← The Briefing with Jen Psaki
The Briefing with Jen Psaki
Family of Virginia Giuffre, accuser of former Prince Andrew, react to his arrest
00:41:10
Sky and Amanda Roberts, brother and sister-in-law of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, react to the news of the arrest of former Prince Andrew. Virginia Roberts Giuffre's photo with Andrew, the man she accused of participating in her abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, became one of the most recognizable pieces of evidence in her advocacy for justice for her fellow survivors of Epstein's abuse.
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- [00:00]
Jen Psaki
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- [00:58]
Jen Psaki
21 it was one of those days when it would have been basically impossible for you to have missed the news. I mean, it doesn't matter what you were doing today or how busy you were. You're probably pretty busy. It was one of those things that was on every phone and TV screen and every text probably when you woke up this morning. That's when I learned. And it was on every text chain really around the world. And I'm of course talking about the arrest of the former Prince Andrew today in the United Kingdom. He's not known as the Prince anymore, but you know who I'm talking about. Now what you may not know are the details of the decades long fight that led to this moment. A fight that started in so many ways with the bravery of one woman, the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre. And I really am honored, as I just mentioned to Jacob, that members of her family agreed to join me and talk about this tonight. Imagine your reaction. Imagine their reaction to seeing this news. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is also going to join me in studio tonight. I have a million questions for him. I'm sure you do too. And Congressman Judgeman Ro Khanna is also going to be with us and there is a lot to talk with him about because the other huge piece of news today was that the House Oversight Committee released the video of the full nearly five hour long deposition of Les Wexner they conducted yesterday. Now Wexner has denied all wrongdoing, but he was one of Epstein's biggest financial benefactors and Virginia Giuffre testified that she was sexually trafficked to him multiple times. So keep that just in your mind sitting in Your mind when you listen to what he had to say about whether law enforcement had ever reached out to him about his relationship with Epstein or any of these accusations.
- [02:40]
Interviewer / Host
Did the FBI or Department of justice
- [02:43]
Jen Psaki
ever directly speak to you about Epstein or Maxwell?
- [02:47]
Interviewer / Host
Has the FBI or DOJ ever directly contacted you or spoken to you about.
- [02:51]
Susan Rice
About.
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Les Wexner
Never.
- [02:53]
Jen Psaki
Never.
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Interviewer / Host
Just to clarify, did you speak to any law enforcement agency of any kind regarding Jeffrey Epstein's investigation in New York in 2019?
- [03:07]
Jen Psaki
Never. Didn't. Now, I don't remember ever talking to
- [03:10]
Les Wexner
any law enforcement agency.
- [03:12]
Interviewer / Host
And just to be clear, you never formally interviewed with anyone from the FBI or Department of justice about Jeffrey Epstein or his criminal investigation in 2019?
- [03:21]
Jen Psaki
Never. Yeah. Just to clarify. Just to be clear, for good reason, they kept asking him this question, and his answer was never. Les Wexner says that nobody at the FBI or the Department of Justice ever interviewed him about Jeffrey Epstein. They never even contacted him. Now, if that is true, that is a scandal on a number of levels. But chief among them is that last July, the Justice Department and the FBI put out this letter saying, quote, as part of our commitment to transparency, the Department of Justice and the FBI have conducted an exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein. And then that letter concluded, and here's the key part. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties. Now, the Justice Department claimed they had looked into the Epstein case and determined there was no there there, no more work to be done, nothing to see. Case closed here. That was last July. Now, it's always been completely shady that this Department of Justice not only refused to release the Epstein files when they promised to, which was for a long time, but then when Congress passed a law compelling them to release those files, they have, of course, failed to abide by that, too. And we know why. I mean, for the first time in modern American history, the President of the United States is openly and forcefully exerting control over the Department of Justice. And don't just take my word for it. One, we can see with our own eyes. Trump wants us all to know it. I mean, this is the giant banner of Trump over DOJ headquarters unveiled today to send the message that the agency is truly not independent, that it is truly Trump's doj. Now, they want you to know that. Look at that banner. I mean, it's out of North Korea. A Justice Department that decided, for whatever reason, and I have some suspicions to declare last July, that they had no evidence that that could predicate investigating anyone. They hadn't Already. But the thing is, and this is what is so stark right now or so, it's quite a contrast, I should say. It's been an entirely different story overseas, where justice systems around the world seem to be redoubling their efforts to hold others accountable. They seem to feel pressured, like they need to look into things that maybe they failed to do over the course of years. I mean, Norway's former Prime minister has been criminally charged with gross corruption over his alleged dealings with Epstein. While he denies criminal liability, he has told Norway, Norwegian police he's willing to cooperate. He's one of three people just in Norway alone being investigated by the police for their links to Epstein. The other two also deny the allegations against them. Over in France, they raided the offices of the former French culture Minister over his Epstein ties. He also denies any wrongdoing. French prosecutors say that the Epstein files handed them a trove of new leads so big that yesterday they opened two whole new investigations. One into human trafficking and the other into financial offenses such as money laundering or tax fraud. The French police have only had these files for a few weeks and they've already launched multiple new investigations from them. Over in England, the police have launched a criminal investigation into the former UK Ambassador to the US over his ties to Epstein and allegations that he may have given Epstein a valuable tip off about non public government financial plans. The former ambassador also denies those allegations. So many people have faced one form of fallout or another from the Epstein files that the New York Times has created a tracker to help the public keep track of all of them. You can see it on your screen. You can also find it on their website. And today we got the biggest news we have gotten so far on this front. Former British prince now known as Andrew Monbon Windsor was arrested today as part of an investigation stemming from his ties to Epstein. Now, to give you a sense of just how big of a deal that is, the last time a senior member of the British royal family was arrested was when King Charles I was arrested in 1649. Yes, that photo is not a recent one, to state the obvious. And that was during a civil war. That is how big of a deal it is to arrest a member of the royal family. And yet that is exactly what happened today, seven months after Trump's Justice Department said they didn't even have enough evidence to open investigations into anyone else linked to episodes. Epstein and the British think there's enough in those files to warrant literally arresting a member of the royal family. The former prince is being investigated for accusations of misconduct in public office, a specific British legal offense that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. And according to reports, the former prince has been under scrutiny for allegedly sharing confidential government documents about British trade with Epstein. Now, the former prince, now known as Mr. Manban Windsor, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. But as far as we know, no formal investigation has been opened into former Prince Andrew over the most egregious and long standing allegations against him. The allegations by Virginia Giuffre that she was trafficked to then Prince Andrew by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and forced to have sex with him while she was just 17 years old. That is a picture that was snapped on her camera nearly 25 years ago. Allegations again that Andrew has consistently denied. Here's how Virginia Dufres described her first interaction with Andrew at Ghislaine Maxwell's London townhouse in 2001. This is from her memoir, Nobody's Girl. When Prince Andrew arrived at the townhouse that evening, Maxwell was more coquettish than usual. Guess her age, Maxwell urged the prince after she introduced Virginia, using her nickname, the Duke of York, who was then 41, guessed correctly, 17. That night, Epstein himself allegedly took this now infamous photo. Sorry, Epstein took this photo, but it
- [09:07]
Susan Rice
was on her phone.
- [09:08]
Jen Psaki
Andrew denies the authenticity of the photo, but emails in the Epstein files show Epstein discussing the photo as authentic. After taking this photo, going to dinner and drinking at a nightclub, Giuffre alleges that on the ride home, Maxwell gave Giuffre a directive. When we get home, you are to do for him what you do for Jeffrey. And back at the house, Maxwell and Epstein said good night and headed upstairs, signaling it was time that I take care of the prince. He seemed in a rush to have intercourse. Afterward, he said thank you in his clipped British accent. In my memory, the whole thing lasted less than half an hour. The next morning, it was clear that Maxwell had conferred with her royal chum. Because she told me, you did well. The prince had fun. Soon Epstein would give me $15,000 for servicing the man. Again, we at Ms. Now cannot independently verify any of those allegations, and that may not be why Prince Andrew was arrested today. But he was still arrested and the British government is still investigating his ties to Epstein. That's what accountability at the highest level actually looks like. Meanwhile, here is how our president in this country reacted to today's news. This video here is a little choppy, but I think it's important to see.
- [10:18]
Les Wexner
Do you think people in this country, at some point, associates of Jeffrey Epstein will wind up in handcuffs.
- [10:25]
Donald Trump
Well, you know, I'm the expert in a way because I've been totally exonerated. That's very nice. I can actually speak about it very nicely. I think it's a shame. I think it's very sad. I think it's so bad for the Royal Family. It's very, very sad. To me, it's a very sad thing.
- [10:41]
Jen Psaki
It's a shame. Not sure that's what the vast majority of other people think about the news today. Joining me now are sky and Amanda Roberts, the brother and sister in law of the late Epstein survivor and incredibly courageous advocate Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Sky, your statement was incredibly powerful this morning and we've talked many times about your fight for justice, both of you, for your sister. But tell me, I mean, I know I woke up this morning and saw the news on my phone and I thought, holy cow. But I imagine the reaction was much more dramatic. I said something much harsher than that, but, or much stronger than that. But I imagine the reaction from both of you was, was much more emotional. How did you learn? What was your first reaction when you saw the news this morning?
- [11:31]
Interviewer / Host
Jen, you hit it on the spot. I mean, I think if Virginia would have said anything, it'd probably something you couldn't say here too. We got a call from our publicist at 3 o' clock this morning. So you can only imagine, you know, just the adrenaline rush right away from it. And it was just a sense of joy and like, and pride of like, oh my God, it's another vindication for our sister and for survivors out there. And, you know, we got the call from Dean Yvonne Muffling, who is Virginia's longtime publicist and friend and just an amazing human being. And, you know, it just felt surreal. I felt like I was in a haze for a moment, like, is this real? Like, is this real? And then I read through the article and then we did our interviews throughout the beginning part of the day. We haven't slept since then. Honestly, who could? Or I can't, at least we can't. And I remember going to breakfast this morning and I just started crying. Just like this emotion of like, we're so proud of her, you know, even though he's getting arrested on charges that may not be affiliated directly with the sexual allegations that my sister had brought against him, it's still a form of justice. These are the things that our survivors are waiting for. And we have to give survivors, my sister the day here and give them that win because they come so few. They really do. And so we just, we felt. I can tell you I felt a lot of emotion, Jen. Happy, sad, mad, angry. Now motivated. So we're gonna keep going. Cause there's so much more to do.
- [13:10]
Jen Psaki
There's so few moments where I know you and other survivors and families have felt justice. And it's incredible, I have to say, to hear that you had that moment this morning, even though it was about something else. Let me ask you. I reread parts of Virginia's book this morning, and we just shared some of it as well because I felt it was important for people to hear how she articulated her accusations against Andrew and how serious they were. And we don't know that there's an investigation into that. But she talks about the photo I just showed. It's almost 25 years ago. It was March, 25 years ago when that photo was developed. She talked about it in her book. And Amanda, let me ask you, I wonder. And we don't know this, but without that photo and without her advocacy, I don't know that they would have looked into Andrew. But what do you think
- [14:05]
Amanda Roberts
that photo was such a pivotal moment in this case. You know, oftentimes when survivors come forward, it's always he said, she said. And society is inclined to believe the he before the she. And what she did with that piece of evidence, which was submitted to the FBI, which the original photo is still in their possession, it was verified that it was a real photo. That was such a critical turning point. And I mean, we're talking about, you know, 25 years ago it was taken. And the way that it just consistently resurfaces over and over and over again, I can imagine it is the biggest thorn in Andrew's side. And it gives me some joy to know that, that they still cannot get away from this photo that they've backtracked and claimed wasn't real. Time and time again, it's been proven that it is real and that Virginia was telling the truth.
- [15:07]
Jen Psaki
Yeah. That photo is just lives as evidence or evidence of him being with a 17 year old, standing with a 17 year old. And she really outlines in her book, as you mentioned, sky, we don't, there isn't. We don't know. There is no evidence right now of an investigation into the accusations Virginia made. But they seem to be taking. I mean, they did arrest a member of the royal family this morning who she's made accusations against. Have you heard from the British authorities, do you think, are you hopeful that there could be an investigation into the accusations Virginia made?
- [15:45]
Interviewer / Host
You know, I really hope so. I think our sister has proven to be a truth teller time and time again. To answer your question, Chen, no, we haven't heard from any British authorities at all, although we're very open to it. I just want to make that clear, that we would again commend the king and commend the UK for actually taking a stand against us when our own government won't. But, yeah, I mean, I believe my sister Amanda. We say it all the time, like, the files are exposing this at this point. I mean, there's no. There's no, like, gray line here anymore. You can read through them yourself. It's. It's pretty damning when you go through it. I mean, you know, even just the. The email that Virginia had talked through, even that you talked through briefly here moments ago, is that it proved that not only is the photo real, I mean, Ghislaine sent her own email basically ratting out one of her best friends of, yeah, the photo's real. It was taken at my flat. And, yeah, it absolutely introduced her to. To the prince. So when are we gonna start believing survivors Is really my question. When are we gonna start making the burden of proof on survivors a little bit less than what they are now? Because my sister paved the way, and now we're trailblazing through it. She did it for us first. Now we get to carry on the legacy behind her.
- [17:02]
Jen Psaki
Andrew, as you well know and for viewers, was not the only person that Virginia bravely accused. And she testified against others as well and named other names in testimony that. That's openly available in depositions. One of them was Les Wexner, and he had a deposition yesterday that he. The video is now out of that deposition. And I don't know if you've seen this, and it's upsetting, but I want to play it for you because I think it's important for people to hear what he had to say about it, given what Virginia has said and what, you know, she experienced and lived through. But let's play that part of the. A deposition.
- [17:44]
Interviewer / Host
Are you aware of who Virginia Giuffre is?
- [17:51]
Les Wexner
No familiar name, but I've heard it, but I can't.
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Jen Psaki
Don't connect it to anything.
- [17:58]
Interviewer / Host
Did you ever have any sexual contact of any kind with Ms. Giuffre?
- [18:03]
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No.
- [18:05]
Les Wexner
Absolutely.
- [18:06]
Jen Psaki
I have contact someday. I don't even know.
- [18:10]
Interviewer / Host
Ms. Giuffre has accused you of performing sexual acts with her multiple times. You dispute these allegations?
- [18:21]
Les Wexner
She must be confused.
- [18:24]
Jen Psaki
It never happened again. It's really. It's upsetting to watch it is because, as I just noted, I mean, Virginia accused Les Wexner of forcing her to have sex multiple times with him, of being trafficked to him. Again, he denies those allegations, just said he doesn't know her. But what do you want people to know? I mean, what is your reaction when you watch that video?
- [18:53]
Amanda Roberts
Yeah, I think the response is very familiar.
- [18:56]
Jen Psaki
Right.
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Amanda Roberts
We've seen this response before. We've seen this response from Andrew. He has no recollection. And, you know, it's the typical response.
- [19:04]
Susan Rice
Right.
- [19:04]
Amanda Roberts
I think, you know, the first attempt at questioning is deny. And so that's the level that he's at right now. It's actually not shocking, to be honest. They've spent a lifetime denying any implications with Epstein, even though there's, like, mountains of proof that potentially Les Wexner may have bankrolled Jeffrey Epstein. So that alone is just. It further proves why, yes, we have these depositions, we have these hearings, but it's the first step. Let's indict. Let's actually go after the money trail. Let's really open a serious investigation. And so, you know, it's not shocking to get that response from him. It's irritating, it's angering. You know, this is the same nonsense that survivors have been dealing with for 30 years. Right. But it's the typical behavior. It's the deny. And so we're ready to move on for that and keep pushing forward.
- [20:09]
Jen Psaki
You have more grace than most. I found watching it to be completely enraging. Well, I think we may have lost sky and Amanda. Are you still there? Okay. We may have lost sky and Amanda. They're such incredible advocates. I'm so grateful for their time.
- [20:24]
Amanda Roberts
Thank you.
- [20:25]
Jen Psaki
If you can hear me, Skye and Amanda, for joining me tonight and for bravely talking about your sister's story coming up. Why don't Republicans in Congress want to talk to the former Prince Andrew? I mean, they should want to, right? And why didn't a single Republican lawmaker attend a crucial deposition with Epstein's longtime associate, Les Wexner? The guy we just showed you the video of. Congressman Ro Khanna is standing by. He has led the charge on this investigation from the very beginning, and he joins me next. Lifelock.
- [20:57]
Interviewer / Host
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Jen Psaki
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- [21:35]
Jen Psaki
With the arrest of former Prince Andrew comes a glimmer of hope that Jeffrey Epstein's alleged associates may actually face some justice. Finally. But as we wait to see if American leaders will hold the powerful accountable here at home, it is increasingly apparent that one political party in this country is much more interested in accountability than the other. Remember, it was Democrats on the House Oversight Committee that requested that Andrew appear to answer questions about his links to Epstein. It was Democrats who requested that the UK's former ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson, and testify. And despite Republicans on the Oversight Committee slapping their watermark on the video, which is very weird, it was only Democratic lawmakers who attended yesterday's deposition of billionaire Les Wexner, while Republicans sent committee staffers. Democrats seem willing to follow where this investigation leads, and it's leading to a lot of places. But they don't have subpoena power. Republicans have that power right now because they're in control of Congress. And if they are only willing to use it on their preferred political targets, like, say, the Clintons, then in a very real way, they are holding up this entire investigation. Joining me now is Democratic Congressman and member of the House Oversight Committee, Ro Khanna. Okay, first of all, you have basically said out loud previously that the British monarchy could basically come down and be toppled because of that. And this morning, a former member of the British family, royal family, was arrested. You kind of, you were a savant of sorts. But what was your reaction when you saw the news?
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Les Wexner
Well, first of all, I thought of Virginia Guthrie and her family and how courageous they've been. And I had texts from other survivors, just relieved that finally there is some accountability. And I've got to say, the British people are showing us the way. I mean, they have held Mendelssohn accountable. They're holding a government, a left government in the UK account accountable. They're holding someone who was a former prince accountable. How about we have some accountability here in the United States? How about we have Howard Lutnick resign? How about we have investigations to the other people in the Trump administration filled with the Epstein class? How about we have hearings here for any person who has email showing that they went to Epstein's island? The reality is Colmer wants to make this a political witch hunt. Whereas what we really need is for bipartisan hearings on people who are part of this Epstein class.
- [24:00]
Jen Psaki
No question about it. I was struck. I played this a little bit earlier and you were there yesterday and the video was just released today, of course, as we started the show talking about. But Les Wexner seemed to spend the majority of yesterday's deposition claiming ignorance. What did you make of that?
- [24:20]
Les Wexner
Well, I was back in my district, but I really admire Robert Garcia's leadership and the members who were there. The biggest thing that came out of this is that the FBI and the Department of Justice has not investigated Les Wexner. With all his ties to Epstein, he has never had a phone call from the FBI or from the doj. And the fact that there was not a single Republican there shows how political they've made this. I mean, just because Les Wexner is a donor to Republican candidates, they decide that they don't need to show up. I have said that whether this implicates Democratic donors, Republican donors, Democratic officials, it doesn't matter. This is about justice for the survivors.
- [25:07]
Jen Psaki
I always think you're there, cuz you're in the middle of most things. But thank you for that correction. And people can watch the video out there as well. It's available publicly. Let me ask you about something that I thought was weird, especially since there were no Republican members there. There was a watermark, like a GOP watermark on this video that was released even though they didn't show, members didn't show up. What was that about? And did you find that to be bizarre?
- [25:34]
Les Wexner
I did. I don't know if they wanted to show that they were there, but just like I corrected the record, Jen, with you in this day and age, you know, telling the truth is pretty basic and usually you will get caught if you don't. Even if you don't have the morality to tell the truth. Everything is on social media. It's easily verifiable. And the reality is they could have just said they didn't show up, but they tried to do this watermark. I think that to show that they were there
- [26:00]
Jen Psaki
yesterday was a big deal, even though he didn't say a lot, but it was a big deal to depose somebody who's been accused.
- [26:07]
Susan Rice
Who do you.
- [26:08]
Jen Psaki
Who's next? Who are you guys looking at next? Who are you hoping to depose in the coming weeks?
- [26:15]
Les Wexner
Look, I believe every person in those files who said that they visited Epstein's island or who had extensive correspondence with Epstein after he was convicted, it should be deposed. I mean, it should be include people like Bill Gates, it should include people who are not as prominent. And it should include people like Howard Lutnick, who was obviously engaged in conduct with Epstein, including alleged business conduct well after he was a convicted pedophile. And you know, if Donald Trump had called the police saying that I have concerns with Epstein in 2006, I don't understand how he can have someone in his cabinet who was going and meeting with Epstein six years later after he himself is calling the police saying he's got concerns about Epstein's relationship with young girls. So the question in the United States of America is very simple. Are we going to actually have accountability? We've seen accountability in England, we've seen it in France, we're seeing it across Europe. Are we going to have accountability in this country?
- [27:16]
Jen Psaki
Let's hope so. But that banner of Trump on the Department of Justice sure makes me concerned about that. Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you so much for joining me tonight.
- [27:26]
Les Wexner
Appreciate it.
- [27:28]
Jen Psaki
Okay, I just want to remind everyone that Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is going to be here at the table in just a few minutes. And obviously there is a whole lot to ask him about. But first, we just watched one of the most bizarre. This also happened today, most embarrassing, most blatantly corrupt displays of Donald Trump's second term. He's calling it the Board of Peace. I'm calling it what it is, which is a slush fund. I have been waiting all day to ask former National Security Advisor Susan Rice about it. And she's going to join me next. Bubba Wallace here from 2311 Racing.
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Jen Psaki
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Play now@chumbacasino.com let's Chumbo. No purchase necessary VGW Group Void where prohibited by law. CTNC's 21+ sponsored by Chumba Casino. So this is how Donald Trump started his day today. And I know what you're thinking, but this is no, this isn't some weird hostage situation, or at least not officially. This is the first meeting of Trump's so called Board of Peace. And no, I have no idea why they were playing. Gloria. I can't explain that one. But this whole thing is supposed to be a big alternative to the United nations, which Trump says is supposed to bring peace and Harmony, not just to the Middle east, but to the entire world. Watching Trump's remarks today, it was clear that world peace wasn't exactly top of mind.
- [29:14]
Donald Trump
Ian, I've seen some great corporate boards. I've seen some great boards, period. We broke 50,000 on the Dow. They said that would take four years. It's always nice to be young and handsome. Doesn't mean we have to like you. I don't like young, handsome men.
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Donald Trump
I like men. No, I don't have any interest. They said there's a surprise coming. I didn't know there's a surprise. I thought they were going to give me a lot of money or something. Maybe cash. Can always use some extra cash.
- [29:46]
Jen Psaki
The man is a lot of things, but he does have a knack for just shouting the quiet part out loud, doesn't he? Now, somewhere in his speech, Trump did announce $7 billion in international pledges for the rebuilding of Gaza. But I should tell you that this board has virtually zero oversight, a vague goal of world peace, and a chairman for life with the name of Donald Trump. And you should also know that Trump announced that the United States is going to contribute $10 billion to his new board, but he did not say where that money would be coming from. Joining me now is the former National Security Advisor and Ambassador to the UN Under President Obama, Susan Rice. It's great to see you. When I was watching this this morning, I was thinking, what in the hell is Susan Rice thinking about what is happening on our screen? And here you are. What did you think of that? What is going on there?
- [30:42]
Susan Rice
It's actually pretty embarrassing, Jen. I mean, it's a collection of rogues and sycophants mostly, who showed up to give praise to the man who wants to be the dear leader of the world. And it's embarrassing for the United States, for our leadership, but it also underscores how profoundly unserious this is. This is a vanity project. But now it may also be a huge heist from the American taxpayers. $10 billion that he claims the United States government, that means you and I, as American taxpayers, are giving to an entity that isn't an international organization, it isn't a US Government entity. It's a private vanity project for Donald Trump in perpetuity. Where that money's come from, will come from with what legal authority? It's non existent. And when you consider, Jen, at the same time, we are, you know, billions of dollars in arrears to the United nations, to which we have a treaty obligation to provide assessed contributions and is actually doing real peacekeeping and humanitarian activity all over the world in the most desperate places. But we're not paying those dues and those obligations. But now somehow he's miraculously found $10 billion to take from American taxpayers and put into his own private vanity project.
- [32:16]
Jen Psaki
There's also no oversight. And there was this Trump son in law, Jared Kushner, who has been out in the world negotiating with no official job on behalf of the US Government. But he gave a speech. I mean, he has so many conflicts of interest, but he gave the speech today. And I want to just play a part of it also because I think the whole context of this and this weird slush fund that they're creating and saying it's for world peace is important for people to understand the whole perspective on. So let's play that.
- [32:48]
Interviewer / Host
What you've seen today is just a small sample of the work that's been done. And I really want to thank the entire team that's worked so hard at this. A lot of these people are volunteers. They're doing this not for any personal gain. People are not personally profiting from this. They are really doing this for their children and for their grandchildren and because they want to see peace.
- [33:07]
Jen Psaki
So that is coming from somebody who is literally procuring billions of dollars in profits from different international entities while also doing unnamed roles, negotiating on behalf ish of the United States. I can't even. I just think of the ethics requirements we all lived by and you lived by, and you've sat at so many tables where the United States and somebody like you is trying to project morality and values and ethics. What kind of impact, Cuz the world watches all of this. They see, they know what kind of impact does that behavior have on our relationships and how will it be recovered? Which is a big question.
- [33:47]
Susan Rice
Well, Jen, I mean, the fundamental problem with this administration's foreign policy is that it's not serving the interests of the United States and the American people. It's serving the personal interests of President Trump and his cronies and his family members. Serving his ego and his pocketbook. You heard him say on the clip you played initially, you know, he just wants more and more cash. You can never have enough. And that's what Kushner and Witkoff and all of these, you know, businessmen, you know, who are now playing the role of quasi diplomatic are up, you know, are about, they want the money, they want, you know, they want the deals. And, you know, surrounding Trump at this Board of Peace, at the Institute of Peace, which he literally stole from the American people and smacked his name on like the Kennedy center was, you know, the Qatari leader who gave Donald TRUMP A $400 million plane to keep when he leaves government after the United States taxpayers have spent a billion dollars or more refurbishing it. I mean, it's ridiculous, but it was all encapsulated in one room and one big moment today.
- [35:05]
Jen Psaki
The corruption is right with Gloria playing in the background because it couldn't get weirder. Ambassador Susan Rice and why is this day? And of course, of course, of course. I think we're all reflecting on the moment when you were representing all of us overseas. We're not there today, but thank you so much for joining me tonight.
- [35:24]
Susan Rice
Thanks, Jen. Good to be with you.
- [35:26]
Jen Psaki
All right, coming up, Donald Trump traveled to Georgia today as well to talk about affordability. But he ended up talking about, well, of course he did, non existent voter fraud. And he also attacked my next guest by name. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is standing by and he joins me next. Donald Trump has a huge, well, he has a lot of problems, but he has a huge problem when it comes to voters. Number one issue, which is, of course, the economy. So much so that Trump's chief of staff and his top pollster held a strategy session. We talked about this last night, this week about how to sell voters on Trump's lackluster economic. And so today, Donald Trump went to the battleground state of Georgia to talk about the economy. That was the plan. And here's how that went.
- [36:20]
Donald Trump
We had three great races. You want to know the truth? And they came in, they took all those ballots, all those crooked ballots were taken. Let's see what happens. The Democrats are fighting like hell. They don't want anyone to see those ballots.
- [36:32]
Jen Psaki
Did you see that?
- [36:33]
Donald Trump
Let's see what happens. It's just a disgrace. But what are you gonna do?
- [36:39]
Jen Psaki
Okay. Apparently, Trump thought the best way to sell his economic agenda was to ramble at a small business owner. About 6 year old debunked election conspiracies. And the reason he cannot stay focused on the economy, the reason he keeps veering into his election conspiracies, is because Trump doesn't actually think he can win on his economic message. And so he'd rather spend his time laying the groundwork to undermine the results of the elections themselves. Joining me now is House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. All right, Leader Jeffries, I have so many questions for you about elections and what they're trying to do. But I just want to start with what Trump had to say about you tonight because in a speech tonight, he mentioned you. I don't know if you saw this. He called you a. He loves to name call, doesn't he? He called you a low IQ individual. And I just wanted to give you a opportunity to respond to that.
- [37:32]
Hakeem Jeffries
Well, it's great to be with you. I mean, he's such an unhinged, unprecedential, un American individual. But I was actually quite surprised that he wasn't able to come up with something more original like this is his go to insult. I finally earned a presidential nickname and this is what he goes with. So he clearly is tired, he's lame, and he doesn't know what he's doing anymore. And the American people, most importantly, are the ones who are paying the price from this failed presidency. Failure on the economy, failure on health care, failure on immigration enforcement, failure to make life better for the American people.
- [38:10]
Jen Psaki
Little Marco is maybe a better try on his part. It's been a few years. We're seeing Trump on a very serious note, of course, I know. Very serious to you. We're seeing Trump lay the groundwork all across the country for undermining elections in places like, like Fulton county, where local Republicans appear to be helping his efforts by hiring private investigators and subpoenaing the Georgia Secretary of State, a Republican. The Democrats. What is the plan for people watching out there who were so freaked about this to make sure voters aren't disenfranchised and really scared of going to polling places?
- [38:45]
Hakeem Jeffries
Well, this is definitely going to be a core focus of ours. We know that the American people, if the election were held today, and Donald Trump knows this, are voting for Democrats because we're the only party right now committed to driving down the high cost of living, fixing our broken health care system, making sure that immigration enforcement is fair and just and humane. We get ICE under control and we clean up the corruption that has taken place here in America. Donald Trump clearly has other plans, but we know it's got to be an all hands on deck effort. Democratic governors, Democratic Attorney Generals, secretaries of State, civil rights groups, democracy reform groups, civil liberty groups like the ACLU and others, partnering, of course, with House Democrats, Senate Democrats, civil society faith leaders, and perhaps most importantly, the American people. And together, we can and will ensure that the elections are free and fair. And we're going to operate under the assumption that voter suppression and voter intimidation will be the electoral strategy that Republicans deploy to try to desperately hold on to power.
- [39:57]
Jen Psaki
One of the efforts you've been very focused on is of course, redistricting. And you were in Maryland yesterday. I spoke with the governor here last night about that visit. For people out there who don't understand you have a Democratic leg, Senate there, this is clearly important. I mean, there are big stakes for you in terms of becoming speaker of the House and big states for the country. What's the deal? What's the holdup there? And is there any progress you can tell us about in terms of moving it forward?
- [40:27]
Hakeem Jeffries
Well, we're thankful for the support of Governor Westmore, who's done a tremendous job getting behind this effort, thankful for the Democrats in the Maryland House of Delegates who decisively have passed this legislation. And so now it's up to the Democratic majority in the state Senate. And I had a good meeting. It was a positive, productive, candid discussion with the Senate Democratic president, who believes at least that the votes don't exist in the Senate. And I think Governor Moore has taken the position which I share, is bring the bill to the floor of the Senate for an up or down vote. Because this moment does require a forceful Democratic response. As part of our effort to make sure that Donald Trump can't gerrymander the national congressional map as part of his scheme to rig the midterm elections. Now we forcefully push back against Donald Trump's effort all across the country, of course, beginning in places like Texas and California, with Prop 50 finishing up in Virginia and pushing them back in other places like Utah and Ohio and Missouri. And we're going to have to continue to keep our foot on the gas pedal. But certainly it's the case that there's an opportunity to move forward and create a more competitive map in Maryland. And I certainly hope that the Senate Democrats, led by the Senate President, Bill Ferguson, will see fit to at least allow the chamber to vote.
- [41:51]
Jen Psaki
We only have about a minute left, but I've been dying to know what you think of this, which is that the White House apparently has a new strategy, a political one, to send their cabinet members out to competitive districts around the country. And I was thinking, did Leader Jeffries get in this meeting in a mustache and, like, design this plan for them? But what do you make of this strategy? Are there any Cabinet members you're just praying they're gonna send out there to swing districts?
- [42:18]
Hakeem Jeffries
Yeah, they should start with Pam Bondi, RFK and Kristi Noem, and I'll have a list of districts for them to go to, and we may even be willing to. To pay the cost.
- [42:29]
Jen Psaki
Yeah, I thought maybe you'd be fund ads on a bus tour if they were gonna send these people out there, why not? It's certainly quite a strategy. Leader. Hakeem Jeffries, so much on your plate. Really appreciate you being here tonight. Thank you so much again.
- [42:45]
Hakeem Jeffries
Thank you.
- [42:46]
Jen Psaki
We have to sneak in a very quick break, but Lawrence has Congressman Robert Garcia standing by to react to the stunning day of news. Don't go anywhere tonight. We'll be right back.
- [42:54]
Hakeem Jeffries
Back.
- [42:58]
Jen Psaki
That does it for me tonight. You can catch the show Tuesday through Friday at 9pm Eastern on Ms. Now. And don't forget to follow the show on Blue sky, Instagram and TikTok.
- [43:07]
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