Hillary Clinton makes fools of Republicans as 'gotcha' subpoena backfires

Full transcript with timestamps

0:01 After today's deposition, Secretary Clinton decide that she would take it upon herself to speak to the press and let them know what exactly took place in that deposition. And we returned to answer questions repetitively, literally over and over agai I don't know how many times I had to say, I did not know Jeffrey Hepstein.

0:27 the end, quite unusual, because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the Internet. Joining me now are two member of the House Oversight CoCommittee who were in the room for that deposition with Hillary Clinton today, Congresswoman Yasmin Ansari of Arizona and Congressman James Walkinshaw of Virginia. It is good to have you both here today. What did you learn today about Jeffrey Epstein? Oh, my gosh. Unfortunately, I said it earlier today, but it was a clown show.

1:07 We did not learn anything new. The secretary repeated what she had already put forward towards the committee, which is that she didn't know Jeffrey Epstein. She never flew on his plane. She never went to his island. And as she stated, she really just emphasized that over and over and over again, we learned nothing new about what we are actually looking to understand, which is who else may or may not have been involved with Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, who may have enabled it or been part of perpetrating these crimes against children.

1:38 So it was, I think, an absolute waste of resources. We have always been supportive of bringing anyone forward who may have information. But it was clear today that the secretary did not have information to provide. I think I agree with all that. I think we learned that most of the Republicans in Congress, certainly on our committee, are not serious about this being a bipartisan investigation that gets to the facts and the truth. You mentioned Lauren Boebert releasing or sending that photo to a right-wing influencer.

2:09 The other thing I saw on their social media earlier today was as they were arriving to the hearing, they were taking these photos together, smiling, gleeful, very excited. They look like a overdressed group headed to Disney World. They were so happy about this hearing because it was their opportunity to fulfill their long fever dream of locking PICKING UP HILLARY CLINTON, AND THEY THOUGHT THIS WAS THE TIME THEY WERE REALLY GOING TO GET HER. AND THEY GOT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS SHE NEVER MET JEFFREY EPSTEIN, HAD NO REAL RELATIONSHIP WITH MAXWELL, NEVER WENT TO THE ISLAND, HAS NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HIS CRIMES THAT COULD HELP OUR INVESTIGATION?

2:43 TODAY YOU HAD ROBERT GARCIA SAY THAT HE HOPES THIS SETS A PRECEDENT, THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE A FORMER FIRST LADY, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, FORMER PRESIDENT, ALL AGREEING TO A DEPOSITION THAT WOULD, OF COURSE, TAKE REPUBLICANS AGREEING THAT THIS SETS A PRECEDENT. CAN YOU GIVE ME A SENSE OF WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO GET YOUR REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES THERE? I THINK THE PUBLIC PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO MOUNT. AMERICANS ARE APPALLED I MEAN, THE FACT THAT THE EPSTEIN FILES ISSUE IS THE MAIN ISSUE. I MEAN, TRUMP IS UNDERWATER MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS FRONT BECAUSE THE COVER-UP IS SO CLEAR AND EGGREGIOUS, AND THE REPORTING THAT CAME OUT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS WEEK FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES AND NPR THAT DEMONSTRATED VERY CLEARLY THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LITERALLY HAS TO BE WITHHELD INVESTIGATIVE MATERIALS FROM THE FBI AS IT PERTAINS TO ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE PRESIDENT FROM A MINOR OR

3:37 FROM A WOMAN WHO WAS A MINOR at the time. This is going to change everything. I mean, this news just broke in the last 48 hours. I think that as more and more information continues to come out, it's going to become impossible for Republicans to ignore this. I saw this evening that some of the Congresswomen, who I will say I think are unfortunately some of the most theatrical ones when it comes to how they were approaching this deposition TODAY, YOU HAD, I THINK, ANNA PAULINA LUNA TWEETING THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE THE DEATH PENALTY FOR ANYONE WHO IS A CHILD RAPIST.

4:13 SO IT'S VERY INTERESTING THAT SHE IS TWEETING THAT, WHICH IS I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEAR THE AND YOU HAVE A VERY SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE PRESIDENT. SO HE SHOULD ABSOLUTELY COME FORWARD IN FRONT OF THIS COMMITTEE AND IT TODAY DID IT SET A PRECEDENT FOR THAT. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEAR THE SAME THING FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS, YASMINE, BUT IN MY DISTRICT THIS IS SOMETHING I HEAR ABOUT FROM DEMOCRATS, INDEPENDENTS, AND A LOT OF Republicans. So congressional Republicans are out of step with their own base. Donald Trump is out of step with his own base.

4:44 And, you know, I think Marjorie Taylor Greene is reflective of that depending on the day. Congresswoman Mace and Boba are reflective of that. But if congressional Republicans continue to back up Donald Trump and his administration as they hide these files and especially the information YASMINE REFERRED TO THIS RECENTLY REVEALED INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ALLEGATION AGAINST DONALD TRUMP, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THEIR OWN BASE. IF THEY ARE IN FACT HIDING THESE DOCUMENTS THAT WE NOW HAVE REPORTING ABOUT IN THE PAST 48 HOURS, WHAT ELSE ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT THEY'RE HIDING?

5:17 I THINK WE'VE BEEN CONCERNED THAT THEY'RE HIDING A LOT. I MEAN, THERE ARE STILL MILLIONS OF FILES THAT WE... OUR UNDERSTANDING IS WE ONLY HAVE 50 % OF THE FILES. And in what has been released, there's already such appalling, horrific information. So imagine what they have not released. I think that there's two parts of this investigation, right? It's an investigation

5:52 and every day there's more information that comes out about the cover-up, but I think this is so damning. You know, I think back a lot to the fact that Kash Patel went in front of the Senate Judiciary I DON'T THINK THEY WERE INVOLVED IN THE CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING AND NOBODY ELSE COMMITTED THE CRIMES WHEN THE INTERVIEWS THAT WE KNOW THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HAS WITHHELLED FROM US CAME FROM THE FBI. THERE WERE MULTIPLE INTERVIEWS THAT THE FBI CONDUCTED WITH THIS INDIVIDUAL WHO'S MAKING THESE CREDIBLE ALLEGATIONS. AND WHERE ARE THEY? WHY ARE THEY NOT REVEALING THIS?

6:26 AND I THINK, I MEAN, I THINK I'VE SEEN EVERYTHING THAT I NEED TO SEE AND THAT'S WHY I'VE CALLING FOR PAM BONDY'S IMPEACHMENT, SHE'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S UNACCEPTABLE. I THINK MAYBE I'LL BE THE FIRST TO QUOTE DONALD RUMSFELD ON THIS SHOW, BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE KNOWN UNKNOWNS AND THERE ARE UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS. SOME OF THE KNOWN UNKNOWNS ARE THE SURVIVORS' STATEMENTS, THE VICTIM'S STATEMENTS THAT THEY HAVE TOLD US THE FBI HAS. SO I HAD JESS MICHAELS AS MY GUEST FOR THE STATE OF THE UNION. SHE KNOWS THAT THERE IS HER 302, HER STATEMENT documenting her experience of being raped by Jeffrey Epstein.

6:59 That hasn't been released. It's not in the files, either it's not in the files or it was redacted. That's a known unknown. And then there are the unknown unknowns, right? These recent revelations about the accusation against President Trump and those missing files. We didn't know that until recently. What else is out there like that, whether it's related to Donald Trump or other wealthy, powerful men? We just don't know. I was thinking about Jess Michaels and the other survivors today as this was all unfolding. The indignity of having Pam Bondi refuse to acknowledge them, the indignity of having the president of the United States who campaigned on this issue, refused to acknowledge them.

7:38 And then the indignity today of having Republicans take time that was ostensibly supposed to be about actually extricating information about Jeffrey Jeffrey Epstein asking about UFOs and pizza. Should I be surprised they didn't ask about Whitewater? Like, they were digging so deep into the archives. It feels like time wasted, yes. It feels like not taking the process seriously, but also to me is disrespectful to the women who are demanding justice and accountability. They have been deeply, deeply disrespectful. What we've WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM, WHEN WE'VE TALKED TO THE VICTIMS, IS THAT, I MEAN, THEY HAVE WORKED REALLY HARD TO MAKE THIS BIPARTISAN.

8:19 THEY HAVE GONE TO MANY MEMBERS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, SAT DOWN WITH THEM, EXPLAINED, YOU KNOW, THEIR CASES AND WHAT THEY'VE SHARED WITH US IS THAT, what the Republicans will essentially tell them is they feign empathy and they feign compassion, but essentially say there's nothing more that they can do. And it is such a slap in the face to them. And it's IT'S JUST, JUST, JUST HEINOUS. THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT UPSET ME THE MOST. AND YOU KNOW, YOU TALKED IN YOUR INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE FACT THAT ALL OF THESE REPUBLICANS SHOWED UP TODAY.

8:50 THEY DIDN'T SHOW UP LAST WEEK. AND THEY WERE, THE REASON IT WENT ON FOR SO MANY HOURS today is also because if they've taken the time to come out here, they also kind of need something to show for it, right? And so they were asking the same questions over and over again. Some of THEM WENT INTO THESE CONSPIRACY THEORIES, BUT IT'S JUST EMBARRASSING. YOU DO NOT SHOW UP TO TAKE PART IN THE DEPOSITION OF LITERALLY THE ONE PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THERE BEING A JEFFREY EPSTEIN. THERE WOULD NOT BE A Jeffrey Epstein or an island or a plane, all of that vast wealth and connections without Les Wexner.

9:24 And we were the only ones there. And that Wexner deposition was productive in that there was a critical PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT CAME OUT OF IT, WHICH IS THAT WEXNER, ACCORDING TO HIM, WAS NEVER INTERVIEWED BY THE FBI OR THE DOJ. THAT IS AN ASTOUNDING REVELATION THAT DIDN'T COME TO LIGHT UNTIL THAT DEPOSITION TOOK place, this deposition today produced no new information that's actionable that can help our investigation move forward. It was a waste of time. There is one connection to Epstein here. There was an email in the Epstein file showing that Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick invited Jeffrey Epstein to a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton.

10:03 Either of you, your sense of why it has taken Chairman Comer this long to decide whether to subpoena I DON'T THINK CHAIRMAN COMER IS VERY SMART. I JUST DO NOT THINK HE HAS A STRATEGY WHATSOEVER. I DON'T THINK HE HAS A STRATEGY I DON'T THINK HE HAS A PLAN. I THINK THEY WANTED TO TO MAKE THIS BIG SHOW OF HILLARY CLINTON WITH NO REAL IDEA OF HOW THEY WOULD TAKE IT FORWARD, THEY HAVE BEEN RELUCTANT ABOUT ALL OF THE SUBPOENAS THAT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH TO BE CONTINUED WITH THIS ADMINISTRATION OR EVEN WITH THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

10:34 SO I THINK UNTIL THEY ONLY ACT WHEN WE CONTINUE TO CALL FOR IT, WHEN THERE IS SO MUCH THERE'S SO MUCH PUBLIC PRESSURE THAT THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO WAY TO BACK OUT OF IT. I MEAN, THE SUBPOENA THAT CAME OUT OF THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO BEGIN WITH, I THINK ONLY REALLY HAPPENED BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH PUBLIC PRESSURE AND IT JUST LOOKS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO DAMNING FOR NONE OF THEM TO HAVE VOTED FOR IT. SO, I MEAN, HE SAID HE MADE SOME VAI COMMITMENT TODAY. BUT IT WILL TAKE MORE QUESTIONS. HE'S ON HIS LIST OR HE'S THINKING ABOUT IT OR MAYBE IT WILL HAPPEN.

11:03 THINKING ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS. YEAH, HE TALKS ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. HE SAYS THE TWO OF THEM, BILL BARR AND ALEX ACOSTA, ARE FROM TRUMP'S FIRST TERM AND HAD FALLING OUT with Trump, right? So they're no longer in Trump's good graces. So it was easy for Comer to bring them in. The challenge, the question, the question of courage for Chairman Comer is, is he willing to bring AND WE'LL BE GOING IN SOMEONE LIKE HOWARD LUTNICK WHO IS STILL IN THE GOOD GRACES OF DONALD TRUMP WHO OPERATES UNDER THE PROTECTION OF DONALD TRUMP and will Chairman Comer incur the wrath of Donald Trump in doing that?

11:45 And Lutnik is tricky because Lutnik's story parallels Trump because Lutnik lied and said he didn't really have a relationship in our investigation have revealed he had a long insignificant investigation. So Trump can't throw Lutnik overboard because Lutnik has done precisely what Trump did. So he has to continue to protect him. I don't think Chairman Comer will have the courage to overcome that. Congressman Walkinshaw, thank you so much.

Questions about this episode

How long is "Hillary Clinton makes fools of Republicans as 'gotcha' subpoena backfires"?

The episode runs 13 min; the transcript is about 2,122 words in 21 timestamped sections.

More from MS NOW

• All analyzed episodes
• Books mentioned on MS NOW
• People mentioned on MS NOW
• Topics mentioned on MS NOW