Speaker 1: On this vote, the years are four hundred and twenty seven,
Speaker 1: the nays are one two thirds being in the affirmative,
Speaker 1: the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection,
Speaker 1: the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.
Speaker 2: This week we saw something almost unprecedented in American politics,
Speaker 2: a unified Congress as all but one person invited to
Speaker 2: have the Epstein files released.
Speaker 3: We do not see votes like that here in the
Speaker 3: US House of Representatives, where it's just completely lopsided.
Speaker 2: Reported by Erickson was on Capitol Hill wants to get unfollowed.
Speaker 3: What the House and Senate here in DC we're voting
Speaker 3: on this week was this very targeted bill to force
Speaker 3: the Justice Department to release a wide array of files
Speaker 3: both from Jeffrey Epstein, but also more importantly, all the
Speaker 3: investigative files from the Justice Department in the many many
Speaker 3: years that federal officials have been tracking Jeffrey Epstein, going
Speaker 3: all the way back like more than a decade.
Speaker 2: These documents have plague Donald Trump since he campaigned to
Speaker 2: release them while running for his second term as president,
Speaker 2: then backtracked after his victory, sparking a mess revolt from
Speaker 2: his otherwise loyal Megabase. In yet another blistering post on
Speaker 2: social media, Trump said those who keep asking questions are
Speaker 2: weaklings and said I don't want their support anymore. After
Speaker 2: months of trying to block their release, and after increasing
Speaker 2: pressure from within his own party, Trump changed course in
Speaker 2: the most spectacular reversal of his presidency.
Speaker 3: You know, there has been a lot of commentary from
Speaker 3: wawmakers up here that that is why the president switched
Speaker 3: his position this past weekend on the release of these bills,
Speaker 3: because he could kind of see where the ball was
Speaker 3: going in relation to the vote here within his own party.
Speaker 2: I'm Daniel James, and you're listening to seven. I am
Speaker 2: today US political correspondent for rout Is bio Ericson on
Speaker 2: the Republican Revolt. I just had damaging the files to
Speaker 2: be for President Trump. It's Friday, November twenty one, So
Speaker 2: what exactly is expected to be in leys files?
Speaker 3: We don't exactly know what is going to be in
Speaker 3: the files. I've been running around Capitol Hill for the
Speaker 3: last few weeks and months because it's really a four
Speaker 3: month long pursuit of this bill, even though the voting
Speaker 3: went so fast this week, and I keep asking lawmakers
Speaker 3: what do you want to see in these files? And
Speaker 3: how many files are there? And no one really has
Speaker 3: any clarity on what files they're going after. But when
Speaker 3: I was speaking with one of the Republicans, Thomas Massey,
Speaker 3: who have led this charge, He's from Kentucky and he's
Speaker 3: really drawn the ire of President Trump for years now.
Speaker 3: He's leading this effort to kind of force the Republicans
Speaker 3: to vote on this.
Speaker 1: We thought the president, the Attorney General, the FBI director,
Speaker 1: the Speaker of the House, and the Vice president to
Speaker 1: get this win.
Speaker 3: I asked him, what are you looking for? And he said,
Speaker 3: it's not really about the number of documents or the
Speaker 3: number of Epstein files, but what they really want are
Speaker 3: the names of people and potentially alleged co conspirators of
Speaker 3: Jeffrey Epstein. And some lawmakers have promised that if and
Speaker 3: when the public gets these names of individuals that potentially
Speaker 3: committed crimes alongside Epstein, that they will read those names
Speaker 3: aloud on the US House floor.
Speaker 4: The ultimate thing that we could do is read the
Speaker 4: names on the floor of the House, and that could happen.
Speaker 1: But what needs to happen is the FBI.
Speaker 3: Needs And why that is significant is because lawmakers, in
Speaker 3: their role as a representative, have more freedoms to not
Speaker 3: be sued for slander. Here in the United States, it's
Speaker 3: called the speech and Debate clause.
Speaker 2: So, as you mentioned by, we saw something that is
Speaker 2: practically on theheard of on Capitol Hill these days, and
Speaker 2: that was bought partisan sheep. So tell me more about
Speaker 2: the Republicans who win against Trump.
Speaker 3: Oh, you've heard that the US is and that bipartisan
Speaker 3: up here.
Speaker 2: He's come across my desk.
Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, it's just once or twice the Republicans who
Speaker 3: are going against him, while at first it was only
Speaker 3: a handful. For instance, Thomas Massey, who's kind of more
Speaker 3: of a libertarian streak, and he says his principles tell
Speaker 3: him not to support things in the Trump administration, even
Speaker 3: though he is from a very Republican state Kentucky. But
Speaker 3: he's really kind of been able to bring along with
Speaker 3: him some more friendly people to President Trump, at least
Speaker 3: in the past. One is Marjorie Taylor Green.
Speaker 5: But I fought for him, for the policies and for
Speaker 5: America First, and he called me a traitor for standing
Speaker 5: with these women and refusing to take my name off
Speaker 5: the discharge petition.
Speaker 3: And two other Republican women in the US House also
Speaker 3: signed on to this effort to try to force House
Speaker 3: Republican leadership to bring this bill to the floor.
Speaker 4: Do I want the Epstein files released?
Speaker 3: Absa freculutely.
Speaker 6: That is why I was on the discharge petition, that
Speaker 6: is why I did not remove my name, And I'm
Speaker 6: going to vote in phase to speak on the floor.
Speaker 6: And I want to thank my colleagues Congressman Massey, Marjorie
Speaker 6: Taylor Green, and Lauren Bobert, the four of us making
Speaker 6: history today over the discharge petition and delivering justice for
Speaker 6: those who have desperately fought for it for in some
Speaker 6: cases almost thirty years, and.
Speaker 2: For months now seems Lockey's Donald Trump has been signed
Speaker 2: the focus on those files was a Democrat hoax and
Speaker 2: a distraction. He's now trying to take back control of
Speaker 2: the narrative, and so he wants them released that he
Speaker 2: has nothing to hide. But how damaging could the actually
Speaker 2: belief it Trump by.
Speaker 3: It's still a little mixed messaging coming from the White House,
Speaker 3: to be honest, because as you said, he is calling
Speaker 3: this a Democratic hoax and saying they're trying to go
Speaker 3: after him and Democrats are trying to use this for
Speaker 3: a political play here. But on the other hand, he's
Speaker 3: saying that the files should be released, and the rebuttal
Speaker 3: from lawmakers, not just the ones who've been speaking out
Speaker 3: against him, but it was like, Okay, if you think
Speaker 3: the files should be released, you have the unilateral power
Speaker 3: to release these files. Right now. People keep reminding him
Speaker 3: that you know him and his Justice Department that they
Speaker 3: could release them if they wanted. It is unclear, though,
Speaker 3: what damage or embarrassment lies in these files for Donald Trump.
Speaker 3: The American people are kind of aware that Trump is
Speaker 3: associated with Jeffrey Epstein. No one has said, though, that
Speaker 3: he has committed any type of crimes or alleged any
Speaker 3: type of crimes here, And I don't know if that's
Speaker 3: going to be in these files because it's very hard
Speaker 3: to know what the files are you run about. But
Speaker 3: let me tell you something about just American opinion over here,
Speaker 3: is that at Reuter's here in the US, we released
Speaker 3: a poll this week about Americans feelings and kind of
Speaker 3: questioning some of these moves with the Epstein files, and
Speaker 3: seventy percent of Americans in this poll, and that includes
Speaker 3: sixty percent of Republican voters believe that the government, which
Speaker 3: is the Trump administration, is hiding Epstein's alleged client lists
Speaker 3: for some type of political element here.
Speaker 2: Coming up now, Trump's Justice Department could still stop the
Speaker 2: Epstein files from being released.
Speaker 7: We do have some major breaking news as we come
Speaker 7: on the air tonight, because President Trump has now signed
Speaker 7: the Epstein Files Bill into a law, the final step
Speaker 7: to force the Justice Department to turn over everything it
Speaker 7: has on Epstein.
Speaker 2: By Donald Trump has now signed the bill, So it's
Speaker 2: now up to the Department of Justice to release the
Speaker 2: special files.
Speaker 4: But is it.
Speaker 2: Possible that Trump could still block that from happening.
Speaker 3: So the bill says the files must be released within
Speaker 3: thirty days. There are some carveoutes though, already in the bill,
Speaker 3: and one of those carveoutes is any files that would
Speaker 3: potentially interact with or impede an ongoing investigation. And why
Speaker 3: that is important is because last week President Trump launched
Speaker 3: and investmentstigation. You know, this is not normal, by the way,
Speaker 3: like presidents in the past weren't launching investigations through their
Speaker 3: own Justice Department by themselves. He's argued that Attorney General
Speaker 3: PAMBONDI should investigate high profile Democrats connections to Epstein, and
Speaker 3: that investigation supposedly was started, and the Attorney General was
Speaker 3: asked about that actually, and she said to reporters that
Speaker 3: this investigation that is now started has already found new
Speaker 3: information related to it.
Speaker 2: What changed since then that you launched this investigation?
Speaker 6: Information that has come for information.
Speaker 5: There's information that new information, additional information.
Speaker 3: So there's already some groundwork that potentially the Justice Department
Speaker 3: could use to withhold some files.
Speaker 2: So is there a political risk given with public sentiment,
Speaker 2: is that in the US at the moment, for Donald
Speaker 2: Trump to be saying to be middling in the relays
Speaker 2: of those files.
Speaker 3: Is it a political risk? That's hard for me to say,
Speaker 3: But I think there are political ramifications of this release
Speaker 3: and this whole kind of period here of fighting over
Speaker 3: these Epstein files. For instance, before the vote of Congresswoman
Speaker 3: Marjorie Taylor Green, she said that this episode has ripped
Speaker 3: MAGA apart. MAGA being the Make America Great Again movement.
Speaker 5: Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart.
Speaker 3: And I think that is pretty significant because loyalty is
Speaker 3: the core of MAGA and if maga's actually ripped apart,
Speaker 3: I don't know what that means for the twenty twenty
Speaker 3: six mid term elections, or what that means for the
Speaker 3: next presidential election in twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 2: I mean, just to that point, Bi, I mean, this
Speaker 2: is one of the stroking developments in the saga is
Speaker 2: saying ky Republican l turn on Trump. So do you
Speaker 2: think this marks the start of a turning point where
Speaker 2: we will see them more embolden to spaghette against in
Speaker 2: one other issues?
Speaker 3: I'm not going to hold my breath because up here
Speaker 3: on Capitol Hill, for the whole year, on a whole
Speaker 3: range of issues, Republicans have been in lockstep with the president,
Speaker 3: whether that's the international tariffs that even are impacting some
Speaker 3: Republican states more than others, whether that is the tax plan,
Speaker 3: whether that is foreign policy. Republicans at large have not
Speaker 3: challenged the president and have done little oversight of his actions.
Speaker 3: So I don't know if there's going to be a
Speaker 3: transfer ability from here on out. However, there you know,
Speaker 3: there's a cachet now for someone like Marjorie Taylor Green
Speaker 3: to keep speaking out. You know, this isn't the only
Speaker 3: issue that she's spoken out with within the last few weeks.
Speaker 3: Now she is going after the administration on some healthcare subsidies,
Speaker 3: and she is criticizing the US's approach with the Israel
Speaker 3: and GAZO. So I anaturally someone like her, maybe more
Speaker 3: in Bolden. I don't know if more rank and file
Speaker 3: will be.
Speaker 2: And by of course, this political storm is not just
Speaker 2: going to impact Donald Trump. Many of Epstein's victims were
Speaker 2: in Washington watching as this fight was happening. So what
Speaker 2: will this mean for them? Will I ever say justice?
Speaker 4: This was me at fourteen years old. I was a child,
Speaker 4: I was in ninth grade. I was hopeful for life
Speaker 4: and what the future had held for me. He stole
Speaker 4: a lot from me, uh bye at fourteen, So just
Speaker 4: a little.
Speaker 3: I think it really is in the hands of the
Speaker 3: Trump administration right now where this goes. And you know,
Speaker 3: speaking with some of the Epstein survivors after the vote
Speaker 3: up here on Capitol Hill, they were saying that this
Speaker 3: is kind of one of their last pushed for accountability.
Speaker 8: Here individually, our voices were whispers. Together they've become impossible
Speaker 8: to ignore. We are encouraged to see elected officials from
Speaker 8: both parties. Thank you come together and finally take action
Speaker 8: to release the files. I'll leave it there.
Speaker 3: Thank you, because for listeners who have been following this,
Speaker 3: especially in the last few years, a lot of accountability
Speaker 3: was kicked down the road and so this public accountability,
Speaker 3: they say, is more important for the survivors Epstein survivors
Speaker 3: who we saw up here on Capitol Hill, and they
Speaker 3: think just the release of these files. They were telling me,
Speaker 3: some of them were telling me, is the accountability that
Speaker 3: they're looking for.
Speaker 7: Alone, Yes, we are afraid, but together we are feared.
Speaker 4: Thank you.
Speaker 3: It's outside of court, of course, but it's in the
Speaker 3: court of public opinion, which obviously means a lot.
Speaker 2: Boh, it's fascinating stuff. Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2: Also in the news, Taka is set the host COP
Speaker 2: thirty one next year after a long standoff with Australia,
Speaker 2: Climate Minister Chris Bowen has conceded hosting responsibilities, but will
Speaker 2: lead negotiations at the next climate summit. Australia has also
Speaker 2: negotiated for them to be a pre COP event hosted
Speaker 2: by a Pacific island nation. A New South Wales police
Speaker 2: use pepper spray on an eighty seven year old nursing
Speaker 2: home resident on Wednesday night. They have confirmed the man
Speaker 2: reportedly threatened to harm other residents and himself, prompting police
Speaker 2: to be called. When they arrived, police reportedly told him
Speaker 2: to drop a metal ornament he was holding. When he refused,
Speaker 2: they use pepper spray. An investigation will now be conducted.
Speaker 2: I'm Daniel James. This is seven am. See tomorrow und