Survivors testify as Lutnick faces resignation calls — Epstein roundup

[0:00] Rosa sharing her story in an emotional hearing [0:02] in Palm Beach today. [0:03] Now, she was one of five victims [0:05] appearing before Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. [0:08] Rosa says she was 18 years old [0:10] when she was recruited by one of Epstein's associates. [0:12] She said Jean-Luc Brunel, [0:14] who died in a Paris prison cell in 2022. [0:17] Rosa said she met Brunel in her home country of Uzbekistan. [0:20] She was an aspiring model. [0:22] He owned a famous modeling agency. [0:24] So he helped her obtain a visa, relocate to the United States, [0:28] and then introduced her to Jeffrey Epstein. [0:32] For the following three years, [0:35] I was subject to ongoing rape. [0:40] Jeffrey Epstein was under house arrest [0:45] for the molestation of underage girls [0:47] at the exact time he was abusing me. [0:53] Horrific. [0:54] After years of abuse, [0:55] Rosa says she eventually reached out for help. [0:57] She came forward anonymously as a Jane Doe, [1:01] but then her real name appeared throughout [1:04] the supposedly redacted to protect victims Epstein files. [1:10] I woke up one day with my name mentioned over 500 times. [1:23] While rich and powerful remained protected by reduction, [1:26] my name was exposed to the world. [1:29] Now reporters across the globe contact me. [1:31] I cannot live without looking over my shoulder. [1:36] Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw is out front now. [1:39] He sits on the House Oversight Committee, [1:40] so he attended today's hearing. [1:42] And Congressman, I appreciate your time. [1:45] It's hard to hear her talk there that she said she woke up [1:49] and her name was mentioned over 500 times. [1:51] 500 times after years of being a Jane Doe, [1:53] after being anonymous. [1:56] When we heard Todd Blanche say, [1:58] we will do everything. [1:59] We will protect every victim's name. [2:01] This is about the victims. [2:02] And her name appeared in there 500 times. [2:06] What was it like to sit there and hear her tell her story today? [2:13] It was very hard to hear Rosa's story today, [2:16] but also inspiring to see her courage in sharing it. [2:21] You know, her story brings together all of the terrible elements of the Epstein saga. [2:27] She's recruited by Jean-Luc Brunel from Uzbekistan, [2:31] where she lived in poverty as she described it, [2:34] came to the United States with probably a fraudulent visa [2:37] that Epstein, Brunel, and Maxwell procured for her. [2:40] They used that visa to control her. [2:43] Epstein raped her repeatedly while he was serving his sentence [2:49] from the sweetheart deal that Alex Acosta gave to him. [2:53] That is what is so outraging about this. [2:56] He should have been behind bars where he couldn't harm another child. [3:01] Instead, he was raping Rosa and others. [3:04] I think it's so crucial you say that, right, [3:06] that she said this all happened while he was serving that, [3:10] you know, being able to spend the days where he wished. [3:14] Congressman, not a single Republican attended today's hearing. [3:16] And I say that in the context of obviously some Republicans [3:19] who have stood up tirelessly for the release of the full files, [3:22] including Thomas Massey and Nancy Mace [3:24] and at the time Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert. [3:27] But why? Did anybody talk to you on your committee [3:33] as to why they did not come at all to this? [3:36] I know that Chairman Comer was aware of the hearing today. [3:40] They certainly would have been welcome to attend. [3:43] And you're right, as you point out, we have a handful of Republicans [3:45] on the committee who have courageously been willing to take on [3:49] even the Trump administration here. [3:51] But most Republicans in Congress have not been willing to stand up [3:54] for these survivors. [3:55] And I hope that will change at some point. [3:57] But I know that Democrats on the oversight committee [4:00] and in Congress are going to continue to push [4:02] until we get the transparency and accountability [4:04] that Rosa and the other survivors deserve. [4:07] So the former Attorney General Pam Bondi finally agreed to testify [4:11] under oath. [4:12] And she's scheduled to appear before your committee, [4:14] I understand later this month, May 29th, I believe. [4:16] Right. [4:17] Jenna Lisa Jones is another Epstein survivor. [4:19] She talked today and she talked about questions [4:22] that she wants Bondi specifically to answer. [4:24] Here is what she said. [4:25] Who are we covering for? [4:28] Like, you were willing to lose your job [4:32] to cover up for these people. [4:37] What do they have on you? [4:38] Because I'd like to know. [4:41] You're a woman, you're a mother, and you look at us. [4:46] You couldn't even look at the survivors. [4:49] So what's your part in this? [4:51] Do you think that these answer, [4:57] that Bondi will provide these answers? [4:59] Do you trust her to answer truthfully? [5:01] And will Republicans be a part of that hearing? [5:06] Republicans will be part of it. [5:09] It will be a transcribed interview, unfortunately, [5:12] not a deposition. [5:13] So while she won't be under oath, [5:15] it still will be a crime for her to lie to Congress. [5:18] One of the things that we as Democrats are pushing for [5:21] is for this interview with Pam Bondi to be on video. [5:24] We feel very strongly that the American people, [5:27] especially the survivors, like one we just heard from, [5:30] deserve to see Pam Bondi's responses at least on video. [5:34] It should be public, open for themselves, [5:36] public, open for the world to see, [5:38] but at least there should be a video after the fact. [5:40] So the country can judge for itself [5:43] whether they think she's been truthful or fulsome [5:45] in the responses that she gives to our questions. [5:47] And I promise you we will ask the questions [5:49] that the survivors today asked us to ask. [5:51] Democrats on the House Oversight Committee [5:53] are demanding that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick resign. [5:57] Democrats say Lutnick lied and evaded questions [5:59] when he testified about Jeffrey Epstein earlier this week. [6:03] Before the files came out, Lutnick had said [6:06] he interacted with Epstein only once in 2005. [6:09] Lutnick claimed he noticed disturbing red flags [6:12] and was immediately determined to never be in a room with Epstein again. [6:17] But the released Epstein files show Lutnick had at least two other interactions [6:22] with Epstein over the years. [6:24] CNN's Annie Greer joining us now. [6:26] What are you learning from lawmakers this morning? [6:29] Well, Sarah, lawmakers were on the Democratic side [6:33] were completely unsatisfied by Lutnick's testimony. [6:37] And just to start, there was bipartisan interest in having Lutnick [6:40] come in and explain the discrepancy between his initial statement [6:44] where he said he cut ties with Epstein in 2005 [6:47] and to explain what the Epstein files revealed [6:49] which are those other interactions that you mentioned [6:51] as well as emails and phone call correspondence. [6:54] So, Lutnick went through all of those interactions. [6:57] He detailed that 2005 meeting where he and his wife went over [7:01] to meet Epstein for coffee because the Lutnicks had just moved in [7:04] next door to Epstein. [7:06] And Lutnick said that he and his wife left that meeting pretty abruptly [7:09] because they felt uncomfortable about a joke and remark [7:12] that Epstein made about a massage table. [7:15] And it was after that conversation that Lutnick and his wife decided [7:18] that Lutnick would not have any personal or professional relationship with Epstein. [7:23] But then there was a meeting in 2011, years later, [7:27] where Lutnick came over to Epstein's house apparently to discuss scaffolding [7:31] and construction about their neighboring properties. [7:34] And the main interaction here that has drawn a lot of attention [7:37] is the 2012 meeting where Lutnick took his family to Epstein's island [7:43] and they had lunch outside on Epstein's island. [7:46] And Lutnick claims that nothing happened here, [7:48] totally tried to downplay this interaction, [7:50] said it was a, you know, sort of a meaningless interaction [7:52] and a lunch that they didn't go inside. [7:54] They didn't see any young women or girls on the island. [7:56] They didn't see anything worrisome. [7:58] Lutnick condemned all of Epstein's crimes. [8:01] But Democrats walked away from that testimony saying both things can't be true, [8:07] that you cut ties with Epstein in 2005 and then had, [8:10] proceeded to have these two other interactions. [8:12] And they didn't feel like Lutnick fully, you know, [8:15] owned that and claimed what really happened here. [8:18] So I'm going to read for you a piece of their letter calling on Lutnick to resign [8:22] that they sent directly to Lutnick. [8:24] The Democrats write, quote, [8:26] You attempted to evade responsibility for your actions [8:29] and avoided being clear with the American people. [8:31] The facts are clear. [8:32] You lied to the American people and attempted to conceal your relationship [8:35] with Jeffrey Epstein in your public statements. [8:38] Your lack of candor demonstrates that you are unfit to perform the duties required of you [8:43] as Secretary of Commerce and you must step down immediately. [8:47] Now, there are no Republicans at this point on the Oversight Committee calling for Lutnick to resign. [8:53] And the White House still is firmly behind Lutnick and serving in this Trump administration. [8:58] But this just shows that this issue of Lutnick's relationship with Epstein is not going away anytime soon. [9:05] I can only imagine the long term impact this mistake will have on my life. [9:11] Releasing my name while redacting the name of other powerful is not a mistake. [9:16] It's a choice. [9:17] It's a choice to prioritize the comfort of institution over the safety of the survivors. [9:22] Rosa says she was abused by Epstein over a three-year period while he was under house arrest for his 2008 state prostitution charges [9:29] over his involvement with underage girls. [9:31] His house arrest, part of that sweetheart plea deal negotiated by then U.S. Attorney, [9:37] then after that Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta. [9:40] My next guest also testified in today's hearing. [9:43] Spencer Hoeven is an attorney and represents several Epstein survivors. [9:46] Spencer, why was it important for you to testify even without Republicans, who are obviously the controllers of Congress [9:53] and the House Oversight Committee, without Republicans there? [9:55] Thank you for having me. [9:59] I think it was important for me to be able to talk to the panel today, even though it was just Democrats, [10:05] to get on the record what has occurred in this case historically. [10:09] I was there at the inception of these cases with victim number one, who was my client, [10:13] and it was important for me to be able to walk them through some of the beginnings of this case [10:18] and some of the failures by the Department of Justice and then subsequently, [10:22] and by that I mean the Department of Justice back in 2005, 2006, [10:27] and then again the Department of Justice's failures recently in disclosing a lot of the victims' names, [10:33] which broke the law. [10:35] Do you agree with Rosa that that was a choice, that was done intentionally? [10:39] You know, there is absolutely no way that any person who hasn't used a computer [10:47] doesn't know to hit control F and search. [10:52] That is all they had to do. [10:54] We gave them over 300 victim names and told them, [10:57] please search for these names and redact them. [10:59] They didn't. [11:00] They were more interested in redacting the names of powerful and influential men [11:04] and other people in those files than they were in trying to protect the victims, [11:08] which by the way, again, broke the law. [11:11] The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Congressman Robert Garcia, California, [11:14] he says he has more questions for Alex Acosta, [11:17] the U.S. Attorney who negotiated that sweetheart deal with Epstein. [11:21] He also wants to hear from Florida officials and prosecutors who played a role in that sweetheart deal. [11:26] What questions might you have for them? [11:28] Well, I gave them some today. [11:31] One of the representatives had asked some of the questions that I would ask, [11:35] and they were actually pointed questions with respect to the unreleased videotapes. [11:40] There are surveillance videotapes that we know existed inside of Epstein's home. [11:45] We believe the FBI has custody of those tapes and has never released them. [11:49] We know there were surveillance tapes taken during the investigation. [11:53] It's noted in the original probable cause affidavit that the police were surveilling the home outside, [11:58] watching people go in and out for days on end. [12:01] Where are those tapes? [12:02] So at the end of the day, we want everything released, the videotapes, [12:08] as well as any additional photographs Glenn Maxwell took. [12:11] And he needs to, they need to ask the witnesses where this evidence is and why it hasn't been produced. [12:18] Acosta apparently testified to the committee behind closed doors that he thought that that was the best deal he could negotiate at the time. [12:25] Do you agree with that? And what do you think is the reason behind the sweetheart deal? [12:30] I absolutely do not agree with that. [12:34] It, as I testified today, is one of the worst deals ever entered into by a U.S. attorney. [12:40] This was a non-prosecution agreement that gave immunity to the pedophile perpetrator, [12:45] in addition to four co-conspirators and, and this is what made it bizarre, unnamed co-conspirators. [12:54] This deal was absolutely awful. [12:58] And we now know through going through these records with the litigation that subsequently occurred, [13:05] that they were having private conversations with Epstein's attorneys asking Epstein, what would he accept? [13:11] They were basically begging him to accept a deal. [13:14] It's absurd. It made absolutely no sense. [13:17] Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is supposed to testify before the Oversight Committee in the coming weeks. [13:22] Here are some questions the survivors say they want answers to. Take a listen. [13:26] Who are we covering for? Like, you were willing to lose your job. [13:33] What was the process? And we would ask the same of Todd Blanche. [13:36] What was the process for moving Keelan Maxwell? [13:39] What questions do you want the committee to ask Bondi? [13:41] I want Bondi to answer for why the Department of Justice has broken the law. [13:48] And there's no question about that. [13:50] The Congress passed and the President signed a very clear bill with respect to the release of documents. [13:56] They have not complied with that law. [13:58] So they are in violation of that law as we sit here today. [14:01] Secondarily, we need to know why that her office has redacted information that the law states they should never have redacted. [14:10] The law is very clear that redaction should not occur merely because of an embarrassment or someone who is not a victim in these files. [14:20] And they have clearly redacted names in these files that are not victims' children. [14:25] And we want to know why she did that, why she authorized it, and it needs to be reversed immediately. [14:31] One of Epstein's victims, Courtney Wilde, spoke at the hearing. [14:34] My case against the government for violating the rights of at least 40 of us Palm Beach kids was happening from 2008 to 2019. [14:46] Do you know how many other girls Jeffrey abused in that time period? [14:51] I bet the FBI knows. [14:53] But the point is that Epstein continued to abuse other girls in New York, New Mexico, around the world, and even still here in Florida. [15:02] If he had been in jail like any other man who did the same thing as him, he would have been. [15:08] And there wouldn't have been a single victim after 2009. [15:12] But he wasn't, and he did. [15:14] He abused so many girls after 2009 at the same exact time that I was asking the government why he got the deal and why they violated my rights. [15:24] That is the real injustice here. [15:27] Joining us now in the Situation Room is CNN's MJ Lee. [15:32] Some heart-wrenching testimony there. [15:35] What else are we learning from the survivors? [15:37] Yeah, this has already been a pretty emotional hearing in West Palm Beach. [15:42] You know, House Oversight Democrats clearly wanting to give some of these Epstein survivors not only an opportunity to share their stories, but also talk about what accountability actually looks like for them. [15:54] The first survivor testimony came from Maria Farmer, who, of course, was the first known Epstein survivor to actually report the abuse to authorities. [16:03] She argued that nothing actually ever came from her reporting the abuse back in 1996. [16:09] We also saw her not testifying in person because she has had so many health issues that she says comes from the abuse and the stress of everything that she has endured. [16:19] There were other survivors like Danny Bensky, Jenna Lisa Jones. [16:22] And then we heard from a woman named Rosa who is not sharing her last name. [16:27] She has never publicly shared her story. [16:29] She said in 2008 she was an aspiring model who came to the U.S. and eventually was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein. [16:36] And then she says she was repeatedly raped by Jeffrey Epstein while he was on house arrest. [16:41] Listen to a part of what she said. [16:43] I kept my identity protected as Jane Doe. [16:49] I woke up one day with my name mentioned over 500 times. [16:56] While the rich and powerful remain protected by reduction, my name was exposed to the world. [17:07] Now reporters across the globe contact me. [17:10] I cannot live without looking over my shoulder. [17:13] I can only imagine the long term impact this mistake will have on my life. [17:23] Really hard to watch. [17:24] And you know when I was texting a little bit with Rosa yesterday, she told me to go back to West Palm Beach is something I never wanted to do given that this is where the abuse took place. [17:35] She told me she was extremely nervous, but was hopeful that this experience could be a little bit empowering for her. [17:42] And when I heard her, you know, saying the words I am no longer Jane Doe in front of this committee, I wondered whether she was hopefully getting that moment for herself. [17:50] And just lastly, I just think it's important for us to talk about what accountability does look like for these survivors. [17:57] You know, millions of files have been released by the DOJ, but they're obviously wanting the rest of the millions of files to be released as well. [18:04] And then just, I think, reminding people at every opportunity that here in the US, Ghislaine Maxwell is the only person who has ever been prosecuted related to Jeffrey Epstein. [18:14] They want to see more interviews, more prosecutions. They want more accountability in the form of people who helped Jeffrey Epstein being brought to law enforcement. [18:23] Yeah. And her case really speaks to also just the release from DOJ and the mess over the redactions, right? [18:29] Because her name was supposed to be redacted and it wasn't. And now here she is. [18:35] And there are some survivors who have chosen to publicly share their stories. [18:38] But in the case of Rosa up until now, she hasn't wanted that she has wanted to be a Jane Doe and the DOJ by failing to redact her name properly, sort of took that choice away from her. [18:48] .