that something that she's been asked about? >> I I'm I want the full transcript to be released immediately. And I think I
[14:39]think everything that she said in her testimony will be cleared. Thank you all very much. >> All right, just a pre quick break there
[14:51]as we heard from ranking member of House Oversight, Robert Garcia, along with other lawmakers on a brief break from deposing former Secretary of State
[15:02]Hillary Clinton on her uh relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which she says she had never met, that she never
[15:13]visited the island, she never flew on his plane, and had absolutely zero knowledge of his crimes. But you You from lawmakers there, she's been answering all questions so far in good
[15:24]faith. For more, let's bring in our legal contributor James Sample also our Perry Russom, who's been following this closely as well. James, what what do you make of Representative Garcia calling on
[15:35]Donald Trump to testify now? >> Powerful, powerful moment and one that I think Donald Trump actually foreshadowed a little bit when he
[15:45]suddenly started walking back and sort of soft-pedaling but his comments a few weeks ago about the Clintons because the specter of
[15:54]Donald Trump having to testify based on the precedent that is being set both today, but really more importantly tomorrow is compelling. And while there
[16:05]is, and I think this is a fair thing to point out for the Trump camp, there is a difference. There is a meaningful difference legally, constitutionally
[16:14]between a former president and a current president. That said, if you think back to 1998, Bill Clinton, when he was a sitting president, had to testify in a
[16:26]deposition under oath in a civil lawsuit involving Paula Jones. That particular president plus tomorrow makes it pretty hard, I think, for President Trump and
[16:37]his camp to argue that the same rules do not apply to him. If you think about it, the way I would frame that, Kira, is simply this: Is one civil lawsuit, very important sexual
[16:49]harassment lawsuit for Paula Jones against Bill Clinton, not minimizing that in the slightest, but is one civil sexual harassment suit as important as
[16:59]the entire scope and saga of the Epstein scandal and child rape? I think that the Epstein scandal at least ranks as equal, if not greater to greater than that. And
[17:09]that will be hard for the president and his camp to campaign against. >> Well, Perry, do we have any sense of where this congressional investigation is headed next? >> So we know tomorrow that they're going
[17:21]to be speaking with the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton. It's also very interesting to see how the Democrats are trying to reframe the day. So instead of just focusing on the former Secretary of State, they are trying to highlight the rules that were
[17:32]broken, the House Committee of Rules that were broken when that picture from inside the room, inside the deposition was then leaked on social media. But the Democrats have been clear coming out
[17:42]there today reiterating what Hillary Clinton has said both publicly and then apparently according to them privately behind closed doors in the deposition where she said she never met Jeffrey Epstein, never went to the island, never went on the plane, never had any
[17:54]knowledge of his crimes, and then answered those questions in full faith. So curious to see where this goes going forward, but that's been the messaging the entire time from both Hillary Clinton and then the Democrats as well
[18:05]leading into the day. And it seems like the focus will now be on former President Bill Clinton tomorrow. >> And as you just mentioned, James, I mean Hillary Clinton is sticking to her story
[18:16]that she never met Epstein, was never on the plane, never on the island. Lawmakers are reiterating that. But as we know, we've seen the pictures of Bill Clinton with Jeffrey Epstein,
[18:27]who, you know, did spend time with him clearly. So how do you think this is all going to play out? >> No doubt, and I think that distinction is is absolutely meaningful, Cara. I
[18:37]think Look, there's no question that in in my mind anyway, and I don't think there's much question in the minds of many Democrats even, that uh Ted Bill Clinton being having to testify under
[18:49]oath, whether it's in a public hearing or private hearing, and the Clintons certainly wanted uh this the these uh depositions to occur in a public setting. They've had a very strong track
[18:59]record of performing well in public hearings. But there's no question that Bill Clinton is an appropriate person to testify in this investigation. The
[19:10]question comes in whether or not that same standard is being equally applied to others. >> Harry Worsham, James Sample, thank you both.