'They were best friends': Top Oversight Dem on Ex-Barclays CEO being questioned on Epstein

[0:00] Right now on Capitol Hill, another high-profile name, former Barclays CEO and J.P. Morgan [0:05] executive Jess Staley, is facing questions about his ties to convicted sex offender [0:10] the late Jeffrey Epstein in a transcribed interview before the House Oversight Committee. [0:15] Epstein was a client of Staley's during his time running J.P. Morgan's private wealth [0:20] and asset management divisions. The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority uncovered over [0:24] 1,000 emails between Epstein and Staley in which he referred to Epstein as family on several [0:30] occasions. Staley has not been charged with any criminal activity and has said he has no [0:35] knowledge of Epstein's crimes. Oversight Committee Chair James Comer previewed what they're looking [0:40] into. We know that while Mr. Staley was at J.P. Morgan, there was internal discussions according [0:52] to some of the documents that we received that J.P. Morgan was concerned about Epstein as a client, [0:58] that he was a high-risk client. But Jess Staley was the one person who continued to defend [1:03] Epstein with that firm. So we're going to ask a lot of questions about that. [1:10] All right, let's bring in ranking member of the Oversight Committee, Congressman Robert Garcia of [1:14] California. Congressman, it is good to see you. And I know we're about an hour into Staley's interview. [1:20] Can you tell me what you've learned so far and if lawmakers are satisfied with any of his answers? [1:26] Yeah, look, he's going to be with us actually the entire day. So there's got a lot of questions [1:30] that we have. I think what people need to know, which is really important, and this is someone [1:33] that essentially called Jeffrey Epstein family. I mean, they were best friends, close friends for [1:38] over 10 years. And Mr. Staley was very aware of the crimes and really what Jeffrey Epstein had pleaded [1:45] really guilty to, which is the abuse of women and girls. And so why do you maintain and continue [1:50] to advocate for him, help finance him, get him access to capital, are the questions that he's [1:55] being asked and will be asking throughout the day. The other important piece is there are, quite [1:59] frankly, credible accusations of sexual abuse by survivors against Mr. Staley. And so he's being [2:06] asked what he knows about those. He's being asked a bunch of questions about the financial ties of [2:11] Jeffrey Epstein and how Epstein was able to amass the fortune that he was able to amass over that period [2:17] of time. Walk me through why the financial picture here, the sort of follow the money piece, [2:24] is so important when it comes to these two men. The follow the money piece and the financial piece [2:31] is at the center of the investigation. We have been going through just endless amounts of documents, [2:37] bank records, statements from JPMorgan Chase, from Deutsche Bank, from other financial institutions [2:43] that provided Epstein with his wealth. And when you think about someone like Jeffrey, who essentially [2:49] his entire life, he gained enormous amounts of wealth and brought in these billionaires, [2:56] these millionaires in his circle. And these are people like Les Wexner, like Leon Black, [3:01] like Mr. Staley, who we're talking to today, that provided this money. And what did Jeffrey Epstein [3:07] use the resources for? To sex traffic women and children, to abuse girls. Hayman and Ghislaine Maxwell [3:13] used their access to capital to create this, essentially, one of the largest sex trafficking [3:18] rings in modern history. And so there are a lot of questions that have to be answered. And where that [3:24] money was actually coming from and who is providing it are key parts of the investigation. [3:28] I'm curious to what extent you feel like you're going to be able to trust his answers today. [3:32] You know, to add some context for our viewers, the Epstein files show that Staley was named as a [3:38] trustee of Jeffrey Epstein's estate until at least 2015, despite telling a U.K. court last year that [3:44] he had declined a request to be named one. We know that Bill Gates also name-checked him recently. [3:50] What do you think that was about? I think that there—look, from what I have seen and heard so far [3:58] and what I expect to hear, he's going to be deflecting a lot of questions. He doesn't want to address [4:02] some of the credible accusations that have been made against him by women and survivors. [4:08] And he is not and has not been up to this point a credible person. But at the same time, [4:14] we have him on record. His name appears in the Epstein files enormous amounts of time. And so [4:20] he's going to be forced to answer real questions and forced to talk about real emails and communications [4:24] that he had with Epstein. And on top of that, we know and have direct accusations from survivors [4:31] that he is going to have to answer questions about. Now, the unfortunate part is that Chairman [4:35] Comer refuses to have these interviews in public. He refuses to make these interviews videotaped and [4:41] then released immediately to the American public. This, quite frankly, should be a public hearing. [4:45] And so we're going to continue to make those demands. But this will be an important day. And [4:49] we do think we're going to get some important information out of Mr. Staley. [4:52] I want to turn toward immigration for a moment, because that's another area in which there is [4:58] immense public desire for more public hearings and accountability and answers from this administration [5:03] right now in the aftermath of the killing, shooting and killing of two different immigrants [5:09] and fathers here in Maine and in Texas. And I want to get a sense of what comes next there. I talked to [5:15] your colleague, Benny Thompson, just the other day, and he was describing, reacting in real time [5:21] with alarm to the fact that some basic policies and procedures weren't even put in writing for ICE [5:26] agents. There really was no clarity on how these investigations are actually going to unfold. [5:31] Walk me through the questions, the answers that you need right now from this administration about [5:37] what comes next with ICE and its policies. I mean, ICE is out of control and first should be abolished. [5:43] It is essentially Donald Trump's personal police force that he's using to enact his wishes across the [5:49] country. We know right now that these ICE agents are less trained than they've ever been. They're [5:55] coming in and out. They're causing chaos when they conduct harm and when they're actually causing [6:01] real harm. In some cases, the murder of U.S. citizens, of people that are here working with [6:06] legal status. When they're causing chaos across the country, many of them are then being put right back [6:11] into the field within a week or two after a shooting. And so ICE needs to be reined in, [6:18] which is why we should stop funding this rogue agency. And Donald Trump's going to continue to [6:22] use ICE for whatever he pleases, including, by the way, intimidation around election time. [6:26] And so those are real serious issues as it relates to Maine and Texas and Minnesota and so many other [6:31] places. Oversight Democrats have been investigating every single one of these cases. And what we are finding [6:37] and have found in the past is that clearly these are violations of people's rights. There's violations [6:42] of due process. And these ICE agents have to be held accountable individually and the agency as well. [6:49] And you best believe, and I've told folks, when we win that majority, these agents, those that are [6:55] putting these rules in place, will all be held accountable through the courts and through the Congress. [7:01] Congressman Robert Garcia, good to see you and thank you.