Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche Testifies at Justice Department Oversight Hearing

[0:00] take care of the newest newborn to the most senior citizen of texas [0:08] that will be your job as u.s senator my parents went through world war i [0:19] roaring 20s depression world war ii so i mean i tell you they'd be very sad of what's going on [0:32] today all right that was earl from seneca falls new york another story that we're covering this [0:38] morning uh is on reconciliation i'm looking at a hill article here that says republicans see [0:43] path forward on reconciliation after administration backs down on anti-weaponization [0:49] funds something that we had just discussed there was no i scroll it says senate majority [0:55] leader john thune and other gop senators see a path for passing the stalled budget reconciliation [1:01] package funding immigration enforcement operations through congress after the trump administration [1:06] on monday backed down from a proposal to establish a 1.8 billion dollar anti-weaponization fund for [1:13] maga allies thune on monday called in the white house to abandon the proposal to establish what [1:18] some gop critics have called a slush fund the justice department announced it would abide by [1:23] federal court decision bear the wise scroll here the result is that republican leaders in both chambers [1:30] now feel confident that they can pass a 72 billion dollar reconciliation package as long as it remains [1:35] narrowly focused on funding immigration we will leave this here now for live coverage of a house [1:40] oversight committee hearing with acting attorney general todd blanche this is live coverage on c-span [1:45] three i'll begin by recognizing myself for an opening statement and i want to welcome our witness the [1:55] honorable todd blanche acting attorney general of the united states to testify before our subcommittee today [2:04] last month the fiscal year 2027 commerce justice science and related agencies bill cleared the full [2:13] house appropriations committee and the attorney general's leadership of the department of justice [2:25] comes at a crossroads on the one hand the subcommittee recognizes the strides taken by the department [2:34] to make communities safe again across the united states and to address the misguided [2:41] priorities of the previous administration on the other hand the subcommittee recognizes areas for [2:50] improvement such as communicating with the subcommittee and the lack of testimony ahead of our bill moving [2:58] forward additional areas of concern deal with getting appropriated dollars out the door and making [3:07] progress with already approved projects from the proposed federal prison in lesser county kentucky in my [3:15] district that has been stalled to the delay of several grant programs including the prescription drug [3:24] monitoring program which i worked to start in response to the opioid crisis and that's vital for many [3:33] communities like mine it's critical for this department to move with speed and meet congressional intent [3:42] finally to date we're still waiting on responses to questions for the record from two fiscal 26 department [3:51] hearings while i would have preferred to start the fiscal 27 year cycle differently by having this [4:00] conversation prior to last month's markup this hearing is hopefully the start of productive dialogue [4:08] between the subcommittee and the department under your leadership i look forward to hearing your [4:17] priorities and vision for the department and responses to our questions regarding the recent announcements [4:25] your testimony will still be valuable to the committee as the fiscal year 27 appropriations process continues [4:36] over the past year the department of justice has made great strides in combating drug cartels [4:44] and curbing the flow of illicit drugs including fentanyl the drug enforcement administration and [4:52] department of justice have taken down some of the most notorious cartel bosses such as el mayo the co-founder of [5:02] the sinaloa cartel and nicolas maduro the leader of the cartel of the sons and former president of venezuela [5:14] while these are significant wins the department must continue this fight to eradicate the flow of illicit drugs [5:23] and bring more cartel leaders to justice while issues such as illegal immigration have been addressed head [5:32] on other issues have emerged over the past year i applaud the department's efforts to tackle emerging issues [5:41] such as fraud that pits the underworld against american and their hard-earned taxpayer dollars and we look [5:50] forward to hearing more about the department's plans to continue these efforts i also look forward to [5:57] hearing about the department of efforts in supporting state local and tribal law enforcement agencies [6:05] over the past year from washington to memphis tennessee the department of justice has aided local law [6:14] enforcement agencies in surge operations to combat violent crime american streets are safer now because [6:25] of the actions of this department and the trump administration gerald black i stand ready to support [6:33] you in your efforts to ensure that the american public lives in a society that is free from crime [6:40] and abuse i look forward to hearing more from you today regarding areas of progress areas of need [6:49] and plans and to continue the department's momentum while the fiscal 27 appropriation cycle has already [6:59] commenced there are critically important funding decisions ahead of us and i hope we gain a better sense of [7:07] your priorities today so that we can make the best decisions on behalf of the american people before i turn [7:18] to mrs ming for opening remarks on behalf of this subcommittee i would like to send well wishes for a quick and [7:26] healthy recovery to a former attorney general bondi let me now recognize the ranking member of this subcommittee [7:39] mrs ming for any remarks that she cares to make thank you mr chairman and welcome acting attorney [7:46] general blanche and thank you everyone for your patience as we finished up the prior hearing with [7:51] secretary rubio tens of thousands of public servants at the department of justice work very hard to protect [7:58] public safety and try their best to uphold the rule of law however the leadership of the department has greatly [8:06] damaged it over the past 16 months hard-working americans continue to struggle with higher and higher costs [8:14] of gas groceries and other necessities yet the trump administration is doing nothing to help them [8:21] president trump himself has said that he doesn't quote think about americans personal financial situation [8:29] at the same time a growing number of trump administration officials and their family members [8:35] are enriching themselves in the millions of dollars by making personal business deals directly [8:41] connected to their official government decisions working and middle-class americans are paying their [8:48] taxes but the acting attorney general signed an order two weeks ago directing the irs to permanently [8:55] avoid auditing past tax returns of the trump family members of the trump family are now off the hook [9:03] for at least 100 million dollars in taxes on top of that the trump administration and the justice department [9:11] are actively working to hand 1.8 billion dollars in taxpayer dollars over to insurrectionists and other [9:19] violent felons hundreds of whom assaulted police officers here in the capitol one of the insurrectionists [9:29] jared wise openly encouraged fellow rioters to attack and to kill police officers he was hired last year [9:38] by the trump administration as a senior advisor and counselor at the justice department there have been [9:44] many other outrages over the past 16 months under this department's leadership and following an interview [9:50] by then deputy attorney general blanche jeffrey epstein's closest associate the child the convicted child [9:56] sex trafficker jelaine maxwell was moved to a cushy minimum security prison and was given special [10:03] treatment and unique privileges hundreds of experienced career agents investigators and prosecutors [10:11] have been fired or forced out of doj as part of a campaign of political retribution by the trump [10:17] administration just days before the launch of u.s military strikes in iran this year at least 10 fbi [10:25] counterintelligence agents and support staff including those specializing in the middle east and iran [10:32] were fired in retaliation for work they had been ordered to do several years ago in the mar-a-lago [10:39] classified documents case as the new york times reported in march after a year of continuous firings [10:46] resignations and other disruptions to work elite counterterrorism and counterintelligence units [10:53] at the justice department have been stretched thin and left short-staffed but the threats to our [10:59] country are growing as part of their retribution campaign the trump administration and doj have [11:05] also deliberately targeted and investigated numerous current and former public officials [11:11] for criminal prosecution on extremely flimsy grounds if any doj has also trampled on the first amendment by [11:21] targeting journalists engaged in investigative reporting including an fbi criminal probe of a [11:27] reporter from the atlantic magazine after its recent reporting about the fbi director's dereliction of his [11:34] duties multiple news outlets have also reported on the administration's corrupt practice of receiving pay [11:41] for pardons or clemency for millionaire and billionaire criminals for example we know that the [11:48] founder of binance was pardoned last october after the company took actions that enriched the trump family by hundreds of [11:55] millions of dollars in december president trump pardoned the former president of honduras juan orlando hernandez who had been [12:04] sentenced to 45 years in prison for allowing drug traffickers to export more than 400 tons of cocaine into [12:12] the u.s not only was he pardoned but the bureau of prisons helped relocate him from a federal prison in west [12:19] virginia to the waldorf astoria hotel in new york city after his release all of this has happened in full public view [12:28] and the trump administration has simultaneously gutted the doj's public integrity section and shut down [12:35] the public corruption squad of the fbi washington field office there's more over the past 16 months [12:42] the doj's highly respected civil rights division has been gutted the fbi has stopped using a national [12:49] database that tracks hate crime cases and doj is proposing to eliminate the three grant programs aimed at [12:57] fighting and preventing hate crimes while hate crimes are at a record high the administration also wants [13:04] to eliminate the community relations service which was created by the civil rights act of 1964 [13:10] to prevent and resolve conflicts in american communities at the same time doj is seizing state [13:16] voting records and has sued more than 30 states to access their voter information nearly all of the roughly [13:23] 30 career lawyers in the voting section of the civil rights division are gone last month acting attorney [13:31] general blanche stated that he sees no problem with deploying ice officers to polling places even [13:37] though 18 u.s code section 592 prohibits sending armed personnel to polling places and equally as egregious [13:46] the justice department has taken steps to allow criminals to own guns and continues to illegally [13:52] restore the gun possession rights of convicted felons and domestic abusers these actions and much [13:58] more prove that since the start of this trump administration the justice department has failed [14:03] the american people i look forward to the discussions of these critically important issues today thank you [14:10] mr chairman and i yield back jenna recognizes the ranking member of the house appropriations committee [14:19] mr delaro for any remarks you may wish to make thank you very much chairman rogers and ranking member [14:27] meng acting attorney general blanche welcome there's much i would like to cover today the president's [14:35] budget proposes steep cuts to important programs that combat hate crimes protect civil rights prevent gun [14:42] violence along with other changes that i believe will weaken efforts to keep our community safe in an [14:50] ordinary time during an ordinary administration these are topics that i would focus on but these are [14:58] not ordinary times and this is not an ordinary administration no this administration has engaged [15:09] in what are perhaps the most brazen acts of flagrant corruption i've ever seen and you are at the center of many of them mr blanche [15:20] i know you do not like it when people bring up the fact that before you joined the justice department [15:25] you were president trump's personal attorney but when you are issuing memos granting the president his [15:34] children and their companies immunity from audits or prosecution for tax offensive offenses your previous role [15:46] becomes relevant information when you preside over a deal to take 1.8 billion [15:54] dollars of taxpayer money to create a slush fund to pay out violent criminals who pleaded guilty to [16:02] assaulting police officers you cannot be surprised when people question your impartiality federal courts [16:13] have blocked the fund from paying out any claims for the time being but i am not at all convinced that [16:20] this administration has given up you left yourself a lot of room with your carefully worded statement mr blanche [16:29] there is effectively no oversight to this slush fund you appoint every member of the commission and [16:37] the president can fire any of them at any time for any reason there is no definite standard for who is [16:47] and is not eligible to receive a payout quote weaponization and lawfare are not legally defined terms [16:59] who does and does not qualify appears to be entirely at the discretion of the people that you appoint [17:07] there is no transparency built into the fund there is no congressional oversight the public has no way [17:15] of knowing who has filed a claim of how much or on what grounds conversely we do not know who has been [17:23] denied a claim or why it was denied we do not even know the process by which claims will be filed or payments [17:31] dispersed all we know for certain is that president trump's personal lawyer turned acting attorney general [17:40] set up a 1.8 billion dollar fund with taxpayer money that can be used to pay off just about anyone [17:49] for just about anything it can be used to pay out violent criminals who assaulted police officers [17:57] and ransacked the capitol on january 6. i was evacuated from the capitol on january 6. these are the [18:06] people who were arrested they were tried convicted and then pardoned by the administration and now he [18:14] wants to raid the treasury to pay them it is unconscionable this sort of a scandal uh that it would ruin any [18:26] other administration and any other time but because president trump has rendered house republican [18:31] leadership so completely impotent there will be likely no accountability until the next congress [18:38] in addition to the slush fund you issued a memo stating that the united states is quote hereby forever [18:46] barred and precluded from prosecuting or pursuing any and all claims end quote against the president his [18:56] family or their businesses related to ongoing tax investigations retroactive immunity would be a [19:05] curious benefit to bestow on someone who has done nothing wrong if the president his associates and family [19:13] members were innocent of whatever they were being investigated for the investigation would surely bear [19:19] that out but now we will never know congress and the american people are left to speculate what could have [19:27] possibly prompted this unprecedented settlement that exempts the president from any accountability for his [19:35] actions this is staggering i had not planned on using my time during this hearing to raise these issues [19:43] but i would be deficient in my duty as a member of the congress were i to ignore this extraordinary display [19:49] of self-dealing self-service self-enrichment by this administration beginning with the president [19:57] of the legislature of the republic that has gone down all year on this committee we have seen dramatic cuts [20:01] to programs that help american families who are struggling with the cost of living we do not have [20:08] money for food or for housing to bring down the cost for utilities or gasoline or health care the president [20:15] said there will be no money for daycare for medicaid for medicare but by god we do have 1.8 billion dollars [20:24] for a corrupt payout scheme for the president and his political allies. [20:29] It is shameful. [20:31] I look forward to hearing your answers to our questions today, Mr. Blanche. [20:35] Thank you, and I yield back. [20:38] I now want to recognize our witness, Acting Attorney General Blanche, [20:48] for an opening statement. [20:50] Without objection, your written statement will be entered into the record. [20:55] The floor is yours. [20:57] Thank you very much, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Meng. [21:02] As well, and members of the subcommittee, [21:04] thank you for the opportunity to present President Trump's fiscal year 2027 budget for the Department of Justice. [21:11] As you all know, the request totals $41.2 billion, which is a 13% increase over fiscal year 2026, [21:21] underscoring our department's renewed focus on reducing violent crime, [21:25] combating the fentanyl crisis, strengthening the border and immigration enforcement, [21:29] expanding fraud prevention and ensuring that our law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to protect the American people. [21:39] Violent crime reduction remains one of the department's highest priorities since January 20th, 2025. [21:45] The Department of Justice has indicted more than 260 TDA members, crippling leadership and dismantling operational networks across our major law enforcement components. [21:59] The results have been historic. Federal law enforcement helped drive a 20% decrease decrease in the national murder rate in 2025, [22:09] arrested 44,000 violent offenders, which was double the previous year and seized over 2,200 kilograms of fentanyl. [22:17] Last year, law enforcement captured eight of the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives, located 6,300 missing children and arrested more than 2,000 child predators. [22:29] The DEA has made thousands of fentanyl related arrests and seized millions of fentanyl pills and hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl powder. [22:39] In an August surge alone, DEA executed over 600 arrests, seized multi-ton quantities of narcotics and recovered more than 11 million in drug proceeds. [22:52] DEA continues to disrupt global supply chains from source to street. [22:58] The United States Marshal Service, which is one of the smallest federal law enforcement agencies with roughly 3,800 deputies, [23:05] arrested more than 73,000 fugitives, conducted 308,000 prisoner movements, housed over 55,000 detainees, [23:14] and provided protection for 18 federal protectees, including Supreme Court justices' residences. [23:20] The marshals also, as you all know, manage over $10.4 billion in seized assets and remain essential to federal judicial security. [23:30] ATF continues to be a leader in the federal effort to combat violent crime, [23:35] Since January 2025, ATF has arrested more than 8,700 violent offenders and seized nearly 44,000 illegal firearms, [23:47] including 5,100 interdicted before reaching their destination of Mexico. [23:52] ATF agents also seized 2.7 million rounds of illegal ammunition, more than 28,300 illegal explosives, [24:00] and conducted over 3,500 arson and explosives investigations. [24:05] To sustain these historic results, the fiscal year 2027 budget includes $22.2 billion for DOJ's law enforcement components and U.S. Attorney's offices. [24:16] This is a 16 percent increase over fiscal year 2026. [24:20] These investments build on our tremendous progress and will ensure continued momentum and violent crime reduction nationwide. [24:29] We are also strengthening immigration enforcement efforts. [24:34] The Executive Office for Immigration Review has reduced the immigration case backlog by more than 447,000 cases since President Trump took office. [24:45] The budget provides almost 900 million for Eeyore to continue rebuilding its workforce and to modernize case processing systems. [24:54] Across the entire Department of Justice, nearly $4 billion supports immigration-related enforcement activities. [25:02] And finally, the Department launched the National Fraud Enforcement Division to expand federal fraud enforcement and better protect taxpayer-funded programs. [25:11] The budget includes $30 million to hire 100 attorneys and enhance data analytics capabilities with a goal of combating large-scale criminal fraud schemes. [25:23] DOJ is also modernizing the grants process by consolidating COPS, OJP, and OVW into the new Bureau of Justice grants. [25:33] The goal is to provide a unified and simplified approach to federal grant-making while preserving the missions of each office. [25:41] The Department also faces serious budgetary constraints. [25:46] Fiscal year 2026 marked the second year of flat budgets for several components, basically equating to a decrease in funding because costs and expenses increase year over year. [25:58] The Bureau of Prisons remains under-resourced, funded at $8.1 billion, almost $300 million below fiscal year 2025. [26:06] It risks insolvency without additional support. [26:09] The President's request of $10.3 billion is essential to restore staffing and to maintain safe and secure facilities. [26:18] In closing, the fiscal year 2027 budget reflects our unwavering commitment to public safety, strong law enforcement partnerships, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. [26:30] With your continued support, the Department of Justice will remain strong, effective, and fully equipped to protect the American people. [26:38] Thank you, and I look forward to answering your questions, Chairman. [26:41] Thank you, General. [26:44] We will now proceed under the five-minute rule with questions for the witness. [26:50] I'll begin by recognizing myself. [26:53] We all too well drug trafficking and drug abuse continue to devastate our communities in town. [27:06] In December of 25, President Trump designated fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction by executive order. [27:19] How has that historic designation aided the Department in its fight against illicit fentanyl? [27:28] And please share how your 27 request reflects that designation. [27:36] Thank you. [27:37] So, look, I think calling the men that are sending poison to this country terrorists is exactly what they are. [27:48] And what it does by President Trump doing that is not only there's resources that are more readily available because of that designation, [27:55] but it also allows our Homeland Security Task Force around the country. [28:00] There's one in every single state to effectively focus on not only the narco terrorists that are in Mexico and South America, [28:08] but the drug dealers that are on our streets in our communities, rural communities, city communities. [28:13] Everybody's affected by fentanyl. [28:15] It remains a priority of this department. [28:18] It will be a priority for as long as President Trump is in office. [28:21] And that's why you see that we have an increase that we're asking for more DEA agents, [28:27] we're asking for more money, and it's exactly to combat that problem. [28:31] Let me turn to the issue of illicit vape products, which is something that is sending children to the hospital, [28:43] some as young as middle schoolers in my district, and it's true around the country. [28:48] I'm pleased to see that the department and its components, such as DEA, ATF, and others, [28:58] directing its efforts to tackle this emerging threat, such as last year's Operation Vapor Trail. [29:07] Please share how the department is tackling that issue and outline your plans to continue this effort in fiscal 27. [29:15] Look, this is an example of an all-of-government approach to tackle this problem. [29:22] It means working with other agencies outside of DOJ. [29:25] It means working with state and local partners to combat this very serious problem that affects the youth. [29:33] It affects a lot of our most vulnerable, and it's been a priority for the past 14 months. [29:40] It will remain a priority, and part of it is not only enforcement, but it's also education, [29:45] and making people understand the importance and the dangers associated with this. [29:50] And look, we've been doing that for the past year, and we'll continue to do it going forward. [29:55] As I mentioned in my opening statement, I applaud the department's efforts to take an aggressive stance on those who defraud the American taxpayer. [30:08] In recent weeks, we've seen several examples of charges brought guilty pleas entered and successful convictions of those who have committed fraud. [30:20] Tell us about the department's new national fraud enforcement division and highlight some of the division's early successes. [30:31] This is one of the most important things we're doing at the Department of Justice. [30:36] We set up a new fraud division, not because we haven't prosecuted fraud for a long time, [30:42] but because we want to make sure that there is a renewed focus out of Washington, D.C., [30:46] and every U.S. attorney's office to combat fraud. [30:49] And these are individuals that the people that we're targeting are literally stealing from this country. [30:54] So they're signing up for programs where they're not entitled to it, whether it's daycare centers, whether it's whether it's SNAP benefits. [31:01] And the focus will be not only on the big, big players, but on the small players, too. [31:07] And we've asked for money for 100 prosecutors to help with that effort. [31:11] But this is, again, an all DOJ effort to combat fraud. [31:14] You mentioned it. You're already seeing results. [31:17] And you're going to continue to see results in the coming months and years as we continue to focus on this. [31:24] The National Fraud Enforcement Division established after the passage of the fiscal year 26 Commerce Justice Appropriations Act. [31:36] For this current fiscal year, tell us how the department plans to fund and staff that division that seems to be hitting the ground running. [31:48] So a couple of different ways. We moved prosecutors from the criminal division that were doing fraud work to the new division. [31:56] A different prosecutor from every U.S. attorney's office has been designated to work within this division, although they'll stay obviously in their U.S. attorney's office. [32:05] And then and then with the expected money that we're getting, we're going to hire. [32:10] And so it's a combination of existing talent within the department and bringing more talent in over the next of the next year or so. [32:19] How does this new division interact with other parts of the agency? [32:25] So closely. And so it's a partner. It's going to it's working with with not only FBI and HSI and state AG's and state inspector generals, but also U.S. attorney's offices. [32:37] And and and and again, this is not a new thing to tackle fraud, but it's a renewed effort by the Department of Justice to to combat what has become a very big problem in this country with with a lot of people just stealing from from the money from the generosity of the American taxpayer. [33:05] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Attorney General, I wanted to ask a few questions about the anti weaponization fund. [33:12] We know that the department has agreed to pause this effort until at least June 12th. [33:19] I wanted to ask what your plans were for the fund after June 12th. [33:24] So thank you. So look, we're not moving forward with the fund. [33:27] You're right that there's a date that in the case in the East District of Virginia in June, but we are not moving forward with the fund, period. [33:36] We we the reasons for the fund is something that President Trump talked about for a long time. [33:42] time, which is the fact that there were a lot of people in this country who had their government weaponized against them. [33:48] The reasons for the fund, I think, were were remain as important as they were before. [33:54] But we are not moving forward with the fund. Not moving forward ever. Correct. Oh, no, there's no more fund then. [34:01] Well, to the extent there was a fund. Remember, the fund wasn't set up yet. [34:05] There were no commissioner's name. There was no no claimants brought anything in front of that. [34:11] There was no claims made yet. So, yes, we're not moving forward with the fund. [34:15] You and associate attorney general Woodward signed earlier documents regarding the settlement and this fund would both of you now sign and release documents reversing the DOJ's position on the fund. [34:31] I'm not. We're not moving forward with the fund. I'm not sure what that means to sign documents reversing. [34:36] There's nothing to reverse. We're not moving forward with the fund. We know about the court case, the decision when we've heard press reports, obviously. [34:45] But is there any way that you could put this in writing? I don't know if there are other ways that you could use another vehicle to move forward with a similar fund or similar intention. [34:57] And we just want to reassure the American public. We've heard from both Republicans and Democrats constituents and Americans across the country about this fund. [35:07] And I think they would love to be reassured that this fund will not progress progress. [35:13] I'm telling you it's not. I guess I'm not sure. I'm not. I'm not trying to be flippant with you. I'm just saying I'm telling you it's not. I'm not. I'm not. [35:22] You know, I'm sure you don't progress. I'm not. I'm not. [35:32] I'm not. You're saying that I'm not. There's a there's a there's a we put out a statement yesterday. [35:35] There's been a an injunction, a temporary injunction filed an E. D. D. A. [35:38] There's litigation in D. C. There's litigation in the Southern District of Florida. [35:40] not moving forward to fund. Okay yeah the statement I thought was just about until June 12th um so if [35:47] it won't progress after June 12th that's great to hear and we hope to to see this um in writing yeah [35:53] I mean I think there'll be a transcript to what I say here so that will be in writing. Okay well we [35:59] will work with you and hold you to it thank you very much um I wanted to quickly ask uh with my [36:05] remaining time about uh hate crimes um we are concerned about the president's budget request [36:12] eliminating three largest sources of federal support to local law enforcement for hate crimes [36:17] responses and prevention uh legislation passed in a bipartisan basis Jabara higher no hate [36:23] shepherd bird hate crimes prevention and community-based approaches to prevent and address [36:28] hate crimes grant programs um why is the proposal why are we proposing to eliminate the very programs [36:36] that are helping our law enforcement uh and targeted communities? Well look there's a there's a lot of [36:42] money that we have asked for to combat violent crime to combat this type of crime a lot of overlap [36:48] includes hate crime I am um I'm happy to have my team work with you to make sure that we're getting [36:54] money where it needs to be that's a an important issue to President Trump and it's an important issue [36:58] to the Department of Justice as well. Can you describe or name the areas of overlap? Well there's yes I [37:05] mean sure there's there's billions of dollars and we asked for 12 billion dollars to combat violent [37:10] crime and grants and things like that a lot of those grants will go to programs that at least part [37:16] of it includes combating um hate crime and so and there's other individualized grants some of which are [37:21] are earmarked along the way that that that we're certainly we've funded for a long time and and that [37:27] we will continue to work with you on on on making sure that we're addressing that. Yeah I just want to [37:32] make sure that we're working together as we have seen and work together here in Congress uh bipartisan [37:38] bicameral ways that hate crimes combating hate crimes isn't just not isn't just about prosecution [37:45] but also about prevention and working with community organizations as well so I don't have time left [37:51] but I would love to continue to work together on this issue. I agree with that. I yield back thank you. [37:56] I agree with that. Judge Carter. Thank you Mr. Chairman and Attorney General thank you for being here. [38:05] Thank you. We appreciate very much hearing from you. I've got to ask you about something that's dear to [38:11] my heart. I authored the Justice Served Act a while back and it was allowed to its purpose was to help [38:20] law enforcement use advanced DNA technology to solve crimes and a lot of them don't have advanced. [38:30] Today is forensic the forensic generic genealogy is the next generation of capability. The FBI has [38:42] already used it successfully in cases like Rachel Morin and Brian Noeberger. However many unsolved violent [38:54] crimes remain at state and local levels. These agencies lack the funding to scale for these investigations. [39:05] Can you can you discuss the DOJ's version of forensic generic genealogy and whether you can support [39:17] the Carla Walker Act which would help state and local enforcement solve violent crimes? [39:25] We very much support it sir and I think that we have it's extraordinarily important to federal law [39:31] enforcement and to state and local law enforcement. We have I think over a dozen DOJ grant programs that [39:38] are designed to further the research and further the technology in that space. I think that's an important [39:43] place for us to be spending our money because it does solve crime. And in turn local people are going to get the [39:52] opportunity to petition you to get help on that correct on their crimes that they consider very important. [40:00] As I think you may know I was a former district judge in Texas and I see the damages caused by [40:08] lenient policies and judicial overreach. I think that creates damages and not only in moving cases along [40:18] but also in the people's view of justice and whether it's being justice is being served. How is the department [40:29] responding to the activist judges who issued nationwide injunctions against President Trump's immigration [40:38] and national security actions and what is your strategy for defending executive of the executive authority [40:46] in the courts? Look we are we are fiercely fighting for what we believe the law is and and when we have [40:52] judges that disagree with that at the district court level we we are appealing um constantly and we have had [41:00] extraordinary success at the appellate level even in places like the ninth circuit but in other circuits as [41:05] well because we're right we're not violating the law we're complying with the law that you all passed when it comes to [41:11] immigration and and the way that we're we're handling the immigration enforcement we will continue to do [41:17] that when we lose at the district court level which we do um especially with some of these judges that we [41:22] think are just not following the law um we fight and we go back and we go back and we appeal and that's what [41:28] the system suggests we do and that's exactly what we're doing. At least where I come from judges don't [41:35] make make new law or avoid the law that is written but they follow the law and uh it's a it's a dilemma as [41:44] far as I'm concerned uh as a district judge I swore to apply the law fairly I appreciate the department's [41:52] effort to restore just equal justice under the law the president's executive order ending weaponization of [42:01] federal government was an important first step under the prior administration the DOJ challenged several [42:10] state laws restricting gender transition procedures for minors what steps has the department taken to [42:18] ensure the DOJ's decisions are guided by the constitution the public safety and equal application of the law [42:27] rather than politics look where it includes both active investigations in the civil space when there's [42:33] hospitals or um institutions that we believe are not complying with the law and and those are ongoing [42:39] we we have multiple investigations going on in the civil space it also includes um active litigation [42:45] against individuals or states that that we believe are violating the constitution and we've been doing [42:50] that um almost since we we came in a year a little over a year ago and we're having again it's you [42:57] know we're we're having success and we're having success because we're right on the law and even if [43:01] it's not at the first step with the district court when we appeal we're having success and and we our [43:07] appellate lawyers our civil lawyers are very busy um but they're doing a good job thank you thank you [43:12] mr chairman thank you judge mr laro thank you mr chairman if i could just follow up on on my colleague [43:25] congresswoman meng's uh questions uh i i i i have here um this is the um uh the order [43:33] on the settlement the 1.8 billion dollars and then this is the addendum uh to the order which is [43:40] about tax immunity and this is a copy of the the settlement agreement and the associate attorney [43:46] general signed this these two documents were signed by by by by yourself now this is all in writing [43:54] this is all our can you tell us here today that you are going to uh disavow this that you're going to [44:01] rescind um uh what you said to miss mank in writing with these efforts both these three documents are [44:10] in writing is that a yes or a no so i can't answer that yes no do you want an answer yeah okay so not [44:16] yes or no you gave me three documents the only document i said we're not moving forward on today [44:21] is the first document identified which is the which is the anti-weaponization fund there was still a [44:26] there's still a settlement agreement and there's still the the the second document i signed is not [44:31] an addendum it's a separate attorney general order okay okay so so but you're not you're not going to [44:38] rescind the addenda the not an addendum the second order no the only thing you're talking about here so [44:44] the blanket immunity is is not something that you're going to move back on it's not blanket immunity [44:51] that's not true it is no it's not okay united states releases waves acquits and forever discharges [45:07] each of the plaintiffs from and is hereby forever barred and precluded from prosecuting or pursuing [45:14] any and all claims counterclaims causes of actions appeals requests for any reliefs i mean [45:21] this is this is a this is an order from you but you're not prepared you are prepared to say [45:28] that the president and his family will be uh uh barred uh uh are immune uh from that's a yes [45:39] no it was not a yes i had not answered the question i can't answer if you want me to what [45:43] are you doing with this okay so there was a settlement which is one of the documents you showed [45:48] okay part of the settlement included the the second order that you just held up and that is still [45:55] nothing has changed with that what i said today what i've said a couple times today as what we [46:00] talked about yesterday is we're not moving forward with the anti-weaponization um fund okay but you are [46:07] moving forward with this second order it's not moving forward there's a settlement there's a settlement [46:12] that the irs entered into with president trump and others his family and his companies as part of [46:19] that settlement as is customary and iris settlements there's the separate ag order friends listen to what is [46:27] being said here uh today here this is really pretty extraordinary um that we are going to forever [46:39] barred and precluded from examining or prosecuting the president his sons and the trump organization's [46:47] current tax violence simply put you just gave the president's family a tax immunity to the tune of [46:54] about a hundred million dollars not true well yes you have my friends not true you know um uh look [47:01] and i just want to say this the save america pat you paid you dear nearly 10 million dollars between [47:07] march of 2024 and december of 2024 to serve as the president trump's personal defense attorney [47:16] my god don't you not find there's any conflict of interest in what you are doing here as the acting [47:23] attorney general of the united states i didn't what are you saying is a conflict i don't understand [47:29] what you're saying listen the fact that i used to have a job and i have a current job you know i've got [47:35] less time left but i take on what you're doing on this is that you've taken one piece and you said okay [47:47] we have had a ton of backlash on this uh uh uh on this 1.8 billion dollar slush fund uh however so [47:57] we'll we'll not move on that but as part of the settlement which you've said which is this uh [48:04] immunity for the president and his family and his business etc that stands thank you it's not immunity [48:12] ma'am it's it's it's thank you it's a promise it's immunity it's not it's not i mean it's it's not [48:19] immunity okay so it's not immediate what it says is like like anytime the irs settles with an individual [48:24] taxpayer or or another company as part of the settlement it's standard it's typical for to to [48:31] get rid of past ongoing audits it's not a forward-looking document it's nothing that gives [48:36] any sort of immunity in the future to the president or his family or his organizations and so by you [48:41] saying that it's just it's not true by you saying what you've said it is not true so thank you and i [48:47] yield back time of the gentlelady has expired mr cline thank you you're an attorney i never got [48:55] something yes thank you mr chairman um and thank you uh acting attorney general blanche for being [49:05] here today i want to commend the department of justice's work in protecting americans second [49:10] amendment rights your fiscal year 27 budget requested 1.4 million to establish a second amendment rights [49:16] section within the civil rights division and i was proud to lead an amendment in the fy 27 cjs [49:22] appropriations act to codify it this section monitors state and local laws for unconstitutional [49:29] infringements and pursues enforcement where necessary unlike the biden doj which sought to [49:34] charge service disabled veterans with felonies for using stabilizing braces the trump department of [49:40] justice has already sued multiple jurisdictions over unconstitutional gun laws and i look forward [49:45] to ensuring that this office has the resources that it needs congressional republicans and president [49:51] trump also delivered the biggest second amendment victory in over 90 years by eliminating the nfa transfer [49:57] and manufacturing taxes on short barrel firearms and suppressors in the one big beautiful bill for 91 [50:03] years the nfa subjected gun owners to these unconstitutional infringements removing these taxes is a major step [50:10] towards restoring those freedoms however congress's intent was to remove both the taxation and the [50:16] registration requirements as they are inseparably linked without the nfa tax there is no foundation [50:23] for the registration requirement since as i understand it the registration exists solely to account for the [50:29] taxes paid literally by the serial number of the firearm yet the department of justice is currently not [50:36] following this congressional intent so sir do you agree that the national firearms act codified in the internal [50:44] revenue code and originally part of the treasury department is a tax law yes although my disagreement [50:52] respectfully is is on the intent of congress if that's the congressional intent i i welcome it it's [50:58] not a an objection the department has to the goal you're talking about it's just understanding the [51:03] congressional intent when it comes to whether the tax is extended well if it's a tax law and you eliminate [51:09] the tax then you know then the registration in my opinion has no foundation and i wrote it so well [51:18] that's pretty good okay if the nfa registry no longer records the payment of a tax on the zero tax firearms [51:24] and it exists solely to register them then this appears to be in direct conflict with the firearm owners [51:30] protection act of 1986 which explicitly prohibits any federal database or system that tracks firearms or their [51:37] owners and i would like to um uh to repeat that for you and it says in 926 section uh us c18 926 it says no [51:49] such rule or regulation prescribed after the date of the own of the enactment of the firearm owners [51:55] protection act may require that any system of registration of firearms firearms owners or firearms transactions [52:02] or dispositions be established that's the fopa of 1986 so um in your view is the department of justice [52:13] complying with the fopa's prohibition against the firearm registry for these zero tax firearms look i think i i [52:21] am familiar with this issue i know it's under active litigation so i want to be careful um i will tell [52:27] you that that that is something that we're working on get into a good answer to okay well um i encourage you [52:35] to have a great answer and that is to eliminate the registration for those things that are not taxed [52:41] when the database is indeed a tax database understood thank you now i was happy to see that [52:47] this committee to take action on this very important issue by issuing uh by prohibiting the registration [52:54] of zero tax firearms in the fy27 cjs appropriations bill and i look forward to continuing this fight [53:00] moving forward so i'm going to give you some ammunition there okay okay all right thank you [53:05] um now acting attorney general blanche i also want to applaud the fantastic work the trump [53:11] administration and your doj have done in curbing the waste fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars vice [53:17] president vance's task force to eliminate fraud is already leading to results uncovering billions of [53:23] dollars in fraud and specifically your department has created the national fraud enforcement division [53:28] to lead the federal government's efforts to investigate prosecute and remedy rampant fraud my constituents want [53:34] accountability for the fraud that has siphoned away their hard-earned tax dollars so i certainly [53:39] welcome the click of handcuffs on those stealing from the american taxpayers so can you elaborate on [53:46] some of the most egregious cases that your department is prosecuting or has already prosecuted i mean look [53:52] yes so so the there's a couple of examples the most egregious cases are when individuals [53:57] create completely fictitious organizations whether it's a daycare center whether it's a an autism center [54:03] and so this is money our tax dollars going to completely fictitious entities and it runs through [54:10] the state and what we found in some states is there's virtually no compliance there's no check on the [54:15] system and so it's it's in some ways a very easy crime to catch once we identify it because it's [54:21] completely made up and so this isn't an example of a doctor putting the checking the wrong box but is [54:26] actually performing a service this is pure theft and and we've seen that unfortunately too much in this [54:34] so that's again one of the main reasons why we started the the new fraud division is because um [54:39] we will save um hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars um through this effort thank you very [54:44] much and mr chairman i yield back mr ronofi thank you mr chairman uh the ranking member i did want to [54:52] follow up on um ranking member meng's uh questions about binance um which frankly looks to me like [55:03] a blatant pay for pardon scheme so let me walk through some of the facts um that lead me to that [55:09] conclusion in late 2023 binance and ceo zhao agreed to pay a penalty of 4.36 billion a u.s judge approved [55:18] the guilty plea for multiple federal crimes and a civil settlement for anti-money laundering and sanctions [55:25] and that was in uh 2023 donald trump is elected president november 2024 december 2024 mr zhao and [55:36] mr whitkoff meet in abu dhabi at a bitcoin conference uh in march of 2025 a couple months later [55:46] you're confirmed as deputy attorney general march 25 2025 world liberty financial announced that it [55:52] would launch a stable coin called usd1 world liberty financial is a family-owned business by the trump [55:59] uh uh trump family two of his sons are in it mr whitkoff's uh got interested as well one month later [56:07] in april 2025 finance's founder mr zhao was sentenced to federal prison for money laundering and other [56:12] federal crimes that included funding to terrorist groups like isis al-qaeda and the iranian revolutionary [56:20] guard on may 1 uh world liberty financial announces that an emirati company called um mgx that also has [56:29] ties to mr whitkoff would use two billion dollars on the stable coin i just mentioned usd1 to invest in [56:37] binance this gave president trump and his family a revenue stream that could be worth tens of millions [56:43] of dollars according to the wall street journal uh binance took steps that catapulted the trump's [56:48] family's ventures into stablecoin product enhancing its credibility and pushing its market capitalization up [56:55] from 127 million to over 2.1 billion dollars now on may 5th mr japp publicly stated that he had applied [57:05] for a presidential pardon for the crimes that he'd previously pled guilty to and had been sentenced to [57:10] jail for and the uh the uh restitution amount of 4.3 billion plus was put in place a few months later on [57:19] october 21 2025 president trump grants him a full pardon with no explanation by the way in the document at least [57:27] that i saw so this looks like a pay-to-play kind of scenario you've got the meeting that takes place [57:38] you've got the money that's transferred to an entity that's owned by the trump family i don't think the [57:44] president has actually divested his interest there necessarily but i could stand corrected on that but [57:49] certainly his family still has interest in it as does mr whitkoff and then a few months after that he [57:55] issues a pardon so why haven't you was appointed a special prosecutor to take a look at this this [58:02] looks on its face it just looks like a quid pro quo scenario that should be investigated why haven't [58:08] you taken that step well to be look the the power to pardon in our constitution is given to the president [58:16] of the united states the constitution does not require him to provide any explanation for who he chooses to [58:22] pardon or not pardon or commute or not commute and so i i don't i very much reject the idea that this [58:29] the premise that this looks like something um is is amazing for me to appoint a special let me reclaim [58:35] my time the constitution gives him absolute power to pardon it does not give power to pardon in exchange [58:40] for payments clearly and a 2.1 billion dollar payment to his family and we'll set aside the fact that he [58:47] should have divested from all of those interests anyway but the fact that he gave the two billion [58:51] that he gets the two billion dollar piece and then a few months later pardons the guy who was [58:57] guilty of money laundering and providing money to or helping to finance the money laundering operation [59:03] for isis and al-qaeda and the guys we're fighting in iran right now the iranian revolutionary i just i [59:09] don't that's not a problem who he chooses department is not a problem period and you're saying all these [59:15] things that are just not what's the legal basis for that statement the constitution of our united [59:20] states the constitution does not give you the authority to pardon in exchange for payments it [59:25] does not permit bribery payments you have you told me nothing about exchange for payments you said [59:29] there's well i just told you put a bunch of facts together that's why you need a special prosecutor [59:33] shouldn't somebody take clearly you're not going to do it shouldn't somebody be appointed a truly [59:39] experienced prosecutor to take a look at this and conduct the investigation and then if he reaches [59:44] the conclusion that you're right that's fine but if he finds that there's a problem with what the [59:49] president did or his family then he should he should move forward with uh prosecuting that has expired [59:56] i very much disagree mr strong thank you chairman rogers and ranking member mean for convening this [1:00:02] hearing uh acting attorney general blanche thank you for being here with us today i appreciate you and [1:00:08] the department for your work supporting law enforcement and addressing uh evolving threats across this [1:00:14] country as you know north alabama and redstone arsenal have become a premier hub for the doj and fbi [1:00:21] operations supporting critical work and counter terrorism explosives and ballistic analysis emerging [1:00:28] uas threats and coordination across federal agencies north alabama has repeatedly demonstrated it can [1:00:36] support the nation's most critical missions with a highly skilled workforce state-of-the-art facilities and room for [1:00:41] continued growth the funds this committee approved last month include a planned investment [1:00:49] in advanced training and operational support redstone arsenal as part of the department's broader efforts [1:00:54] to strengthen the fbi's readiness and capabilities as acting attorney general how do you plan to ensure [1:01:01] that these investments uh support redstone arsenal's continued growth as a center for fbi training and [1:01:07] operations look i think it's you're you're absolutely right that that the facilities that the fbi and [1:01:13] atf have in in in in that area is key to our um to protecting our borders and key to to um everything from [1:01:21] from from our drone um anti-drone um capabilities that we're working on and so we're doing things like [1:01:27] getting fbi personnel out of dc and down there where they should be working and same with atf and and look [1:01:34] there's a very um it's an important law enforcement uh priority of this administration and of me to continue [1:01:41] that to continue that effort so i expect that you will see um not infrastructure which we've asked for money on which [1:01:47] we're spending money on but also getting more of our talented personnel there to continue the the mission of the fbi [1:01:54] thank you also want to echo what my colleagues have said and commend the department uh for the doj's [1:02:01] recent aggressive work to combat fraud for years bad actors have uh treated taxpayer fund pro funded [1:02:08] programs from pandemic pandemic relief loans to medicaid and snap benefits like their own personal piggy [1:02:15] banks in minnesota the feeding our future scheme alone involved more than 250 million in fraud tied to [1:02:23] federal children's nutrition and pandemic error programs and just last month the doj announced [1:02:29] charges against 15 defendants accused of participating in more than 90 million in medicaid fraud schemes [1:02:39] what steps uh does the department uh in taking to ensure that we are not just [1:02:44] prosecuting these criminals but actively clawing back every single stolen taxpayer dollar possible [1:02:51] yeah it's a it's a great it's a great question and i will tell you every single indictment that you [1:02:56] have seen from this department includes meaningful forfeiture efforts whether it's freezing accounts [1:03:02] the day of the arrest or in the time leading up to the arrest or going after the assets that have [1:03:06] been purchased by the defendants as part of our criminal forfeiture efforts it's it's as important as [1:03:11] arresting the the bad guy is trying to recover the assets that they stole from from the american taxpayer um it's [1:03:18] it's it's every single like i said every time we make an arrest every part of our investigation is [1:03:22] focused on not only identifying the bad actors but recovering our assets thank you hard-working americans [1:03:29] go to work every day and follow the rules um you know they're sick and tired of the the seeing their tax [1:03:35] dollars stolen by scammers and non-us citizens uh the time is uh past due um to make sure that we do what [1:03:44] needs to be done and i think that's what america is looking for i was pleased to vote with the [1:03:49] committee to provide the full request of 30 million dollars uh for the department to hire 100 more [1:03:55] attorneys to more effectively combat fraud targeting government programs and the american public [1:04:02] attorney general blanche how will you uh the additional attorneys help ensure the large fraud [1:04:09] investigation does not stop with first round of indictments but continue until every individual [1:04:14] who knowingly participated has been identified and where appropriate and they're appropriately [1:04:20] prosecuted yes and thank you for the the vote on the funding those prosecutors will help lead that [1:04:25] effort and and what we're doing is we're working this is again an all government approach so we're [1:04:31] working with hhs with our other federal partners to identify bad actors we're using we're working with um [1:04:38] inspector generals from all these locations and and working those cases fbi hsi state and locals in [1:04:44] the states that are willing to help us and that's the whole point of the the new fraud division is to [1:04:49] leave whether you have committed a one thousand and one dollar fraud or whether you've committed a [1:04:54] hundred million dollar fraud you should face a felony in this country for stealing from the american tax [1:04:59] paper and pair and and that's what we're committed to doing um uh as you know we started a year ago and [1:05:07] we're not stopping thank you mr chairman i yield back mr morelli yes thank you mr chairman and thank [1:05:13] you for convening this thank you to ranking member meng and ranking member deloro uh as well and thank [1:05:20] you to the attorney general for appearing um i want to associate uh myself with the remarks by uh the [1:05:26] chairman uh just to say i'm deeply frustrated that the department uh is appearing and and the attorney [1:05:32] general is appearing here nearly three weeks after the subcommittee and full committee have marked up [1:05:36] commerce justice and science appropriations bill uh it's it's deeply troubling this is not how the [1:05:42] appropriations process is expected to work and uh we would love to hear from you in the future and i [1:05:48] think we should ought to uh your budget priorities question your leadership um what the leadership [1:05:53] believes about these so i i just deeply frustrated i hope it doesn't uh i hope next year we don't repeat [1:05:59] this uh so i just wanted to associate myself with that i was just curious just as a follow-up to mr ivy's line of [1:06:06] question is it your testimony that if someone paid the president of the united states a million [1:06:12] dollars for a pardon that that would not violate federal law no that is not my testimony what is [1:06:18] your testimony about my testimony is that the power to pardon in our constitution is not limited so what [1:06:23] i mean by that is is there he doesn't the president doesn't have to say why he's part no i didn't say [1:06:27] that i'm asking you though so if someone wrote in the memo of a check for a million dollars to the [1:06:33] president united states any president said for issuance of a pardon would that be a violation of [1:06:38] federal law um yes i mean i mean i would wonder what section of facts i mean i i think there would [1:06:44] be a a a violation of the bribery law yes bribery law even though the constitution gives you unlimited [1:06:51] power as president the person that paid the bribe would be okay for the president himself who accepted [1:06:56] the money i think you would need to impeach him in that case gotcha at least under my reading of the [1:07:01] constitution uh just wanted to make sure i understood what you were saying um i wanted to [1:07:07] ask you on a completely different topic i serve as the ranking member of the committee on house [1:07:10] administration which has jurisdiction over federal elections as you know federal law prohibits the [1:07:15] deployment of military personnel or armed federal law enforcement officers from polling places yes [1:07:21] federal law also prohibits intimidating threatening or coercing any person for the purpose of interfering [1:07:26] with the right to vote violators of either of these laws are subject to criminal penalties as you know [1:07:30] under federal law the president has continued to talk about an issued rhetoric which suggests that [1:07:36] he might be willing to deploy military personnel or federal agents perhaps even fbi at polling places [1:07:44] and i'm just want your assurance that uh you will not allow department of justice personnel around [1:07:53] election places polling places uh this november i'm sorry that i won't allow [1:07:56] the department like you around election places we will we will comply with the law you will comply [1:08:02] with the law yes and will you commit to investigating prosecuting individuals who violate those protections [1:08:08] or otherwise interfere with an american's right we we will we will definitely comply with the law [1:08:13] and the law enforcement will investigate alleged violations of law thank you sir um just weeks ago [1:08:19] changing topics atf announced 34 regulatory changes affecting the agency's efforts to combat [1:08:25] uh violent uh gun crime at that announcement you said what we're doing today will actually help [1:08:30] law enforcement and then director i think it's cicada added we believe that these rules will not [1:08:35] negatively impact public safety those your words um your regulations tell a different story in the [1:08:41] rule that allows a potential prohibited purchaser to skip a second background check the department warns [1:08:48] a prohibited person who obtains a firearm under the proposed rule and uses that firearm to inflict mass [1:08:53] casualties would have been prevented under the current requirement which the department is asking be [1:08:58] taken away and in the rule restricting law enforcement from effectively tracing guns the department [1:09:04] again in the in the body of the regulatory reforms warned that the change that you were asking for [1:09:11] could delay or hinder federal state and local enforcement offers to track and stop violent effect [1:09:17] offenders those are the department's warnings your own analysis acknowledges the changes could make it [1:09:24] easier for prohibited individuals to obtain firearms and harder for law enforcement to track violent [1:09:29] criminals so i you're the nation's chief law enforcement you talked a lot about violent crime [1:09:35] why is the department pursuing actions when the department analysis states it would potentially [1:09:42] create a much higher risk of violent gun crime for the public the analysis you're talking about is not [1:09:47] that is not true right so that is that when we talk about potentials with the new regulations [1:09:52] that includes a variety of possibilities when it comes to the regulation you're speaking about [1:09:57] directly that the problem that existed that we were trying to fix with that is making it more efficient [1:10:04] and make it easier for um for law enforcement and for ffls to make sure that only people who could have [1:10:11] guns have guns and so the the regulations that exist now that were that were changing don't do that they're [1:10:17] actually um outdated and they're not the the systems are not up to date and that's what the regulation [1:10:24] that you're speaking about i believe um is designed to fix but i would just suggest that the analysis by the [1:10:29] department in issuing these uh the elimination of these regulations actually identifies threats and [1:10:36] potential harm to the public by doing the regulatory reforms you're suggesting um i'd ask you to look at it [1:10:41] i'd ask you to look at it further and i know my time is out i want to yield back mr chair thank you mr [1:10:51] chairman uh mr attorney general uh it's encouraging it's encouraging to see overdose deaths decline over [1:11:04] so much of our country including in my home state of indiana and yet fentanyl remains the leading cause of [1:11:12] death for americans between ages 18 and 45. we've made progress but we have knocked it down so communities [1:11:21] throughout my district continue to feel the consequences of this epidemic too many families [1:11:28] are still grieving from the loss of loved ones from fentanyl related overdoses i commend the administration [1:11:35] for the actions uh it you have taken to secure our southern border for aggressively prosecuting drug [1:11:43] traffickers and for holding china accountable for its role in supplying the precursor chemicals that have [1:11:51] in part fueled this crisis those efforts are crucial and i appreciate your leadership on this however [1:12:00] despite the stronger enforcement measures here at home fentanyl continues to reach across our borders [1:12:05] too oftentimes through mexico where the cartels use these precursor chemicals i've described [1:12:12] to manufacture and traffic these drugs into the united states mr blanche would you update us on what [1:12:22] the doj under your leadership is doing to strengthen interdiction efforts real time this year over the [1:12:30] year ahead through coordination and particular with foreign law enforcement partners yes thank you so major [1:12:37] transit hud thank you look the biggest thing i can say is the homeland security task force effort [1:12:42] which is is focused um it's it's priority is stopping the flow of illegal narcotics especially fentanyl [1:12:48] into our communities and and you're right that we've made progress but we are nowhere near [1:12:53] our goal and i and and with dea with hsi with the fbi we are now um every federal law enforcement agent is [1:13:01] is targeting and working with state and local law enforcement agent and also international partners [1:13:06] including in mexico in ecuador and colombia even in venezuela to to stop not only the flow from south america [1:13:14] and mexico but also to the extent there's not there's fentanyl in our communities we're also [1:13:19] completely focused on on ridding the drug dealers and the fentanyl out of the communities as well so [1:13:24] this is not a problem that gets fixed overnight it is such a crisis in this country that i promise [1:13:31] you the next time that i'm before you um we will still be talking about it but that doesn't mean that [1:13:36] we're not making extraordinary progress and that we're not getting fentanyl off the streets and we're [1:13:40] putting bad guys in jail who are dealing it and i i commit to you that that president trump all the [1:13:46] way down um to every federal prosecutor in this country and every fbi and dea agent is is is focused [1:13:51] on it and and in your view your budget will reflect look at increased prioritization and correct [1:14:00] for working with 100 foreign law enforcement partners yes yes uh effective information sharing [1:14:07] across our federal or state local and our tribal law enforcement agencies is one of the key tools [1:14:13] that we have uh programs like the regional information sharing systems the risks are key to [1:14:21] supporting criminal investigations um and i see that back in my home district i was in columbus indiana [1:14:29] this past week that police department city of 50 000 people is using risk technology to enhance [1:14:36] audio and video evidence leading to the identification arrest and prosecution of armed robbery suspects these [1:14:45] programs deliver results from my constituents and the constituents of everyone else uh that i serve with [1:14:51] up here today i appreciate the work that congress and doj continues to prioritize information sharing [1:14:57] across all levels of law enforcement mr blanche what is your department how is your department prioritizing [1:15:09] information sharing this year going into the next year with these partnerships that are so crucial [1:15:15] uh to bringing in these results so we we work with um at the at the at the basic level in the districts [1:15:22] around this country we work with our state and local partners um in every single case um that that [1:15:29] whether it's a state case or a federal case we're working with them and that you're totally right that [1:15:34] includes sharing information and making sure the systems can talk to each other uh that costs money and [1:15:39] upkeep there's we have multiple grants that are designed to go to state and local law enforcement to make sure [1:15:44] they're able to continue to um to have information technology that allows it to be effective with [1:15:50] the federal government and and i i agree with you that we cannot solve violent crime we cannot solve [1:15:55] the drug problem we cannot help with murders and and and violent and these were narcotics trafficking [1:16:00] without um strong information sharing and and we spend a lot of money on that and it's money that we [1:16:06] should be spending uh thank you and i yield back yes dean thank you chairman rogers uh thank you to our [1:16:16] ranking members uh welcome acting attorney general uh i want to speak about justice for the epstein [1:16:23] victims and survivors and i'm going to begin with the closing words of virginia roberts truffray [1:16:29] in her book it's literally the last paragraph she writes i hope for a world in which predators are [1:16:35] punished not protected victims are treated with compassion not shamed and powerful people face the same [1:16:42] consequences as anyone else i yearn too for a world in which the perpetrators face more shame than their [1:16:49] victims do and where anyone who's been trafficked can confront their abusers when they are ready no [1:16:56] matter how much time has passed we don't live in this world yet i mean seriously where are those [1:17:03] videotapes the fbi confiscated from epstein's houses and why haven't they led to prosecution of any more [1:17:11] abusers that's from virginia it was printed as you know posthumously after her death mr blanche you and [1:17:20] i had a chance a couple of weeks ago at the department of justice to speak about these cases we discussed [1:17:26] three things in connection with this monstrous decades-long crime spree number one your failure to [1:17:32] fully redact survivor information number two your failure to follow the law and release the remaining [1:17:39] files and number three your refusal to prosecute anybody else mr blanche let's continue that inane [1:17:47] conversation but this time it's public this time and more importantly it's under oath you're speaking [1:17:53] to congress so let's get into it when will you comply with the law and release all of the files um as as [1:18:00] i said to you when we spoke before um we have complied with the law we have there are three million more [1:18:07] documents and you know what you said to me they're all duplicative and they include another guy named [1:18:12] epstein no nobody's buying that's what you said that's what you said so look reclaiming my answer [1:18:17] can i answer the question not i just gave you the answer you gave me no actually it's my time mr [1:18:25] chairman i think those are the rules of this committee i told him the answer he gave me and now in [1:18:30] public he's trying to say something else please stop the clock can i get that time back may i have 20 [1:18:35] seconds back mr chairman thank you i very much appreciate that mr blanche you don't want me to answer the [1:18:43] question mr blanche as you know i visited doj three times for as much as 10 hours and i'll be going [1:18:50] back does the epstein file transparency act say that the file should be available to members of [1:18:55] congress with a minder at doj where you're in a secure room you can't uh write on uh any of the [1:19:02] binders you can take your own notes is that what the transparency act says it doesn't require we allow [1:19:07] you to come to doj at all we did that on our what does it say in terms of transparency it says that [1:19:12] they should be made publicly available and they were am i correct publicly available and they were [1:19:18] oh let's talk about that okay time of the gentlelady has expired i beg your pardon and i i'd actually [1:19:29] like to get 20 seconds back how do i get cut off two minutes into this time of the gentlelady has [1:19:37] expired i beg your pardon mr chairman what rules are we operating under because he's under a little bit [1:19:44] of heat for not prosecuting anyone in these monstrous crimes i've been in the room i have been there [1:19:52] this is what we i had to do to transcribe to show what is true what is true is that the president has [1:19:59] lied about being on epstein's epstein's plane and the unredacted files prove that there's a lot in here [1:20:07] i am i'm shocked at this there's also this set of files in the in the file this is investigation into [1:20:15] the potential co-conspirators of jeffrey epstein i almost use up all the blank ink in the hallway [1:20:23] because it's all covered up it's all covered up the american people are not stupid they know that when [1:20:31] members of congress have to go in and actually unredact to try to find the truth for these victims [1:20:38] something is corrupt something is corrosive you were paid 10 million dollars to represent the president [1:20:49] you hang a 30-foot banner of the president's menacing face over the entrance to the department [1:20:54] of justice you said that if you were terminated or not moved forward as attorney general you would [1:21:00] say to the president i love you sir so i have one question for you is your obligation to the victims [1:21:08] and survivors of epstein's heinous crimes and all his perpetrators or is your first obligation to the [1:21:14] president of the united states so without a doubt we want to bring justice to every when will you [1:21:22] bring that just can i please finish excuse me can i finish in decades when we can i finish when will [1:21:29] you bring the justice so as i was saying when will you prosecute and who will you prosecute can i [1:21:34] please allow the witness you told me in our conversation you blamed the victim every victim [1:21:40] that the record mr epstein told me of the victims didn't give good names let me let me be crystal [1:21:46] clear that this department of justice will always will always protect victims and will always prosecute [1:21:55] anybody we can okay full stop no ifs ands or buts okay what you are showing in a game of showmanship [1:22:03] are redactions because of victims because that prosecution memorandum talks about excuse me [1:22:08] perpetrators too how do you know that go ahead talk to exactly so they're victims they're victims [1:22:16] names which we are required to redact required by law to redact which we did okay so so i i take [1:22:24] umbrage to the idea i realize i'm over time i uh thank you for that indulgence uh i have uh i want [1:22:29] to ask for unanimous consent to enter records into the uh onto the record may i do that now without [1:22:35] objection thank you uh the time of the gentlelady has expired mr alford i would like to enter these [1:22:42] records may i please list what they are sir you you've had your chance you're denying me the chance [1:22:50] to list what these records are mr alford thank you chair uh mr attorney general would you like to [1:22:56] respond to any of these allegations well look i think that that um the idea that this department of [1:23:03] justice does not stand up to victims and does not do everything we can stand up for victims rather [1:23:08] do everything we can to prosecute anybody who harms our most vulnerable ignores the facts um we we will [1:23:15] always protect victims we have said from the beginning anybody whether it's their lawyer whether it's a [1:23:20] victim who wants to meet with the fbi or who has information they don't have to come in they can use [1:23:25] their lawyers they can use non-profit groups i've spoken to non-profit groups my leadership team has [1:23:30] spoken to non-profit groups and victims when we released the epstein files earlier this year i [1:23:35] spent the whole weekend on the phone with with many of epstein's um victims lawyers and and and director [1:23:42] patel has said the same thing and so i will say again if there is a lawyer or a victim who has [1:23:47] information please come forward and it doesn't mean coming forward to a congressman's office it means [1:23:52] coming forward to the fbi and if there's nervousness or if there's something that um that it's a difficult [1:23:58] thing to do we will work with you that's what we do that's what the fbi does and and and and that's [1:24:03] what we've said for months and months and it remains as true today as it was the first time we said [1:24:07] i had no intention of asking about epstein but there were three allegations made a failure to fully [1:24:12] redact victims names have you done that so we we um the we were required by law to redact victims names [1:24:20] we did not get to choose victims so what the judge told us in new york was if somebody identified [1:24:24] themselves as the victim we had to redact that and um and that's what we did um and it's been a [1:24:30] failure to prosecute perpetrators never and if there's a if we learn of a bad guy that we can [1:24:36] prosecute today we will prosecute them today has there been a failure to release all the files [1:24:41] no so there's we reviewed more than enough we over collected on purpose to make sure we could comply [1:24:46] with the law and so necessarily by over collecting some of the materials we collected were not responsive [1:24:52] that had nothing to do with with the epstein files or the transparency act i want to dramatically shift [1:24:56] gears now and talk about what's going on in new jersey our federal officers are being assaulted by [1:25:04] people who are funded we believe from outside sources um one man was arrested recently death [1:25:12] threats on ice officers it's no no wonder they don't want to wear matt i mean they want to wear masks to [1:25:17] protect their identity to protect their families to protect their lives while they're trying to deport [1:25:23] criminally illegal aliens and protect this detention center which is legally there what is going on [1:25:31] in america who is funding uh these uh people antifa and these other groups that are are causing these [1:25:40] issues uh criminals uh that are causing chaos in our country and what is the department of justice doing [1:25:47] about it so thank you for that question look if you look at the people who are arrested in new jersey [1:25:52] very few of them were from new jersey there was one that was from as far away as portland there were a [1:25:56] ton from new york a ton from further out west and so you you do have a concerted effort by national [1:26:02] organizations to disrupt and and really just try to create chaos because you also have a a ice run [1:26:08] facility that um that is completely compliant with the law and and and the the men and women that are [1:26:15] defending that facility are just doing their jobs and what we saw until earlier this this week [1:26:20] was was unfortunately a local government didn't let their cops come and and help even though i'm sure [1:26:26] every one of those cops would have loved to and so until we had that happen um there was there was [1:26:31] chaos but we have it under control and there is we will always defend ice we will always prosecute [1:26:38] anybody who touches an ice officer and and that's what we can do mr attorney general that is great [1:26:45] how is the investigation going into finding out this illegal funding of these illegal groups are [1:26:52] committing illegal activities it's um we we have multiple investigations and they're ongoing and we [1:26:58] will find them and do what well prosecute them because what they're doing is is absolutely a violation [1:27:05] of the law so the money they're raising is being used for without a doubt they're not telling the irs [1:27:11] for example that they're going to spend their money on um on on on umbrellas to hand out at at um [1:27:18] at riots right and so that's the kind of information that that they're lying about and that they're [1:27:23] raising money to do and is this outside money from from overseas coming in or is this funded within [1:27:29] our borders i think both um our investigation today is is ongoing so so but certainly a lot of it's from [1:27:36] in our borders a lot of it unfortunately is from here but there's no doubt that there's also foreign [1:27:40] funding involved well thank you for the work you're doing and uh mr chair i'll yield back 15 seconds [1:27:49] thank you mr uh offered uh mr klein thank you mr chairman attorney general welcome i want to discuss [1:28:00] a troubling development in my home state of virginia and in states across the country and uh that's uh [1:28:07] crimes committed by illegal immigrants who are released back into communities like virginia [1:28:14] um to continue to commit crimes not deported to their countries of origin for years under the [1:28:24] leadership of governor glenn youngkin virginia law enforcement agencies partnered with the federal [1:28:29] government under a 287g agreement these agreements allowed trained law enforcement officers to work with [1:28:36] federal immigration authorities to identify and remove criminal illegal aliens who had already been [1:28:40] involved in the criminal justice system now governor spanberger has chosen to revoke these agreements and move [1:28:46] virginia in the direction of a sanctuary commonwealth at a time when americans are demanding secure [1:28:53] borders and safer communities virginia is walking away from one of the most effective cooperative [1:28:56] tools available to law enforcement the result is that dangerous individuals who could have been [1:29:01] transferred to federal custody may instead be released back into the communities and we heard from the [1:29:07] inept commonwealth's attorney of fairfax county steve descano [1:29:12] in judiciary committee two weeks ago who was confronted with crime after crime committed by [1:29:19] illegal immigrants who were released back into the community because they were not prosecuted or held [1:29:24] to account by his office so from the doj's perspective does this lack of cooperation between federal [1:29:33] government and state law enforcement agencies make it more difficult to identify and remove criminal [1:29:38] aliens i mean more difficult and a lot less safe it puts everybody at danger not only the community but [1:29:44] the federal law enforcement that have to then go and arrest the person who should have been just picked up in jail when they were there [1:29:51] and the best way to know that it's not working is because when you go to the jurisdictions where [1:29:55] it does work where there is um law enforcement working local law enforcement working with federal [1:30:00] the federal government it's safer it's efficient and it complies with all the laws and so the best [1:30:06] the best way to know that which way works is to just do a compare and contrast one of the things we [1:30:12] have in this committee is the power of the purse and there's a lot of money flowing through cops [1:30:17] grants and other federal support for our local law enforcement agencies we support our local law [1:30:22] enforcement agencies we stand with uh our men and women in law enforcement we back the blue [1:30:28] but in those jurisdictions where you see a refusal or reluctance to enter into these types of 287g [1:30:35] agreements um could it be uh encouraged through the tying of these cops grants to these 287g agreements [1:30:43] could that be a productive use of uh the funds yes and and look the the problem is or the challenge [1:30:50] is that we love our cops and we want them to have funding and it's uh it's usually not them it's usually [1:30:56] the the leadership in in the local jurisdictions and so we do want to be sensitive to taking away the [1:31:01] money that they need because it's not their fault but yes the power of the purse is exactly [1:31:05] that it's power well it's hopeful i'm hopeful that the legislation i've introduced which would [1:31:10] do just that will move through the legislative process i also want to discuss your department's [1:31:17] data security program administered through the national security division for years congress [1:31:22] has become increasingly concerned that foreign adversaries like the communists chinese communist [1:31:26] party have been acquiring vast quantities of americans personal information through data brokers [1:31:31] corporate acquisitions commercial relationships and other means [1:31:33] operations um in the hands of a foreign adversary this information can be used to identify [1:31:38] intelligence targets facilitate surveillance support cyber operations and strengthen artificial [1:31:43] intelligence capabilities the department's data security program represents an important step [1:31:48] toward addressing these vulnerabilities and protecting americans from exploitation by foreign adversaries [1:31:54] since implementation of the program can you answer what the doj has learned about the scale of [1:31:58] foreign efforts to obtain u.s data through commercial channels i mean it happens every day um and and and [1:32:05] and it's a constant um effort by not only department justice but a lot of the a lot of the federal [1:32:11] government to combat that because um the the foreign actors are trying are spending a lot of money a lot of [1:32:17] resources and they're smart to try to get our our data and so you're right the the money that we put up in [1:32:23] these agencies nsd and other places um it's it's it's it's because we we have to make sure that we're not only stopping it [1:32:31] but also putting preventative measures and measures in place so it's not worth it for them to try [1:32:37] and have you has the doj identified any gaps in current law that make it difficult to prevent [1:32:42] sensitive u.s data from reaching these foreign adversaries i don't think gaps is the right way to say [1:32:47] it but i think that it's we need to make sure that we're constantly robust and and and that we we remain [1:32:52] strong in in in our regulatory um efforts to stop it thank you yield back that uh concludes the regular [1:33:02] hearing however there is a request for a second round the attorney general uh has important matters [1:33:12] to attend to so we will attempt to shorten what would normally be a second round and keep it to two [1:33:21] minutes per member if that's okay with you miss ming well in that case i recognize myself for two minutes [1:33:35] let me ask you general about the surge operations that the department uh has conducted on cities across [1:33:44] the united states um our state and local partners uh have mixed feelings about the success of that program [1:33:54] can you share the impact these operations have had on officer morale for example uh in large cities with [1:34:03] historically high crime rates uh and is the department planning to continue these efforts and if so [1:34:10] what resources are needed to continue those efforts so the surges have been um extraordinarily [1:34:20] successful from august 25 august sorry from august of last year to april of this year um we directed almost 44 [1:34:27] million dollars and over 1100 agents to these surge efforts and and in dc and in memphis um you see a [1:34:35] remarkable reduction in crime but you also see a community that's appreciative in this city we work [1:34:41] very well with with local leadership and including the mayor um because the results of the surges is [1:34:47] exactly what you expect it to be which is is we're taking bad guys off the streets we're letting people um feel [1:34:52] comfortable walking around and that's the same thing we did in dc and and in memphis um we expect to [1:34:58] spend another 100 million doing that over the next fiscal year because it's working because it's a good [1:35:03] thing to do in this country and so we we um sending a lot of law enforcement into a crime-ridden area um works [1:35:17] thank you mr chairman um mr attorney general i want to thank you for verbally committing to not moving [1:35:23] forward with the so-called um anti-weaponization fund i just want to make sure are you going to [1:35:29] issue a new memo in writing uh rescinding that may 18th memo i i i i'm not committing to putting [1:35:36] anything in writing i'm going to set it over and over again i mean i don't know what the purpose of [1:35:41] putting something in writing i'm telling you what we're doing meaning like what's the why do i need [1:35:45] to put something in writing if i'm telling you what we're doing you you you you started it you [1:35:50] established it in writing so it just makes sense to rescind it in writing i think a lot of americans [1:35:57] both sides of the aisle are concerned about it and it would restore a lot of trust about this issue [1:36:02] okay i'm not committing to doing anything in writing no okay i mean i'll take it under advisement [1:36:08] i'm just concerned because you're not under oath and i want to trust you and i want to believe you [1:36:13] we we all do um but putting it in writing would would settle that issue um i have one minute left [1:36:21] i still want to ask uh in writing but um every year the committee reports and the [1:36:30] joint explanatory statement accompanying the appropriations act direct the department to [1:36:35] provide to the appropriations committee various reports on various subjects these reports assist the [1:36:42] uh committee's work and help ensure transparency and accountability numerous reports from your department [1:36:48] have not yet been sent to us and are now overdue are you aware of this issue and will you please [1:36:54] work to deliver these reports to both the house and senate appropriations committees i will thank you [1:37:01] i yield back the lady yields back mr judge carter thank you very much mr chairman this settlement that [1:37:13] you entered it that was entered into that started off to be a lot of conversation about everybody was [1:37:20] involved as a litigant was they were represented by competent lawyers yes so so this wasn't just one [1:37:28] lawyer doing this thing this was the whole thing was this is a whole bunch of lawyers doing this thing [1:37:34] right yes that's correct when you when you have a lawsuit for anything and you decide to settle it [1:37:41] you want to make sure nobody's coming back on the facts that that lawsuit was based on and trying to go [1:37:48] forward again that's why you have to put something like the what the lady read into into the the the [1:37:57] agreement and say you did now they if they want to break the law past that set of facts and do it again [1:38:06] they're not covered protected by that that's correct they're only protected if that's what your lawsuit [1:38:12] was about correct and all the lawyers signed off on it and all the lawyers agreed for all the litigants [1:38:18] that were involved in that case 100 that's so nobody was forcing anybody without a lawyer to make a [1:38:25] settlement they all had a lawyer they all probably had good lawyers cost a lot of money and they settled [1:38:32] for the facts that we have before us you're stating that you're not going to continue the the the way to [1:38:42] pay it correct at this time or at any time for that matter correct in your note in your knowledge [1:38:48] correct i don't see where the fault is i'll show you back mr larlo thanks mr chairman i just want [1:38:59] to run through uh some questionable uh uh transactions uh uh mr secretary uh president [1:39:08] received a luxury jet from the qatari government valued hundreds of millions of dollars in apparent [1:39:12] violation of the emoluments clause of the constitution jared kushner's real estate financial deals with [1:39:18] the saudi royal family raised serious questions related to kickbacks and bribery that could be in [1:39:22] violation of federal bribery laws and the foreign corrupt practices act white house advisor peter [1:39:28] navarro friend of donald trump jr got the pentagon to loan more than 600 million dollars to vulcan [1:39:33] elements a small north carolina startup founded just two years earlier and donald trump jr's venture [1:39:39] capital firm has a stake in this company estimates of the company's valuation grew tenfold after the deal was [1:39:45] announced aafs infrastructure and energy which is on the cusp of securing a waiver a one billion dollar [1:39:52] contract to build and operate a pipeline across the balkans has ties to former national security [1:39:58] advisor michael flynn and the lawyer jesse banal that defended the president and donald trump jr [1:40:03] against the lawsuit that sought to hold them responsible for january 6th this company would be [1:40:09] allowed to ship fossil gas from the united states to replace russian fuels my question is and we [1:40:17] know that the administration you gutted the public integrity section for the last 50 years investigated [1:40:23] prosecuted crime related to government integrity and they prosecuted both democrats and republicans [1:40:28] simple yes or no question what i've just mentioned do you believe that what i've talked about is enough [1:40:34] here for the next attorney general to open a criminal investigation yes or no no you just read a bunch [1:40:41] of a bunch of random unsourced news articles and reports no that's not what that's not the basis to [1:40:48] open a criminal investigation i mean you're looking around but it's not this is not the basis on which [1:40:54] it is not just reading something that's just a hypothetical off a news article it's not a hypothetical [1:40:59] it is real did the president get a qatari what do you read the press are you a knowledge not the same [1:41:07] press you do apparently not my friend promise apparently not did the president receive a luxury [1:41:13] jet from the qatari government valued at hundreds of millions of dollars which is a united states of [1:41:18] america did of the emeluments clause of the constitution it is not it is not wow you do not belong in this job [1:41:26] mr attorney acting attorney general you should always and recuse yourself from these issues [1:41:33] because you are the president's lawyer you are not i'm not the president yes you are i am not thank you [1:41:39] mr chair mr claude thank you mr chairman um first uh mr acting attorney general i'm sorry to hear that [1:41:51] the weaponization fund is not moving forward uh you would have my full support when our government is [1:41:57] weaponized so as to steal money from innocent law-abiding citizens whether by making the [1:42:01] process into the penalty or forcing citizens to spend their resources on legal fees for their defense [1:42:07] or by acting or by actually seizing their bank accounts through civil asset forfeiture when there [1:42:13] is no criminal prosecution it is only right and fair to make these citizens whole and as a victim myself [1:42:21] for which every solitary member on this committee who is eight years or more in congress voted for the [1:42:26] bill that has my name on it the federal law that has my name on it against the irs people need to [1:42:33] be made whole when the web when the government has been weaponized against them but what i'd like to [1:42:38] talk to you about other than that is in seven in 1873 congress enacted the comstock act 18 usc section [1:42:45] 1461 which prohibits the mailing of abortion inducing materials in the united states although the statute [1:42:51] has been amended numerous times including as recently as 1994 congress has never repealed these criminal [1:42:57] prohibitions and as justice thomas recently noted the comstock act remains valid federal law and is [1:43:03] fully enforceable so my question to you is how will the department of justice ensure that this federal [1:43:09] law prohibiting the mailing of abortion inducing drugs is properly enforced and i wish i had more time [1:43:15] to really go through this because we in the state of georgia have a have a heartbeat bill and we prohibit [1:43:23] this type of of drug all right inducing abortions and yet it can come across from other states all [1:43:29] right and kill innocent unborn children how how will the department of justice ensure that this federal [1:43:35] law is enforced so it's that's a that's an important law and an important question and i will tell you that [1:43:42] that there's a lot of effort um within the department and and it's not just at the department of justice [1:43:47] it's other agencies with in in in the federal government into how the best way is to make sure [1:43:53] that we're protecting the rights of of georgians and other individual states but also the rights of [1:43:58] every american and um that you're right i wish we had more time to discuss that because it's a a [1:44:04] complicated issue on the on the first question that you asked um i could not agree with you more [1:44:09] that this department of justice was was was weaponized unfortunately against many many americans and [1:44:16] we're trying every day to to fix it and we've made a lot of progress but we we have a lot more to do [1:44:23] well thank you and and by the way i had a apology from mr lewis the ranking member of that subcommittee [1:44:29] y'all remember him all right he said i want to apologize to you for what the a piece of my [1:44:35] government what the irs did to you i wish you well i thank you and i yield mr ivy thank you mr chairman i [1:44:43] wanted to ask you it's a follow-up actually to a letter that i think 57 of my colleagues and i [1:44:49] sent this is about the shootings of uh alex predium is good in minneapolis the issue there is the [1:44:56] attorney general for the state uh and i think some local prosecutors have said they haven't been able [1:45:01] to get access to the evidence related to those shootings so they can make their own independent [1:45:06] judgments about whether they should move forward with cases or not uh the letter we sent i don't think [1:45:11] it has been answered but um are you going to be committing to sharing that information immediately [1:45:19] to these state and local prosecutors why no that's not what we do in criminal investigations [1:45:24] i disagree well i'm right you're wrong well let me let me say this your predecessor rod rosenstein [1:45:30] and i when he was u.s attorney in maryland i was the state prosecutor we shared evidence in these kinds [1:45:35] of cases all the time and then we made a determination about which would go forward but the refusal to share [1:45:41] evidence is i didn't say i refuse your evidence sir you said do i i mean immediately right that's what [1:45:47] i said no to we shared we shared the evidence immediately and then yes we did that's right look [1:45:53] on to the next uh you you mentioned that um it's important to make sure that bad guys don't just get [1:46:00] arrested but they pay back their victims and that struck me as ironic given the number of pardons that [1:46:06] this president has issued uh with respect to um i'll come back to you later devon archer sue nation [1:46:14] 60 million dollars 43 million in restitution was wiped away by the pardon uh carlos watson uh 36.7 [1:46:23] million was wiped away by the restitution the chrisley's 21 million was wiped away by the restitution [1:46:28] mr schwartz i don't have i don't remember what that number was in his particular case but over and over again [1:46:35] victims of fraud so they personally lost the money it was taken out of their pockets [1:46:41] issue a pardon they don't get paid they don't get made whole will you commit to trying to find a way [1:46:47] to make those people whole who've been denied this access to the as i said to you earlier sir the [1:46:53] constitution of our united states gives the president the power to pardon that is not a decision for me to [1:46:58] make or you to make it's a president it's a decision for the president united states to make [1:47:02] good could i have just one more question mr chairman with respect to civil liability for [1:47:09] these people which they're not pardoned for would you and the department of justice can pursue civil [1:47:15] remedies in cases that involve depends on the case right depends on the case well if they've been [1:47:19] convicted for criminal liability already certainly they can be convicted i mean it depends on what the [1:47:25] crime they were convicted of why just read them off to you they were fraud correct you didn't read [1:47:30] off the crimes no i mean it just depends i appreciate what you're saying and you're right that a [1:47:34] pardon doesn't cover civil liability will you pursue civil liability in these cases i'm not going to [1:47:39] commit civil liability right here now time of this gentleman has mr strong thank you mr chairman uh attorney [1:47:50] general blanche the national uh children's advocacy center located in my district was the original model [1:47:56] for the cac approach nationwide and continues to play a leading role in training and best practices [1:48:02] how does the doj view the role of the national center uh in strengthening child advocacy centers uh [1:48:08] capacity across the country yeah look it's extraordinarily important um that's that's a you know the the [1:48:15] the work that they're doing and they've done for i mean at least many years now is um is key to [1:48:22] the partnership and the future success of of making sure that they're on the right path so look the doj pays [1:48:28] plays a small role in that it doesn't play as important a role maybe as others but um that type [1:48:33] of education and and and and work is is important i understand that the victims of child abuse act fund uh [1:48:40] funded programs include the training and technical assistance for child abuse professionals grants are [1:48:45] coming up for competition this year how does the doj uh you know thinking about ensuring continuity so [1:48:52] that the training pipelines and services are not disruptive that goes through your department that's [1:48:57] what our grant folks do very well and they'll continue to do so and i definitely will happy to [1:49:02] have my folks work with you to make sure that there's continuity there thank you mr chairman you'll [1:49:06] back mr dean thank you mr chairman and thank you for the second round uh i did want to explain what i [1:49:14] held up here okay uh for the viewing public what you do as a member of congress as you go in you [1:49:20] you release your phone you release anything uh that uh would have electronics uh and you go in and [1:49:26] you attempt to capture some redacted material so i took a look at this uh email from jack goldberger [1:49:35] wednesday october 14th 2009 the subject is trump it is to jeffrey epstein and the language here that [1:49:44] is not redacted reads spoke to alan garton trump's attorney garton arranged a 20-minute phone [1:49:50] conference with trump and brad in lieu of a depo deposition following was discussed the blacked out [1:49:56] box is what was discussed a regurgitation of that i'll read to you what was what i was able to see [1:50:02] underneath uh it's as i say it's it's shorthanded it's clipped as a regurgitation of what took place [1:50:09] je never expelled from mar-a-lago no he was not a member may have been a guest never asked to leave [1:50:15] mark epstein said trump on je plane is that true answer i've been on a lot of planes may have been [1:50:22] on his plane no young girls on plane what do you know about allegations against je only what i read [1:50:28] in the paper trump ever at je house i may have been there with my wife any young girls there no may have [1:50:36] been some children of guest but that's it trump specifically asked garton to advise us of the [1:50:42] interview brad had also talked to manager of mar-a-lago bert lemke lemke confirmed j e never asked [1:50:52] to leave mar-a-lago i say that to say what a silly exercise that members of congress have to go through [1:50:58] to find out what actual conversations were taking place uh with the president in lieu of a deposition [1:51:04] this has nothing to do with redacting victims names my only point my only i don't have a question for [1:51:11] you my only point is you are gravely conflicted it is so obvious you are gravely conflicted these [1:51:17] survivors deserve prosecutions they deserved them years ago and now it's in your lap as pam bondi told [1:51:24] us they need an independent prosecutor i hope you will do that so if i might briefly respond um [1:51:33] the the law the the epstein transparency act requires us to redact victims we also have other [1:51:40] laws that apply that require us to apply other redactions that's not my law that's your law [1:51:45] and what what was just read the reason why that was redact the reason why that was redacted [1:51:50] is because that's um a privileged communication between counsel so the fact that it was read is [1:51:56] is fine but that wasn't redacted because there were victims names that was redacted for another purpose [1:52:01] which we're legally um obligated to do i advise you to take a look at the uh epstein transparency that [1:52:08] concludes uh today's hearing i want to thank our witness acting attorney general blanche for being [1:52:16] here and giving us his opinion over a great stretch without objection members may have seven days to [1:52:25] submit additional questions for the record the committee stands adjourned thank you and some [1:53:13] reporting from the associated press on the 1.8 billion dollar compensation fund the trump administration [1:53:18] deciding to comply with a court order to pause the fund that was created to help people who say they [1:53:23] were wrongfully targeted by the u.s justice system on x the doj posting the department of justice [1:53:30] disagrees strongly with the decision on the anti-weaponization fund put forth by the united states [1:53:35] district court judge in the eastern district of virginia wherein the court stated that under no [1:53:40] circumstances may the department of justice proceed with the anti-weaponization fund recently [1:53:45] established in order to make up for the tremendous abuse harm and hate unfairly shown to so many [1:53:51] people this fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized targeted or persecuted whether they were [1:53:57] democrat republican conservative independent or otherwise the department will abide by the court's ruling [1:54:09] tonight watch c-spans live coverage of another primary night in america as voters in california [1:54:15] iowa new jersey new mexico montana and south dakota head to the polls in key house senate and gubernatorial [1:54:21] primary races follow the candidates throughout the evening as they address supporters with race [1:54:25] results reported as polls closed stay up to date with live minute-to-minute results on screen and online [1:54:31] at c-span.org primary night in america every moment every result every speech live on c-span tonight [1:54:41] at 8 eastern years ago on june 2nd 1986 the united states senate opened its doors to television cameras [1:54:54] for the very first time this june celebrate 40 years of the senate on c-span 2. friday on c-span ceasefire [1:55:05] virginia democratic senator mark warner and north carolina republican senator tom tillis join our host dasha [1:55:11] burns for a bipartisan conversation on the iran war the midterm elections and the top issues facing the senate [1:55:17] watch ceasefire friday at 7 p.m and 10 p.m eastern and pacific only on c-span day marks 40 years of [1:55:31] senate coverage on c-span on c-span 2. let's take a look again at some of the highlights from over the [1:55:37] years we are going public we'll be watched by our friends and by people across the country and i would [1:55:52] hope as i've said before that the senate may change not not as an institution but may become a more [1:56:01] efficient body because of televised proceedings today as the u.s senate comes out of the communications [1:56:11] dark ages we create another historic moment in the relationship between congress and technological [1:56:19] advancements in communications through radio and television the senator recognize mr gordon today marks the [1:56:33] first time when our legislative branch in its entirety will appear on that medium of communication [1:56:39] through which most americans get their information about what our government and our country does [1:56:46] the televising of senate chamber proceedings also represents a wise and warranted policy broadcast media [1:56:55] coverage recognizes the basic right and need of the citizens of our nation to know the business of [1:57:02] their government the extremely important occasion about bringing the senate of the united states [1:57:07] into the 20th century and to what i consider to be a very important day for the senate and for [1:57:13] the american people and by our action today we haven't really fundamentally altered that situation we've [1:57:20] simply enlarged the galleries we have pushed out the walls to include all of the american people who wish to [1:57:27] watch as thomas jefferson so often reminded us an educated citizenry is crucial to the [1:57:33] preservation of representative government it was inevitable in our democracy the floor proceedings [1:57:40] in the united states senate would one day be televised this has rightly been termed an historic day [1:57:48] not mr president that i delude myself that the primitive art form that we practice here on the senate floor [1:57:55] is likely to constitute any great threat to the ratings of dynasty or dallas or falcon crest [1:58:00] now mr president i will not say that tv in the senate is going to change anything but i wish to note [1:58:10] that we've had advice on how to do this and how to make certain that we we cut that shine on the head [1:58:20] and if necessary how to do the eye shadow and the whole thing so that those of us unfortunate enough to [1:58:26] have bags under the eyes may look a little bit better now i was counseled by my wife to wear a blue shirt [1:58:35] today but rummaging through my available supply i found they were all white and i then concluded that i [1:58:46] was too old to change anyway and that even makeup wouldn't help much and that the bags under the bags [1:58:53] under my eyes would just have to stay there i imagine that the capitol hill area sales of hairspray [1:59:01] styling mousses grecian formula ultra bright toothpaste and mascara have recently reached an all-time high [1:59:10] a sonnet to senate tv turn the spotlight over here focus the camera at my place pages don't come too [1:59:25] near otherwise you might block my face some have made the worst claim yet that viewers will tie from [1:59:33] a dull plot but i'd be willing to make a bet lobbyists will probably watch a lot now that we're carried on [1:59:41] tv stations people can view all of our speeches and votes our words will reach ears throughout the [1:59:48] world's nations anyone wishing can watch and take notes in this democracy such freedom's the pleasure [1:59:57] that's all americans can now really treasure thank you wow what a highlight clip okay here to talk to [2:00:04] us about everything related to this 40-year anniversary is howard mortman c-span's host of the podcast [2:00:12] extreme mormon howard thanks so much for being with us this morning i feel especially honored [2:00:18] it's a wonderful day here at c-span 40 years of this so uh so thank you for your enthusiasm and [2:00:23] your excitement talk to us about what this anniversary is all about here howard well it's it's a great if [2:00:28] you are a political junkie a political historian love the senate love watching congress this is a great day [2:00:34] uh to be an american and to celebrate 40 years of the senate u.s senate on tv uh live coverage gavel [2:00:41] gavel on c-span 2 july june 2nd 1986 it all began and the cameras went on and that's when c-span 2 went [2:00:48] on and we've been showing the senate floor ever since uh live now on that clip we heard some of [2:00:54] those senators talking about getting makeup to cover up their bags and making sure that they are [2:00:59] representing you know with the right colors but talk to us about what it means to actually see the [2:01:04] senate floor on the tv every day i love that question because there are so many people who are young [2:01:08] uh who don't can't remember a time when you couldn't see politicians spending their money [2:01:14] basically their taxpayers money and all these great debates uh before cameras that were lost to history [2:01:20] you know civil rights gulf of tonkin vietnam and all that's none of that exists um now because of [2:01:27] cameras in the chamber american people can connect directly with their senators and their their politicians [2:01:33] and and watch them vote and debate and deliberate and um you know it's funny the the clip that you [2:01:38] showed uh sitting and presiding over uh the senate on day one june 2nd 1986 was senator chuck grassley [2:01:45] and you saw him presiding and he's gonna be on the senate floor today uh talking about uh senate tv in 40 [2:01:50] years and if if the rich history that's captured uh by uh by the multi the several cameras in the chamber [2:01:59] government-run cameras i should point out c-span privately funded cameras in the chamber are [2:02:04] government-run but capture some amazing moments uh in the u.s congress talk to us about all the [2:02:11] changes that we've seen over those 40 years obviously chuck grassley hasn't changed that much [2:02:18] but talk to us about what we've seen and how it has evolved over the course of 40 years you know [2:02:24] it's really funny and this is gonna be a terrible answer but in many ways it hasn't changed uh you [2:02:29] still it's still the same essentially the same camera angles um same quorum calls uh they open with [2:02:35] a prayer and the pledge and then they go into uh morning business and so the structure of the senate [2:02:42] hasn't really changed and that's one of the great things about what our coverage is it looks almost [2:02:47] today day uh uh year 40 that it did day one back in 1986. now all with all that said the politics have [2:02:55] changed and the issues have changed and uh we we continue on and you know debates have changed [2:03:01] partisanship and so on but the sense the essence of what we do of showing live gavel to gavel coverage [2:03:08] of the u.s senate on the floor hasn't changed um now i should add our technologies have changed and improved [2:03:14] um last year the senate passed the resolution unanimously which is something you don't [2:03:18] hear uh applauding c-span's coverage of uh of uh the senate floor and the cable company's role in [2:03:26] funding this and the streaming companies now uh show c-span 2. technology changes but the essence of [2:03:33] what you're seeing doesn't really change all that much i think that's actually a good thing now 40 years [2:03:37] is uh not a small number here what is he's been doing to mark the anniversary today ah what a great [2:03:43] question well in addition to all the hoopla and excitement and i know you can feel that it's [2:03:47] palpable around here uh one thing i do want to i want to plug a couple things one our website cspan.org [2:03:53] has a couple really good resources if people want to relieve again talking to fellow political junkies [2:03:59] here and congress uh lovers of congress history uh we have a great site uh set up that walks you through [2:04:07] the history of cameras uh in the u.s senate chamber and the history of c-span 2 concurrently with it [2:04:13] we have a timeline of great moments a timeline put together by dr robert browning uh from our video [2:04:19] library from our archives uh of big moments pictures and links to the clips of those but also this very [2:04:26] video rich website can really describe and illustrate to you what it means and how uh discussions around [2:04:32] senate tv has evolved over the 40 years the last question for you here howard what are you most excited [2:04:37] about today i'm excited jasmine to be on washington journal with you sharing with american people [2:04:43] how exciting this is i want to put in a plug because you work at notice um your colleague paul kane [2:04:49] uh appears on a podcast with me part two this week on thursday with the great carl holst and chad [2:04:56] program uh carl holst new york times and chad program of fox news talking about uh moments great [2:05:01] moments in senate history on tv uh moments chosen by listeners uh to the podcast and we walk through and [2:05:08] play the clips and hear them so uh that's actually something else i'm excited about in addition to all [2:05:13] the resources on our website that podcast it's a lot of fun so today all of america should be [2:05:17] celebrating transparency and openness in the u.s senate all right two legends from the hill they're [2:05:23] joining you uh howard thank you so much for being with us this morning to celebrate 40 year anniversary [2:05:30] of senate coverage on c-span no small feat thank you thanks jasmine senate president pro tempore chuck grassley [2:05:36] followed by majority leader john thune spoke earlier today on the senate floor marking c-span [2:05:43] two's 40th anniversary of live gavel to gavel senate coverage i'm here to say happy 40th birthday to c-span [2:05:59] broadcasting democracy in the senate to the american people i have to confess to you that 40 years ago [2:06:13] today i voted no on the senate being televised i thought it would hurt the decorum of the united [2:06:23] state senate whether it hurt the decorum of the united states senate or not i'm not going to make [2:06:31] a judgment on that today but i do tell you that on reflection i'm glad that the senate is televised [2:06:43] to make government more real to the american people so i guess i'd have to confess that i cast the wrong [2:06:51] vote 40 years ago so now for four decades c-span has served as an essential conduit between the united [2:07:03] states senate and the american people since its launch on june 2nd 1986 c-span 2 has offered uninterrupted [2:07:18] unfiltered access to the debates the votes and the deliberations of the united states senate so people [2:07:30] in this country that watch senate on c-span 2 get the news unfiltered directly to you the american people [2:07:41] the american people don't have to rely on biased journalists to get their news when it might really [2:07:50] be distorted and when i say distorted too often at my town meetings in iowa and i had 12 of them last [2:07:59] week uh i hear people say how come you can't get along in other words republicans and deborats don't [2:08:08] seem to be talking to each other i always try to explain there's more partisanship than there should be [2:08:15] but i also say there's not as much as you as an iowan actually see because you see on television [2:08:28] members of the senate always disagree you never when there's agreement you never see much about it [2:08:36] so this is your opportunity to listen in the united states senate to get it unbiased in a way that you [2:08:47] would not from journalists also c-span operates without any public funding or any government oversight [2:09:00] the continues continued success of c-span is due to the funding that is provided by platform operators [2:09:11] such as cable satellite and now even streaming services these platforms should continue to make [2:09:20] delivery of c-span a priority and i'm sure they will because americans then can watch congress in [2:09:31] action in real time so i say once again happy birthday c-span to your coverage of the senate helps [2:09:42] democracy work and provide a true public service i yield and suggest the absence of a quarrel [2:09:50] as president as we begin our proceedings this morning i want to take a moment to recognize [2:09:56] a milestone here in the senate on this day 40 years ago c-span broadcast the united states senate for [2:10:04] the very first time on june 2nd 1986 the american people were able to turn on their televisions and [2:10:10] see the senate come to order and their senators engage in debate until the gavel dropped later that day [2:10:17] gavel to gavel coverage mr president that's the c-span way and over the last 40 years c-span [2:10:24] hasn't missed a beat it's captured 43 830 hours of senate proceedings broadcast 169 000 speeches by [2:10:36] hundreds of united states senators who served in these halls and captured the moments large and small [2:10:44] historic and human that make up the united states senate miss president on that day that first day 40 [2:10:52] years ago the senate was considering an education bill and what a fitting topic of discussion for c-span's [2:10:59] first day covering this chamber education is c-span's entire mission c-span urges its viewers to quote [2:11:09] make up your own mind and for 40 years c-span has enabled the american people to make up their own minds [2:11:16] about we do here in the senate it's helped countless american students see the legislative process in [2:11:21] action and it's ensured that what happens here is lost neither to the day's news cycle nor to history [2:11:30] and i trust that c-span will continue to offer the american people a front row seat to the senate for [2:11:36] many decades to come years ago on june 2nd 1986 the united states senate opened its doors to television [2:11:46] cameras for the very first time this june celebrate 40 years of the senate on c-span 2. tonight watch c-span's [2:11:58] live coverage of another primary night in america as voters in california iowa new jersey new mexico [2:12:04] montana and south dakota head to the polls in key house senate and gubernatorial primary races follow [2:12:10] the candidates throughout the evening as they address supporters with race results reported as polls [2:12:14] closed stay up to date with live minute-to-minute results on screen and online at c-span.org primary [2:12:21] night in america every moment every result every speech live on c-span tonight at 8 eastern friday on c-span [2:12:35] ceasefire virginia democratic senator mark warner and north carolina republican senator tom tillis join [2:12:41] our host dasha burns for a bipartisan conversation on the iran war the midterm elections and the top [2:12:47] issues facing the senate watch ceasefire friday at 7 p.m and 10 p.m eastern and pacific only on c-span [2:12:54] homeland security secretary mark wayne mullen held a news conference in dallas to honor u.s immigration [2:13:05] and customs enforcement officers after a shooting in 2025 at an ice facility that resulted in three [2:13:11] deaths including the shooter uh well guys thank you so much for uh for being here um you know we're in [2:13:35] dallas texas at the detention center here and and uh while we are celebrating three individuals for their [2:13:42] heroic um actions taking on a very dark and bad day something that should have never taken place [2:13:51] it's the irony of this is that each day we go after the worst of the worst and that's what [2:13:59] the the ice agents and that's what dhs and our other 21 components do on a daily basis we focus [2:14:06] on keeping our homeland safe but today we get a pause for a little bit and we recognize the best [2:14:12] of the best see the left they want to demonize our ice officers every single day but really they're [2:14:18] enforcing the laws that these individuals that want to demonize them the congressmen and senators [2:14:23] and even governors that want to go out and say they're breaking the constitution and that they're [2:14:29] i'll call them all these horrific names the truth is not one thing they can point to where they say they [2:14:34] ever broke the constitution there's not one thing that they can say that they're doing that is outside [2:14:39] the law that they are mandated to do that congress has the one that mandated them to do so they enforce [2:14:47] the laws that were that were passed by our nation's leaders and when we get a pause for just a second [2:14:55] and recognize the activities of three individuals that were willing to risk their lives to the same [2:15:03] people that were simply being arrested just sometimes an hour before or the day before but they are [2:15:09] being processed here here in dallas texas the fact that they're willing to sacrifice their lives for [2:15:16] individuals that's in their custody would speak volumes to what type of law enforcement we have that [2:15:22] work in ice and at dhs and for for me being the secretary of dhs it's an honor to be here today [2:15:28] in fact in some cases i feel like i shouldn't be the one standing up here i wasn't secretary at the [2:15:36] time and nor was i here during that tragic moment when 17 shots were fired from a rooftop [2:15:44] just a few hundred feet away but i'm honored to be invited here today and a guy that that responded [2:15:55] quickly that was only a few moments away when this when the when the gunfire started who came in [2:16:02] without hesitation the man that's going to actually be the one that should be presenting the awards but [2:16:09] you're going to be calling the names out he's going to come up here and speak for a moment and then [2:16:14] and then we're going to present the words to these three brave individuals so robert why don't you take [2:16:19] over the mic from here thank you good afternoon my name is robert serna i'm a deputy field office [2:16:31] director for icro and i was the first manager that was at the scene on september 24th um you know [2:16:42] september 24th i remember that that morning it was supposed to be you know a busy morning because we [2:16:49] had about 70 new hire search hire employees coming in deportation officers coming in so we were going [2:16:57] be pretty busy that morning i was i was coming to to the office a little bit earlier than usual [2:17:05] when i got notified about you know shots being fired at our office now i was only about five miles away [2:17:15] it didn't take me that long to get here but just you know just arriving to the scene not knowing [2:17:22] exactly what you were going to what i was going to encounter i've been doing this job i've been working [2:17:28] for you know immigration with ins and cbp and and ice for about 27 years and you know we we train [2:17:40] we train all the time for different situations but you know this this tragic situation that we had on [2:17:47] the 24th is just you know it's a a senseless act um it was an act targeted you know an act of violence [2:17:55] targeted towards us towards ice you know we that morning three individuals three detainees that were [2:18:05] in one of our detention vans were were struck by the sniper the sniper thought that you know he was [2:18:12] striking a van with with our employees but he he actually hit three three of our detainees [2:18:19] we there was 10 others in that vehicle at the time we did have help from some of our other partners [2:18:32] federal partners so you know i do want to thank that help and we had um hsi ice hsi we had fbi [2:18:43] fps we had the department of war we had texas dps and then we also i'd like to thank dallas pd for [2:18:52] responding you know i remember getting here in the morning um you know witnessing our our officers go to [2:19:01] action and and helping the the individuals that were wounded uh with gunshots um you know they were [2:19:10] they were treating to them they were taking them to uh to the ambulances so that they can be rushed to [2:19:17] the hospital and you know at the same time we still didn't know um if there was still an active shooter [2:19:26] if there was only one shooter if there was another suspect that we weren't aware of you know i i do want [2:19:32] to thank dallas pd for having their their swat team arrived here their swat team cleared our office [2:19:40] our whole building uh and they assisted with with the aftermath now you know the aftermath it took for [2:19:49] it took us a while back to get this office back into um the shape that it is right now you know there [2:19:57] was a lot of there was a lot of uh windows that were shot at about we have 15 windows in the back [2:20:04] seven of those were shot shot at with multiple rounds so you could see there's that frame there [2:20:13] was up on a wall shot went through a window went through a wall and then hit that frame in that [2:20:24] in that glass and went through and then it was embedded into like the middle of our office [2:20:30] so there was a lot of carnage um but you know we overcame that and you know i'm proud of you know [2:20:40] i'm proud to be here in dallas doing the work that i'm doing and and i'm proud of the team that we have [2:20:46] that goes out there every day to do the work that they're doing you know i'd like to say that [2:20:53] there were um there were many forms of heroism that day today i am honored and proud to welcome [2:21:04] department of homeland security secretary mark wayne mullen who is here to recognize three of these [2:21:11] you know heroes um i i know he said you know the best of the best and and that's correct [2:21:17] um i'll go ahead and i'll start off with recognizing deportation officer andres gotcha [2:21:29] dio gotcha demonstrated extraordinary courage during the active shooter incident making the [2:21:36] initial 911 call and providing critical information he risked his safety to extract multiple detainees from [2:21:45] a transport van under fire enabling them to receive life-saving care and stabilizing them until [2:21:53] advanced medical help arrived andres gotcha deportation officer marco solis dio solis responded [2:22:34] under active threat administering life-saving first aid to two critically injured detainees [2:22:40] he conducted immediate trauma assessments provided emergency care and coordinated with responders to [2:22:47] ensure safe casually movement marco solis enforce enforcement and removal assistant christopher pine [2:23:26] era pine administered life-saving first aid to two detainees establishing a casualty care area under duress [2:23:34] he provided direct emergency interventions coordinated with responders and sustained patient stability until [2:23:41] transfer directly contributing to the preservation of life era christopher pine and now i'll i'll pass it [2:24:12] on i'll introduce uh congressman brandon gill thank you and and first of all i want to thank secretary [2:24:21] mullin for taking the time to come out to to dallas and uh to these genuine heroes for our country and [2:24:30] everything that they've been doing um you know ice and border patrol are on the front lines of not only [2:24:40] defending american sovereignty but keeping our communities safe and ensuring that murderers and [2:24:47] rapists and gang bangers are not running loose within our neighborhoods these are the guys who are [2:24:54] making sure that america stays america that it is a place where we can raise our kids safely and in [2:25:02] communities that are conducive to american flourishing and we're so thankful for the work you guys have done [2:25:11] um you know over the past really the past several months we've heard increasingly really the past year [2:25:19] we've heard increasingly deranged rhetoric from the other side of the aisle and i hear it every single day [2:25:26] in washington i know you guys feel the impacts of that referring to ice and border patrol as nazis as the [2:25:34] gestapo and far far worse and eventually some lunatic is going to hear that and believe that they are [2:25:43] the next diedrich bonhoeffer and act on that rhetoric and that's exactly what happened here