[0:00]Democrats on the committee are now speaking. Let's listen there. Here of the Oversight Committee for Democrats and we're going to make some brief comments. Uh everyone's got a few brief remarks and then we're going to start
[0:09]the deposition. Uh want to just begin by um just saying that what we're interested in today is a serious deposition. We have real questions that
[0:19]deserve serious answers from former President Clinton and we have said from day one that Democrats want to talk to anyone whether they are a Republican or
[0:29]a Democrat, no matter how powerful they are, whatever position that they've been in. If anyone has information about Jeffrey Epstein and certainly the horror
[0:38]that he inflicted on so many women and children, we want to hear from them. What we do not want today
[0:46]is a sideshow and questions about UFOs or about conspiracy theories from decades ago, which is what unfortunately
[0:56]happened yesterday when a a series of bizarre questions were asked of Secretary Clinton. And Secretary Secretary Clinton was clear. She never met Jeffrey Epstein. She never went on
[1:06]the island. She was never on the plane and she had no knowledge, of course, of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. Want to also add that there are a lot of questions today whether they are about
[1:18]Epstein's finances, about survivors, about foreign intelligence that we look forward to asking in a way that's serious and dignified and we hope Republicans do the same.
[1:29]I also want to add one other thing which I think is really important. Republicans have now set a new precedent which is to bring in presidents and former presidents to testify.
[1:40]So we're once again going to make that call that we did yesterday. We are now asking and demanding that President Trump officially come in and testify in front
[1:51]of the Oversight Committee. He appears in the Epstein files next to next to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell almost more than anybody else. So it's time for the president to answer questions about why
[2:02]files are missing from the DOJ, why there's been a White House cover-up, and why we continue in that administration to call this investigation a hoax.
[2:13]And finally, I'll review the call that we made yesterday that we are demanding again that the press and the public be allowed inside the depositions so that you can hear the answers and the
[2:23]questions directly. And if that's not going to happen, they need to release a full unedited review of the questions and video within
[2:33]24 hours of the end of these depositions. That means that the Secretary Clinton deposition needs to be released immediately today. And with that, I'll pass it along to Mr. Frost.
[2:45]Thank you so much. >> [clears throat] >> Today we're here to conduct a serious investigation, and um it is obvious that our Republican colleagues, at least yesterday, were not here to do the same
[2:55]thing. We said it many times and we'll continue to say it again. We will hear from anyone. We don't care who you are, we just want the truth. >> [clears throat] >> All of us have met with the survivors.
[3:06]All of us looked them in the eyes and promised them that we would see this thing through the end and do it in a serious way. Asking questions about UAPs, UFOs, as interested as I am in the
[3:16]subject, too, it it has nothing to do with this investigation. Don't waste our time. Don't waste the time of survivors who have been waiting and waiting for
[3:27]justice. Now finally the government is paying attention. Members of Congress are paying attention. Stay focused on the matter at hand. We're also calling out the hypocrisy of
[3:37]our Republican colleagues who, yes, we're here to talk with President Clinton today. We'll talk with anyone. But how come people like Howard Lutnick See, it seems like they don't want to talk with him. They don't want to talk with the president. They want to They
[3:49]don't want to call in Pam Bondi who has done everything that she can do to cover up and to slow down our investigation. A law passed by Congress
[4:00]damn near damn near unanimously that she's done everything she can to slow down the release of the files and even when they're released and they said members of Congress would be able to go to the Department of Justice to view
[4:11]them unredacted. I know all of us if not most of us have gone in there and seen files that are still redacted and not given a proper explanation as to why we
[4:21]can't view them. We know the Department of Justice has deleted things having to do with Donald Trump, has deleted things having to do with Howard Lutnick and people connected to the administration.
[4:32]We know that Pam Bondi has been spying on members of Congress as we've been trying to conduct our legitimate oversight responsibilities. So, we're here to see this through. We're here
[4:43]because we know that this is about justice for the survivors, but justice also means that this never happens again. That's why this investigation is so important. We don't want this failure of
[4:54]government, this failure of elite billionaires getting away with a different system of justice. We don't want this to happen again and that's why we're here today. We are serious about this and my hope is that my Republican
[5:06]colleagues who say they're serious about it back it up with action, not just with the questions you ask here today, but what you do from here on out. It's not about party, it's about this nation, it's about protecting our most
[5:18]vulnerable people. Thank you. Mr. Raskin. Yeah, we have a couple more. Good afternoon. I'm Gerry Connolly from Virginia's 11th District. I am glad that President Clinton is going to sit down
[5:29]today with us and answer questions under oath. Anybody who had a significant relationship with Jeffrey Epstein should
[5:38]explain what, if anything, and when they knew about the crimes that were being committed. President Clinton's sworn statement said that he
[5:49]had no knowledge of the crimes that were committed and I know that we're committed to asking tough questions about that today. But President Clinton's presence here today
[6:01]under oath highlights the Donald Trump sized gaping hole in Chairman Comer's investigation. President Trump is mentioned tens of
[6:12]thousands of times in the files. We learned in recent days that files related to an accusation made against President Trump have been removed, not
[6:23]released to the public in the files. And this investigation will not be complete until we bring President Trump in to answer questions under oath. I'm hopeful
[6:34]that Chairman Comer will have the courage to move us in that direction. Thank you. I'm Congressman Suhas Subramanyam from Virginia's 10th District. We're going to ask President Clinton the hard questions
[6:46]today. We're going to get to the truth about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. But let's be real. We're talking to the wrong president today. President Trump is the one who relates has not released two and a half million
[6:57]files. President Trump is the one who is blocking our investigation. President Trump is the one who wants us to go away, but it will not go away. And so yes, we will talk to President Clinton today, but moving forward this needs to
[7:09]be not about party, but about getting to the truth and getting justice for the survivors. Congressman Wesley Bell here. I'm sorry, these glasses go dark on me.
[7:20]Um first and foremost, I think what is getting lost in much of this is that this is about justice for the victims and the survivors. And we can't forget that.
[7:31]This is not political theater, which um Republicans seem to be interested in. This is about getting to the bottom of
[7:40]exactly what happened and holding those um responsible accountable. And that's exactly what we're here to do. And so
[7:49]we're going to continue to keep pushing Republicans to do the right thing. We need to see anyone who has information with respect to
[8:00]the Epstein files or this sex trafficking. They need to be brought before this committee and we need to have a serious investigation. And I and I've
[8:10]said it before as a former prosecutor, I've led these types of investigations and this has not been a serious investigation by any stretch of the
[8:19]imagination. The American people want to see justice served. The victims and the survivors deserve justice. Good morning, Congresswoman Yasmani and
[8:32]sorry from Arizona's third district. I am grateful that we are here day two of these depositions with Secretary Clinton and President Bill Clinton. We've always said we will take answers from anyone
[8:43]and nobody is above congressional oversight, but let's be absolutely honest about something. If the Republicans want to be serious about this investigation and getting to the
[8:54]truth and accountability for perpetrators, then we have to look to the most powerful person in the United States and the world, which is President Donald Trump. He is mentioned in the
[9:06]Epstein files more than almost anyone and just this week incredibly damning reporting came out to say that there were credible allegations from a woman
[9:17]who said that she was abused by Donald Trump when she was a minor. The FBI investigated this and interviewed this individual multiple times. You do not do
[9:28]that if it is not serious. Further, we need to investigate the ongoing White House cover-up. We know that the Department of Justice has been withholding files. They have been making
[9:39]illegal redactions. The FBI and Kash Patel have been lying under oath. All of these people need to be deposed before this committee. We need to take this
[9:49]investigation seriously. There are more than a thousand people who were harmed by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and many other rich and powerful people,
[10:00]children whose lives were literally altered forever at the hands of this abuse. This is very serious, and I think the fact that some of the Republicans on
[10:11]the Oversight Committee feel that it is appropriate to make statements to say that President Trump is somehow exonerated. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna said this last night.
[10:22]That is the most outrageous thing that I have ever heard. Donald Trump needs to come before this committee, and we will not stop fighting until we get the truth and there's accountability and justice
[10:34]for the survivors. I'm uh Ro Khanna from uh California. I want to echo what all of my colleagues said. A new precedent has been set in
[10:45]America today. Before this, we had the Trump rule. Trump defied, as all of you know, a congressional subpoena with the January 6th Committee. He said presidents don't have to testify. Now,
[10:57]we have the Clinton rule, which is that presidents and their families have to testify when Congress issues a subpoena. And that means that Donald Trump needs to come before our committee and explain
[11:09]uh what he knew about Epstein, and explain why we have not had a full release of the documents. We also need other people part of the Epstein class to come before this committee. If
[11:19]President Clinton can answer questions, many others need to as well. I was pleased to see Congresswoman Nancy Mace today calling for Howard Lutnick to come before our committee. I believe we will
[11:30]have the votes to uh subpoena him and uh we will work with ranking member Garcia to make sure that he comes before the committee next. A couple questions. You got it.
[11:41]Let me tell people that Virginia Giuffre never accused the former president Bill Clinton of wrongdoing, but she did say that he visited Epstein's Island and that she saw him there. But the former
[11:52]president say he never went. You mentioned Howard Lutnick several times. We know that he claimed to cut off ties with Epstein, but then was found to have visited the island. So who do you believe? Virginia Giuffre or President
[12:04]Bill Clinton? Those questions are actually going to be asked today in this deposition. So we look forward to we look forward to those questions. Just a short time ago your Republican colleagues have said that there was some type of exchange yesterday with the
[12:14]secretary where she was screaming. What is your characterization of what happened? I hope that the Republicans release the actual video unedited
[12:25]immediately cuz to say that the secretary was screaming I think is beyond a mischaracterization. What happened yesterday was a disgrace to be asking about UFOs, Pizzagate,
[12:36]conspiracy theories. You yourself are going to see the types of questions that she was asked to defend her husband, not directly to her, not information about her. I think it's I think they need to release the videos
[12:48]right now. You should all be let in in this immediately. You guys have talked often about the president being set by President Clinton appearing here today as it relates to
[12:58]President Trump. Is the way that President Clinton answers these questions today also setting a precedent if he evokes executive privilege or says he doesn't remember? Could that set the stage for President Trump to do a
[13:09]similar situation? I think I think it was telling that Secretary Clinton did not take the fifth one time yesterday. She answered the questions. That information needs to be released. I think it's important that President
[13:20]Clinton do the same. I think he will answer questions today. I think that President Trump needs to man up, get in front of this committee, and answer the questions, and stop calling
[13:31]this investigation a hoax. And we've got to go. And thank you all very much. >> to be able to ask questions. Congressman Connolly. We've just been watching Democrats on the House Oversight Committee speaking ahead of former President Bill Clinton's deposition on his ties to Jeffrey
[13:43]Epstein. Ranking member Robert Garcia says they want to hear from anyone with information on Jeffrey Epstein, but they don't want to see a sideshow of unusual questions on UFOs like they heard yesterday in Hillary Clinton's
[13:54]deposition. They're again calling on President Trump to testify before the committee, and for the committee to release an unedited video of Hillary Clinton's testimony. Meanwhile, Republican chair of the committee says
[14:06]of Hillary Clinton's testimony could be released today. Let's bring back ABC's Peter Haralambos and legal analyst Brian Buckmire for more. Peter, we were talking about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before the Democrats got up there. The Republicans had mentioned
[14:18]him, and now we just heard the Democrats mention him, too. So, explain again, how does he fit into all of this? Yeah, apart from the president himself, Howard Lutnick is the member of his cabinet who is at the center of this firestorm the
[14:29]most. He originally backtracked, said that he basically cut ties with Epstein right around 2005, 2006. Then, when questioned in Congress, he said that actually he went to Epstein's Island in
[14:39]2011, excuse me, 2012. We now understand that the DOJ appears to have removed a photo of that trip from their database, and then restored it overnight overnight. So, it really a ton of questions about that relationship, how
[14:50]long it went on, and if there's anything he's not saying. Brian, what are you listening for in Bill Clinton's deposition, especially given Hillary apparently said several times, "You'll have to ask my husband
[15:00]that." in her deposition? Yeah, I'm going to see how, like you point out, those statements are going to be used to juxtapose against what Bill Clinton will say. But, we got a lot of hints as to why she answered those
[15:11]questions in that way. And it seemed, at least from what I'm hearing, a bit of a a nothingburger. There was something about potentially asking Hillary Clinton about what was going on in the Clinton Foundation while she's in Senate asking
[15:22]about Bill Clinton's actions. I think even as a married person now, if you ask me what is my wife eating for lunch, I don't know. You're going to have to ask her. And if it's stuff like that, there might not be much there. All right,
[15:33]Peter Haralambos, Brian Buckmire, thank you both.