← The Tara Palmeri Show
The Tara Palmeri Show
Bondi REFUSES to Apologize to Epstein Victims + Did FBI wipe Epstein Jail footage?
00:49:24
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- [00:00]
Tara Palmeri
Take the exit, turn right into the drive thru. Nope, I'm making dinner tonight. You don't have time. Josh has practice. Oh, that's right. I'll just get a salad and fries.
- [00:10]
Keith Edwards
No, just the salad.
- [00:11]
Tara Palmeri
But salad cancels.
- [00:12]
Monique Pressley
Fries.
- [00:13]
Keith Edwards
Salad only.
- [00:14]
Tara Palmeri
Fries. Salad, fries. Food noise isn't fair, but Mochi Health is the affordable glp one source that puts you on the road to successful weight loss. Hey, can I get the fries?
- [00:23]
Keith Edwards
Salad?
- [00:24]
Tara Palmeri
Sorry. Learn more@joinmochi.com Mochi members have access to.
- [00:28]
Monique Pressley
Licensed physicians and nutritionists.
- [00:29]
Tara Palmeri
Results may vary. Welcome back to the Tara Palmarie Show. As you can see, I'm on the road. Washington, D.C. very close to Capitol Hill, where Pam Bondi, the attorney general, is getting grilled by Democrats for the most part. I mean, Republicans are not really holding her to account, but Democrats are all over her and over one thing and that is the Epstein files and the Department of Justice's gross mismanagement. Now, at the same time, the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein are on the Hill in all white, standing behind Pam Bondi as a reminder that she so recklessly left their names. Jane does identified in documents, in documents for the whole world to read, exposing them not just to their families, but to the whole world after they tried to keep the privacy of the the sexual abuse that they had to endure as children. And now it is out there. And you know, and they also are there to remind her that there have been zero prosecutions against any potential co conspirators. This hearing is fiery, it's spicy, and it comes on the heels of another hearing, and that is Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who claimed he cut off his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein years and years ago before he even went to prison for child sex trafficking. But now we learn he actually wanted to go to the island with his wife and kids and they coordinated and he had to answer for that yesterday. So as you can see, the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein lurks in every corner of this administration. In fact, he's really calling the shots right now. Let's be honest. He may be dead, but he has risen from the grave and he is controlling Trump's administration. The there was no way to get out of it. And we really discuss all of this and more in this episode of Don Lemon Show. And it has a one of my good friends is also on it, Keith Edwards and Don Lemon. And it's and Monique, she's an amazing legal analyst. So definitely stick around for all of that. But I want to go over some news that broke overnight. I want to tell you about a newly released document from a tech worker at, at the Bureau of Prisons where Jeffrey Epstein was held. I'm going have to lean in a little bit to read this one to you. But it is a. It's a new document and it shows an interview with a redacted tech engineer who worked in the prison. He was in the Marine Corp. For four years and he had 10 years of experience in electronics. So he was in charge of all the cameras at the Metropolitan Correctional center where Jeffrey Epstein was, was, was held. And he advised them that the camera system was working at the time of the incident on August 10th, 2019 when Jeffrey Epstein was found dead hung in his cell. But you know, he said there was a system failure earlier July 29th and the motherboard failed on August 8th. So the hard drive failure occur occurred on August 10th. He recalled that there was a body alarm. I guess that was the sign that, that Epstein had killed himself around 6am or was killed on August 10, 2019. And he was one of the people who responded. And he stated that he was one of the personnel who briefly. And he stated that a person who tried to resuscitate Jeffrey Epstein, he did not do it. But he's talking about what happened. It's all in this document. He said after the incident he was asked about the camera. There were two new hard drives to install. But installing the new hard drives would mean that all the prior data would be lost. Okay. The warden wanted the video and so Blank was told to start working on the system. This person who's being interviewed started working to remove the bad drives in order to rebuild the dvr. This person was advised that an FBI agent was the one who pulled out the dvr. He was also advised that he knew that by replacing both hard drives drives the system would be wiped and that he had advised the personnel at MCC of that. So he advised them that by pulling out the DVR the, the actual video of the incident would be wiped. Okay, so this document basically says that it's an interview obviously that was conducted by the Southern District of New York with the man who was operating all the cameras in the jail.
- [05:04]
Pramila Jayapal
Jail.
- [05:05]
Tara Palmeri
Jail. And it suggests that they FBI agent was aware they were wiping all the footage, that they didn't lose the evidence, they essentially were erasing it. And they obviously expect the public to move on. Now I know this is highly conspiratorial. I am not a conspiracy theorist but I have always suspected that there was something up with Jeffrey Epstein's death. I think there are a lot of reasons for that. Could it be the fact that there is no video footage that the guards were magically asleep and now we're seeing images of a orange blob around the time in the area of the camera that would be facing his near his jail cell around the time of where when he was killed. The CBS 60 Minutes has done some incredible reporting on this, introducing this theory back in 2019. And you can't help but see that and think that's another inmate who was possibly paid to kill Jeffrey Epstein. And, and obviously Jeffrey Epstein was an extreme narcissist. A lot of these men believe that they can get out of prison again. And I could see him just killing himself. His brother Mark has fought to say that he was killed in prison. Obviously if that's the case, Mark could win, you know, insurance money, settlement, etc, but still this is, this is a very, very shocking piece of information. Obviously it is just one witness testimony and it needs to be, you know, further investigated. But as we know, the Justice Department doesn't seem to be very interested in that. So I just wanted to share that with you before we get into this hearing, this very, very ruckus hearing on Capitol Hill and but first, I want you to hear a word from our sponsor. Look, I think we can all agree that Medicare is confusing. Talk to anyone over 65 and they'll tell you the same. Even after hours of research, you don't end up coming up with the right plan that fits your needs. Cost thousands of dollars every year. And then there's the whole keeping track of the enrollment periods, understanding all your plan options, making sure you're on the right plan that matches your time and energy. That's why I want you to know about my Medicare partner chapter. They're the only national Medicare advisor that compares and recommends every plan plan helping people save on average $1100 on healthcare costs. People are relieved when they talk to chapter because they will search through all of these plans in under 20 minutes and it's easy and it's free. They won't push you to buy a plan. All of these advisors, their salary, they don't make any money from it. So their support is completely free. So if you're turning 65 soon or you have questions about your Medicare coverage, call them to get the most out of Medicare for free and unbiased Medicare Help. Dial 305-515-5237, speak with my trusted partner chapter or go to askchapter.org Tara this.
- [07:54]
Monique Pressley
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- [08:20]
Don Lemon
In this release, the latest tranche that was released just this week. And so we're waiting for Pam Bondi to be, to be questioned. In the meantime, Jim Jordan is giving his preamble there and appears to be setting it up as this being some sort of Democratic hoax or an effort to get the President. And he is allowed to do that because he is the majority leader now. But when we get into the meat of it, we'll bring it to you. In the meantime, I want to bring in my guests who can talk about this. The first person that I want to hear from is Monique Pressley, a legal analyst, political commentator and a trial attorney. Tara Palmeri is here, a veteran journalist, author of the Red Letter on Substack, and, and the host of the Tara Palmeri show right here on YouTube. And then Keith Edwards is here as a political commentator and a host on the Keith Edwards Show. So welcome to all of you. Thank you. As we watch these hearings, Andy, if we can keep them up, Monique, you saw the fiasco. That was Howard Lutnick yesterday.
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Tara Palmeri
Yeah. In different places. So that's exciting.
- [09:24]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
I've been hearing. Well, actually, it was Katie Fang who told me Streamyard has also been glitchy, glitchy, glitchy lately.
- [09:32]
Tara Palmeri
You know, I was thinking, though, what, what Don was talking about, like how they're calling this Democratic hoax. I mean, how can they call it a Democratic hoax when they all voted to release the Epstein Transparency Files Act? All of them, except for one member of Congress. I mean, it's just like, insane. Is this just like their default Democratic hoax? Like something goes wrong, Glitch, Democratic codes, coax. It's, it's absurd. Like, the American people are smarter than this. Right.
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Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
And they can't, they don't even stick to it. Right. Because when, when Ghislaine Maxwell decides that she's going to invoke the Fifth, then the leader, Speaker Johnson, is saying how that's terrible and absurd. And I'm like, you kind of got to decide where you are on this. You are the one actually running these hearings. Yeah, that was you running them.
- [10:22]
Tara Palmeri
If it's, that was pathetic. Like, they should have known. They should have done their due diligence. They should have never given her the, the luxury. I mean, really, the ability to speak before Congress just to basically throw out this insane. Almost like, I don't know, the whole like clemency or bust, basically. It was disgusting. And they should have known that before they allowed her to, to speak. She is a sex offender. You know, they don't get, they don't, they are not given the right to speak before Congress. I, I don't know in history as a sex offender, I haven't been able to sit before Congress and speak to them. House Oversight Committee before.
- [11:01]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
I mean, probably not that we know of, but all kinds of cooperators and collaborators and snitches and such and so on. They, they get information from everywhere. And I think that they should.
- [11:12]
Tara Palmeri
But like this high profile, you know.
- [11:14]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
Should have anticipated that it was going to be an invocation. I, I'm not even. I mean, that's her right to do. The way that they did it though, I agree with you, was absurd for it to be, to end up being that kind of waste of time.
- [11:30]
Keith Edwards
She's like not a reliable narrator, right? Like we can't trust a word she says.
- [11:35]
Tara Palmeri
Either way, she was charged with perjury and the only reason that they dropped her conviction is because like she, she settled to like a lesser charge. They dropped it. It's like, right. She, she basically lost her perjury chart conviction on a technicality. She was charged with perjury already.
- [11:51]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
But what you hope for from people, anybody who is cooperating with the government in any way is that they'll give you information that you can then independently ve. So it's not that you take her word for it because she says something, it's that you, in exchange for whatever they were thinking about promising her, Trump and company, you then say, oh, okay on October 3rd in 2013, right. She says this person was here. And then you go out and you do your due diligence and you investigate based on the information that you been given. Because no, nobody would just her one on one word for anything, take her word for anything at this point. But that doesn't mean that she couldn't be useful. She's just decided the only way she's going to be useful is if she gets something out of it.
- [12:39]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah, I thought it was interesting. Like these House oversight Dems are now going to have their own hearings in Palm beach and you know, Epstein's backyard, Trump's backyard, starting in April. And you know, they're going to start with witnesses, which I think is their, their witnesses are going to be the victims, which I think is super important. And I think it's finally, time that they are afforded that time. Like, they should be the ones called by House Oversight to testify. They are, they should. They're, they're like their testimony should not be just considered rumor. Right. Or a hearsay. And then the only thing is like, can they subpoena anyone? I know Nancy Mace is sort of. They, they, I don't know that they have the subpoena power, the Democrats, to actually call anyone in the House Oversight Committee if they get someone like Nancy Mace to come along. Lauren Boebert, but they lost Marjorie Taylor Greene. So.
- [13:31]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
They need somebody in, in the majority. But I can hear you, Don.
- [13:37]
Don Lemon
You can see me and hear me.
- [13:39]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah.
- [13:40]
Don Lemon
I'm not frozen. Am I back?
- [13:42]
Tara Palmeri
We were just trying to carry on for you.
- [13:44]
Don Lemon
I think you guys are doing a good job. I'm going to go and get ready for the conference that I'm here for and just let you do it. No kidding. It's interesting because I would like to hear, you know, you saw what happened when Jim Jordan, now he was his preamble and how he was trying to shape what was going to happen in these hearings. I just want to hear a little bit now to see how the Democrats are going to try to do it. Let's listen in just for just a little bit.
- [14:09]
Jamie Raskin
Mixture of staggering incompetence, cold indifference and jaded cruelty towards more than 1,000 victims raped, abused and trafficked. This performance screams cover up. Convicted sex trafficker and groomer Ghislaine Maxwell opened the gates of hell to Virginia Giuffre and hundreds of other victims, as Virginia recorded in her remarkable book, Nobody's Girl. But when Maxwell was subpoenaed to come testify before Congress, you and Todd Blanche quickly moved her from a higher security prison to a minimum security camp in Texas where she's enjoyed five star treatment, including catered meals, private gym time and access to a therapy puppy.
- [14:58]
Don Lemon
Okay, so that's Jamie Raskin of Maryland doing that and he is the, the minority leader here on this committee. But it's interesting if you can talk about this, Monique. He's framing it as this is an assault on, you know what the rule of law. And this is about the victims. Jim Jordan is saying, you know, this is about illegal people who come here to commit crimes. That is what we're going to face in all of these. And I, I love that. The charts, they've got the charts there to, to show, to back it up. I think Democrats are going to go hard.
- [15:36]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
I think they are and they should. And the Jim Jordan needs to read the room. The American people are not buying it. He's not going to be able to deflect away from getting the Attorney General of the United States to answer some of these questions. And I hope Pam Bondi comes in there and does what she does.
- [15:58]
Don Lemon
You know, I mean, you want her to stonewall, why?
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Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
I want her to be just as much of a, you know, I'm trying not to cussed on. I want her to be the jerk, the obstructionist that she is because she's not going to give any fruitful answers anyway. She is a henchman. She is a flacky, a flunky, a lackey. She is going to be singing Trump's song anyway. So I would like, while the eyes and the cameras are on her, for her to be true to that and show America what she's about to, because, I mean, she's, she's not going to be in this job forever. And this is on the record and she needs to be held accountable for the full obstruction. While, by the way, I know we're talking about it later, but while they call other people obstructionists, while they say that other people are obstructing law enforcement. Right. She is the obstructor in chief.
- [16:53]
Don Lemon
Yeah. Keith, look, you know, this is going to be contentious. I have a feeling, though, it's not going to be any as many Republicans this time trying to defend her. At least their questions, you know, won't be so slanted to make her look good because this has gotten bipartisan outrage. Not enough on the Republican side, but it is going to be contentious. And how do you expect her to respond? The same way.
- [17:18]
Keith Edwards
I mean, I would be shocked if Pam Bondi responds any other way than attacking and deflecting. That's all she's ever done in any of these hearings. What she normally does is she has oppo, like, on her Deb, like in front of her where she's just, instead of actually answering any questions, she brings up oppo about the person, the Democrat who's asking her a question. And so I would be surprised if that's any other strategy than that today. But I got to say that this is a, not only is this, like a loser for Republicans, I think between this and Bad Bunny and the response to, like the overwhelming pushback on the right, trying to say that the super bowl was anything other than fantastic is showing that, like, the culture is really shifting and that Republicans have really squandered what was a cultural shift between Epstein and, and their pushback on Bad Bunny. I just feel like they have really lost any sort of ground that they've had. Donald Trump won the popular vote. He won the popular. Do you think he'd win that today? I don't even think Donald Trump could beat Joe Biden today the way that things have been handled. So I don't know how Pam, Bonnie does this any other way than pushing back because Donald Trump wants a fighter. But unfortunately for her, unfortunately for us, this is a losing proposition that she's put herself into.
- [18:42]
Tara Palmeri
You know, Keith, last night I watched, I don't know, I guess came. It came through my feed, the SNL of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey in the first hearing that Pam Bondi had to go endure over the summer over Epstein. And you're so right about how she just punched back. And like, you know, she's like, you're stupid. You're an idiot. You know, and it's like that SNL is exactly probably what we are going to see again tonight. And it was just funny that the algorithm sort of like served it up to me to remind me, like, this is what we are going to see. And that into Trump, that kind of, you know, you know, punch back, that's like considered winning. And even with Howard Lutnick, like, they're standing by him, never back. Like, he has so many enemies in this administration, Howard Lutnick, there are so many people that would like to see him go down. And now they think that because he is being targeted for his association with Jeffrey Epstein, going to the island after he claimed he no longer spoke to him, he's probably in a safer place now in Trump's administration because he was targeted for his associations with Jeffrey Epstein. And like, this is, this is how the American people have to understand this story. Trump does not want any recourse. He doesn't want anything. He just wants vindication. Anyone who's associated with Jeffrey Epstein will also be protected because he.
- [20:00]
Don Lemon
You think he's in a safer place now with the administration because who were we speaking with yesterday? Oh, we were speaking with Rick Wilson, who said that he believes that Susie Wiles is setting up Lutnick to be the fall guy for the administration because people want red meat and he's going to be the red meat that is to be served to the masses.
- [20:23]
Tara Palmeri
That maybe, but also, like, does Trump let anyone. Has he let any soldier fall? Really? No. I mean, he's basically rearranged the decks a little bit, moved what's his name, the waltz over to the UN but that took about a month. And I think for him accepting that he picked the wrong person for a position would be seen as now no longer the powerful, you're fired position that he was in as the Apprentice, but now and accept, you know, acceptance of that. He had poor management choices. But I think Per in because of the way that Trump reacts when asked about Jeffrey Epstein and the way he sees this and how they see this issue as like, toxic waste that just needs to be removed every single day. Not anything that needs to be. Not something that needs to be actually prosecuted, held to account. And that if someone else is targeted for Jeffrey Epstein, he'll see them as victims like himself, and he'll protect them because he does not want to give any ground on this issue, this Democratic hoax. If he, if he fires someone over this Democratic hoax, then it would validate it for him.
- [21:33]
Keith Edwards
It validates it.
- [21:34]
Don Lemon
Yeah. Yeah, Good. But, but Keith or Monique, whoever. We have not seen Christy Noem, nor have we seen. What's his name. I can't remember the guy who was not Bongino, but whatever his name was, the other one who was in charge of the vino. We haven't seen Bovino and we haven't seen. I mean, he does move people. And you, you, you mentioned. What was his name? Walt. He moved him. But they don't actually say they're getting rid of him. They just slide him off to the side and they bring in, you know, the, the second ant, you know, the second Aunt Viv from, from. From.
- [22:13]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
The Fresh Prince citizens. White people had to be murdered in the street. Yeah. In order for them to be sidelined. It takes a lot.
- [22:24]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah. I don't think having going to the island once is going to be enough for Trump considering he's like, all over the Epstein Biles. Thousands and thousands and thousands. He's not going to get rid of Howard for going to the island. Island once. If anything, he's going to like, Howard's now untouchable. Like.
- [22:39]
Don Lemon
Okay, here's Pam Bondi. Here's Pam Bondi.
- [22:42]
Pam Bondi
Thank you for hosting me here today. I'm grateful for the opportunity to answer your questions, highlight the work of our department, and discuss the most important topic of all, keeping the American people safe. A little over a year ago, I was sworn into office as 87th Attorney General of the United States. I came into office with the goal of refocusing the Department of Justice on its core mission. After years of bloated bureaucracy and political weaponization. The Department of Justice's core mission is to fight violent crime, protect the American people, and defend the rule of law. Above all else, while our work is never done, we have made tremendous progress to make America safe again. In 2025, we saw the lowest murder rate in 125 years. That's nothing short of historic. If you compare 25 to 24, here's what you'll find. The murder rate is down 21%. Robbery, down 23%. Carjacking, down 43%. Gun assault, down 22%. Ag assault, burglary could go on and on. Crime is declining. This did not happen by accident. The numbers tell an important, yet straightforward story. President Trump has given us the resources, the support and the leadership to protect the American people. President Trump's policies have saved lives. I cannot think of a policy outcome more important than protecting the lives of American citizens. Can you? This trend has been especially clear in Washington, D.C. and in Memphis. These are two iconic American cities that spent years in the grip of horrific violent crime. The Department of Justice surged. Law enforcement.
- [24:45]
Don Lemon
This is Pam Bondi's preamble. We'll get back to it. She's going to be doing this for. For quite a minute. First, a word from our sponsors. We're back.
- [24:50]
Tara Palmeri
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- [26:19]
Don Lemon
Okay. And we are back and Pam Bondi is still speaking, as I said, and just giving her a little, you know, dissertation about what she expects and saying, okay, we've done all these great things. So it look, her strategy seems the same, Monique, as last time. It doesn't seem any different. But we'll see. Again, my thing is is that I think that there is the public sentiment has changed and whether whatever happens with this legally, I think in the court of public opinion, at least in the court of public opinion, the Trump administration cannot really rebound.
- [26:56]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
So what's going to be different in this? I have said often I really wish that these members of Congress, the ones who were not trial lawyers, were not ever prosecutors aren't skilled as examiners, that they would take some notes or get some training before they try to ask the questions. Because when you deal with someone who is is skilled at not answering and evading and actually is shameless about it, as Keith mentioned, use uses OPPO against members of Congress. That has nothing to do with the things they're being asked about. You really have to be able to lock down the witness. And with somebody as slippery as this, you can't let them take your narrative. You have to continually reclaim your time. You have to ask short, concise questions, unless all you're really trying to do is get America to listen to you ask a long question and then her not answer it. If you are actually looking to get some answers out of her, you've got to run it like a cross examination, like she's a hostile witness. So that's what's going to determine what does and does not happen effectively today for these members of Congress. So there are some who were very skilled in that before we had a vice president, Kamala Harris, obviously, when she was on these committees, one of the things she was known for was being able to zero in on a witness. And the reason why that was the case is because she had decades of skill at doing it. So there is a skill set that is involved and it'll be interesting to see whether people like Raskin and others who, who can do the job will lean into it and get that done today because that's that's what it's going to take in order. She she's a slippery little person.
- [28:46]
Don Lemon
So keep take us to the public here. How much of the public is paying attention to this? And you know, we live in the world of you know what people are talking about, the media, sometimes very navel, gazely, you know, just gazing and reporting on the media. We love to do it, but this appears to have gone farther than that. And people, if you look at the polling, they don't like how those handles.
- [29:13]
Keith Edwards
Yeah, I think you're right. I mean, I, I, I know for sure that public sentiment is not on the side of this administration when it comes to Epstein. How many people are watching this hearing live? I would probably say probably not a large amount, but the clips, we're in a clip based economy. Clips are the things that are shared and travel faster than anything else now on the Internet. And so I imagine, I think if I'm a Democrat right now, what I'm hoping and my goal, my strategy is to help hopefully get something to go viral. Because ideally what's going to happen is though people are not watching this live, there's going to be some sort of revelatory moment that, that helps shape the understanding of this hearing. And I do think though, that, that this is not, this is not going well for the administration. We have seen like Marjorie Taylor Greene. Marjorie Taylor Greene yesterday was like, hey, I don't know what's going on with Trump, but here is what he's told me. So even, even Marge, if you've lost Marjorie Taylor Greene, like far right Jewish space laser, Margie Taylor Green from this conversation, then you are on the losing side of it. And so, yeah, I don't, I don't understand. I don't know what Bondi's strategy is going to be other than to just try to push back, deflect, but certainly it's not going to be to tell the truth.
- [30:39]
Don Lemon
Yeah, how is, can you, you've been, you've been covering the Epstein situation for quite some time. Tara, how is the media done on this? First the, you know, mainstream traditional media versus new media and then we'll dip in if, if, in a bit, if we can.
- [30:57]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
Yeah.
- [30:57]
Tara Palmeri
So like, you know, I started covering this story really closely in 2019. I had a podcast on Jeffrey Epstein and I followed Virginia Giuffre around as she confronted people who were, you know, critical pieces of her past with Epstein and were aware of the abuse that she went through and followed other survivors on their quest for justice. And it was a really, you know, to me at the time, I said it was the most important work of my life. A lot of people didn't really care as much about the story anymore. They kind of saw it as a conspiracy theory, rich guy, billionaire, sex, like it had a lot of the elements of a tabloid story, but they didn't see it as something bigger, as something political, as something that could take down heads, heads of banks, you know, heads of institutions, as something that could really, like, rock the powers of the world. And it's something that one of the survivors always said to me, she said to me, you know, this could take down the world economy when she showed me the list of men that she was trafficked to. And I don't think people really understood that back in 2019 and 2020, or they would have been really. I think it would have been a more important issue. Then again, a lot of people we were dealing with COVID at the time. People were burnt out on Covid. Then in the Biden years, I think it sort of fell to the wayside again. But, you know, it was the MAGA movement that kept it alive, kept the, The. The, you know, kept the story alive, fanning the flames on it. And then Trump had to answer for that in its own administration and decided that he also wanted it to go away. So, you know, now the mainstream media cares. What I love seeing is that independent media, online sleuths have, like, taken this story and they've run with it. Sometimes I think they do it because it's political and it makes Trump look bad. And that's fine. Like, it's fine. Because ultimately, I do think it does expose, you know, corruption and power at the highest levels. I think having every person out there combing through these millions and millions of dollars of files is, like. Is very important. And I don't think anyone can own the Epstein story. And I think, like, everybody should be going through as their civic duty, like, go in there and search someone's name that you thought maybe could possibly be in there. And every file, like, tells a story on its own. It's. It's incredible. I'm. I'm. You know, I would have never thought then that we would be here now. And I'm. I'm. I don't know about you, but I'm grateful that independent media is colliding at this moment, at the same time, because I don't think traditional journalism could have handled all 3 million files, and I don't think they would have handled it right. Like, there's no live blog. Blog on CNN right now with every single update from the files. But you can get that if you look on, you know, an independent media site.
- [33:48]
Don Lemon
Speaking of this. Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead, Keith.
- [33:51]
Keith Edwards
I was gonna. This is something that I totally did not care about. Wasn't even on my radar.
- [33:56]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah.
- [33:56]
Keith Edwards
Until maybe like a year ago. Like, I, like. And my mom, who is much more conservative than most people, had been following this for a long time.
- [34:05]
Tara Palmeri
Women care.
- [34:06]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
Yeah.
- [34:06]
Keith Edwards
Yeah. And so I, I just think it's incredibly interesting how it's totally shifted, too, where, like, now the right, like, I mean, libs of TikTok and, I don't know, all those, all those Twitter freaks were championing this, and now it's, like, totally flipped that it's the left who's really carrying, which, like, kind of bothers.
- [34:28]
Tara Palmeri
Me because I'm just like, why does this have to be political? Like, these are crimes. Crimes should be apolitical.
- [34:35]
Keith Edwards
Well, that's the thing, I think on the left, though. Like, I, I'm totally like, if Reid Hoffman, if Bill Clinton, whoever, whoever perceived to be left or they're in these files that did something awful, then they should be prosecuted. The thing is, on the right, that's just not. They don't have the same heat for Trump or anyone else.
- [34:53]
Tara Palmeri
No. And I understand why it's important again, because Trump is obviously a central figure and he wants us to go away. Like, I understand conceptually why this is a more important story ever more than it ever was before, because the President of the United States is at the center of this, and there has been. There's been no recourse, like, in. Across the world. Poland is opening an investigation into Epstein's Russia ties. You know, the Prime Minister of the UK may have to step down. What? A prince lost his title. What's happened here? Nothing.
- [35:26]
Don Lemon
Nothing.
- [35:26]
Tara Palmeri
Maybe Howard Lutnick is, like, now untouchable. Like, that's about it.
- [35:32]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
Well, I think that the issue with the Maga movement is that they were sold a bill of goods about this. You know, it's. It's just more of the. It was used in order to get them to vote, but it was used only if it was going to be something that hurt people on the left. It was them waiting for their day where people who they've hated for no real good, quantifiable reason, we're going to get their comeuppance. And then because of incompetence, like everything else with the Trump administration. Do you remember when this person who's a witness now had all those ridiculous binders? I mean, it's absurd. And it's like they had no clue.
- [36:16]
Tara Palmeri
Oh, it does make a lot of Democrats look bad. I'm not going to lie. It makes a lot of Democrats look bad. Like, Epstein was a Democratic Donor. But Trump was a Democrat then and.
- [36:26]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
Like money, Money is money. I don't. I mean, nobody who's taken a whole bunch of billionaire and mega millionaire money is going to look clean because people are humans and they commit crimes and it's all incestuous. And unfortunately, there's no sides to it, like you said.
- [36:44]
Don Lemon
I want to hear from Pramila Jaipal real quick, please.
- [36:47]
Tara Palmeri
Okay.
- [36:48]
Pramila Jayapal
Their identities. Let me show you what actually happened. First, in violation of the law, your department has shown a pattern of redacting the names of powerful predators. Here behind me is one example of an email from Epstein to a man whose name was redacted. The email reads, quote, where are you? Are you okay? I loved the torture video. Only after members of Congress demanded that we see the unredacted files did the world learn the name of this individual. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayan, the chairman and CEO of a company that had financial ties to President Trump's business and personal ties to Trump's advisors, Steve Bannett. Second, the survivors were not similarly protected, also in violation of the law. Here is another email titled Epstein Victim List. We have blurred the names of the survivors for their protection, but your Department of Justice initially released this list of 32 survivors names with only one name redacted, along with numerous files that disclose not only the names, the emails and the addresses of survivors, but also nude photographs and even the identities of Jane does, who had been protected for decades until your department released their names. Survivors are now telling us that their families are finding out for the first time that they were trafficked by Epstein. In their words, quote, this release does not provide closure. It feels like a deliberate attempt to intimidate survivors, punish those who came forward, and reinforce the same culture of secrecy that allowed Epstein's crimes to continue for decades. To the survivors in the room, if you are willing, please stand. And if you are willing, please raise your hands. If you have still not been able to meet with this Department of Justice, please know for the record that every single survivor has raised their hand. Attorney General Bondi, you apologize to the survivors in your opening statement for what they went through at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein. Will you turn to them now and apologize for what your Department of Justice has put them through with the absolutely unacceptable release of the Epstein files and their information.
- [39:50]
Pam Bondi
Congresswoman, you set before Merrick Garland sat in this chair twice.
- [39:57]
Pramila Jayapal
Attorney General Bond.
- [39:59]
Pam Bondi
I'm finished.
- [40:00]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
My answer?
- [40:00]
Tara Palmeri
No.
- [40:01]
Pramila Jayapal
I'm going to reclaim my time. Because I asked you the Attorney General question.
- [40:05]
Committee Chairperson
Attorney General, that I would like a.
- [40:07]
Pramila Jayapal
Question to Answer which is will you turn to the survivors? This is not about anybody that came before you. It is about you. You taking responsibility for your Department of Justice and the harm that it has done to the survivors who are standing right behind you and are waiting for you to turn to them and apologize for what your Department of Justice is members.
- [40:32]
Committee Chairperson
Members get to ask the questions. The witness gets to answer in the way they want to answer. The Attorney General can.
- [40:36]
Pramila Jayapal
That's not accurate, Mr. Chairman, because she.
- [40:38]
Pam Bondi
Doesn'T like the answer. So.
- [40:40]
Keith Edwards
Oh my God.
- [40:41]
Pramila Jayapal
Mr. Chairman, why I have asked.
- [40:44]
Pam Bondi
She asked Merrick Garland.
- [40:45]
Pramila Jayapal
This I reclaiming my time. I will claim my time.
- [40:51]
Jamie Raskin
The gentle reclaimed her time.
- [40:53]
Pam Bondi
Get in the gutter for her theatrics.
- [40:54]
Committee Chairperson
The time belongs.
- [40:55]
Keith Edwards
Oh my God.
- [40:56]
Committee Chairperson
Time belongs to the Gentle lady. The gentle lady has 17 seconds.
- [40:59]
Tara Palmeri
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- [42:01]
Pramila Jayapal
You're not going to answer this question, so let me just.
- [42:03]
Pam Bondi
Chairman, I'll direct it.
- [42:04]
Pramila Jayapal
What a massive.
- [42:06]
Pam Bondi
No, I'm answering a question.
- [42:07]
Jamie Raskin
Will you restore her time?
- [42:08]
Pam Bondi
The witness is interrupted with this woman. She's doing theatrical.
- [42:12]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
Let me have my gentlelady.
- [42:13]
Committee Chairperson
The gentlelady from Washington controls the time. The gentle lady has 17 seconds. You can. You can proceed with your final 17 seconds.
- [42:20]
Pramila Jayapal
What a massive cover up this has been and continues to be. Donald Trump made the release of the Epstein files the center of his palace political campaign because he thought it would benefit him. Then you got into office. Attorney General claimed to have a client list. Say that there was no list. Your deputy Todd Blanch met alone Time of the gentle lady Maxwell.
- [42:42]
Committee Chairperson
Time of the gentle lady has to.
- [42:44]
Pramila Jayapal
A minimum security prison. And now you continue the con wish that you would turn around to the survivors who are still standing right behind you. And on a human level chairman recognizes the chairman.
- [42:59]
Committee Chairperson
You have done time is time is the gentle agency. You have no time to yield back. We appreciate the thought the and I would argue the central issue in the last election, the presidential election was securing the border. The gentleman from Arizona who knows something about securing the border is up for five minutes.
- [43:17]
Don Lemon
Thank you Mr. Chairman and thank you attorney general Bondi for being here Today in in 2022 Lafarge, which is a French cement company, pled guilty in U. S Federal court to participating in a criminal conspiracy with isis. Let's take that conspiracy down there. We know what Andy Biggs is going to do. I heard a lot of ooh, this is great. Oh my gosh, I like that she stood her ground meaning Pramila Jayapal there because bam, Bondi tried to obfuscate and that's sort of what they did not do last time. Maybe they weren't prepared for that. But go ahead panel, what do you guys say?
- [43:51]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
I just talked about some tips, right? And I think that that was a great example of what it means to work not just to control a witness, not to allow them to evade and not answer your question and bring in other things, but to continue to reclaim your time, which when you have a witness like this and when you've got a moderator who is part of the majority party that's going to kind of allow for it, you have to know the rules, you have to utilize the rules. And as I think it was Keith saying, here's a great clip, right? Because this, this attorney general is shown that under her watch, 32 victims names and information was released unredacted after they assured victims and the public that that would not happen according to their own working rules and the rules of evidence that etc. She shows her that it happened as if she didn't know. But she shows her and then gives her an opportunity to apologize. And she's so small and so trumpin that the notion of just turning to these people and saying for any additional pain that was caused through the redaction of 3 million pages, 6 million pages of information, she could have couched it however she wanted to couch it. But with him you can't apologize. And because she doesn't ever feel like she does anything wrong, same as him, she's got to instead go back to Merrick Garland. This is Very telling. The American people should get to see this, and I'm not leaving it up to the Democratic Party. I'm going to push the clips. I care about this country. Anybody with a platform who cares about informing the American people, these are the things that we should be showing them as you are here today. Thank you.
- [45:41]
Pramila Jayapal
Don't.
- [45:42]
Tara Palmeri
That's okay, too. What she did. I mean, really, that's shameful. These women, a lot of them paid their way, are in take. Getting hotels all the way from wherever they're living around the country. To be in that room, to be acknowledged and to have their. Have the back of the attorney general in their face and to not be acknowledged as they stood up, I mean, that's. I think it's a very shameful moment in American history.
- [46:08]
Keith Edwards
I mean, it. I mean, it's.
- [46:09]
Jamie Raskin
It's.
- [46:10]
Keith Edwards
I'm just gonna say, like, broadly speaking, this is all theater. You know, I don't think this is about getting information. Pam Bondi's not going to say anything truthful. She's gonna evade or she's gonna lie. So it's great that there is that moment. Like, you know, this is a visual medium. I think this is something that a lot of members of Congress don't understand, and it seems like she does, is like she had people stand up. That's like a whole. That's a clip that they could play on tv. They brought out the email on, you know, the, you know, so. And I'm thinking about how Mark Zuckerberg was asked to do the exact same thing when there are. When there were parents who had children, I think, who died by suicide. And he actually did stand up and turned around and said, I'm sorry. And so I think, honestly, I think a lot of folks want to avoid that moment because I think he unfortunately was perceived as weak for doing it. So I think Pam Bondi was probably relatively smart to not give her that moment because it doesn't. I don't think it would make her look good, but I do think it's great that they are basically, they are controlling the scene, they're controlling the stage.
- [47:19]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
Except for the difference, Keith, with when Mark Zuckerberg did it, when, when people were injured and he was like a party opponent. This woman works for the people.
- [47:32]
Pramila Jayapal
She.
- [47:33]
Tara Palmeri
I was just gonna say, yeah, she works for us.
- [47:37]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
We.
- [47:37]
Pramila Jayapal
We.
- [47:38]
Keith Edwards
Well, she's. She's supposed to. She's supposed to.
- [47:42]
Unnamed Political Commentator (possibly a legal analyst)
We are client. And so in Upside down, where up is down and down is up, you have like a Todd Blanche go and. And Maxwell waves the fifth and talks to him, who is actually the party opponent in her criminal cases, like, he's the prosecution. But then we've got these people in the room who the United States, they were the victims. Like, it's, it's lost on her that those are her clients. It's absurd.
- [48:13]
Tara Palmeri
Thank you again for watching the Tara Palmeri show from the road here in Washington, D.C. where theatrics are on display in Congress and, you know, not a lot of answers, unfortunately. Of course, if you like this show, please head to the Red Letter. You can go to tarapaulmary.com and sign up for my newsletter, the Red Letter. It's where you can get my exclusive reporting by becoming a paid subscriber and where you can get my independent journalism. Also, just by following subscribing, liking, rating, commenting, engaging with the show, you are keeping me in business and alive. And as we get closer and closer to the truth, I want to thank my producer, Eric Gabonate. I want to thank my. Thank Abby Baker, who does my social media and my research. I want to thank Adam Stewart on the graphics and Dan Rosen, my manager. See you again soon.
- [49:03]
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