[0:00]asked that and he gave us the story that at the time in 2006 7 and 8 about what they knew, who they knew had this information. But simply to release
[0:11]release information that is not vetted, that may not be true is is a disservice. Also, uh there is nothing in here to
[0:20]stop the disclosure of files of of videos that may include young women. And we would be reopening uh just a new part
[0:30]of this all for the sake of politics, not for the sake of transparency. >> How are you going to vote, congressman, when you go in there? >> Every single person is going to vote
[0:41]yes. None of us want to be seen or chastise that we weren't for this. We were for official law enforcement files that we could then judge what was
[0:52]officially done and we are not for going through this and saying oh look one person's name is on here and and being taken out of context and this is the
[1:03]danger with where which is where we are and I I will tell you I place a good bit of responsibility on our team that did
[1:13]not come up with the right language uage that today they're insisting on. >> So are you con okay you're talking about
[1:23]protecting um names um possibly things tied to to law enforcement. That's understandable. You're saying you're not
[1:33]necessarily looking for a client list of any type, but are you curious? Do you want to know? Do other Republicans want
[1:41]to know if there are more damning details about the president of the United States that exist in these files? Is that of interest to you and other
[1:52]lawmakers? >> Sure, it would be. But you also have not heard from uh Miss Maxwell when she as part of this said I don't even recall
[2:03]Donald Trump ever really ever being around. And so where is that information? This came from the Epstein files. I'm simply saying that we need to
[2:13]deal with what I consider to be vetted questions answered where we can tell the story. I promised you some time ago that
[2:23]I would be able to answer the question. What happened in 2004? What happened in 2005? Who who was paying for this? How
[2:33]did this occur? Why was it delayed? Why was this gun prosecuted in Florida? We now know why it was prosecuted by Florida as opposed to a federal grand
[2:44]jury. We now know some of these answers. My point is is that the tightness of this that would need the scrutiny of
[2:55]members of Congress to shield people who were not involved, who were not just part of a a report. And that will not happen now presumptively. So, we're
[3:06]going to ask the Senate to do what we should have done. >> Well, Trump recently directed the DOJ, as you know, to begin investigations into high-profile Democrats like Bill
[3:16]Clinton and others for their ties to Epstein. In July, his Justice Department said that there was nothing to suggest further people being charged. What
[3:26]changed other than the public pressure on Trump? >> What changed is the United States House of Representatives
[3:35]failed to put forward our enunciation in a bill of what we were doing and what we would expect to happen. Everything here
[3:44]is as you know there is an equal challenge in either side and for every side there's an equal and opposite reaction and we failed to have our best
[3:55]bill on the floor and that's why we don't have it today. One more question, Congressman. Um, that the the bill carves out exceptions for
[4:06]documents not to be released if they're part of a current investigation, and you just pointed out you support that. So, are these new investigations though that we're talking about into
[4:18]prominent Democrats just an excuse not to release all of the files? Well, this was written as a discharge petition that I think was was by someone
[4:29]who did not see the full depth of the evaluation. It was never meant to be a policy update. It was meant to be a political hit and it was drawn that way.
[4:41]It was executed that way and it's being voted on that way today. And I think that we in the House of Representatives, certainly Republicans in the majority,
[4:50]need to do better to see this for what it is and to counter the move months ago. And that's all I'm simply
[4:59]suggesting. There are things which I do not completely understand which James Comr has gotten into, the speaker has gotten into. They are legal documents
[5:11]and there's a lot of information here. As you recall, we remember when the Attorney General Bondi uh said she thought she or she had the documents and
[5:22]then within days or weeks she said, "Whoops, I don't have all the information." So, these would be things that our bill would have taken into
[5:31]account. 100% of the information would have been available. And this is where the crack came [snorts] because all of a sudden we figured out,
[5:40]wo, maybe we're not going to get all of the documents and this created then our friends the Democrats coming to a a discharge petition that they have been
[5:52]successful at and we are left flatfooted. It does not mean that they're right and we're wrong and it certainly doesn't mean uh anything because we're all going to vote the same
[6:02]way. But I would caution us and the people listening to know this is going to be further debate that needs to be handled in a more professional way on a
[6:12]bipartisan basis, which I hope it will be in the Senate. >> Congressman Pete Sessions, appreciate your time. I know you're heading in there to vote. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right, let's take another live look
[6:23]at the House floor where uh Congressman Sessions will be headed soon. Uh they're debating the bill to release the Epstein files. As we told you, we're going to continue to follow this all live and bring you the vote as soon as it
[6:35]happens. >> Let's bring in our chief White House correspondent, Mary Bruce, senior political correspondent Rachel Scott, Washington managing editor Katherine Fers, and legal contributor James Sample. Mary, let's start with you. You
[6:46]asked the president uh straight up in the oval, not uh just a handful of minutes ago about releasing uh the Epstein files today. Um he wasn't very
[6:56]happy with you. No surprise, but that's what happens when he gets a really direct and strong question. Um, he gets angry and then he starts to deflect and then, well, we saw what happened.
[7:07]Yeah, Kier, he certainly wasn't happy with the question and I just asked him point blank, why does he feel he needs to wait for Congress? Why not just go ahead and release the Epstein files now? Because, of course, the president has said that if this does make its way
[7:19]through not only the House, but the Senate and makes its way to his desk, that he would sign the bill to release the files. But of course, he could release them right now if he wanted to. All he has to do is, you know, pick up the phone and call the Justice
[7:29]Department and say, "Make this all public." Uh, but when I asked that question to the president, uh, he deflected, pointing back to Democrats, insisting that this is once again saying that this is quote all a hoax and that
[7:41]questions really should be asked of Democrats. Going back to mentioning, you know, Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, others who we know have been mentioned in that trove of 20,000 plus documents that were
[7:52]released from the Epstein estate by the House Oversight Committee last week. And of course, President Trump has also, you know, asked his justice department to investigate the Democrats as well, but he still hasn't answered. Despite all of
[8:04]the questions about this, despite the many weeks of back and forth and the fact that this White House still simply cannot shake this story and these questions, the president still has not simply answered why he won't just
[8:15]release the files, which of course is something he has long promised to do. Now, the president has had that change in tune, saying that he supports Republicans today in the House who are backing this. Uh but that only came
[8:26]after it became glaringly obvious to the president and this White House uh that he was going to see dozens of members of his own party publicly breaking with him on this issue. Kira
[8:36]>> and Rachel, you spoke with Republican Congresswoman uh Marjorie Taylor Green, who's now feuding with President Trump over his handling of the Epstein files. We've seen her there front and center
[8:47]next to all the survivors uh in their press conference today. um you know what did she tell you as by the way the vote is has now started so we're following the vote in real time
[8:59]now >> yeah the vote has officially started here in the house and we're already seeing lawmakers head right in to cast their vote the speaker of the house Mike Johnson expecting a large number of
[9:09]Republicans to support this now including the speaker himself you mentioned it I talked to Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green earlier today you know car look this was very striking I mean this is someone who has been a
[9:20]staunch supporter an ally of President Trump uh for not only months but for years even when others were not standing behind the president. Marjorie Taylor Green was. Now she has been called a
[9:31]traitor by the president because of her support uh for this Epstein bill. And so I asked her just flat out if she trusts the president's word that he will sign this bill when it crosses his desk as
[9:41]the president said that he would. And take a listen to what she told me. [snorts] >> I only take people's actions seriously. No longer words. The only thing that
[9:53]will speak to the powerful, courageous women behind me is when action is actually taken to release
[10:03]these files and the American people won't tolerate any other. [snorts] >> Yeah. So, some pretty strong language
[10:13]there from the congresswoman. And it is notable to hear her say that she does not take his words as is. she wants to see action on this. And there are some, including Congressman Thomas Massie, who
[10:24]is co-sponsoring this bill, that are raising some doubts about whether or not the full Epstein files are going to be released. Um, Marjorie Taylor Green, said the Justice Department and the president could go forward and do this
[10:35]right now. They could fully release these files. She even raised some questions herself about whether or not it will happen. And the president now saying that he's launching these ongoing investigations into Democrats. Uh many people here are speculating and
[10:46]wondering whether or not that could be used as a cover to further delay the full release of these Epstein files. One important thing, Kira, after this passes the House, which we expect it to do, and then heads over to the other side of the capital, which of course is the Senate,
[10:58]and it's still unclear how exactly they plan to handle this, if they plan to make changes, amend it, that would send it back over here to the House. This could really drag out the process for a number of weeks. Cara.
[11:08]>> All right. And right now so far, uh, all the votes, uh, going, uh, going going yes, there you go. There's 37. Um, all right. So, Rachel, Republicans planned
[11:19]to vote yes on on the bill before Trump said to even do so. So, what does that say to you about just the importance of
[11:28]these files to the whole MAGA movement? >> Well, this was at the heart of President Trump's campaign. I mean, I was out there covering the president's campaign for months. He talked about
[11:38]transparency, not only when it comes to the Epstein files. He also called for the full release of the Martin Luther King Jr. files, uh the JFK files as well. We've already seen the president and the administration move in the
[11:49]direction of releasing those. And that is why the president is getting so many questions, including from our own Mary Bruce today about why he just wouldn't take this step. He doesn't even need this vote here in Congress, just move
[11:59]forward and release these files himself. And so now the president reversing course after months of really trying to block this vote today from happening. The president now coming around and it
[12:11]seems like he just saw the political reality that a growing number of Republicans were going to support this anyway. The president wanting to be on the same side of his party. But this has caused quite a rift within the
[12:22]Republican party and one that the president quite frankly doesn't want to be focused on right now. He wants to be focused on the issues, not so much the controversy that is surrounding Jeffrey Epste. All right. Uh, let's bring in now our
[12:34]congressional correspondent Jay O'Brien. Brian, stay with us. Uh, Rachel and Mary Jay, that the House, of course, we've been saying this all along, is likely to pass this bill. So, once that happens,
[12:45]what's next? >> It goes over to the Senate, as Rachel just said, and we already got a sense from Speaker Johnson of what House Republican leaders are asking here. They want changes to be made to this
[12:56]legislation in the Senate. And I can tell you, Kira, that is exceedingly rare. Usually, House leaders say that they're sending legislation over to the Senate and they don't want the Senate to touch it. They just want the Senate to
[13:08]pass it. Now, what you're hearing out of leaders in the House, Republicans here, is that they're sending legislation over to the Senate, but they want the Senate to rewrite this legislation. And that is in part because Speaker Johnson says
[13:19]this bill was forced onto the floor. He didn't want to put it on the floor for a vote. He was forced to do this by the discharge petition, which means that the legislation can't be amended. And also, the speaker says he has serious issues
[13:31]with the contents of this bill. In particular, the speaker says it doesn't do enough to protect the identities of victims. Now, the proponents of this legislation push back on that, but Speaker Johnson has made it clear he
[13:43]wants Majority Leader John Thoon to rewrite this bill, then try to get it out of that chamber, which could be a process, and then ultimately, if it does pass the Senate, if it is rewritten, it
[13:53]would have to go back to the House. Democrats are calling that a delay tactic. You heard Jamie Raskin there during debate on the floor saying that he didn't want the Senate to quote unquote monkey around with this
[14:03]legislation and he said that if they did it would only delay the passage of this further and further and further. And he pointed to what President Trump said just yesterday which is that the president when he was asked said he
[14:14]would sign this legislation as is right now. All of that to say it's likely going to face some serious headwinds in the Senate. But there is one thing to keep an eye on, Kira, as this vote tally
[14:24]goes in, and we don't see I don't have my glasses on, but oh yeah, we don't see any nay votes right now, that if this has broad bipartisan support, and if it
[14:34]is in fact unanimous, that does increase the pressure here on John Thun, the top Republican in the Senate, to do something with this legislation because he hasn't indicated one way or the other
[14:45]if he would even bring this up for a vote in his chamber. Um, and yes, I don't need my glasses because I'm a little closer to the screen. Looks like 129 yeses to this
[14:56]point. Uh, all yes to this um, you know what time remaining? 7 and 1/2 minutes. Katherine, the Department of Justice um, has been in possession of these files
[15:07]for years and we talked about how Attorney General Pam Bondi said, "Hey, I've got them right here on my desk." Uh, and then we thought we were going to actually see all those files. Then all
[15:18]of a sudden it president got into our ear and we didn't. >> Oh yeah. Okay. Stay with me, Catherine. It looks like Tim It looks like Rachel has a pull aside with Tim Burchett. Stay
[15:30]stay with me, Katherine. All right, let's listen in. >> Constitutional, but I don't really care. >> But I just I I think that we um we put a stigma on this and we need to It's kind
[15:40]of like mental illness. We need to we need to let people know that they can there is some safe harbors. Yes, ma'am. I like the turn to me. Thanks, Congressman. You know, President Trump reversing course on this. I mean, what did you make of that? The president
[15:52]changing his tune now supporting this. And quite frankly, could Republicans have just avoided all of this back and forth that the president just move forward and release these files anyway? >> Yeah, of course, the interpretation is
[16:04]going to go back and forth of what he meant by that. Was it was it ridiculous the fact that that the Democrats have had it for four years and now we've had it for 9 months and we're doing something with it? or was it ridiculous
[16:15]for some other reason? I don't know. I'm just glad we're doing it and I'm glad the president supports it. >> What do you make of Speaker Johnson saying that he asked Leader Thun to amend whatever you pass out of the House here today?
[16:26]>> If it amends it to protect the the lives of of of some of the ladies cuz some of the ladies didn't want their names released. And I was in a meeting with one and she said in fact her name was um
[16:38]what's the word? John or um not John? Redacted. Redacted. I'm sorry. I've said it a million times. She wanted her name redacted, but she just wanted to find
[16:48]out what had happened to her because her defense mechanism that God gave her was to to um to black that out. And then I said I asked the question, "So, you want to you want your you want the files
[17:00]released?" And their attorney said, "No, she does not." >> So, I think there's some miscommunication there. I wish we'd gone a little slower and got there a little faster. I wish we would have all gotten
[17:10]together on this thing in the beginning instead of pointing fingers and then maybe we could have saved um some of those innocent ladies a little bit of hardship because what's going to happen
[17:21]I'm afraid the ones that don't want it out that their names get released or y'all some smart reporter figures out who they are. they're going to be having Thanksgiving dinner or going somewhere and then one of y'all's going to put a
[17:32]mic in their face and their families had no idea what had happened to them and they're going to relive that whole thing because if you ever dealt with these folks I it's a life sentence that it's a
[17:42]life sentence. So, um you know that's who I hurt for right now cuz I believe they're going to get their judgment. The bad people I believe what the Bible says about the the millstone
[17:54]around their necks and they're going to be they're going to be with Epstein. and they're going to be burning in hell for eternity. >> What do you make of the way this has divided your your party? It is a follow, Rachel.
[18:04]>> I mean, this this is re really really divided your your party, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green and, you know, President Trump at odds at this point. >> Yeah. Well, if you've I've been here eight years, but I've seen a lot of
[18:15]people that get at odds and then a week later they they find some common ground and they're back together again. So, I I don't get too worked up over that. I worry about my relationship with folks
[18:27]up here and I don't don't really worry about anybody else's nor do I really care. It's their business. >> What's your message to the Senate? Um >> the Senate needs to >> All right. That's our Rachel Scott there that uh was able to get a pull aside
[18:38]there with Tim Burch. Had a number of reporters asking him questions. Don't know if he voted yet or not. I assume so since he's out there on the steps. Um but Katherine, let me bring you in. Um I guess first of all, you were listening
[18:48]to to Burchett there. Do any comments on what he had to say before I I ask you a couple questions? >> Well, I I I think obviously I think he's still talking to Rachel about this, but
[18:59]I would be curious particularly uh what Burchett says if if not if he makes more comments on what Rachel asked him about Marjorie Taylor Green and breaking with
[19:10]the party and and particularly how their relationship by their relationship I mean between Trump and Marjorie Taylor Green. Trump and Thomas Massie how that
[19:22]progresses over the coming months and years. I know that Burchett was still commenting on that there. So, it'll be interesting to see where I'm looking at that screen now, Kira. You see, well, I
[19:33]I actually do see that one. No Republican vote just showed up on that screen. Um I'd be curious to see exactly who who that is. Um, but also just how
[19:45]this changes, if it changes at all, Trump's relationship with the Republican party moving forward, particularly those who signed that discharge petition. We we'll have to see what reaction Trump
[19:55]has following this vote. >> All right, so 214 yeses, one no. RJ O'Brien's tracking that no vote so we can try and find out who that is. Uh, Katherine and Katherine, the Department of Justice, uh, as we have been talking
[20:06]about, I was starting to ask you about this before, uh, Rachel was able to pull Burchett aside there, um, has been in possession of these files, uh, for years now. We've been covering this story for
[20:16]years that Jeffrey Epstein. Okay. All right. I I promise you're going to get to answer this at some point, but Jay O'Brien has found out who the one and only no vote is so far. Jay,
[20:27]what do you know? Yeah, the one so far, Kira, is Ronnie Jackson, Republican congressman of Texas. He is currently that lone no vote there on the floor. Uh we hadn't caught up with the congressman going in, but what we have heard from
[20:39]GOP leaders is that they have been in opposition generally to the text of this bill because they have said it doesn't do enough to protect the identities of victims. They have said it sets a poor
[20:49]precedent going forward for those who wanted to come forward for future federal investigations that their identities might be released within a cache of documents. Uh what we've heard from the proponents of this legislation
[21:00]is that the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, including those who spoke here on Capitol Hill this morning and did so about a month and a half ago as well, want this legislation to go forward.
[21:11]They want these files to be released. Um, oh, and it looks like if we look at this live vote tally too, that one no vote has gone back away. So, I think a a
[21:21]votes are, they are not final until they're done, meaning that a member who votes can choose to reverse their vote and sometimes they make an error when they cast their vote. So, it looks like that may have been an error and we're back to it being unanimous there on the
[21:33]floor. Kira, >> yeah, was it an error or did Ronnie Jackson decide to did he change his mind? Is it Could it be either either option? I I I can tell you I've seen
[21:44]when I've seen it done this quickly, it's often in error. It's usually like, you know, the punching of a no versus a yes. The buttons are close together, but we have no way of knowing. The reality here is though, the vote is not final
[21:55]until it's gave out. But right now, if it holds this trajectory, it will be close soon to being on track to pass. The magic number here, if everyone shows
[22:05]up and everyone is voting, is above 289. That would involve 75 Republicans at minimum. But right now, we haven't seen a single Republican no vote at this hour. And think about how striking of a
[22:15]turnaround this is, Kira. This is legislation that this time last week, the White House was in staunch opposition to. They were working on Lauren Boowart to try to get her off the
[22:26]discharge petition. >> We're at 298 and 2 seconds ago, time is up. Is it 29? 300. We hit 300 and time is up. Jay >> 301. So the the the strange business of
[22:38]the House is that even though the clock ticks down to zero, the vote isn't final until they gavel it out. And these votes always run over time. But we are on track to pass if nobody changes their
[22:48]votes, and that would be incredibly unlikely given the high numbers at this hour. This legislation is on track to pass. Doesn't pass till they gave it out, but it is on track to pass. And again, Kira, that is striking given that
[22:59]this time last week, Speaker Johnson was actively against this. The White House was actively whipping against this. And now even the speaker and house Republican leaders have voted for this despite saying they have problems with
[23:10]the bill. >> Um, and Katherine, I'll get you to to to finish your thought there. We went to you three different times and then Mary, I want to bring you in and of course James Sample, I want to bring you into
[23:20]the conversation uh as well, but with regard uh to the files, uh, you know, it looks like we're on track. Uh, we've
[23:28]passed to it. We're at 330 uh, yeses now. Uh, Katherine, so I guess when we think about what's exactly inside of
[23:38]these files, um, and I don't know how much you heard of my interview with with, uh, Congressman Pete Sessions, Republican of Texas, um, talking about what we will actually see, what they
[23:50]want to see, um, and what will be redacted, what will be protected. I mean, what do we actually know uh with regard to what could be, I guess, news
[24:02]to all of us um if we indeed are able to see these files? >> Well, what we do know is that the Department of Justice and the FBI, as the administration will remind you of
[24:12]constantly, is that they have turned over tens of thousands of pages to the House Oversight Committee of the documents that are in their possession. But what's not as known is that those documents are only a fraction, literally
[24:24]a fraction of what the Department of Justice has in their possession and very well could release. So obviously there's lots of questions about what exactly they have in their possession. And you
[24:35]know that there was that reporting a couple months back about the fact that Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed Trump in May on the fact that his name was included in these files that that the
[24:47]Department of Justice has. Now, of course, Trump is denied any wrongdoing. The fact that his name is in those files doesn't mean that there is any criminal wrongdoing, but they thought it's serious enough to bring it to his
[24:57]attention. And it was, of course, after that briefing that they released that letter a couple months later saying they weren't going to release any more information. And here we are with Trump
[25:08]now reversing course and saying he's okay with the House voting on all of this. But I think Mary's question to Trump in the Oval Office was the million-dollar question here. They can very easily release all of this
[25:19]information now. It does not require any congressional procedure for these documents to see the light of day. Why aren't they doing that? That's a question Trump did not answer. >> Got it. All right. Something we can't
[25:30]answer. We'll take it to our Rachel Scott because she just pulled Ronnie Jackson, Republican in Texas, aside uh when his name popped up as a no. Rachel, he just told you that was a mistake. [laughter]
[25:42]>> Yeah. And I'm laughing a little bit here because we just saw him come down the steps to take some pictures when I think whether his staff members and we said, you know, congressman, hey, we saw that you voted no. Did you change your vote?
[25:52]And he goes, it was a total mistake. It was a complete accident. and I accidentally voted no and then everybody around me was like, "You voted no. Why are you voting no?" And he's I didn't mean I didn't mean to vote no. So he
[26:03]changed his vote. He is in fact supporting this bill and this legislation. As Jay said, nothing's final until the gavl comes down. Members are able to change their votes. And oftentimes when they do so very quickly,
[26:13]it is because they realize they either made a mistake or maybe it was calculated wrong. Uh so this one at this point was just simply a mistake. Uh Jackson is in favor of this bill. And I
[26:23]got to tell you, Cara, this is getting quite the significant bipartisan support that we did expect here. And a number of Republicans all standing behind this measure. >> There we go. All right, we cleared that
[26:35]up. And Jay O'Brien, you were able to just catch up with Steve Scaliz. What did he tell you? >> Did I I spoke with Steve Scaliz, the number two Republican in the House on his way to the floor just minutes ago, and I asked him what he makes of the
[26:45]unonyimity in this vote. Republicans, so far, no no votes amongst the House Republican Conference. and he said it's a sign that they quote quote want transparency. But the reality here is
[26:56]Kira, House Republican leaders tried to prevent this vote for weeks and months. Speaker Mike Johnson did virtually everything he could to try to stiff arm this vote from coming to a reality on
[27:06]the House floor. Think about those 50 days that Representative elect Adalita Graalva of Arizona waited to be sworn in. She was ultimately that last needed signature on the discharge petition that
[27:17]forced this vote and she was prevented from taking her seat. She says because Johnson did not want her to be that final signature on this discharge petition. Think about something that I and Rachel and Mary and others have
[27:28]remarked on over the course of this coverage. the White House working on Lauren Boowbert late last week in the situation room, a room where you conspicuously cannot bring your phone into, trying to get her to take her
[27:38]signature off of the discharge petition that forced this vote to happen. Only over the weekend did the president do that 180 and give House Republicans the green light to vote for this. But he did
[27:50]that right as we saw dozens and dozens of Republicans saying that regardless of what the president wanted them to do, they were inclined to vote for this. So, this is a stark change from where we
[28:00]were at this point last week. Every single House Republican voting for this legislation. And again, House Republican leaders like Steve Scaliz saying that this legislation and the yay votes from
[28:11]Republicans are a sign that Republicans want transparency despite leadership here in the House doing everything they could to prevent this vote from taking place.
[28:21]>> All right. And now we have 413 uh members of Congress voting yes. Jay, uh, James Sample, even if the House and
[28:30]the Senate do vote to release these files, it doesn't guarantee the full release will happen, right? Is there any
[28:38]legal way to make sure that it happens? >> The legal way to make sure that it happens, Kira, would be for [snorts] Donald Trump, tell Pam Bondi to release
[28:49]the files and for them to simply release the files. I mean, in many respects, this vote is momentous. It's historic and a pending vote, if there ever is a
[28:59]vote in the Senate, and I suspect we're going to see some real parliamentary procedures to try and put sand in the gears to prevent up or down votes in the Senate, particularly on particularly
[29:11]using and you heard Speaker Johnson and you heard uh in your conversation with Representative Jeff Sessions there uh Pete Sessions there that there is going to be an effort to change the legislation. And there's going to be an
[29:23]effort to try and slow this down. I think that what we're seeing is that the arena for this battle is shifting from the House to the Senate. It's also shifting to the Southern District of New
[29:34]York and federal prosecutors who may be able to create a case so as to create a predicate for there not to be a basis to release the files because then the
[29:44]argument becomes you can't release the files to because doing so would jeopardize a pending investigation. I think that this is the early innings and I think that this vote as Jay's report
[29:54]just emp emphasized if you think about it six days ago six days ago Lauren Boowbert was brought into the situation room where Pam Bondi and Cash Patel were
[30:06]both there trying to persuade her to in to withdraw her vote because they couldn't get 218 votes to oppose the discharge petition that gave rise to
[30:17]this vote. This vote doesn't happen if there weren't 218 votes to make this vote happen. And now all of a sudden, what you see is the most airbrushed 424
[30:28]votes you could ever imagine because almost every single party in the almost every single member of Congress who voted against the 200 the discharge
[30:40]position is now voting for this. That's uh that is a contradiction in terms. It is safety in numbers. It is not leadership. >> Well, Mary Bruce, uh, all of this puts
[30:51]Republicans in a tricky position. As you have said, they are loyal to the president, but this is the first major break that we are actually seeing in the ranks. Yeah, it certainly is. And it's a
[31:02]and it's a big break in the ranks. I mean, dozens of Republicans expected when this is all over, a deluge, as it has been described by some expected to break with the president and back the release of these files. And of course,
[31:14]you have to go back and remember the history of all of this. Um, it was initially Republicans, the president himself, the vice president, his current attorney general, the current FBI director who had been saying during the
[31:25]campaign that they were going to release these files. So many Republican voters have been asking and demanding for this. Many of those Republican members of the House have long said that they would
[31:35]support the release of these files. Uh, and then the president over the summer uh essentially saying no, that's not going to happen. That they had released uh publicly everything that they felt they had to release. the attorney
[31:45]general saying they didn't feel uh there was any need to to release anything additional essentially arguing that there was no there there in the remaining FBI files but that goes against what the president had promised
[31:55]he was going to do and many Republican lawmakers are certainly well aware that their voters want to see this. So yes, it puts them in this tricky spot where they are loyal to the president but also of course uh loyal to their voters and
[32:07]their constituents and felt that they simply had no choice but to see this through. Uh the president again for what whatever reason and that is is the big remaining X factor doesn't want these
[32:17]full files to be released. Uh if he did as we've been saying he could do it right now literally right this moment he could call up the DOJ and say release these files. While he has said that he would sign this bill if it does make its
[32:29]way to his desk. Uh that obviously is a huge if and there's a lot a long road ahead uh for this legislation. But it is a remarkable moment, not just uh in the
[32:40]long saga of the Epstein files, but when it comes to the president's relationship uh with his Republican base, with Republican lawmakers, and a big moment in the MAGA movement as well,
[32:51]>> Mary, thank you. And JB O'Brien, it looks like we do have one nay. It's a Republican. What do we know? >> Yeah, it's Republican Clay Higgins.
[33:00]Kira, again, no vote is final until it's locked in and until they bang that gavvel, but it's Republican Klay Higgins as the lone no vote at this hour. Again, the arguments we've heard generally from
[33:11]Republicans who have been opposing this legislation, although not voting no, is that it doesn't do enough to protect the identities of the victims, that's what Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said. And then there are other Republicans who
[33:22]say there is that ongoing investigation in the House Oversight Committee that has subpoenaed Epstein records from the Department of Justice and from the Epstein estate which is not covered in this discharge petition bill. The
[33:34]Epstein estate is not covered and that this bill is unnecessary because that ongoing investigation has continued. Again, this Klay Higgins vote is not locked in yet and if it does get locked in, we don't know what his reasoning is.
[33:45]But those are some of the arguments we've heard from Republicans in opposition to this bill and it looks like it's getting ended right now. Karen's are one 2/3 being in the affirmative.
[33:57]The rules are suspended. The bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. [cheering]
[34:08]>> Jay. >> And there it is. >> All right. Sorry, Jay. I think my mic
[34:18]got cut off. Uh, right. right at that moment. We got in there right on time. Uh it has passed. Uh tell us what happens next. >> Yeah. Well, first Kira, you can hear those that applause in the chamber. I
[34:29]can hear it here on the hallway right off the House floor. You saw some of those members look into the gallery there as they were applauding. We know that a number of Epstein survivors were sitting there in the gallery for the
[34:41]duration of the vote, watching this tally come in, something that they had fought for for literal years, and then ramped up the pressure in the last few months here on Capitol Hill, coming to
[34:52]the Hill tearfully recounting their experiences with Jeffrey Epstein, saying how old they were when they met him for the first time. One young woman or one woman was 14 years old when she said she
[35:02]first encountered Jeffrey Epstein. And so those experiences ramping up the pressure on lawmakers. They had a press conference more than a month ago, then another this morning. Um what happens
[35:12]next for this legislation is it now goes over to the Senate where House Republican leaders have made it clear they want the Senate to rewrite this and add in what they say would be stricter protections for the identities of
[35:23]victims as well as the identities of any confidential informants and things of that nature. It's unclear exactly what the Senate is going to do here. John Thun, the top Republican in that chamber, has really not given an
[35:33]indication one way or the other which way he's leaning. Democrats have said getting the Senate to rewrite this would only be a delay tactic to pause and try to stop this legislation dead in its
[35:45]tracks. What exactly will happen in the Senate is unclear. If the Senate does rewrite this, it would have to go back to the House where this could fight could kick off all over again. If the Senate passed this as is though, it
[35:56]would go to the president's desk where the president said as recently as yesterday he would sign this legislation. Kira. >> All right, Jay and Rachel Scott, I want to take it straight to you. You've got a
[36:07]statement from Representative Klay Higgins, the only no here. My guess is it's because he had been saying from the very beginning by by just uh his principles he was voting no because he
[36:18]didn't want to see innocent people being hurt. >> Yeah, that's exactly right, Kieran. That's really what this statement says. I'm going to read in part to you what it says. He says, "If it current if enacted
[36:29]in its current form, this broad reveal of criminal investigative files will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt." He goes on to say, "If the Senate amends the bill to properly address privacy of victims and other
[36:40]Americans who are named but not criminally impacted, then I will vote for this bill when it comes back to the House." But you heard there from Jay talking about the ongoing process. And I will tell you just from the number of
[36:52]Republicans I've talked to even today, I mean that is part of the concern here. This bill has now cleared the House. It now goes over to the other side of Capitol Hill. It goes over to the Senate. If they make changes, as Jay said, then it comes back here over to
[37:03]the House. They'd have to pass it before sending it to the president's desk. That is a process that could then take weeks. That's weeks that this uh Epstein saga remains in the news cycle. I know many here on Capitol Hill, especially within
[37:14]the Republican party, are eager to move on and move past this. I do want to note though the vote tally here is quite significant. I mean, we've been covering Congress now uh for years and it is hard
[37:26]to find. Democrats and Republicans really agree on very much these days. The fact that this was a sweeping and significant bipartisan vote, not just from Democrats supporting this, but also
[37:37]Republicans that are calling from transparency. Even though the White House, the Trump administration, the president himself, Republican leadership tried to stall this very vote now for months, in the end it did come forward
[37:49]and you saw it there. That vote tally is quite significant. A number of Democrats and Republicans uh voting to pass this with the exception there of Klay Higgins, the Republican. >> Yeah, great point to make, Rachel. Mary
[38:00]Bruce, I'll take that to you. I mean, it's true. The White House went to great lengths for months and months and months uh to prevent this from happening. Uh big hard no. and that all of a sudden
[38:10]the president says, "I've got nothing to hide uh released the files um after we put together even a mashup yesterday of
[38:20]all the times he said uh that this was not a big deal. He was not involved. He didn't know the guy very well. You know, calling Jeffrey Epstein a pervert uh and and that, you know, hoping it would all
[38:32]go away." Now, look at what has just happened with quite a historic vote. >> Yeah. And it has been uh the president as you said going to to quite uh great
[38:42]lengths to try and prevent this very thing from happening. Now it is important to remind uh that the president and the white house insist there is no evidence of any wrongdoing. They are quick to note that Virginia
[38:52]Grey uh one of Epstein's uh victims had of course said that she never saw anything inappropriate involving uh President Trump at the time. But yet the president still has not explained why he
[39:03]hasn't released these files as he promised to. And it was just last week uh that the White House summoned Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boowart here to the White House to the situation room where the attorney general and the FBI director personally tried to to
[39:15]pressure her uh not to sign the petition to move ahead uh with this vote to release the files. Of course, it didn't work and that is how we end up where we are now today. And then of course the
[39:26]president just as he is saying that he wants to move past this, he doesn't want this to soak up any oxygen, he is clearly incredibly frustrated uh at all of the attention that this is garnering. But yet at the same time he then goes
[39:37]ahead and tries to shift the focus to Democrats, you know, ordering the the Justice Department to launch an investigation into Democrats who had ties to Epstein uh while not, you know,
[39:47]sort of explaining uh his own position on all of this. So it has been head spinning. It has been quite the evolution by the president. Uh he then of course did come around and and say he would support Republicans who want to
[39:57]back this bill, but only after it became glaringly obvious that he was going uh to lose this fight and that there was going to be enough bipartisan support to
[40:06]pass this bill as we have now seen. >> Yes, indeed. and James sample. Um, you know, now that this has passed, uh, and
[40:16]if indeed uh, you know, these documents are released, um, clearly there's going to be redactions, right? So, if so, are
[40:27]we thinking how how do you think that's going to be figured out? What type of redactions do you think we'll see, >> Cara? I think there'll be some sort of a filter team. I mean that to the extent
[40:38]that this these materials have already I mean the nature of the Epstein files is that the FBI and the intelligence community, investigators, prosecutors have looked at these files and they are
[40:50]in a position they should be in a position to where they can do those redactions relatively quickly in part because most of them should already be redacted. That being said, there's no
[41:01]doubt that those who are voting for the release, but who are nonetheless at the same time they are voting for the release actually hoping to prevent the
[41:11]actual release from occurring, will find ways to to to make credible arguments and non-credible arguments alike. It is fascinating to listen to Speaker Johnson
[41:23]uh speak on the floor and say that he is trying to protect the victims here because the it is actually the victims
[41:32]who have pushed for this day to come. There are certainly victims who want to have their names redacted and those are concerns that absolutely would be taken seriously that no one I think in their
[41:43]right mind would oppose uh at all. No one would oppose that kind of a redaction. But to have transparency here once you start hearing the the sort of broadening out of that phrasing to well
[41:54]innocent people could be impacted. That that is not that that's not a reference to the victims. That's a reference to the fact that people who could not
[42:04]necessarily be convicted may will nonetheless be will nonetheless appear in these files. If you go down the road of every single person for whom there would be insufficient evidence to get a
[42:16]criminal conviction and you redact all of those names, then these files are going to become essentially a black box. You're not actually going to get the content that the victims deserve, that
[42:26]the public deserves. So there is a this is an important step today, but it is just a step and I think that there are a number of ways. The Senate is a possible place where this can there can be sand
[42:38]in the gears. the pending investigations that were referred via the new referral process where the president posts on social media and the attorney general
[42:47]217 minutes later says yes sir and immediately uh refers a a matter to the Southern District of New York. That's another way to prevent the files from actually being released. Today is a
[42:59]victory for the victims without a doubt, but they are a long way from seeing these files get actually released. >> All right, let's try and put a timeline on it with our Rachel Scott. You heard
[43:08]what James Sample just said uh from how quickly this could all move forward. He described the sand in the gears and and what kind of uh I guess
[43:19]>> moments of um I guess how things could stall in various places. What do you think? How do you see this playing out? Rachel. >> Well, it's very interesting, Kira,
[43:29]because even the co-sponsors of this bill, Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican who I spoke to right before he headed up these steps on his way in to vote, uh, really cast doubt about how
[43:39]quickly this could move along. And part of this is some of the investigations that the president says he's now launching into Democrats related to the Jeffrey Epstein files. I mean, that could slow walk this investigation. we
[43:50]could end up in a scenario where the president says he cannot release the full Jeffrey Epstein files because there's ongoing investigations. Uh Massie sort of raised that point saying that that could be a smokeokc screen
[44:01]even uh for this whole saga as it continues. Um also just the fact that this bill now clears the house, it goes over to the Senate. And you heard Republicans including the speaker of the house Mike Johnson today who gave this
[44:13]press conference and he had a long list of things that he thought should be changed in this bill. And even as he attacked the bill, he ultimately ended up still supporting the bill. But he said that he spoke to the Senate
[44:23]Majority Leader John Thun over in the Senate. And they had a discussion about some of the changes that Republicans here in the House want to see. Now, it's going to be up to Thun about whether or not the Senate now makes those changes,
[44:35]amends this bill to send it back here to the House. That whole process could take several weeks, if not longer, and then it heads to the president's desk for his signature. Now, the president has said
[44:45]that he would sign it, but again, I asked Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green today if she takes the president at his word when he says that. And this is someone who has stood by the president for years uh through all of
[44:57]the ups and downs that President Donald Trump has had. And she didn't outright say yes. She says it's all about actions. She takes actions right now, not words necessarily. Uh but she is
[45:08]pushing not only uh the president to move forward, but also the Senate to move for forward very quickly. So for everyone out there that is watching this and wondering when they're exactly going to see the full release of the Jeffrey
[45:19]Epstein files, the bottom line that is still a major question mark right now, there is no doubt what the House did today is very significant, especially the fact that you saw Democrats and
[45:29]Republicans come together overwhelmingly to pass this legislation. It was not even close. You just had one lone Republican voting against this. I mean, that is something that quite frankly we just do not see very often here on
[45:40]Capitol Hill. But to be clear, this still has a very long way to go. And even Republicans here on Capitol Hill, Kira, they do acknowledge that again the president has in his authority to
[45:51]release these files on his own. And that was a question I asked the speaker of the house earlier today. The president campaigned on this idea of transparency. It's the reason why he released the MLK files. It's the reason why he released
[46:02]the JFK files. And so he could move forward and do the same thing with the Epstein files. We have not seen him do that just yet, only making that promise that he would sign this bill if it actually reaches his desk. Kira,
[46:12]>> as we like to say, stay tuned. There is much more to the story. Mary, Rachel, Jay, Katherine, James, thank you all so much. We will be right back with more
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