LIVE: House votes to RELEASE Epstein files

Their lives are forever ruined. And I'm. reading specifically from the petitions. language. that prohibited grounds for withholding. information in this file are. embarrassment, reputational harm, or. political sensitivity.

And I would just submit if you were. going to be embarrassed, if you were. going to suffer social suffer social. harm, and that is all of the encompassed. activity that you were part of, you will be named in this petition. And. I resent that. Innocent people should. not be. Oh. Okay. understand the political nature of this. petition. I resent the fact that there. was not room for good faith amendments. All right, sorry about that. Little. technical issue. We are officially. um watching debate right now, which will.

precede the vote to release the Epstein. files. So, that will happen momentarily. I'm going to go full screen so you can. listen to the debate. Again, this is. going to precede the vote on the Epstein. file. So, this is all happening right. now, and uh and we'll go full screen. here. >> Of the 152 women in this body, that. means 51 women. It includes your. daughters, your sisters, your nieces, your mothers. And with the Epstein. files, we have a chance to change that.

But real talk, the administration. doesn't need a discharge petition. It. has not complied with the subpoena, and. it has the power to release the files. today. Instead, the man in the most. powerful position in the world has used. the full weight of the government to. block and obfuscate and deflect the full. release of the files. It is the same. person who intimidated female members of. Congress to withdraw names from the. petition, WHO RESPONDED QUIET PIGGY TO A. FEMALE REPORTER who asked about the. files, and who nominated an alleged. sexual predator to be our AG. It is the.

same person whose name appears more than. any other in the Epstein emails. And in. the pantheon of violence, a sexual. predator is the worst of THE WORST. SO, WHY PROTECT HIM? It's also curious that. the judiciary is managing this debate. and has not even had this come before. the committee. I wonder why. RELEASE THE. FILES NOW! WE RESERVE. The gentleman reserves. The. gentleman from Ohio is recognized. I. thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield 2. minutes to the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Roy, chairman of the Constitution.

subcommittee. >> The gentleman from Texas is recognized. I thank the chairman. Today, United. Republican Party and a bipartisan. supermajority is going to pass a bill to. increase transparency regarding the. egregious abuses by Jeffrey Epstein, a. goal that anyone of conscience desires. That is in totality an important. statement to check the rich and the. powerful. Remember how we got here. After decades, it was President Trump's. Department of Justice that indicted. Jeffrey Epstein in July of 2019. It was. President Trump's DOJ that arrested and.

indicted Ms. Maxwell. It was the. Republican-led Oversight Committee, through 13 subpoenas, that has released. 65,000 pages of files in just 10 months. Meanwhile, my colleagues on the other. side of the aisle have largely ignored. this issue. It was Democrats who. redacted an email to mislead the. American people about the truth of a. witness that exonerated President Trump. It was a Democrat, Representative. Plaskett, who literally texted with. Jeffrey Epstein as we questioned Michael. Cohen. It was Democrats who shut down.

the government, resulting in the delay. of swearing in of members. As we vote to. pass this legislation, and it will pass, it is impossible, however, to avoid. problems with its politi-. politicization. One colleague has offensively gone so. far as to say that to oppose this bill. means you support pedophiles. Yet I know. good public servants, former law. enforcement, former prosecutors, who. never knew Epstein, never knew any. visitors to his criminal enterprise, who. have genuine concerns about supporting.

this bill out of fear of creating new. victims or harming existing victims or. both. That is what we've reduced. Congress to, inserting itself into the. prosecutorial process for political. motivations, driven heavily. >> If I could just add one point here, Chip Roy himself did not vote for the. discharge petition to release the. Epstein files. In fact, none of these. Republicans other than Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and. Lauren Boebert signed the discharge. petition. So, it is so funny.

to watch these people grandstand like. they have some leg to stand on, like. they have some moral superiority here, virtue signal about about how it's the. Democrats who are at fault. We have. watched a 10-month cover-up that. continued up until a few days ago, where. we watched Trump summon Lauren Boebert. into the situation room. Why? Because. there is no recording in the situation. room, the same room where where Barack. Obama watched Osama bin Laden get. killed. That's where Lauren Boebert was.

summoned to. so that she would take her name off the. discharge petition because Adeline. Graham was just sworn in and would serve. as the 218th vote. So, the notion that. these Republicans would stand here and. think that they have the moral high. ground to lecture anybody when it comes. to the Epstein files. Chip Roy didn't. say a word. None of these Republicans. other than Thomas Massie said a word. while the Republicans were running this. uh this this cover-up on behalf of. Donald Trump. Even Mike Johnson today said, "Oh, we.

have some, you know, we have some real. serious concerns. We hope. uh John Thune in the Senate is going to. take care of the those concerns because. we we the Republicans are are very. worried about um protecting the victims, which is why we helped Donald Trump. cover up accountability for those. victims for 10 full months." And. by the way, I asked Ro Khanna in an. interview just a couple of days ago. about that exact point, this idea that. there wasn't adequate uh uh protection. for the victims. And Ro Khanna said, "If.

there wasn't enough protection for the. victims, the victims wouldn't have supported this. bill. The victims support the. Khanna-Massie. bill. And so, if they didn't feel. protected, they wouldn't throw their. support behind it. So, again, all of. this is completely backwards to listen. to these Republicans think that they. have the moral high ground on this issue. suddenly. Uh after a month-long trial in Judge. Nathan's courtroom in 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in. prison under the Biden administration.

for sex trafficking and sexual abuse of. minors. But when President Trump took. office in January of 2025, they killed. the investigation. They assembled all. the materials, they got all the. prosecutors together, and they. terminated the investigation. I yield 1. minute to the distinguished gentleman. from Illinois, Mr. Raja Krishnamoorthi. The gentleman from Illinois is. recognized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong. support to release the Epstein files. First, this issue is beyond party. It's. a question of justice. Survivors have.

waited too long. Stop the delay. This is. not a hoax. Release the files. Second, we must face a hard truth. Silence that. shields the powerful is a betrayal of. those I'm telling you right now, this will pass the House. It may very. well pass the House unanimously. There. will be probably at least 100. Republicans who vote for it on on the. low end. But let me just say that when. this thing goes into the Senate, that's. an opportunity to gum up the works. because John Thune is going to put in.

new protections, and suddenly we're. going to have to wait while it goes. through the Senate process, goes back to. the House. Everybody's going to have a. problem with something. They're probably. going to try to put in some poison pill. in the Senate, mark my words. And and. that that's going to prevent people from. the House voting for it, whatever it may. be. That's one option for them to gum up the. works here. There's also the fact that just a few. days ago, Trump went on to Truth Social. and submitted a little edict to Pam. Bondi where he where he said, "Pam, I.

need you to investigate Reid Hoffman, Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, JP Morgan. Chase, and any other Democrat person or. entity or institution uh involved in the. Epstein files. This is a Democrat. problem, not a Republican part problem.". And of course, Pam Bondi. uh you know, uh um. uh. dutifully obliged, as she always does, because she is an appendage of Donald. Trump and has taken up uh residence in. the protective warmth of his colon. And. so, she emerged long enough to say,

"Yes, Mr. President. Whatever you say, Mr. President. You say jump, Mr. President, and I say how high, Mr. President." And so, Pam Bondi will open. that investigation when the House. and the Senate, hopefully, uh releases votes to release these. files, maybe even Trump signs it, and. then says, "Well, we want to release all. the files, but of course, as you know, we can't because there's an ongoing. investigation, which I ordered. And so, given the fact that there's an ongoing. investigation, we are limited in terms. of which files we can actually release.

And so, you know, you know, we would. love to release all the files, but our. focus is transparency, and we have to. get some transparency as it relates to. the Clintons and Reid Hoffman and Larry. Summers. And so, we can't release. everything. We just have to release what. we can release right now, which you. know, might be whatever, just some some. some nonsense. akin to what we've seen released by. James Comer thus far, which is 97%. documents that we've already seen. released. So, that's a second way that.

the Trump administration could screw. this up. First being. stop it in the Senate. Second being. Trump to lean on this idea there's an. ongoing investigation, which he ordered. and that's why we can't release all of. the files because we have to protect the. sanctity of this ongoing investigation. And then of course Trump himself could. could lean on Pam Bondi to to you know, act in a nefarious way to pre prevent. the release of the files even if it gets. that far. I asked Ro Khanna what could.

be done to prevent Pam Bondi from. messing with the files so that we don't. you know, so that we can actually see. what's in the files without worrying. about it at being being messed with. He. said that there are plenty of officials, plenty of victims who have seen the full. files and so. if there is a release of the files that. don't include the full breadth of what. is there, there will be people to call. that out. And again, that will that. that's that's a calculation that. Republicans are going to have to make. because they have to decide whether. engaging in yet another further cover-up.

of what has been a 10-month cover-up is. really worth the negative press and the. drip drip drip and the continued news. cycles about this thing. Even. Republicans here seem exhausted over the. fact that. seem exhausted over the fact they have. to talk about this and their entire. brand is getting is devolving into. pedophile protectors. I mean at the end. of the day like that's what we're. talking about here. 10 months into the. Trump administration, you know that they. want to talk about anything but this, but they can't because they can't stop.

themselves from covering up for a. pedophile ring here. And so if you think. these people want to continue talking. about this, that's a big calculation. they're going to have to make in terms. of whether they want to actually cover. this up once it comes time to release. the files because then it's not just one. and done, then it's more news cycles, more days, more weeks, more months. talking about why they're suppressing. certain files. What do those pieces of. paper say? What do those investigation. say? Who's being protected in that. tranche of information that the Trump.

administration won't allow to be. released. So, they have to decide here. recognizing that there are people in. this space who know exactly what's in. those files whether they want to play. play games and be cute and not release. the full breadth of what exists there. So, a few things just to consider as. this Trump administration continues to. to barrel forward with this. The gentleman reserves. The gentleman. from Ohio is recognized. I thank Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes. to the distinguished gentleman from New. Jersey, Mr. Van Drew. The gentleman from. New Jersey is recognized.

Today I want to talk about hypocrisy. Let me be clear. I was from jump start a. co-sponsor of this very bill. From the. beginning, we should never protect. pedophiles. Didn't sign on to the discharge. petition. Van Drew not not signed on to the. discharge petition, but let's hear about. how he's got the moral high ground here. They say releasing the Epstein list is. of grave concern to them. If that was. true, where were they during the four. years of the Biden presidency? Why.

didn't they demand the release of these. files from jump start? I can answer that question. The Ghislaine Maxwell prosecution was. going on until 2021. Then she. immediately appealed her conviction. That didn't end until 2025. In a pre-Trump world, a pre-weaponized. DOJ world, that is enough to preclude. the DOJ from coming out and discussing. an ongoing investigation or an ongoing. prosecution. It was Ghislaine Maxwell's. conviction that Biden's DOJ was working.

on while he was president. So, the. notion that the Biden administration. didn't do anything on Ghislaine Maxwell. is a joke. They were literally. prosecuting her and in the midst of an. ongoing prosecution when Van Drew and. these other Republicans are saying that. they should have released these files. Again, they're not going to release. files in the midst of an ongoing. investigation. Mr. Speaker, it is. impossible to see that is genuine. What. I see is a group more focused on scoring. political points and drama than on. protecting abused children. The record.

is clear. Under Republicans, far more. information has been released in the. last 6 months than was done during all. four years of the previous presidency. under Joe Biden. We've actually been the. party of transparency. We've released. the information. We've told the truth. Unfortunately and I'm sad to say it, they have been the party. >> We've been the party of transparency. Again, Donald Trump dragged Lauren. Boebert into the situation room to get. her to remove her name from the.

discharge petition because he was so. desperate not to allow this discharge. petition to ripen and for this vote. right here to happen. The notion that. these people are these champions for. transparency, Trump champions for. accountability is so farcical. It almost. makes you think that like that that they. believe any all of the that. they spew. To go up there into and say. that into a microphone. anytime has. refused to do so calling this a hoax. We're here because Speaker Mike Johnson.

and President Trump have gone to. extraordinary lengths to try to kill and. delay the discharge petition including. refusing to seat Adalita Grijalva for. over 40 days and threatening House. Republicans who signed on. Now, several. of my Republican colleagues have accused. those of us House Democrats who support. justice here of having Trump derangement. syndrome. You all suffer from something. much worse, which is pedophile. protection syndrome. Stop protecting. pedophiles. Release the Epstein files. The victims deserve justice. I yield. back. We reserve.

Members are reminded to direct their. comments to the chair. The gentleman. from Maryland reserves. The gentleman from Ohio is recognized. >> We reserve. The gentleman from Ohio. reserves. The gentleman from Maryland. I I'm granting yielding 30 seconds to my. friend representative Wexton from. Virginia. The gentlewoman is recognized. For. years, Mr. Speaker, we have watched. dangerous conspiracies like Pizzagate. and QAnon shape our political landscape. They helped fuel the rise of President. Trump and were built on baseless claims.

about secret pedophile rings while the. real documented case of child sex. trafficking involving Jeffrey Epstein. remained shrouded in secrecy because. President Trump refuses to release the. files. What is President Trump hiding? Why won't he release the files? The. House finally has the opportunity to. act. Release the files and let the. American people see the truth. I yield. back. The gentleman yields back. >> We reserve. >> The gentleman reserves. The gentleman.

from Ohio is recognized. We reserve. Gentleman reserves. The. gentleman from Maryland is recognized. Granting 30 seconds to the very. distinguished gentlelady who is finally. with us, representative Adalita Grijalva. from Arizona 7th. The gentlelady is. recognized. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to. acknowledge the survivors, family. members and advocates who are here today. and have never given up. The legislation. in front of us at its core is about. something very simple. The survivors.

deserve justice. The American people. deserve the truth. To every survivor. watching, your courage is inspiring. You. are the reason why this vote is. happening today. Protecting women and. children from pedophiles should not be a. democratic issue, should not be a. republican issue, it should be a human. rights issue and a matter of justice. I. urge my colleagues to vote yes on the. Epstein Transparency Act. I yield back. Thank you. Thank you and we reserve. The chair will remind all persons in the.

gallery. that they are they are here as guests of. the House and that any manifestation of. approval or disapproval of proceedings. is in violation of the rules of the. House. The gentleman from Maryland. Yeah, but I'll just add they're here as. honored guests of the House and we're. delighted they're here and with that we. reserve. The gentleman reserves. The. gentleman from Ohio is recognized. >> The gentleman reserves. The gentleman. from Maryland. I'm granting 30 seconds to. representative Lois Frankel from.

Florida. The gentlelady from Florida is. recognized. Mr. Speaker, for far too. long the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's. abuse were failed by a justice system. that minimized their suffering and. prosecutors who treated young girls as. if they were criminals. That was wrong. and I am here with my colleagues to. promise this. We will get to the bottom. of why the Epstein survivors were. treated so badly. Who made those. decisions and who were they protecting? No more secrecy. No more excuses. We all.

deserve the truth and I thank the. survivors for their courage and. perseverance. Your voices are being. heard. The gentlelady yields back. The. gentleman We reserve. >> reserves the balance of his time. The. gentleman from Ohio Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the. distinguished gentleman from the great. state of Louisiana, the speaker of the. United States House of Representatives, Mr. Johnson. >> Louisiana is recognized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Chairman Jordan for doing such an. extraordinary job on all of this. For 43 long days, the Democrats held. this House and the entire country.

hostage. Finally, with the lights back on, this. body is returning to our regular. legislative session. We have a lot of. work to do. My colleagues on this side of the. chamber are ready and eager to get back. to our urgent legislative work that we. promised the American people we would. do. We've got to continue lowering the cost. of health care. We've got to bring down. prices for American families and we've. got to finish the regular appropriations. process just to name a few of those. priorities. And I wish I could say that our first. order of business would be to get to. those urgent priorities, but of course.

we're here spending time on the floor. about something else. This is something. we could have resolved last week when we. brought a unanimous consent to pass this. discharge with the full support of the. body, but our friends over here who are. arguing today. stalled that. They objected to it and. they wanted to have Do you know why the. Democrats blocked unanimous consent? Because they wanted every single. lawmaker on record being forced to vote. yes or no on this discharge petition. They wanted to take the easy way out. because they were constantly looking to. defend or protect their members who in.

turn are looking to defend or protect. pedophiles. Get these people on record. Unanimous consent is a joke. Get these. people individually on record having to. vote for this thing. >> very young. and it is a heroic service to the. country. They are They are seeking. justice and the justice has been delayed. for too long. The Department of Justice. many years ago. should have brought these charges. It. took too long to do it. And and now. we're in this process of making sure all. the American people. get the the information, but we have to. do it in the right way, the right way.

After 4 years of Democrat control under. President Biden, they were not truthful. with us about a lot of things. The Democrats insisted the border was. secure. We know it wasn't. They submit. They insisted that. inflation was transitory. We knew it. wouldn't be. They misled the American. people about the obvious mental and. physical decline of the previous. commander-in-chief. And now those same Democrats are. demanding transparency. Suddenly. transparency is their new word. Out of. nowhere, they've taken a curious concern.

in the Epstein investigation all in the. name of that in the name of. transparency. But the question has been. asked here many times during the debate. on the floor and everybody questioning. why it is the Democrats had. done this right now. have to look at the obvious facts. The Democrats had all the Epstein files. in their possession for 4 long years. under the Biden presidency. The Biden. Department of Justice had these files. and no one on this side who is. breathless today about the urgency of. this release ever said a word about it.

And it was the Democrats who could have. urged President Biden's Department of. Justice to go beyond prosecuting just. Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell but they. didn't do it. And so it's a fair. question to ask today, why now? Why the. sudden urgent interest in Jeffrey. Epstein? Look, we know why. It's because the Democrats were never. interested in transparency or executing. justice or protecting the victims of. this unspeakable tragedy before. The. simple truth is obvious for everybody to. see. This is a political exercise for.

Democrats and it pains me to say it. I I. I wish that was not the truth, but it is. and it's undeniable. This is as deceitful. and dishonest as their pointless stunt. was to shut the government down. Democrats are using the Epstein tragedy, the unspeakable evils that this guy. committed, with his trafficking ring and. all of the the abuses that they. that they made these young women go. through. They're using that as a. political weapon to try to distract from. their failures as a party.

and and to try their best to try You. know, the the irony of Mike Johnson. lamenting all of the the the terrible. things that have happened to these girls. is that he was the sole impediment in. the house to making sure that they got. the justice that he's pretending that he. wants to to deliver to them. He was the. sole impediment to the house. He kept. the house out of session early, kept it. refused to allow Adalberto Grijalva to. be sworn in for over a month, the. longest I I believe the longest time.

that we've had. a a representative elect out of office. He is the reason that that there is no. transparency and there is no. accountability. So for him to stand. there and claim. that this is this is the fault of the. Democrats who have been united and who. even brought over Republican defectors. like Thomas Massie, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace while. he was the one blocking it is is fully. fully indicative, fully. a testament to the shamelessness that.

these people traffic in. >> shielded for us, Epstein's own personal. flight logs, his financial records, his. daily calendars, and so much more. But importantly, none of that was. addressed or is addressed in the. legislation that's being voted on today. The The estate files wouldn't even been. encompassed in that. And so it goes to. show that the Oversight Committee is. doing it from the right way. From the. very beginning we've been insistent that. this matter be handled carefully and. with the utmost caution and. and and care for the people who have. been harmed. They should not be made to. suffer any longer. We're talking about.

real people's lives at stake here. And. young victims who don't want to be. dragged into this political game. that could get hurt further. But the Democrats are rushing the. release of thousands of unsubstantiated. documents that may be included in this. that are going to be in the public. domain with the passage of this bill. And there are serious deficiencies in. the legislation that I have noted at. length and Republicans have to work to. address those deficiencies in the Senate. if and when this legislation is. advanced. I stood before the American public today.

at our press conference and explained in. detail. the the dangers of the discharge. petition. We We have posted it at my website. speaker.gov a summary that. the legal counsel, a small army of. lawyers, put this together. I used to be. a federal court litigator. Many of my. colleagues who spoke today were. We. understand the dangers of how this was. haphazardly drawn up. And among them, by. the way, Mr. Speaker, before I forget I. seek unanimous consent to enter into. this document into the record. It It is. that It's on the website. It's entitled How the flaws of H.R. 4405.

could revictimize Epstein's victims, create new victims, and damage the. judicial system. It is dated today. Thank you. And it And it summarizes just. five or six of the major concerns. Among. them, it fails to fully protect victim. privacy. It could create new categories. of victims. It potentially jeopardizes. grand jury secrecy. It fails to prohibit. release of child sexual abuse materials. that are not appropriately defined in. the legislation. It jeopardizes future. federal investigations and we have.

national security concerns regarding. classified information. We'll put this. in the record because we need the. legislative record to reflect what is. the legislative intent behind this vote. I used to litigate cases. We would. litigate. federal statutes and whether or not they. could survive and legislative intent is. important and we need to say clearly for. the record as a speaker of the house I'm. saying to you this legislation that will. pass today is flawed and it must be. amended. The question is why didn't we. amend it here before we passed it? Because the authors won't allow it. Because under the rules of the house.

under a discharge petition they have to. agree to consent for the the legislation. to be amended and they're not doing. that. So now we rely upon our partners. in the other chamber to get that done. and they need to do that. The victims. deserve our utmost respect. In fact, they should be saluted for their. courage. And the young women who have. not come forward, who are now some of. them are middle-aged women who have not. come forward. also deserve our respect and they they. deserve to be protected. Republicans. support transparency. We want maximum. transparency especially when it comes to. disclosing the names of anybody who had.

anything to do with these evils. Anybody. who conspired with. or aided in any way Jeffrey Epstein. They must be brought to justice. We We. want the bill to be amended so it. doesn't in the at the same time violate. victim privacy, create new victims, disclose the names of It doesn't violate. victim privacy, which is why all of the. victims support this bill. I asked this. exact question to Ro Khanna because Mike. Johnson's been bringing this up. constantly. He's using this to plant the. seed as a pretext to be able to ask John. Thune in the Senate to block the bill.

because he's saying there's not enough. protections for the victims. The victims. themselves, the survivors themselves. support the bill as it's written. It was. written with them in mind. Again, looking for any excuse to be able to. screw up this thing later down the line. >> expect that this will be a unanimous. vote and it will reflect what I think. every member in this chamber and I'll. say this now at least in recent days. every member of the the chamber on the. Democrat side they didn't say anything. for 4 years, but they're for maximum. transparency now and so is this side. But we want to do it in a respectful and. and careful manner so that we don't.

subject innocent people to further harm. And that has been the whole thing. I. told all my members today I'll be voting. yes on this and I suspect almost. everyone will. We'll send it to the. Senate. We hope it's corrected. Thank. you for the time, Mr. Speaker, and I. yield back. See when he says he hopes it's. corrected, what he's looking to do is to. is to delay this thing like he's been. doing the whole time. Remember, the only. reason we haven't seen this is because. Mike Johnson unilaterally has positioned. himself as a barrier to the passage of. this bill. So now he's saying, "Oh,

there's not enough protections for the. survivors." Even though, by the way, all. of the survivors support this bill and. were involved in the bill's. ushering in ushering through this bill. to the point where it is right now. But. he's laying the foundation for John. Thune to be able to say, "Oh, we got to. we got to change some things in this. bill." Will they put poison pills in the. bill in the Senate when they try to pass. it back to the house? Who knows? Will it. get delayed further and further and. further so that Trump can try to figure. out some way to block it? Who knows? Will they eventually just say, "Oh,

yeah, it's making its way through the. Senate and now it's got to come back to. the house because the Senate has fixed. it." But meanwhile, Pam Bondi's open. opened an investigation into Bill. Clinton so we can't release anything. because there's an ongoing investigation. and who knows when that investigation is. going to end. So do not believe these. people when they offer an inch and. pretend that they are some. uh uh champions for transparency. 6 minutes 15 seconds.

>> Take 30 his. We reserve. Gentleman reserves. Gentleman from Maryland is recognized. Um I'll take the opportunity of the. speaker's presence to respond to some of. the things that he said in the very. presence of the victims and the. survivors who come to join us today. The. speaker said that now would be a time we. should be working on urgent legislative. work. Mr. Speaker, justice is urgent. legislative work. The truth is urgent. legislative work.

The speaker says, "Why now? Why now?". Well, Mr. Speaker, you were the one who. refused to swear in Adalita Grijalva for. 50 days. We would have done it 50 days. ago, but she provided the 218th. signature on the discharge petition. So. why now? It was because of your dilatory. tactics, your delay, your postponement. of it. Now, uh. the the gentleman says that there are. not sufficient protections. There are. protections in the bill for the victims.

to make sure that their names will be. redacted. And yet, we hear even the. Speaker of the House of Representatives. openly inviting the US Senate to start. finger painting on this bill, which we. have waited more than 5 months to bring. to the floor. The Senate should pass the. bill exactly as it's written. The. President should sign it exactly as he. said he would when he finally changed. his mind. And the Epstein file must be. released. Moreover, if the President is. serious about what he's saying, he's got.

the power to release the Epstein file. right now. Nobody's stopping him. It's. within his possession. It's within his. control. He can release the whole thing, and he can redact redact the names of. the victims and others. uh who are innocent um in this process. Mr. Speaker, the Speaker Johnson said that these are. unspeakable evils. Well, because of the.

bravery and the invincible courage of. the women who have joined us today, they're no longer unspeakable. They're spoken. They're articulated. The cat is out of the bag, and we know. what's been going on for decades. It's. been a double standard of justice going. all the way back to Alex Acosta, who. later got rewarded with a cabinet. appointment in the Trump administration. Alex Acosta had a 60-count federal. indictment ready to go against all kinds.

of people for an interstate sex. trafficking conspiracy with. solicitation, with child sex abuse, all. of it. And he traded that 60-count. federal indictment for one count in. state court. And Jeffrey Epstein ended up getting the. sweetest of sweetheart deals ever on the. plea bargain front. He was free from. 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to do whatever he. wanted in continuing to perpetrate his. crimes and run his conspiracy. And then,

he would come, and he would watch TV and. spend the night in jail. And it was over. in about a year. After the rape and sexual abuse of. hundreds and hundreds of girls, and he. kept going. And he kept at it. We want. the whole truth to come out. This is the. United States of America. Even the. British monarchy wouldn't put up with. this. How about the American democracy? How about we say, "No way. We're not. going to allow this cover-up to go on.

for 1 day more." And I'm glad the. President changed his mind after. pulling out all the stops to try to get. uh one of our Republican colleagues to. change their mind, to remove their name. from the discharge petition. He gave up. And I want to salute the gentlewoman. lady from Colorado from having the. courage to stand her ground in the. situation room in the White House and. say, "No, she wasn't going to be. bullied." No. So, um.

I'm glad the President changed his mind. But let's be clear, Mr. President, you've got the power today to release. the entire file. That's what you called. for. That's what Pam Bondi called for. That's what Kash Patel called for. So, we don't need anybody calling for the. Senate to slow things down for more. weeks and more months. The American. people have had it. Will reserve. Gentleman reserves. Gentleman is That. That's the irony of this whole process. Like this this is a dog and pony show.

given the fact that Trump could release. them right now. Like when Trump says, "Oh yeah, I'll sign it if it makes its. way through the House and the Senate.". Why why even go through these steps? Why. not just tell tell Pam Bondi today, right now, release the files. If he is. actually for transparency, which he. claims to be, then he doesn't need to wait for the. House to vote. He doesn't need to wait. for the Senate to vote. He can just do. it. All of this this is to circumvent. his obstruction. proud to work with my. Republican colleagues on the House.

Oversight Committee in coordination with. the Justice Department. 65,000 pages of. documents are related from Epstein. release. What have my Democrat. colleagues done? They selectively leaked. and altered documents to mislead the. American people. As President Trump has. stated, "We have nothing to hide. Nothing to hide here." I'm voting to. release the files so that we can move on. from this smear campaign the Democrats. have manufactured. God bless Gentleman's. time has expired. Gentleman from Maryland is recognized. I. reserve the balance of my time. I do. that. Gentleman reserves.

Gentleman uh from Ohio reserves. Gentleman from Maryland is recognized. All right. Uh how much time do I have to. close? You have 2 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I I want to. thank all of America for tuning in to. this. I want to thank uh Representatives. uh Massie and Khanna, Representative. Green, all of those who have insisted. upon bringing the truth forward and a. reckoning with the reality of one of the.

worst international child sex. trafficking rings ever to exist in the. United States and the cover-up attendant. to it. We've got the opportunity today. to do justice for the victims, for the. survivors who have come forward to say. that the voice of the victims and the. survivors must be put at the very center. did but put at the very center. We must. hear from the people who themselves were. victimized by this nightmare. Now, our.

colleagues across the aisle seem to want. to make this into some sort of partisan. contest. I haven't heard so much talk. about the Democrats since the Democratic. National Convention. And all that we've. done here is to say, "We want to bring. the truth forward along with a. bipartisan group. We don't want the. Senate monkeying around with this in. order to slow things down. We want it. passed in the Senate. We want it. signed." And before that, if the. President is true to his word and he. wants to see all of this come to light,

he can release it now instead of. fighting, kicking, and screaming every. step along the way. But I'm glad he's. changed his mind, and I hope he. maintains the momentum he's got to stick. with the vast majority of the American. people who want to see that the truth is. done here. And while he's at it, the. administration could reconsider their. terrible policies gutting federal. offices and programs designed to combat. violence against women. The DOJ. terminated hundreds of grants to police.

departments, defunding the police when. it comes to investigating violent sex. crimes and to support victims. His DOJ. destroyed programs to combat. international human trafficking rings. Let's get back on the side of the women. I I yield back. Gentleman yields back. The gentleman from Ohio. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh the Speaker Johnson said it. right. Why now after 4 years of doing. nothing? Because going after President Trump is. an obsession with these guys. There was. an open investigation. There was an open.

prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell. Her conviction didn't happen until 2021. She appealed to a conviction. That didn't end until 2025. >> report in it said exactly the opposite. And she related a story in there. where a CIA official went up to Mr. Brennan said, "We shouldn't include this. in the report." And John Brennan's. response was, "Yeah, but doesn't it ring. true? Forget the facts. Forget the. truth. Go after Trump. Put it in.". Same dynamic at work here. We're all for. protecting innocent victims. We're all. for exposing the bad guys who did bad.

things. But this is obsession with the left for. 10 years. It's going after President. Trump. So, vote yes. Make sure the bad guys are held. accountable. We all want to do that. Speaker Johnson's right. I think it's. going to be unanimous. But understand. what they're doing cuz they had 4 years. and didn't do a darn thing. With that, I. yield back. Gentleman yields back. The question is, will the House suspend the rules and. pass the bill HR 4405? Those in favor, say I.

Those opposed, say no. In the opinion of the chair two-thirds. being in the affirmative, the rules are. suspended. The bill is passed and. without. >> a recorded vote, Mr. Speaker. >> The gentleman from Maryland is. recognized. >> requesting a recorded vote. Gentleman from Maryland has requested a. recorded vote. Those favoring a recorded. vote will rise. A sufficient number having risen, a. recorded vote is ordered. Members will. record their votes by electronic device.

Pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, this. 15-minute vote on the motion to suspend. the rules will be followed by 5-minute. votes on ordering the previous question. on House Resolution 879, adoption of. House Resolution 879 if ordered, and. adoption of House Resolution 878. This. is a 15-minute vote. Did you see what they tried to do? They tried to order they tried to just. do it by unanimous consent without.

individuals having to record their votes. and be on the record about this thing. because they are so afraid of they are. so afraid of having to defy Daddy Trump. that they just wanted to be able to say, "Oh yeah, it's passed by unanimous. consent." Now, I presume that we're. going to get a unanimous vote anyway. But man, the extent to which these. people have tried to avoid having to. make a decision on this thing after. months and months and months and months. of of.

uh uh. serving as obstacles and barriers to to. this bill's passage. You've got Mike. Johnson here himself who has spent the. last God knows how many months serving. as the unilateral impediment to this. thing getting a vote on the floor of the. house. And it just goes into the very last. second. In any case, we have a 15-minute vote. here. Um given all of the pressure that is. mounting on these Republicans, I would.

be shocked if we still have any. Republicans who do decide to vote no for. this thing. But again, that's only. because they realize that they have. enough cover that they can do that. Um. Once this thing gets into the house, uh once this thing gets into the Senate, where Mike Johnson has already come out. and said, um you know, and he even did the same. thing here, where he comes out and says, you know, there are some issues uh some. issues that I have in terms of.

protection for the survivors and the. victims. And so, they're going to have. to figure that out in the Senate. Um. notwithstanding the fact that the. survivors and the victims, well, the. survivors themselves have supported this. bill, have supported the Massie-Gaetz. bill. I believe this is the the Ro. Khanna version of this bill. But in any. case, it's so bizarre to see these Republicans. claim that they're doing something to. protect the survivors. by changing the bill that the survivors. themselves support. Like, maybe maybe.

maybe drop the god complex and ask the. survivors what they think gives them. adequate protection because they've said. that this bill right here gives them. adequate protection. But if they were to. support this bill, then they can't. delay. And that's what Mike Johnson. wants to do. It's just delaying on. behalf of Daddy Trump every single day. And so, if that means, okay, fine, we'll. relent on the house vote, but then when. it gets into the Senate, there are some. very concerning aspects of this bill.

that we got to figure out. And so, maybe. you should fix the bill a little bit, then wait a little bit and bring it back. to the house, then the house might have. some issues. That's what these. Republicans are doing. They are buying. themselves time. They're just buying. individual days. Donald Trump doesn't. have any long-term plan for how to. suppress these files. Donald Trump only. only wants to win the 24-hour news. cycle. There is no long-term plan. It's. just win today, figure out today, get to. the end of today without having to.

release these files and and expose um. the extent to which uh Donald Trump is. implicated in them, and that's a win. And Mike Johnson's doing the exact same. thing. So, while they might lose this. vote, the Republicans, rest assured that once it gets into the. Senate, the foundation is already laid. for them to be able to say, "Ah, well, you know, we have some concerns about. how the victims are going to perceive. this and the protection that this. affords them. And so, we're going to. have to work on it." Maybe they'll. introduce a poison pill to block it from.

getting voted on in the house. Probably. not. That would be a pretty big risk, but it's possible and certainly um not. outside the realm of possibility for. this Republican Party. But in any case, the notion that this. thing is going to sail right through the. Senate and onto Trump's desk and get his. signature is is unlikely at best. And. so, I presume that because Mike Johnson. keeps repeating this same line and. trying to manifest it into reality, this. idea that there's not adequate. protections for the for the survivors in.

this bill, because he keeps doing that, it it's a pretty big blinking red light. that he has very little intention of. allowing this thing uh to sail right. through the process. And by the way, if. they did have any intention of letting. this bill sail right through the. process, he wouldn't even engage with. any of this. And he would just call on. Donald Trump to release the Epstein. files himself. They exist in his administration in. their entirety. The only thing blocking. the release of these files from the. White House, from the executive branch,

is Donald Trump. That's the only thing. standing in the way. And yet, we haven't. heard a word from Mike Johnson calling. for Trump to to circumvent this whole. dog and pony show that we're engaged in. right now and just release the files. themselves. He can do it. The only thing. stopping the files from being released. today is Donald Trump telling Pam Bondi. to release them. You think Pam Bondi's. going to serve as some impediment when. Donald Trump says Donald Trump can tell. her to tell her to to jump off the. Empire State Building, she'd do it. The. only question would be, how how how how. long do you want me to wait, Mr.

President? So, if they really wanted some. accountability, really wanted some. transparency as it relates to the. Epstein files, we would not engage in. any of this process. This vote wouldn't. even happen. Because all that would. happen is Trump would release them. today. They are in his possession, the. files in their entirety. So far, we have no Republicans who have. uh who who have uh the spine to defect.

despite their months of protest about. this bill, about how it's a Democrat. hoax. I thought it was a hoax. Now, you've got the same Republicans who. called it a hoax uh voting for the hoax. Isn't it Isn't it funny how that works. out? They talk such a big game, such a big game for months because. they're looking to protect Donald Trump. The second Donald Trump says, "Okay, yeah, I I I see that we're going to lose. this vote anyway. So, uh so, I've said. all along that uh that the Republicans. should vote for. That's what I've been. saying all along since day one, but only. because only because I realized I've.

lost and I wasn't able to pressure. Lauren Boebert when I invited her into. the situation room." The situation room. The room where Barack Obama watched. Osama bin Laden get killed. That's where. they brought Lauren Boebert to pressure. her. Why? Because you can't record. anything in that room. It's a secure. It's a secure uh uh. uh facility. And yet now, because they've gotten. permission from Donald Trump, who knew. he was going to lose this thing, now. you've got all those Republicans who've. been clutching their pearls about how.

this is a Democrat hoax voting for the. Democrat hoax. The ultimate the ultimate irony. By the way, I got to give everybody a. bit of news here while this vote is. happening. A federal court in Texas just struck. down the Texas gerrymandered maps that. were going to be in place for 2026,

which means Donald Trump demanded Texas. redraw its maps. Texas obliged. California said, "If you. do this, if you pass this new map, we're. going to pass our own map.". Texas said, "We're doing it anyway.". They passed their map. So, California. responded passing a map of his own to. neutralize what Texas did. Now a judge. strikes down Texas's map. So, they engaged in this whole process, thought they were going to get a leg up. Instead, they're they're down five votes. because they forced California to do it.

So, Texas has to use its maps from 2021. California gets to use its maps from. 2025. Now, for caveat here, uh this thing will. be appealed up to the Supreme Court. Um. I would not bank a lot of money on the. Supreme Court doing the right thing, but. it was a Trump-appointed judge. who wrote the decision. on this panel ruling in Texas striking. down the map. So, if a Trump-appointed. judge was willing to say that this was a.

racial gerrymander in Texas, then maybe that takes the wind out of. the sails of these uh Supreme Court. justices who would otherwise be inclined. to rule on Trump's behalf in Texas. So, a little bit of uh of good news. today. I will be interviewing Mark Elias. because it was his lawsuit. His lawsuit, Mark Elias, who I do to my. my democracy watch series with, his. lawsuit that challenged the Texas maps. He won this case. I'll be interviewing. him, get the full lowdown on what we can.

expect from this thing. And by the way, I'll be able to ask whether he or his. team will be arguing this if and when it. gets appealed up to the Supreme Court. So, if you want to be able to watch that. coverage, uh please subscribe to this. channel. And if you're not subscribed anyway, even if you don't want to watch that. coverage, uh if you want to support this. livestream, please uh please subscribe. to this channel. It is completely free. Um. always will be.

So, I'm getting the question about. whether whether it's possible that Trump. will be able to. uh. mess with the files once he gets them. And. Hang on one sec. Let me just fix. something. Uh whether Trump can mess with the files. once he gets them, like once they get. released. Like, let's say this house.

bill passes, which it's going to do. Let's say the bill passes out of the. Senate despite John Thune and Mike. Johnson's uh uh efforts to torpedo this. thing. And let's say Trump even signs. this thing into law because the pressure. is just so great on him that he can't uh. withstand any more news cycles about. this thing. What can Trump and Pam Bondi do to. suppress these files? I asked that. question to Ro Khanna. He said that. these files have already been. already been exposed to members of the. DOJ and members of the Biden DOJ. Um the.

victims have already seen and the. survivors have already seen these files. Um other uh elected officials have seen. these files. So, if there's any part of. the files that aren't being released, they'll be able to tell. That's what Ro Khanna assured me when. when I spoke to him. So, this notion. that we're going to leave out sections. that are especially embarrassing or. incriminating um. uh for Donald Trump or any of his. allies, I think at least for the moment,

um. if if we're taking Ro Khanna taking Ro. Khanna's reassurances at their word, that we can that we can feel good about. knowing that the files that are released. are going to be the files in their. entirety. Of course, look, I'm also not so naive to think that. Donald Trump, who has tried to block. this process, tried to subvert this. process at every go, uh won't continue. to try and block and subvert this. process at every go. And so, if we get. to the point where, you know, this thing. does pass the House and the Senate and.

get signed into law by him, um that he won't continue to try and. wield whatever weapon he can, including, by the way, saying, "Oh, we wish we wish. we could release them and we definitely. will as soon as the ongoing. investigation into Bill Clinton, Reid. Hoffman, Larry Summers, J.P. Morgan. Chase, and any other Democrat is. concluded, which, of course, will be. never." So, I'm I'm fully aware and. conscious of the fact that Trump will. use every every tool at his disposal to. prevent the release of. of these files, but.

Ro Khanna has given some assurance that. they know what's in the files in their. entirety, they know what that looks. like, and they can they can use that to. ensure maximum transparency if and when. these things are released. But again, I. have to remind you that if Donald Trump. actually wanted transparency, actually. wanted accountability, we wouldn't go. through any of this process. We wouldn't. need to take this vote. We wouldn't need. to send this over to the Senate. We. wouldn't need to wait for debate in the. Senate. We wouldn't need to wait for.

them to to amend the bill and pass it. back to the House and for the House to. to sign on and then the Senate to. approve it and send it up to Trump's. desk. We wouldn't need to do any of that. because Donald Trump would just release. it today. He has that power. And so, all. of this, the fact that we are going. through all of this is a testament to. the fact that. uh that that there is no um. no uh no effort to achieve maximum. transparency. It looks like we have one no vote. So,

sometimes people hit the wrong button. But let's see. if we have any reporting about who this. no vote.

I will find out. who this no vote is. If it's. Uh okay, yeah. So, as I mentioned. before, sometimes people hit the wrong. button. Um and and it looks like that. was a mistake, so that's gone now. For those who are just joining, we are. well into the vote to release the. Epstein files.

They're doing a recorded vote right now. because they wanted to get on record. any Republicans who continued to serve. as obstacles to this bill's release. Uh right now, no Republicans. uh are willing to do that because they. have uh. because they have permission from Daddy. Trump to vote in in favor of passing. this bill. I'm getting a a great comment. Maureen. Comey could testify to the files'. content. That's right. There there. again, there are members of the DOJ who. no longer work there who could testify.

about the about the the um legitimacy of. the of the files that are actually. released. But again, I have to repeat this and I. I'm sorry for for sounding like a broken. record here, but. if they had any intention of being fully. transparent about the Epstein files, we. wouldn't need to do any of this. We. wouldn't need to watch these votes. happen. Trump could just do it. He would. do it today. You know, when Mike Johnson says we have. more important things to do, he's right. So, why doesn't he take that up with. Trump, who could prevent all of the time. being wasted on this,

release the files himself, and then we wouldn't need to do this, and then Mike Johnson can go back to. whatever legislative items he wants to. get to. I'm sure he's uh he's got plenty. of uh plenty of Trump tariffs to to. green-light so that the economy can keep. crashing and goods can keep keep getting. more expensive. I'm sure there's like a a mountain or a. post office or a building that he can. name after Trump. But in any case, if Mike Johnson is. being honest about the fact that he. wants other legislative priorities to.

pass and he doesn't want to have to. worry. uh about wasting time by passing this. bill, then tell him to take it up with. Trump, who could prevent all of this. time from being taken up on the Epstein. files in the House and the Senate and. the White House. And instead, Trump. could just tell Pam Bondi, "Release these things." That's it. It's. all it takes. You think Pam Bondi is. going to serve as an impediment to. Trump? Pam Bondi exists as an appendage. of Trump himself. The reason Pam Bondi is attorney general. is because she was she was deciding.

whether or not to investigate as. attorney general of Florida, she was. deciding whether or not to investigate. Trump University for fraud. At the same. time, Donald Trump donated $25,000 to a. super PAC that was supporting Pam Bondi, and lo and behold, Pam Bondi ultimately. decided not to investigate, not to. prosecute Trump University, a university that was ultimately found. guilty of committing fraud. But Pam Bondi got money, decided to give. Trump.

uh. the uh. the the leeway that he was looking for. And so, he saw that she was of piss-poor. moral character, could be bought. like a candy bar at the. supermarket, and so, he appointed her as. attorney as attorney general. Only because his first choice for. attorney general, the guy who is under. investigation for sex trafficking. himself, like, what are we even doing here? Only. because that guy couldn't get the votes. So, he couldn't get an attorney general.

who is being investigated for sex. trafficking of a minor to be attorney. general that would oversee, among other. things, an investigation about sex. trafficking of minors. Couldn't get that. person, so instead, we have Pam Bondi, who is bought off with all of 25 grand. Crazy time we live in. I'm sure you can see on the screen that. there's one no vote in the Democratic. column. Uh that is certainly a mistake. That'll.

go away in a few moments. Often times, these people hit the wrong buttons when. they're recording their votes, so um. that will be uh that will be gone in. just a few moments. For those who are watching right now, if. you'd like to support this live stream, um please subscribe to this channel. If. you'd like to support my coverage more. broadly, uh please uh please subscribe. Doesn't cost anything to do so, and uh. it's a great way to support my work and. independent media. So, again,

I mean, if Pam Bondi really really uh. wanted some transparency, if Trump. wanted some transparency, if Mike. Johnson wanted some transparency, they. have the tools to deliver it right now, today. Looks like the vote is officially over. This thing has enough votes to pass. We are waiting on the final 59 members. to vote, but you can see with 375 377.

votes right now, um we will not only. have enough um. votes to send this to the House to to. approve uh the bill to force the release. of the Epstein files, but I believe. there will also be enough, if these. numbers hold, I mean, you're going to. have probably unanimous. uh a unanimous vote that will be enough. to overcome a presidential veto. So, it's not only important to get this. thing over the finish to eke this thing. over the finish line, it's also. important to have enough votes that if.

and when Trump tries to mess with it and. say, "Oh, I can't sign it because of. XYZ," that when it comes back to the. House, that there are enough votes to. overcome a presidential veto. Now, I'm also not so naive to think that. if Trump truly did veto this thing and. sent the clarion call down to his. underlings in the GOP that they wouldn't. immediately snap to and say, "You know. what? I know that I voted to release. this thing on November 18th, but now. things have things are different and.

Trump is worried about. how this will interfere with an ongoing. investigation into Bill Clinton, and so, for that reason, I can't bring myself to. vote for a bill that that might prevent. accountability for the evil Clintons and. Reid Hoffman and Larry Summers." And so, I'm I it would be the least surprising. thing on God's green earth if we saw. that, but at least we can take some. solace in the fact that right now it. looks like this bill will pass. unanimously, which means that if these. people did have any semblance of a. spine, any semblance of integrity, that.

even in the event that there was a. presidential veto, that they wouldn't. change their vote just because Trump. told them not to. Uh granted, you know, nobody's ever uh. nobody's ever uh lost money betting. betting against the uh. or betting for the servility of today's. GOP.

We are moments away from seeing if this. thing is going to pass unanimously. There is another nay vote in the. Republican column. Uh again, as we've seen very often, often times, these people hit the wrong. button. when they're recording their votes on on. on their like electronic device. So, I presume that that no vote will go.

away, but if it doesn't, I'll let you know. exactly who it was. I presume that that vote will go away. But there. is a world where a Republican did decide.

to vote no. It looks like it is Clay Higgins. Clay Higgins. That's the That's the no vote, and it. doesn't seem to be a mistake as far as I. can see. Clay Higgins, Congressman, Republican. Congressman from Louisiana.

Yeah, it looks like that that he. intended to do that, and this vote will. will stay. So, you've got one Republican.

who still. to this day has decided that he doesn't. want accountability, uh um. accountability for the perpetrators of. this crime. He doesn't want. transparency.

Wow. That is weird. Imagine being the only. person. the only person to vote against. releasing the files that would offer up. transparency for a sex trafficking ring. What a weird hill to die on. What a creep.

What a creep. And you know what what's funny is like. now Republicans won't even be able to. say. that they unanimously agreed to this. bill because Clay Higgins decided this. was a hill he needed to die on. So, he And And granted, he could with. I'm sure that there's going to be some. pressure from Mike Johnson because Mike. Johnson wants to be able to say, "We. were full partners in achieving a. transparency for for the survivors." Now. he can't say that, so I'm sure he's. going to pressure try to pressure Clay.

Higgins, but. We have five votes left to go. Man, oh man. I got a comment Clay is Bubba. That might be why. Clay Bubba Higgins doesn't want this.

vote to be. this bill to be released. I wonder why. All right, we only have five votes left. to go. I'm sure those people are. are making their way in, casting their. votes. Right now, nearly unanimous, there is still a Republican lawmaker, Clay Higgins, who's decided to vote.

against this thing. I don't know. if. If you're not actually going to be able. to help Donald Trump and suppress the. files, which I understand helping Donald. Trump is more important than anything. for these people. That is their That is. their whole raison d'être. That That's. the whole reason for being in the House. of Representatives, in the Senate. I get. it. If you're not even going to be able to. help him, then why why destroy your legacy by. being the only person who decides to go.

on record for a symbolic vote, not even. an actual vote to protect Donald Trump, a symbolic vote blocking accountability. for the people involved in the in the. most pervasive notorious pedophile ring. in in American history. He's like, "I know this won't do. anything, but I just This It's symbolic. for me. It's just important that I know. that when I lay my head on the pillow at. night that I did my small part. to prevent the release of these files, to prevent transparency for the. survivors, to prevent accountability for.

the perpetrators of these crimes.". Clay Higgins like, "I just want to make. sure that that I that I in my heart I. knew that I did what I could, my. small though it may be, to make sure. that that none of that none of these. survivors got any accountability.". God. Truly gross.

It looks like they're asking for any. changes to the vote, so we should be. seconds away. But I have to remind people. I have to remind people who have. >> On this vote, the yeas are 427, the nays are one. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules. are suspended, the bill is passed, and. without objection, the motion to. reconsider is laid on the table.

A big moment, a moment that we've been. waiting for for almost 10 months despite. constant constant obstruction. from Trump, from Mike Johnson, everybody in this Republican conference. Pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, the. unfinished business is the vote on. ordering the previous question on House.

Resolution 879, on which the yeas and. nays are ordered. The clerk will report. the title of the resolution. House. calendar number 47, House Resolution. 879. Resolution providing for consideration. of the joint resolution, Senate Joint. Resolution 80, providing for. congressional disapproval under chapter. 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the. rule submitted by the Bureau of Land. Management relating to National. Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated. Activity Plan Record of Decision. Providing for consideration of the joint.

resolution, House Joint Resolution 130, providing for congressional disapproval. under chapter 8 of title 5, United. States Code, of the rule submitted by. the Bureau of Land Management relating. to Buffalo Field Office Record of. Decision and Approved Resource. Management Plan Amendment. Providing for. consideration of the joint resolution, House Joint Resolution 131, providing. for congressional disapproval under. chapter 8 of title 5, United States. Code, of the rule submitted by the. Bureau of Land Management relating to. Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing.

Program Record of Decision. Providing. for consideration of the concurrent. resolution, House Concurrent Resolution. 58, denouncing the horrors of socialism. Providing for consideration of the bill, HR 1949, to repeal restrictions on the. export of import of natural gas. Providing for consideration of the bill, So, again, I have to remind people. First of all, um a couple of points. This bill passed with one Republican. vote, which means that Mike Johnson and.

the Republicans cannot come forward and. say that they voted unanimously for. transparency for the victims because. they didn't. Uh the second point is this. whole thing is a big dog and pony show. because if there was actually a desire. for accountability and transparency. within the Republican conference, they wouldn't do any of this. All of. them would call for Donald Trump to. release the files that are already in. his possession. Like this whole thing is. only happening as a way to circumvent. Trump's obstruction. That's why this is. happening. So, when Trump comes forward.

and says, "I think that the House. Republicans should vote for this thing,". if he really wanted them to vote for. this thing because he believed in in the. virtue of of this bill actually passing, then he wouldn't say that. He would just. say, "You know what? Forget it. It. doesn't matter to go through this. process. I'm going to save everybody the. time and energy. I'm just going to tell. Pam to release it because Pam listens to. anything and everything that I say when. I send her my little edicts on Truth. Social.".

So, again, the whole thing is just a way. Like this this is all just like a ruse. And And anybody who thinks that Donald. Trump is acting in good faith when he. says that the House should release these. files and that he'll be happy to sign it. into law is ignoring the fact that. when he doesn't just do it himself, it's. because he wants to delay the process. It's because he wants to obstruct this. process. And the fact that Mike Johnson. or any other Republican, except for. Thomas Massie, won't come out and say.

that is a testament to the fact that. they are more afraid of him than it is. that they care about transparency or. accountability as it relates to the. Epstein files. Like their priority, everybody in the Republican conference, their priority continues to be. protecting Trump. That's it. Not. protecting their constituents, not. protecting the survivors of Epstein and. his accomplices' crimes, it is just. protecting Trump. Because if any of them. had a set of balls, they would come. forward and say, "Why are we doing this? Why are we wasting time?" You had You.

had Mike Johnson who had come forward. and said, "You know, we're we're doing. this when we should be focusing on our. legislative priorities.". You're right. And all you have to do is talk into that. microphone that you're talking into. right now and say, "Donald Trump, we do. not want to do this. You have the power. to release the files right now, today. Just do it. Save us the time. Save the. Senate the time. Save the house the. inevitable time when the Senate changes. the bill as a way to delay this whole. thing, and just release them yourself.

You've got them in your possession.". It was this administration that promised. they would release them anyway. It was. Pam Bondi who said the files were on her. desk in February. It's November. It's. almost December. The same files that were on her desk 9. months ago, we haven't seen them. They trotted all. these right-wing influencers out to hold. up their little binders. It's been 10. months, 9 months since that moment, and. we haven't seen anything. The fact that we have to go through this. process where we watch the house vote on.

this thing and wait for the Senate to. vote on this thing is only because this. administration continues to obstruct the. release of these files. That's the only reason that this is. happening. Trump could do it today. A big dog and pony show, that's all this. is. And they all know that it is. They all. know that they're just waiting for Trump. to figure out what the next way for him. to obstruct the release of these files. is. I'm I'm There is a reason that Trump. posted to Pam Bondi, "Hey Pam, I think. you should investigate Bill Clinton,

Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, and JP. Morgan Chase.". And there's a reason why Pam said, "You. got it, Mr. President. Sir, yes, sir. Whatever you need, sir, yes, sir. I have tears in my eyes, sir. Of course, sir. I'd be happy to do it for you, sir. You're the best president we've ever. had, sir. You deserve a prize, sir.". There's a reason that she said that. It's because now, at some point in this. process, Trump can come forward and say, "Look, sure, this bill passed the house. Maybe it passes the Senate. Maybe it. even gets my signature. And while I. would love to release the full breadth.

of the Epstein files, I'm being told by. the DOJ that we're not allowed to. release all the files because they're. included in an ongoing investigation, an. investigation which I ordered, by the. way. And as you all know, I have nothing. but respect and reverence for the rule. of law. And so, if the DOJ says that we. can't interfere in an ongoing. investigation, given my love for law and order and the. rule of law and the Constitution, there's no way that I can do anything to. release these files. And so, we're just. going to have to wait until this.

investigation is done. And who knows how. long that could be? And of course, Trump will drag this. along till the end of his term. Like, if. he does deploy that excuse, where he says that he would totally, definitely love to release the files if. but for the fact that there's an ongoing. investigation to Bill Clinton, if he. does deploy that excuse, that. investigation will be going until the. last day of his presidency. Mark my. words. There will never be a day where. that ongoing open investigation actually. closes.

Never be a day. He knows full well what he's doing. And so, that's why it's important for. the Democrats to lead this effort to. compel the release of these files. Because without the Democrats, just. relying on the good faith of this. Republican party, these files will never. see the light of day. We have watched as Mike Johnson and the. rest of the GOP have served us nothing. but impediments. Mike Johnson wouldn't. wouldn't swear in Adelaida Garcia.

for like almost 2 months. He shut down the government. He sent the. house home. He adjourned the house a. week before the government even shut. down because he didn't want them voting. on that discharge petition. He didn't. want them anybody going on record to. vote for this thing. And of course, they. were just humiliated into voting for it. by. by an almost unanimous margin in this. instance because they knew that they. wouldn't have the votes, even despite. Trump's best efforts by, among other. things, summoning Lauren Boebert into.

the situation room. only because that room is so secure that. you can't record anything in there. And. they were clearly worried that whatever. they did to lean on Lauren Boebert, she. might record it and expose it because. that would be yet more dirt to use on. Donald Trump in his interminable effort. to protect Jeffrey Epstein and the. pedophile ring that he was running. So, they've been nothing but impediments. to the release of these files, and they. will continue to be. Mark my words, they. will continue to be. If these files get released, it will be.

it will be. not because of the Republicans, but in. spite of the Republicans. It'll be because they had to suffer too. much pressure, endure too much pressure. at the hands of the country more. broadly, and weren't able to continue. suppressing these files, especially in light of the fact that it. was them It was them who brought this. into the into the national spotlight on. the campaign trail. It was J.D. Vance. who said, "Yeah, we have to release the. these files" when he was talking to Theo. Von.

It was Dan Bongino who built his brand. on releasing these files. It was Kash. Patel who built his brand on releasing. these files. Now, all of these guys are. not only not only not working to release. the files, they were actively engaged in. a cover-up. They are protecting the very. system that they built their brands and. took a ton made a ton of money. condemning when they were podcasters. Talk about a bait and switch. Talk about. utter contempt for your own voters, your. own supporters, your own listeners, your.

own audience. to build your brand by saying that. you're some champion for accountability. as it relates to the Epstein files, and. the second that you have power, the. second that you can substantiate the. very claims that you've been making for. so long, you not only don't do it, but. you help entrench the very system that. you pretended to condemn. I mean, just peak shamelessness. The height The height of hypocrisy. I'm actually interested to see what. happens when those guys go back to their.

podcasting life after the White House. I'd be shocked if they did it, to be. perfectly honest. I would be shocked. to see Dan Bongino and Kash Patel. try to go back to a life where. where they get in front of a microphone. and pretend that they have even a. modicum of legitimacy when they built. their entire listener base, their entire. viewership on this idea that they were. these champions for accountability. They. talked about this over and over and over.

again. And now, they're the ones in positions. of power. You remember there was an. episode where Kash Patel was talking to. Benny Johnson. I think it was Benny. Johnson. Benny Johnson asked Kash Patel. who. It was Glenn Beck, that's who it was, on. Blaze. Uh asked Glenn Beck, uh. who has. Epstein's little black book. And Kash Patel said that it's in the. It's in the possession of the director. of the FBI. Kash Patel is now the director of the. FBI.

Like, if there was any position in the. world where that man would be able to. substantiate the very claims that he. himself made, he is in that position. Not adjacent to that position, not the. deputy director of the FBI, he is the. director of the FBI. The position that. he said has full transparency in seeing. what what the Epstein files say, what. the Epstein little black book says. And yet, crickets from this champion for. transparency, for this champion for accountability,

from the guy who built his brand and. sold a bunch of sponsored to his. audience on this idea that he had some. moral courage, a fiber a fiber of morality, only to prove that when he actually. had the ability to substantiate what he. was saying, didn't do a single thing to. do that. And instead, bailed on his audience. Made his audience to look like fools. while he was hawking products and.

getting rich off of his podcast. Crazy. Uh a reminder for those who are watching. right now, if. you haven't yet subscribed this channel, uh please subscribe. Uh it's the best. way to support my work, best way to. support live streams like this one and. the rest of my content. Uh it is and always will be 100% free, um but it's a great way to support me, great way to support independent media. So, just hit the subscribe button right.

here on this screen. I'm getting the question, "I need you to. be honest with me here. No spin, no. nothing. What's the actual chance that. we're going to get anything revealed. through this vote? I think they're just. going to pull the national security. card." I would say, if I had to give my. dead honest, gun to my head opinion on. whether we're going to see. the Epstein files as the result of this. bill, I would say. and this may be um this may be. uh unsatisfying for people, but I would.

say 50/50. Because I think that there's a ton of. pressure, enough pressure to get all of these. all of these. Republicans who had previously been. perfectly content to block this thing on. behalf of Trump, to get all of these Republicans to vote. in favor of it. There is a ton of. pressure, not just. from the left, but also from the right. So, they're going to have to endure.

that. At the same time, if Trump had gone through all these. steps for the last 10 months to prevent. the release of these files, I don't want to delude ourselves into. thinking that he's suddenly going to. concede defeat. This is a guy who will never ever ever. ever ever admit that he was wrong, and he will go to the mat. to protect his ego even when we know. that he's made the wrong decision. Like. we're engaged in a trade war right now. that's been going on for 10 months that. Trump won't relent on even though it's.

raised the price of everything because. he doesn't know how to say that he was. wrong. And so he'll double down and. triple down and quadruple down. And so. the notion that this guy is just going. to say, "You know what? Just release the. files. It's fine. I don't care." is is. to ignore everything that we know about. Donald Trump. So, we have two really. strong competing factions. On one side, there is a ton a ton of bipartisan. pressure from the outside. And on the. other side, there is a ton of pressure.

um. from Trump who doesn't want to be on the. wrong end of this thing. So, when I say 50/50, that that's my that's my honest opinion. I would love to be able to say, "Look, this thing just passed with unanimous. almost unanimously and uh there was one. Republican vote." And so, of course this. thing is going to sail through the. Senate and get signed by the White. House. But, we know this White House. We. know this Republican Party. We know that. their priority is not their. constituents. We know that their. priority is not the survivors of. Epstein's crimes. We know that their.

priority is one man. It's protecting. Daddy Trump. And so, if that means that. they have to snap to as soon as Donald. Trump says to, then they're going to do. it. In fact, the only reason that they. voted for this thing is because he gave. them permission because he recognized he. was going to lose. But, if he decides to. change his mind, then. then do you really think that these are. going to uh. Do you really think these Republicans. are going to uh uh defy him? No. By the way, why is somebody in the chat.

saying this is pre-recorded? This is not pre-recorded. Okay. Now, in terms of the Senate vote, that will. be next. They don't have a date yet on. the calendar. I don't know if the Senate is going to. vote on this bill or if they're going to. take their cues from Mike Johnson. who has said numerous times that.

there are issues with this House bill. and they're worried about uh protections. for the survivors. I asked Ro Khanna. about that exact point. I asked him, you know, can you respond to this claim. that's being that's being made over and. over about this idea. that there's not adequate protection for. the survivors. And he said, "The. survivors support this bill." He goes, "If there weren't adequate protections. for the survivors, why would the. survivors all support the legislation. that we're voting on? They would be the. first people to say. that we don't support this bill because.

there's not enough protection for us.". They didn't do that. They all threw. their weight behind this bill. So, who do you believe more? The. survivors who say that there's adequate. protection for the survivors or Mike. Johnson, the guy who has kept the House. out of session for months, who refused. to swear in Adam Schiff to Graham, who. has blocked the vote on this bill for. months and months and months, who has. been the principal architect for Trump's. obstruction efforts and and obfuscation. efforts, who says that there's not. enough protection for the survivors? Who do you believe more?

Mike Johnson, the roadblock. to accountability and transparency, or. the survivors themselves who've been. begging for accountability and. transparency? Take all the time you need with that. one. So, when those people say that there's. plenty of protection for the survivors, I would believe them over Mike Johnson. The guy who's been working on behalf of. Donald Trump. to make sure that there is no. accountability for the people involved. in these crimes.

If anybody has questions, you can throw. them in the chat and I will. read them as well. Uh I believe the current vote is about.

LNG exports. So, uh. liquid and and natural gas. Um what I'm going to do is I'm going to. change the composition here. For those who are just tuning in, the bill did pass the House. Uh. So, the Epstein files. the Epstein file bill passes the House. It will now go to the Senate. There was.

uh there was. one Republican lawmaker, Clay Higgins. from Louisiana, who decided not to vote. for this thing. So, he voted against it. So, it is not a. unanimous a unanimous vote. uh despite Mike Johnson's best efforts. to be able to have some moral high. ground and say that he wanted uh that he. wanted that he got his his uh conference. to pass this thing unanimously and that. they've been champions for. accountability all along, Clay Higgins. robbed them of that.

That bill was passed 427 to 1. Why is. that important? Because in the event. that Donald Trump does try and veto this. thing, there is a veto-proof majority at. least in the House. Now, again, I want. to offer up the caveat that. if Trump decides to veto it. for whatever bogus excuse he comes up. with, that he can then. tell these Republicans who may have cast. a vote in the affirmative now that he.

wants them to change their vote. And I. think you and I all know what would. happen if Trump suddenly decides to tell. these people uh to change their vote. I think we're all very clear about the. fact that none of these Republicans are. going to uh. are going to defy Donald Trump and that. the only reason 427. well, you know, whatever percentage of that are. Republicans, the only reason that all of. those Republicans decided to vote for. this thing was because Trump knew that. he was going to lose and so gave.

everybody retroactive permission to do. the thing that they were going to do. anyway. Again, for those asking, the current. vote on the screen I believe is for LNG. exports. So, it's uh liquefied natural. gas if if I'm not mistaken. Um. I should I should take this off the. screen because this is a vote this is a. discussion about the Epstein files. But,

in any case, here. I don't want to confuse people. Okay. So, now where do we stand? And what could Donald Trump. do to stop it? I'm getting the question, "How can we trust that the files aren't. tainted?" I asked this question to.

Ro Khanna. Let me actually see if I can pull up. that interview with Ro Khanna.

Okay. So, here is my interview with Ro Khanna. I'm going to get to the specific point. where I asked him how we can trust those. files. So, let's see if I can do this. here. discharge position are now expressing. support for this thing. I know that. there were a few names floating around.

including Eli. Eli Crane, uh Kevin Kylie, David. Warrenton, these Republican lawmakers, everybody in the Republican conference. do the same. And so, it would be almost. unfathomable to think that you would get. up for a vote on the floor. So, what can. you tell us about about your bill? What. does it do? Um and can you can you speak. that while it's very likely that this. thing passes the House, almost certain. that this thing passes the House, um. it's an uphill battle in the Senate. But, even if it passes both the House.

and the Senate, that Trump is just going. to veto this thing. And so, what level of confidence do you have. that if and when it gets sent back to. Congress to to see if there's a. veto-proof majority that the House and. the Senate have, that it'll actually. reach that threshold? Well, look. >> now, I mean, that question was answered. We had 427 votes. So, let's see if we. can get this everything does succeed. How can you have confidence that this. DOJ will release those files in their. entirety? What what is there to to. ensure that Pam Bondi or Trump himself.

doesn't just mess with the files so that. anything especially damaging will be. secreted? Well, we know what's in the files. I. mean, I haven't seen them, but the. lawyers of. the victims have. So, there are. independent ways to verify whether. what's being released is honest and. true. Uh there are also people from the. Biden Justice Department that have seen. the files. So, there are independent. verification that can take place about.

whether what we're getting is is a. selective leak. And then we're getting. documents from the Epstein estate. So, it would be particularly dangerous for. the Justice Department to be leaking. erroneous or redacted things when they. know there are other sources for some of. this information. Can you speak on the fact that. immediately after the discharge petition. ripens, so got 218 votes, there was an. effort, I believe led by Tim Burchett, to just pass this thing by unanimous. consent. And what party kind of at this.

moment where there is so much All right. So, in any case, that answers that. question. um about how we can be sure that there. won't be any tainting happening to these. files. Um that there are folks in the. DOJ who will be able to speak to that. There are folks in the Epstein estate. who are able to speak to that. Um. somebody had mentioned in the chat. earlier that Maureen Comey could testify. um because she led the effort uh and was. fired. And of course, she was fired. because because she led the effort and.

because she's related to James Comey. But all of that notwithstanding, there. are plenty of people who will be in. positions to be able to say uh. who will be able to say whether these. are the files in their entirety or if. there was some issue, some some, you. know, some reason that they were that. they were being messed with that would. prevent uh that they would prevent the. full release of these files. So, um. so that that's a good answer from Ro. Khanna there. And I think in this. situation, all we can do is just hope. that what he said is is the truth and. that and frankly that we never get to.

that point. Getting an interesting question. What. are the chances that Trump was. campaigning on releasing the files. because he thought they could that he. thought they could make them disappear. or they would have stayed in his. Mar-a-Lago bathroom. I mean, look, it's. it's very possible. Trump will weaponize any issue. Trump will lie about anything to have. gotten power. He pretended that he cared. about about groceries, of rent, of.

housing, of eggs. He didn't care about. any of that stuff. Energy prices. Energy. prices are up, groceries are up, cost of. everything are up, housing is up, rent. is up. He didn't care about any of those. things. He said what he needed to say on. the campaign trail. He said that he. would give free IVF. That didn't happen. He would end the Russia-Ukraine war. That didn't happen. He said he would. bring inflation down. Inflation's been. rising every month since March. This guy. doesn't care about any of the things. that he said on the campaign trail, just. like he doesn't care about the Epstein. files. He will He will say what he needs. to say on the campaign trail with zero.

intention of following through on any of. it because he just wants power. Now, I'm. certain that he said that he was going. to release the Epstein files or surround. himself with people who said they want. to release the Epstein files knowing. full well that once he got into power, he would be in a position expressly to. suppress them. And that's what we're. seeing right now. So, do I think that he. that he did this so that he could um. make them disappear? Absolutely. He He. thought he was doing He's doing it right. now. Like the fact that we're 10 months. in and we just needed a discharge. petition to force a vote on the Epstein.

files is not is not anything other than. evidence that Trump himself won't do it. He of course, a thousand percent thought. that he could come into office and and. bury these files so that they would. never see the light of day. He's been. doing it. The only reason that we're in. this situation in the first place is. because of that. So, yes, to answer that. question, yeah, I I a hundred percent. think that that he thought. that he would be able to use his. position of power to make sure that we. never saw the Epstein files.

Do I think Melania is jealous of Bubba? I don't think anybody is jealous of. Bubba. That's my hot take right now. I don't think Bubba is jealous of Bubba. I think Bubba. has his head hung in shame.

at what his legacy has become. Do I have any concerns about a pocket. veto? Yeah, of course. Do I Again, like. do I think that Trump is going to act in. good faith and release these files? No. But that's why I think it's important to. have veto-proof majorities. The fact. that this bill passed. 427 to 1 at least puts these people on. record. um having voted for the release of these.

files once. so that in the event Trump vetoes the. the final legislation. um in in the event that he decides to. veto the legislation. when we go back and say to these. Republicans, you voted for it once, why. wouldn't you vote for it again, it'll be. that much more difficult. Now, not. impossible because these Republicans. will bend over backwards to, you know, to do whatever it takes to protect Daddy. Trump. Not impossible. So, if he says. vote for it the first time and they vote.

for it the first time, he says don't. vote for the same bill a second time, you think half of these Republicans are. going to defy him? No. Um but I think it's important to get. these people on record and that's why it. was important not to do a unanimous. consent vote, but to get each individual. senator uh house member on record so. that when they come back and have to. overcome a presidential veto, at least. you've got 427 members of Congress who. voted for it once. And it's going to be. that much more difficult for them to be. able to say, hey, why did you vote for. it once but not the second time? Why did. Why did you decide that you want to help.

Donald Trump cover up the the files and. preclude the the survivors from getting. accountability when you already thought. it was okay one time. So, again, these. people are beyond shame. So, I think. it's certainly within the realm of. possibility that that they could uh. change their vote as soon as Trump says. go. But getting them on record right now. is going to be an important impediment. to that because, you know, for some of. them. maybe a modicum of shame still exists.

How do we get Fox News to cover any of. this? They won't. That's why That's why. I do what I do. Uh. And that's why I'm going to ask those. who are watching right now, if you're. not yet subscribed to this channel, please support independent media, support the networks that are talking. about this stuff, uh talking about the. stuff that actually matters. There is a. right-wing media machine that exists to. ensure that Donald Trump um.

uh that his entire agenda gets enacted, that nothing disparaging about him ever. gets said, that any of his priorities uh. uh are are talked about, any of the. things that he hates are suppressed, and. that's exactly what the Epstein files. are. So, so we need to build up a. progressive media ecosystem that can. compete with the right-wing media. machine that exists to just act on act. as a propaganda arm of this White House. So, if you're not yet subscribed to this. channel, please do me a favor,

subscribe. It's a hundred percent free, but it's a great way to support my work. and support independent media more. broadly. Ha, apparently somebody already updated. the the Wikipedia. for Clay Higgins to say that he voted.

against the Epstein files. Can somebody confirm that for me? While we're doing that, uh my prediction. for the Senate. My prediction for the Senate is the same. amount of pressure that got all of these. Republican. uh these Republican.

House members to vote for this thing is. that they will be contending with the. with with pressure as well. And so I think it is. It's true. I'm hearing that they did. that that Clay Higgins Wikipedia is. updated uh. to say that he voted against the release. of the Epstein files. That was fast. People do not mess around on the. internet. Um. Uh. so, I think that the Senate is going to. is going to contend with the same. pressure that the House did. Obviously,

that pressure was heavy enough that 427. members of the House in total voted for. this bill. And and they are not immune. to that pressure. And in fact, oftentimes senators are more uh moderate. than members of the House. They come. from, you know, you can't gerrymander uh. a state a state, you know, a Senate a. Senate seat because it's the entire. state. And so, you're inherently going. to get folks who are a little bit more. moderate than House members. And so, if. you can if you can get 427,

you know, what's that? 200. almost 210 to 11, something like that, Republicans who are. many of whom are from like R + 10, R +. 20 districts that are die-hard MAGA. supporters. If you can get them on. board, I don't think it's going to be. that difficult to get, you know, somebody who might have won 55-45 in, you know, in in some Republican state. somewhere uh to also vote for his thing. Uh can I explain why Biden couldn't. release the files, please? Yes. So, two.

reasons. The first is that Ghislaine. Maxwell's prosecution was ongoing until. 2021. at what. Right after that, she appealed. And that. appeal took place until 2025. It was. Biden's DOJ that was prosecuting the. case while he was in office, obviously. And so, you can't release all the files. during the ongoing investigation into. Ghislaine Maxwell, which by the way, they ultimately secured a conviction and. a 20-year prison sentence. So, to claim.

that Biden was like covering for. Ghislaine Maxwell when they when it was. you know, 2021. Biden was the president and secured, you. know, it was his DOJ that secured her. conviction and prison sentence, and that. ultimately worked to block her appeal. from working. You know, that that's completely. backwards. And so, they're not going to. release the files in the midst of their. prosecution. Uh And the second reason is. we live in a world now where Donald. Trump can mandate to Pam Bondi, dictate.

to Pam Bondi what he wants her to do, and she'll immediately listen to him. Back then. and in every previous administration. if the DOJ has the files, it's up to the. Attorney General whether or not the. Attorney General wants to release them. I am not here to defend Merrick Garland. I think Merrick Garland was weak. impotent. overly circumspect, and too focused on. preventing the optics of politicization. And so, I think that's why he, of all.

people, wouldn't have released these. files. This is somebody who didn't move. forward with any charges for Matt Gaetz. Um. very likely for the same reason. So. focused on preventing the optics of. politicization. And so, wrong man for. the you know, for the moment. Also. didn't inves- didn't prosecute Donald. Trump. Waited like 2 years to finally. appoint Jack Smith as special. prosecutor, special counsel. This guy was so impotent. And so.

if you're asking why they weren't why. the Biden administration didn't release. them, it's because the Biden. administration wasn't going to pressure. Merrick Garland into doing something. because you can't. In a normal world, you can't. Unlike the world we live in. right now. And Merrick Garland wasn't. going to do it on his own because he was. too focused on preventing any you know, any any optics of politicization. Do I agree with that? No. I think he. should released it. But I think he should have done a lot of. things. I think he should have.

sought justice without fear or favor as. it relates to Trump instead of waiting 2. years because he was so afraid. of making anybody upset. by by going after Donald Trump for the. crimes that he committed. Trying to. prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Blocked the certification of Congress. Stole classified documents from the. White House. Merrick Garland couldn't. touch any of that stuff because God. forbid anybody look because God forbid. it look like a weaponized DOJ. Now, of course, we're in a situation. where Trump is basically using Pam Bondi. as his personal personal police force.

But. but God forbid Merrick Garland even just. sought. sought regular justice. So, that is why. that's why they weren't released during. the Biden administration. Again, I'm not. sitting here saying I agree with it. I'm. just giving you the reason why. The. first part I agree with that you're not. going to that any normal DOJ is not. going to release materials about an. investigation or prosecution while that. prosecution's ongoing. By the way, while. the prosecution where they where they. secured a conviction and a 20-year.

prison sentence. So, they were doing. their job. So, the notion that we could. in retrospect say, "Oh, they should have. released those files." Well, okay, if. they released those files, that could. have put in jeopardy the ongoing. prosecution, which was ultimately. successful because they locked her up. for 20 years. So, I would say. that they did the right thing. And for. us to say in retrospect, "Oh, they. shouldn't have done it that way." Okay, but then what if they screwed up their. own case. and Ghislaine Maxwell walked free? I think what they did was correct. judging by the fact that they did secure.

a conviction and she is serving a. 20-year prison sentence. So, it would be. crazy for us to say, "Oh, they should. have done X Y Z." No, they should have. done exactly what they did because. Ghislaine Maxwell's rotting away in. prison. Or at least she's rotting away in prison. right now. Or at least she was rotting. away in prison. Now, she's just kind of. enjoying prison because Donald Trump. moved her to a minimum security facility. where she apparently has the warden come. come by and help her send emails. And that's what you get when you are. when you're part of the the pedophile. ring that Donald Trump is implicated in. You get some special treatment.

For folks who are just joining, I'm. getting a couple questions on it being. veto proof. Right now, the House did. pass the files 427 to 1. That is a veto. proof majority. We will hopefully see.

the same thing in the Senate in the. event that Donald Trump does try to. suppress or prevent the release of these. files. It is important to have a veto. proof majority. So, um with that said, just because this. thing. passed 427 to 1 now in a world where. Trump decides to veto this thing down. the line, if it does pass the Senate he. can decide just just like that that he. doesn't want it to be released, and he. can come up with some insane excuse. And.

I and mark my words, there will be. plenty Blows my mind because um let's. see. Blows my mind because uh. Sorry, looks like the had a little bit. of a technical issue. The the Clay. Higgins vote blows my mind because he. had he had the ability. to at least like Look, I get it if. you're protecting Donald Trump and you. want to be and you want to be a no vote, but recognizing that a vote to release.

the Epstein files. is going to pass anyway, to just be a. symbolic vote. a symbolic vote protecting pedophiles. seems so weird to me. But like. hey man, Clay Higgins, you do you. If. you want your legacy to be that you were. that you were out there. protecting pedophiles even when even. when. you could have just done nothing. You. could have avoided the vote. Or you. could have just recognized that it's. going to pass unanimously and just. thrown your name in the lot and made no.

news. But no, you wanted to expressly. ensure that your legacy is that you. prevented that you tried that you did. your small part to prevent the release. of the Epstein files. So. Okay. I'll leave it there. Uh we've been. going a couple hours right now. Um. I uh just want to ask one more time if. you're not yet subscribed to this. channel and you want to support this. work, please subscribe. Uh that is uh the best way to support my. work. It's completely free. And uh this. way you can see more live streams like.

this and more videos as well. So, I will. I'll leave it there. Thanks everybody. for tuning in. Uh some at least some. good news here. And um and onto the. Senate. And as soon as we have a Senate. vote, I'll bring it to you. So, again, subscribe so that you can check out that. live stream as well. All right. Thanks everybody.