Rep. Garcia: Bondi ‘refused to answer any questions’ on Trump in interview on Epstein files

[0:00] It is clear in just this part of the interview that she continues to push all of the investigation [0:10] and the blame on acting AG Todd Blanche. She said, and I quote, [0:18] acting AG Blanche was managing the entire investigation, end quote. And what you're [0:23] going to hear in that interview and what she's saying here in her words and remarks is that [0:30] it was Todd Blanche, the current acting AG that was leading the Epstein investigation. And quite [0:36] frankly, all of the mistakes that we saw, the redactions, not protecting survivors. She continues [0:44] to push that back onto the acting AG Todd Blanche, who, by the way, was Donald Trump's former personal [0:49] lawyer. I also personally asked the former AG five times and five different questions about her [1:00] conversations with President Trump, whether he directed her at any given time on the Epstein [1:05] files, what he knew, what he asked her to redact or not. And she refused to answer any questions [1:13] about President Trump. In fact, she said that she would not speak or respond to any questions [1:18] that had anything to do with President Trump. It's also interesting that sitting next to her [1:26] is DOJ counsel, somebody that currently works for the Department of Justice, who on multiple occasions [1:32] stepped in and told the former Attorney General that she was not going to answer those questions, [1:39] especially when we ask questions of what the president directed her to do. And so the DOJ is [1:45] in there right now stopping questions about President Trump and about what happened in the release of [1:54] these files and why so many survivors were doxed and their information, of course, released to the [1:58] public. And let me also just say, finally, before I turn this over to Liz, to Ms. Stein here. We asked [2:05] questions about Ghislaine Maxwell and the transfer. And again, she referred those questions to Todd Blanche [2:12] and the Bureau of Prisons. So let's be clear, we have many questions for Mr. Blanche and for the Bureau [2:17] of Prisons that yet Republicans are refusing to ask. Why was she transferred to a less secure facility? [2:24] And Ms. Bondi claims to have no knowledge of the actual transfer, no knowledge that it was a less [2:32] secure prison, and didn't know about it until she found out after the fact, and then will refuse to [2:38] answer additional questions. So let me introduce Ms. Stein, of course, to a brave survivor with some [2:43] remarks. Thank you. My name is Liz Stein. In 1994, I was 21 years old and a senior in college when I met [2:57] Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. For years, the Epstein case has been treated like entertainment [3:03] in this country. A spectacle, a conspiracy theory, an endless cycle of headlines and social media [3:11] focused on sensationalism and powerful people. Republicans versus Democrats, conspiracy versus [3:19] cover-up, left versus right. That framing is wrong. What has gotten lost in all of this is the reality [3:27] of what this is, the crime of sex trafficking. More than a thousand vulnerable girls and young women [3:35] were identified, groomed, trafficked, and abused in a system Jeffrey Epstein built around power, [3:42] coercion, exploitation, and access to wealth and influence. And I think many Americans still do not [3:52] fully understand what that means. Because if they did, they would never accept the way that this case [3:59] is being handled. The partial release of the Epstein files, riddled with redactions that expose identifying [4:06] information about survivors while protecting perpetrators, is not just bureaucratic incompetence. [4:13] It reflects something much deeper about whose dignity our Department of Justice is prioritizing [4:23] and whose suffering it is willing to sacrifice. And survivors see that clearly. For survivors, [4:30] privacy is safety. Privacy is dignity. Privacy is the ability to rebuild a life without being [4:38] re-traumatized by the very institutions that are supposed to protect us. And while survivors identifying [4:45] information was exposed, the Department of Justice is simultaneously telling the American people [4:51] that there are no additional investigative leads worth pursuing. We can see with our own eyes when we [4:59] look at the Epstein files that this is not true. These files contain leads, names, connections, [5:07] friendships, patterns, witnesses, travel records, financial relationships, and institutional failures. [5:15] In any other sex trafficking case of this magnitude, those leads would be aggressively pursued. But in [5:23] this case, they have not been. And as citizens of this country, we should all be asking why. [5:30] That is why people are losing trust in our Department of Justice. Not because this case is politically [5:37] inconvenient, but because Americans understand instinctively that justice should not operate [5:43] differently for wealthy people who have power. And that is also why many of us have serious concerns [5:50] about today's proceedings. This should not be a transcribed interview. Former attorney Pam Bondy [5:58] should testify under oath on video with a full transcript and recording released publicly. [6:05] Because the American people deserve transparency and accountability cannot only exist when it's politically [6:13] convenient. For survivors, this has never been about politics. It's about whether we as victims of [6:21] this crime matter when the cameras are off. It's about whether the United States Department of Justice [6:27] is willing to fully confront a massive sex trafficking operation when wealthy and powerful people are [6:34] implicated. That should concern every American. Because if the law only applies selectively, it is liberty for some, [6:43] but not justice at all. Thank you.