7/15/25: SCOTUS Greenlights Education Dep Destruction, MAGA Says Trust Trump On Epstein, Megyn Kelly Vs Shapiro, GOP Blocks Epstein Files Release & MORE!

22:57I mean, Virginia Giffray killed herself like she was tormented. They all had their lives tormented and they were completely abandoned by the justice system. and, you know, all the way up until the point of Epstein, quote unquote, killing himself, which I just don't believe. I just don't believe. Sorry. In prison. So that they never really had their day in court. Now, they did get to go and they actually were really grateful to that judge. They got to go and they got to speak and have their day to be heard and be listened to. And, you know, that was really important to them. But that you had this spider web.

23:34I mean, this part we know. I mean, we know 100 percent. this pyramid scheme of molestation of young girls, and it was covered up at every single level, that's not a thing that you can as a society just say like, well, that was in the past. Let's just let that go. But obviously more significant than that is all of the implications of the many powerful people that were in this circle and the very strong possibility that he was an intel asset very likely for Mossad. So I just, I'm sorry, like, I don't buy that this is not an important issue, that this is something we should just, oh, that was the past, he's dead now, who cares?

24:18No, it actually matters that we get to the bottom of what happened here. And then you also have the question of just like basic public trust. And this goes back to, you know, the JFK assassination and the cover up there and how that really was sort of the beginning of the public disgust and disenchantment with their own government. And if you have that here too, I mean, it has profound implications for society. I'm not saying it's the only thing that matters, but to your point, does that mean you can't walk and chew bubblegum at the same time? It's the only thing you can focus on? No. But people deserve a lot more than what they've gotten from the Trump administration, what they've gotten from anyone.

24:56But there were explicit promises that were made here. There were promises that were made to help secure this election bid. There were careers that were made by Cash Patel and Dan Bongino, who, you know, were happy to like get rich doing podcasts, floating these theories. And then now that they're in there, just, oh, we put out a memo. It's over, case closed. Everybody needs to move on. So trust us. Yeah. So no, I don't think it's mature to pretend that none of this happened and put it in the past and just move on because the societal implications to me are extraordinary. They are quite significant.

25:28They are quite grave.

25:29Emily Jashinsky:Well, and it cannot possibly be said enough that the timing of all of this happened the day before Netanyahu came to the White House. And then a couple of days before, an Israeli official was quoted anonymously in the New York Times saying their intelligence suggests not all of the enriched uranium was destroyed in the 12-day war. So why do I say that? I have no idea definitively whether or not there's a connection, but it is a strong reminder that our foreign policy may currently be influenced by all of this because, for example, if you are coming out and you're Donald Trump and you're Kash Patel or Pam Bondi or whomever, and you are relying on Mossad, Sagar reported during the 12-day war that our intelligence about Iranian nuclear capabilities was coming from Israel.

26:30Emily Jashinsky:If you are relying on that intelligence, you think you're relying on that and that's absolutely necessary to have a window into a potential other hostile nuclear power. You come in, you want to spill all of the secrets, and someone's like, no, you can't do that. we will no longer know what is happening in Iran because we have been relying on the Mossad operation, the Mossad surveillance for years and years, then, hey, that's how you get from point A to point B, in my opinion. And what happens with that crystal is influence over our foreign policy continues from this disgusting and ugly scandal.

27:14Well, and just to put it really bluntly, if the president of the United States is a pedophile and Mossad has that information and is using it to control him and our foreign policy, you know, I think it's pretty important that we know that. I think that's a rather important piece of information and thing to get the bottom of. Just me personally throwing that out there. Others disagree, though. Here is Republican Representative Mike Lawler. This is one of these guys that's like held up as a moderate, you know, but just like votes along with the party on absolutely everything in any case.

27:46Emily Jashinsky:Except for salt. He absolutely would not vote unless he got that salt deduction up. Well, and that was a bipartisan concern from members in that region in particular. But in any case, he says the same thing. Who cares? Let's move on. Let's listen. Listen, I'm probably not the person to ask because I don't speak in conspiracy theory. But at the end of the day, there's a lot bigger issues facing this country than Jeffrey Epstein. The guy is dead and buried. Let's move on. OK, if somebody committed a crime, if somebody affiliated with Jeffrey Epstein committed a crime, they should be prosecuted. In the absence of that, frankly, this seems like a colossal waste of time and effort and frankly, a lot of nonsense.

28:31Emily Jashinsky:There are a lot of issues facing this country right now. A dead pedophile ain't one of them. And I think, look, I mean, it technically is a conspiracy theory because you're talking about an actual conspiracy. But that's also just an attempt to delegitimize all of this and sort of put it in the bucket of QAnon, which is preposterous. I mean, mainstream reporters, go read Julie Kay Brown. Go read what is out there. Go read what our own government has said about Jeffrey Epstein and the files that they were able to procure from his various residences and the tapes and the photos that they pulled from his mansion in the Upper East Side.

29:09Go talk to people who are saying like, OK, well, how did he even make his money? This is not looney tunes. There are legitimate, documented, unanswered questions about how all of this went down. And so it's really frustrating to me when people just try to put this in the QAnon bucket, like it's all just like preposterous tinfoil hat stuff. Stop gaslighting us. Like, stop pretending like this wasn't a real thing that really happened.

29:38Emily Jashinsky:That's exactly what they're—yeah. And again, we know if this were a Biden administration, people like Mike Lawler would not be saying what they're saying. And if you trust the Trump administration so much, then go look at what the Trump administration said until they got the keys. No, it would be one thing if they had come out and dismissed all of this said case closed with mountains of evidence suggesting why. Everything they have produced so far has been absurd. And I know we're going to get into this because Ben Shapiro and Megyn Kelly got into this. But like the evidence that they have produced to tell us there is no there there, that Epstein just truly did kill himself, which may actually be true.

30:22Emily Jashinsky:I don't particularly believe it, but that could be true. It's not mutually exclusive with the idea that he was involved in a blackmail scheme or was intelligence. But they put forth that video that Wired scraped the metadata of and was like, this is not the raw footage. and they then said, well, we can't also, we have all of this stuff, but we can't release it because it would be re-traumatizing victims and it would be putting like pedophile stuff onto the internet, like child pornography onto the internet. None of that is convincing whatsoever. And so all you have to do is listen to what they said before they were implicated in being the people who could actually release this information, Mike Lawler.

31:06Emily Jashinsky:And you should listen to those versions of these same people, because I think they made some great points. Yeah, true. Put a four up on the screen. I mean, apparently Fox News got the memo as well. As of noon, there were zero Epstein mentions. However, Joe Biden and the auto pen scandal, quote unquote, had 46 mentions. So, you know, really focused on the here and now with that one. And then just as a reminder of all of the weirdness, and we went through yesterday a bunch of the Trump connections with Jeffrey Epstein, which are substantial, just as a reminder of the weirdness with which he has always approached this case.

31:46And the fact that, you know, when he would get asked, oh, are you going to release the JFK files? Are you going to release the RFK files? Like, are you going to release the UFO files? Yes, yes, yes. Are you going to release the Epstein files? Yes. Well, maybe not, actually. No, I don't think I will release those. He always got squirrely on that one. But he also was really weird when, remember, you know, during the first Trump administration when Epstein was killed and then there were questions about Epstein killed himself. I'm sorry. And then there were questions about whether or not Ghislaine Maxwell will be found guilty.

32:16Apparently, we now have, you know, indications Trump thought about pardoning her as well. And when he got asked about her trial and what he wanted to see happen, he said he wishes her well. Let's take a listen to that.

32:26Emily Jashinsky:Mr. President, the other day a reporter asked you about Ghislaine Maxwell. You said, quote, I just wish her well, frankly. I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, but I wish her well, whatever it is. Mr. President, Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested on allegations of child sex trafficking. Why would you wish such a person well? I don't know that, but I do know that. She has. She's been arrested for that. Her friend or boyfriend was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She's now in jail. Yeah, I wish her well. I'd wish you well. I'd wish a lot of people well.

32:59Emily Jashinsky:Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty. I mean, do you know that she's guilty? Oh, so you're saying you hope she doesn't die in jail. Is that what you mean by wish her well? Her boyfriend died in jail. And people are still trying to figure out how did it happen? Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well. I'm not looking for anything bad for her. I'm not looking bad for anybody. And they took that and they made it such a big deal. but all it is is her boyfriend died he died in jail was he killed was it suicide i do i wish her well what a bizarre answer emily so i mean it's so strange that he is i mean it's not so i'm curious what you make of this because like in a sense it's not strange at all right like it makes complete sense, but just from the perspective of like, why would you be so transparently wishy-washy on the alleged child sex predator, as Jonathan Swan put it there, when you know that there are these like voluminous connections?

34:04Emily Jashinsky:As he even pointed out there, whether or not he's directly implicated in any of this, there's a significant question of whether he was trying to signal to Ghislaine Maxwell not to talk. And now the Daily Mail has a source. I don't know if you said this story. Crystal, you probably did. The Daily Mail is saying that Ghislaine Maxwell is ready to reveal the truth about Jeffrey Epstein and is ready to speak. So enormous grain of salt, Daily Mail, anonymous source. But I mean, that could be pretty interesting, Crystal. Yeah. Well, let's hear it. I mean, listen, she's obviously a convicted criminal.

34:43I mean, this is a disgusting, horrific person who deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison. There's no doubt about it. But she also would certainly be in a position to know. And I have a feeling that she feels pretty bitter that she's the only one who went to prison for this, you know, sex trafficking ring. Again, she deserves it. She should be there. But there are others who likely should be there as well.

35:05Emily Jashinsky:When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart and these are the Survivor Files. I just remember this low taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything. Every week I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced.

35:49Emily Jashinsky:But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. They're stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Manga Shatigular, and I'm back with a new season of the podcast Skyline Drive. This time I'm diving into a rabbit hole of peptides, organoids, blood boys, blue zones, and brain replacement to try to understand what this longevity obsession is all about and what it really means to live forever for all of us. I learned about some rad science. I can make a brain for you, and then we can test what draw is the best for your brain.

36:34Emily Jashinsky:That's incredible. As opposed to his brain. Here's some hard truths. I would expect Indians to age faster, but I did not expect it to be almost a four to five year acceleration. And get myself into a world of trouble. I'd say probably start bone smashing. That doesn't work. Make it look more defined. They say it works. I don't know. Listen to Skyline Drive, How to Live Forever on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. This is Prose Society, the weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsessives, and anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse.

37:23I'm Eli Rallo, and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop having. I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. So obsessed. From best-selling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments, nothing is off the table. It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters, then that is a Trojan horse. Whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much, you're in the right place.

37:56Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you between the pages. Let's go ahead and get to this Megyn Kelly, Ben Shapiro debate, which I watched all of and I thought was pretty interesting. You know, Megyn didn't take like a hard position of like, I definitely think that he was killed or I definitely think that there are other powerful people who are implicated or whatever. She was more in the like, I really don't think we know exactly what went on here. And Shapiro was in the camp of like, nope, nothing to see here. Let's move on. Let's go ahead and take a listen to this first piece, which to me was just extraordinary because Ben says this thing of basically like, yeah, I was open to it, but once we got that memo, Ben was like, oh, I guess there's nothing to see here.

38:40Let's go ahead and take a listen to that. The government admits this. The FBI established that Epstein used paid employees

38:46Emily Jashinsky:to repeatedly find and bring minor girls to him. Epstein worked in concert with others to obtain minor girls, not only for his own sexual gratification, but also for the sexual gratification of others. So I don't know exactly what that means, Ben, but I know that's our government admitting in court that Jeffrey Epstein worked in concert with others to obtain minor girls, not only for himself, but also for the sexual gratification of others. Who, who are the others? Who, who specifically? That hasn't been answered. We've heard names banished about it. One obvious answer is Ghislaine Maxwell, right?

39:23Emily Jashinsky:Who's in prison right now for having engaged in the sexual abuse of children. right? And one of the other people that you just mentioned is one of the others, right? Nadia, whatever her name is. So, you know, that is sort of the big open question that everyone was asking was, okay, who's that? Like Stephen Hawking, right? Because he was one of the names who was mentioned, or Alan Dershowitz was one of the names who was mentioned, or Houd-Barrack, or Lex Wexner, right? Like all these were, and again, here's my thing. I was open to every single one of these theories until the DOJ and FBI put out a memo saying we have looked at all the evidence and here's what we have come to, right?

39:53Emily Jashinsky:You were persuaded by that memo without more? I mean, Like, I wasn't persuaded. No, I'm not. I also trust Dan. I'm not persuaded by a memo. What I'm persuaded by is the fact that I have not seen evidence that they have seen. And so I'm not prepared to call Dan Bongino, Cash Patel, President Trump, J.D. Vance, and It's not the same, though. But their two-page memo says no credible evidence. No credible evidence. Well, somebody's made a judgment call there. You could drive a truck through that exception. What do you think of that, Em? Well, it's exactly what we were just talking about. that if the Trump administration, let's say even the two of us and people who have covered the story seriously and skeptically for years, if the Trump administration came out and produced evidence beyond trust us and a not raw piece of video that they told us was raw and said, listen, we really did look into it and we're going to show our work here and give you reason to believe us other than, again, literally just trust us.

40:48Emily Jashinsky:That's all we've gotten so far. And so to say I take their word for it, the conspiracy theory that is years and years in the making where you have all of this public reporting, as I was listening to it, I was just like frustrated that from like a rational perspective, there's so much evidence in the category that there's a lot more to see than what the Trump administration is telling us, which is why even non-conspiratorial people are on the quote-unquote conspiracy bandwagon in this case, because there's mountains of public evidence reporting that this goes much, much deeper. And so from a rational perspective, it doesn't make sense to dismiss the case because you trust the word of people in power.

41:33Emily Jashinsky:It's just, it's weird. And I think it sounds like someone trying to get to the conclusion that nothing happened. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, very interesting that the same people who are the most vociferously pro-Israel and banging the drums the most for war with Iran and all of these sorts of things also tend to be the ones in the hardcore, there's nothing to see with regard to Epstein camp, also notable. Let's go and take a listen to this next part, because this is potentially newsworthy. Megan claims she actually has sources in the administration who say, no, this is a lie. This isn't what happened whatsoever.

42:11Let's go ahead and take a listen.

42:12Emily Jashinsky:I have the names of the people who are making the claim that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself and that the most gross and sort of extreme of the conspiracy theories or theories, just don't even call them conspiracy theories, the most sort of extreme version of the theory is not true. I have names of the people who are claiming that. They are all in the administration. And this is my point. If other people want to make those claims that are counter to that, then they should provide evidence or at least put their names on it so we can question them about that as well, because otherwise we're just in the realm of pure speculation.

42:42Emily Jashinsky:And frankly, I just don't find that useful. I would love more useful information. This is why I'm angry at Pan Bondi. I think there should be all the useful information possible. But the same thing holds true for people who are making claims on the other side. Otherwise, I can claim that he was working for a cadre of space aliens who are blackmailing high profile Americans in order to protect from a future invasion. And there's just about as much evidence for that as many of the claims that are being made on the other side. All right. Well, let's talk about that. That is made requires evidence.

43:05Emily Jashinsky:Any claim that's being made requires actual evidence. And at the very least, in the absence of evidence, the credible names of the people that I can either trust or not trust, ranging from, again, the president of the United States and vice president to the head of the FBI, the AG and the deputy head of the FBI. Well, I think it's it's very hard to say those people need to come out and put their names on there on these claims when they're working for an administration, this one and the one before that didn't want that to come out. You're asking something. to counterman the people they work for.

43:33Emily Jashinsky:How am I supposed to falsify their claims? Now we're working in the realm of the unfalsifiable. You're not, but you're, look, Ben, you can't come to me and say, everybody I know says he killed himself. And then I respond saying, I actually have my own sources who say he didn't. And then you say, well, your sources are not valid because they won't put their names on it. Okay, who are your sources? Let's go down the list and then we'll talk about why they might be saying that. My sources are the president of the United States, the vice president of the United States, Cash Patel, the head of the FBI, Dan Bongino, the deputy head of the FBI, and Pam Bondi, the attorney general.

44:03Emily Jashinsky:And those aren't just my sources. They're everybody's sources because they publicly came out and said this. Okay, Trump hasn't specifically weighed in on that specific aspect of it. We've all seen the limited things that Trump has said and tweeted on this. And J.D. Vance was calling for transparency and suggesting otherwise prior to taking office. He hasn't commented on this so far. So he's not one of your sources. You've got Cash, you've got Dan, and you've got Pam. And we've already discussed that memo in full detail. I'm talking about people behind the scenes who prior to Trump taking office, I'm not going to get too specific, but trust me, I have high level sources who have said they don't believe any of that, any of that.

44:38Emily Jashinsky:So, and I'm not going to out them for purposes of convincing you, but you're telling me name them. I know I'm not going to, I don't have authorization. And then you say, well, I dismiss all of it because you won't name them. Hold on, Megan. I'm not saying you should name them. I'm saying they should name themselves because otherwise they are being complicit in one of the greatest cover-ups in the history. That's easy for you to say, Ben. That's easy. It's very easy for me to say. Why? Because you'll have your job and you'll have your millions no matter what they do. Megan, give me a break. So, Emily, he's saying there, oh, well, if people think differently, then they should come forward as if that's a casual and easy thing to do.

45:13And, you know, wouldn't have any potential personal consequences for them whatsoever.

45:17Emily Jashinsky:And we all agree with that, by the way. Yes, of course, come forward. But again, it's not the rationalist perspective to say because people won't put their name on it, it doesn't – it sort of undermines their credibility. It's like if you go deep into this story – I mean people have died, by the way. People who may have had things to say have died under suspicious circumstances beyond just Jeffrey Epstein. There are a lot of – and I don't know that those add up to a conspiracy theory, but they're worth thinking about. And it's obviously true that when the stakes of something are so high, when you have the former labor secretary saying – and then not denying – they also talked about this – not denying really that he said Epstein belonged to intelligence.

46:02Emily Jashinsky:He was told that Epstein belonged to intelligence and to give that plea deal that Epstein got back in 2007. Well, you have that over and over again over the series of years. Then, I mean, there's nothing, again, rational about saying, OK, because these people won't come forward, then we have to just go on the evidence that people in the government are telling us to trust. I find the other thing strange. And to me, it does seem like someone trying to get from point A to point B, they want to justify the end. And maybe for Ben, it's partially because he's deeply frustrated with the weird little alt-right mouth breathers who are using this for purposes of rank anti-Semitism, maybe.

46:49Emily Jashinsky:Maybe and that's an explanation of why someone would stretch from point A to point B by just deferring to the president who himself is implicated in all of this. I mean, Pam Bondi, who was state AG of Florida when charges further investigations and charges could have potentially happened, as Julie Kay Brown has pointed out. It's not a it's not in any way a persuasive defense. Yeah, well, and just your point about the many questions and some other people who also died under questionable circumstances, Jean-Luc Brunel, who was a pedophile and criminal and was a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein, who allegedly sent Epstein multiple underage girls, I think 12-year-old girls, for his birthday to sexually abuse, allegedly.

47:38He also killed himself in prison. And, oh, interesting, the cameras were off there, too. huh, and it was not also recorded. So, you know, you've got that, you've got all of the questionable circumstances surrounding Epstein's death. Oh, those cameras happen to be up. Oh, the prison guards happen to be asleep. Oh, you know, the official autopsy says, oh, it was a hanging and it was a suicide. But when his brother had this further investigated, they said, I've never seen a suicide that would be consistent with the particular fractions of these bones in the neck. So yeah, to just pretend like none of that is real, like it's all just a conspiracy theory, it's grotesque.

48:17And the last thing I'll say here, Sagar tweeted this out yesterday, and I think this also bears mentioning. Here are the lists, he says, of Israeli prime ministers linked to Epstein. Number one, Shimon Peres introduced Ehud Barak to Epstein. Number two, Ehud Ulmer, named as an Epstein associate by USVI. Number three, Ehud Barak, connections too vast to paraphrase. He's the one who really had the deepest Epstein connections from Israel. And Netanyahu met with J.P. Morgan after apparent Epstein intro. So there's just, you know, we're just supposed to dismiss all of that. That's just a conspiracy that there could be any there there that's worthy of further investigation.

48:58And the most suspicious thing from Pan Bondi, I thought, is when she got asked about the potential intel connections, She played dumb, like, oh, I haven't really looked into that. As if she had no idea that anyone had speculated that or there were any potential ties there whatsoever. I didn't really think about that. Didn't really look into that. OK, girl.

49:18Emily Jashinsky:Didn't she say it? She was like, I'll have to get back to you. I'll have to get back to you. Why don't you? Please get back to us, Pam Bondi. Get back to us on that. We're still waiting on that. Incredible. All right. Let's go ahead and move on to Congressman Ro Khanna, who introduced this amendment to try to force transparency. Unfortunately, it was voted down yesterday, but want to get all the details on that. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files.

49:56I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me.

50:13Emily Jashinsky:I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. They're stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Manga Shatikular, and I'm back with a new season of the podcast Skyline Drive. This time I'm diving into a rabbit hole of peptides, organoids, blood boys, blue zones, and brain replacement to try to understand what this longevity obsession is all about.

50:55Emily Jashinsky:And what it really means to live forever for all of us. I learned about some rad science. I can make a brain for you, and then we can test what draw is the best for your brain, as opposed to his brain. Here are some hard truths. I would expect Indians to age faster, but I did not expect it to be almost a four to five year acceleration. And get myself into a world of trouble. I'd say probably start bone smashing. That doesn't work. Make it look more defined. They say it works. I don't know. Listen to Skyline Drive, How to Live Forever on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

51:39Emily Jashinsky:On the new podcast, Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinheiro and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word solita, trading the pity for possibility. Every time I tried to be alone, I kept meeting people and they were like, you smiled at us. Not a lot of people smile around here. It's when you're alone that you're most receptive to the world as it is and not the lies you're sold about it.

52:20Emily Jashinsky:It can be a time where you push your limits, change your mind, or wake up to a new version of yourself. So whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip, I hope you listen to Solita on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So we are fortunate to be joined this morning by Congressman Ro Khanna, who, as I just mentioned, we can put B2 up on the screen here, guys, had introduced an amendment to the Genius Act that would require both the preservation of all Epstein records, would also require the attorney general to release all Epstein records within 30 days.

52:59And Congressman, I know we have a not positive update on the status of that amendment. So first of all, thank you for joining us. And second of all, if you could just bring us up to speed here.

53:08Emily Jashinsky:Sure. I introduced a pretty simple amendment. It would demand the full release of the Epstein files. The Rules Committee voted on it last night. Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated. All four Democrats voted for it. Ralph Norman, a Republican to his credit, voted for it. But seven Republicans voted against it. And they're basically choosing to protect rich and powerful men over the assaulted, abused and abandoned young women. And it's really appalling. Did they try to negotiate anything with you and maybe say, all right, that 30 days, let's make it 60 days? Or were they just basically, other than Ralph Norman, flat nose on it, on the amendment?

53:53Emily Jashinsky:They were flat nose. I mean, they made the argument that, oh, it's not germane to the Genius Act. But if you look at the Genius Act, actually, it has such broad findings about the Internet that it is germane because a lot of these crimes took place over the Internet. So they could have that's just an excuse. They could have easily voted for it or they could have offered their own amendment. Or they could have said, Roe, we'll bring yours or some similar amendment for a vote on the House floor. But, look, the reality is, and everyone knows this in this town, that these are people who are donors to politicians.

54:32Emily Jashinsky:These are people who play golf with the elite in Washington. These are foreign leaders that we do not want to embarrass. These are people connected to our or other intelligence agencies that we do not want to take on. So there is a protection here going on of rich and powerful men. Congressman, one of the things that has been theorized based on a number of connections here is the potential link between Jeffrey Epstein and Mossad. Is that something that you think is a possibility? What is your view there? Well, look, no one knows because that's exactly why we need the files released. I mean, the reality is, frankly, if you're the Mossad, you wouldn't be calling for the release of these files unless you have something to hide.

55:18Emily Jashinsky:Why not? If you really believe that there is a conspiracy therein this is not true, then release the files, release the interview memos, release the evidence. Now, I understand people say, well, look, DOJ policy is that you shouldn't release things unless you charge someone. And there is a lot of validity to having that policy. You don't want the government just destroying people's lives if they're innocent by having a media campaign. But in this case, given that the president of the United States campaigned on the release, given that the attorney general said that there is a client list, given all of the allegations of agencies involved and foreign governments involved, The president should say as a national security matter, as a matter of public interest, I'm making an exception and releasing all the files for sunlight on this.

56:07Emily Jashinsky:If Democrats retake the House of Representatives in the midterms, are there avenues that you can or plan to pursue in order to get further transparency from the federal government on this? Absolutely. I'm going to pursue it now. I'm not going to rest. I'm going to pursue it in our oversight committee. to see if we can get the files through the Oversight Committee. I think we need to have votes in committees, if not on the House floor. And you see with Ralph Norman, there will be some Republicans willing to join us. And certainly, if we take back the House, we should be subpoenaing these files, subpoenaing Pam Bondi, subpoenaing anyone involved.

56:48Emily Jashinsky:But the Democrats now should be pushing for the release of these files. And people say, well, why didn't you push earlier during Trump won or Biden? The reality is you didn't have an attorney general look at the evidence and say there is a client list. You didn't have a president of the United States say we're going to release it. And so there is now a public outcry, regardless of how you felt about it in the past while the process was going on. Now we should have a clear consensus that this should be released, whether under Trump or a Democrat. It just should come out. There are obvious connections between Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein.

57:27He was on the plane some, I think, 26, 27 times, something like that. There was a worker on the island who said that he saw former President Clinton on that island. President Clinton has denied any wrongdoing there. There are also obvious connections between Jeffrey Epstein and the current president, including—Epstein says that they were besties for over a decade. Trump himself has this infamous quote about how close they are and how much Jeffrey Epstein loves beautiful women and particularly those on the younger side. He himself was on the plane some seven times, et cetera. Are your Democratic colleagues on board with full transparency here?

58:06Do you feel like there is sort of unanimity in the caucus or do you have some people who are a little more uncomfortable about what potentially could be revealed or just feel like, you know what, this isn't the fight to pick. this isn't the thing to focus on right now?

58:19Emily Jashinsky:I think initially they were saying this isn't the fight to take. And they thought, oh, this is engaging in conspiracy theories. But the reality is it's not conspiratorial. There are rich and powerful men who, like I said, abused, assaulted and abandoned young girls. And the public has a right to know that there's not impunity for them. And now I think there is a greater consensus that the Democrats need to be on the side of full release. The Rules Committee wouldn't have taken up my amendment if leadership and Jim McGovern didn't show leadership. So at this point, the Democrats are in full release.

58:58Emily Jashinsky:But what I think is important is we don't just make this a one or two-day effort, that we are capable of relentlessly driving for the release of these files. well. Let's go ahead and move on to the New York City mayor's race, which has proved to be extraordinary. Zoran Mamdani coming from out of nowhere to defeat Cuomo in the Democratic primary. Quite overwhelming. I think it was ultimately like a 12 point margin wasn't even really close. He was able to, you know, clear after the first round that Zoran would be successful. He did something that, you know, leftists have always sort of hoped they would be able to pull off, which he's truly changed the electorate.

59:38You know, the surge in youth voting was really extraordinary. But Andrew Cuomo, even though he was defeated in the Democratic primary, has now officially announced that he is going to continue into the general election. He posted a rather interesting launch video yesterday. Let's go ahead and take a look at that.

59:55Emily Jashinsky:Hello, I'm Andrew Cuomo. And unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know that the Democratic primary did not go the way I had hoped. The fight to save our city isn't over. Only 13 percent of New Yorkers voted in the June primary. The general election is in November and I am in it to win it. My opponent, Mr. Mondani, offers slick slogans, but no real solutions. For the next few months, it's my responsibility to earn your vote. So, Congressman, I'll give you a moment to catch your breath after the tour de force of that charismatic presentation. But my question for you is, hey, what happened to vote blue no matter who?

1:00:37This guy won the Democratic primary. Why is it so hard? Not only for Andrew Cuomo, who we all know is a complete egomaniac to get on board. But so many Democrats are, you know, twiddling their thumbs and refusing to endorse Zoran even after the Democratic voters said, hey, this is our guy.

1:00:54Emily Jashinsky:Well, it shows why the Democratic establishment is so out of touch with the grassroots of our party. Zoran won because he ran a brilliant campaign. He talked about the high rent. He talked about high grocery prices. He talked about the high costs of transportation. All the things that we didn't emphasize nearly enough in 2024. He talked about the moral stakes of the bombing in Gaza and the killing of women and children there and how he was opposed to that, and he didn't back away from that. And he inspired a lot of people because of his campaign. And so the obvious reaction should have been, okay, he won.

1:01:33Emily Jashinsky:Let's get behind him. Let's endorse him. Yet we still have Democratic leaders who have not endorsed him. He's obviously going to win for mayor. I mean, the billionaires trying to stop him are not going to succeed. And it's just embarrassing that you have this old guard clinging on, trying to cling on to power. You know, Napoleon once said it's worse than a crime. It's a blunder. That's how I feel about the old guard. It's not their amorality. It's their stupidity about politics that is sort of staggering. And what's it been like in the House Democratic caucus over the last few weeks as people have digested Mamdani's surprise win.

1:02:18Emily Jashinsky:I mean, there's something interesting just about Andrew Cuomo getting in the race, meaning he thinks he will have endorsements and donors and all of that. So, Congressman, what's your sense of where your fellow Democrats, as you speak with them, are people trying to learn from Zoran anymore? Have they just landed on dismissing it and getting behind Cuomo? What's going on? Yes. Some are learning. It's the progressive caucus that are learning. And

1:02:52Emily Jashinsky:we're actually meeting him tomorrow morning at the DNC Breakfast Club. But it's the same divide in this party. Those of us who want to move the party in a different direction, who are against these overseas wars, including the war in Iran, where I led the war powers resolution with Thomas Massey, against funding Netanyahu's bombing in Gaza, who are for taxing wealth, who are for having rent caps and stopping Wall Street from buying single-family homes. It's that progressive movement. And of course, they'd say, look, let's learn from what Mamdani did in terms of social media and in terms of issues.

1:03:31Emily Jashinsky:And then there's the camp that says, no, no, no, this is too far. We don't. This is what's wrong with the Democratic Party. And that's, you know, the Democrats just have to be open to having this fight within our party. I mean, yes, we have to come together on things like the Epstein file, but there's a divide in the party. And the question is, are we going to go in a progressive direction or are we going to go with more of the same? And I think that should be fought out. And Congressman, you know, in my opinion and in the opinion of New Yorkers, according to the polling and opinion of Americans, the things he has proposed, his specific policy proposals are not radical at all.

1:04:08I mean, five grocery stores. What now? This is the Soviet Union, affordable child care. Oh, my God. Crazy. Like the rest of the developed world, being able to afford housing like a rent freeze for already rent stabilized apartments. I mean, none of this is really crazy. And so it seems to me that the two things that moderates really object to is, number one, just the label socialist, which, you know, to me, I'm like, OK, well, you don't like the label, but let's deal with what his what specific policies do you actually think are so extreme that you can't even exist in the same party with him, as Dean Phillips said.

1:04:41But to me, the real divide is over Israel. And you had Hakeem Jeffries. Let's put this up on the screen. This is B5. He's talking to Punchbowl. He still has not backed Zoran, which I think is extraordinary, from a Democratic leader and obviously who represents New York. And he said this thing that really infuriated me because it's just dishonest. So Punchbowl says Mamdani's past use of the phrase globalize the intifada will be, quote, part of our discussion, according to Jeffries. And the reason this is dishonest is because Mamdani never has used that. There's no evidence he even ever used that phrase.

1:05:17but he was asked about it and gave his, you know, understanding of what it means and why, you know, why it lands different in different contexts, et cetera. And yet there's been so many sort of smears and lies of him and directly Islamophobic attacks, like from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, that a sort of mythology has grown up that he is out there using this particular phrase and, you know, is apparently part of what's keeping Hakeem Jeffries from getting behind him and outright endorsing the Democratic nominee chosen by the voters?

1:05:47Emily Jashinsky:Well, every Democratic leader should endorse Mamdani. Mamdani has clearly said that he does not believe that globalized the Intifada should be used as a phrase and that he is going to make the safety of Jewish Americans a very, very high priority, just like he's going to make the safety of Muslim Americans and Hindu Americans and Christian Americans a high priority. Brad Lander, a Jewish American, endorsed him. I have no doubt that Zoran is going to work with the Jewish-American community to hear concerns about anti-Semitism, and he understands anti-Semitism violence has increased. So I think we need to have the facts.

1:06:27Emily Jashinsky:Now, you know, there may be a difference. I don't believe that people should be using the word globalized intifada, and I've condemned it. And if people in the party want to say that, they can, and still support Mamdani. I don't understand why there is this hesitancy to support him when he's going to be the mayor, when he's connecting with a lot of people. And by the way, he's had the votes of a lot of Jewish Americans. How much do you think that Israel is going to be a central dividing line in the party? Because you have an extraordinary distance between the base of the party and how they feel about Israel and our policy vis-a-vis Israel at this point, and Democratic leadership as evidenced by Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, etc.

1:07:07And it seems to me like this sort of schism just cannot persist.

1:07:13Emily Jashinsky:Well, I think it goes to the sense of do we believe in human rights? Do we believe in a politics that is free of any special interests? And I think there are a few key places which are huge divides. I mean, did you support U.S. government funding going to Netanyahu in the offensive war in Gaza? Of course, I was one of 40 or 50 members of Congress who voted no on that. There are a lot of people today who, if asked, in the Democratic Party would still defend their vote or say they would have supported that funding. That is a huge moral line, much like the Iraq war. Do you believe that the United States should recognize Palestinian self-determination in the Palestinian state?

1:07:57Emily Jashinsky:There are many Democrats who would not support that. Even, you know, I don't believe Hamas should be part of the Palestinian state, but I think we should recognize a non-Hamas Palestinian state. And so those are two lines. Do you believe in UNRWA and the funding of UNRWA there? So I think it is a moral issue similar to the Iraq war. And there are a couple fault lines which make it clear which side someone is on. Congressman, finally, I have to ask you about this appearance you did with Congressman Randy Fine, newly elected Republican. Bad timing. Well, let's take a look at the ending of your appearance.

1:08:38And I think part of why people objected to it so much, then we can get into some of his statements. I'll get your response. Let's go ahead and take a look.

1:08:44Emily Jashinsky:Well, first of all, let me just say I am one of those people who's extraordinarily proud of being American. One of the reasons I'm proud is you can have a Democrat of Hindu faith standing side by side with a Republican of Jewish faith having a civil conversation on your show. And we need more of that in this country to bring this country together. So a noble sentiment, but of course you're talking about Randy Fine and we can put this up on the screen. Shortly thereafter, he said to Ilhan Omar, I'm sure it's difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists. So calling a member of Congress that, you know, you serve with and he serves with a Muslim terrorist.

1:09:20But to your point about the bad timing, it's not like this was the first thing that he had said in a May 2025 interview. He said it starts with recognizing we have a, quote, Muslim problem. It starts with recognizing that violent Islam is not the exception. He had already called Rashida Tlaib and Zoran Mahmdani Muslim terrorists. He had called for the nuking of Gaza. He celebrated the murder of a Turkish-American activist in the West Bank. I could go on, but I guess, did you know about these things? What were your thoughts going into this interview?

1:09:54Emily Jashinsky:No, Chris Cuomo called me on. As you know, I go on old media. It's one of the dangers of doing it. He said, can you debate a Republican member of Congress on the Medicaid cuts? I said, I'm happy to. I got there. Randy Fine was there. He's been in Congress for a whole of four months. I had no idea, candidly, who he was. And so Chris Cuomo does this whole spiel about how people aren't proud of being Americans, and Democrats in particular in polling aren't proud of being Americans. And I say, well, look, I'm really proud of being American. And the fact that you have a Hindu American, Jewish American, Democrat, Republican on the show debating is proof of that.

1:10:30Emily Jashinsky:And then we have a total conversation where I thought I got the best of him on the Medicaid cut. And no one pays attention to that. And of course, they have the clip. But his statements are bigoted. I've said that. And then afterwards, I people my phone blew up and people started sending me all the things he said. And of course, I condemn them. But, you know, there are 435 members of Congress. This guy's been around for four months. And when you go on a lot of these shows and you debate people, I don't vet their their entire record. Yeah, I got you. Do you think, you know, one of the things that really bothers me is that Rashida Tlaib was censured by the Congress for saying from the river to the sea.

1:11:08There's a whole flop over something, you know, she had said about investigations into Palestinian activists in Michigan where she was smeared as an anti-Semite, even though there is zero evidence that she is an anti-Semite. And then here's this guy who has said the most disgusting things you can imagine. I mean, literally calling for nuking Gaza and starving civilians and saying there are no innocent Palestinian civilians, smearing multiple of his colleagues at this point as, quote unquote, Muslim terrorists. And it's just like barely a blip. I mean, I'm not I'm not necessarily blaming you for not knowing that he had said all of these things because it gets no coverage in the news media.

1:11:48Like there's very little outrage when he says these disgraceful, bigoted, genocidal things. And yet anytime there's even, you know, a question like Zoran saying, responding to a question about globalized Antifada, this is like a major news cycle. So I would appreciate you speaking to that kind of disparity, too, and the reaction between these various sentiments.

1:12:10Emily Jashinsky:Well, I think it's changing. I think it's changing because of independent media. I think it's changing because of social media. it. Trust me, my phone blew up after that interview, so people are paying attention. But you're right. There's an asymmetry. And if you're a woman of color, as Rashida Tlaib is or Ilhan Omar is, and you're speaking out for Palestinian rights, and especially if you're a Muslim faith, there's no doubt that you face far greater scrutiny, far greater condemnation than if you're speaking out in support of Israel or Netanyahu. Now, I am not—I was not for the censoring of Rashida Tlaib, obviously.

1:12:55Emily Jashinsky:I don't think that we should be playing this game of censoring comments of members of Congress on either side, because we should condemn them. They should be awfully condemned. But, you know, I'm pretty big on free speech, and I fear that the line can get blurry. And if you start to censor every time— But I mean, calling your colleague a terrorist, a Muslim terrorist. I obviously think it's worse than what Rashida Tlaib did. And so I guess if you're going to censor Rashida, we should censor him. But my point is, you know, at some point we've got to recognize that Democrats benefit from free speech, because really the speech that often gets censored is a speech of people speaking up for Palestinian human rights or questioning the establishment.

1:13:40Emily Jashinsky:And the tragedy and the appalling part was the censoring of Rashida Tlaib. But certainly there should be more outrage at what Fine has done and a clear demand for him to retract and apologize, and it should get more attention. Yeah, from Speaker Johnson. from other Republicans and from Speaker Johnson, too, who have, to my knowledge, not said much at all about Randy Fine. Yeah, exactly right. All right, Congressman, we know you have a heart out. Always appreciate your time and your willingness to engage with us. It's great to see you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, our pleasure.

1:14:28Emily Jashinsky:On the new podcast, Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinheiro and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita, trading the pity for possibility. Listen to Solita on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:15:24Emily Jashinsky:smashing. That doesn't work. Make it look more defined. They say it works. I don't know. Listen to Skyline Drive, How to Live Forever on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:15:38Emily Jashinsky:Hey, this is Hayes Davenport and Sean Clements. We host the podcast Hollywood Handbook. Each week, we talk to someone in show business and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time and no one gets mad at their publicist for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman, Adam Scott, Danny McBride, Ben Stiller, and a lot of other big shots that wouldn't be where they are without us. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.

1:16:08Emily Jashinsky:Guaranteed human.