Trump AG Blows Up at Hearing as He's Backed into Corner on Epstein

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2:30Michael Popok:Do you understand what the Epstein investigation means if I use that term? I thought you would. Because our Attorney General, Todd Blanche, feigns ignorance when that term is used when he was grilled within an inch of his life today, as he should be, during a Senate appropriations hearing by Senate Democrats about the Epstein files as they continue to seek justice for those that were victimized. This is a Department of Justice that has been the henchman of Donald Trump from the beginning, that has lost all credibility in trying to protect those who are our most fragile, the sex abuse victim. And in a series of questions, Todd Blanche today refused to commit to prosecute those predators of Epstein, refused to commit that even people who were convicted child sex abusers, that they would be denied access to the billions of dollars in slush funds for a victim compensation fund available since Donald Trump's settlement.

3:36Michael Popok:And where is the compensation fund for the Epstein survivors. Where are they? Are they going to be able to apply for all of this? And then he feigns ignorance, which pisses the crap out of me about, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm Michael Popok. Let's talk about justice for the Epstein survivors. And it came up again today, as it always will, because the stench of scandal is indelible over this and on this administration. Todd Blanche, I guess he thought after the victim Compensation Fund settlement occurred in the last 24 hours. This was going to be a walk in the park. I don't think so.

4:14Michael Popok:No longer are senators, especially Democratic ones, allowing the Department of Justice or FBI to come in with a burn book under their arm. They're using their own burn book against Todd Blanche. Wait till you see a series of clips about Epstein and how shape-shifting and sleazy and oily he is in his responses. Even at one point saying that the victims should call the FBI again. This is an FBI and a Department of Justice that spent a year allegedly going through every file they already had identifying 1 ,200 victims. That means at least five or 600 men, predators are listed in there along with some that we can think of.

5:03Michael Popok:And yet they want, Melania wants them to testify in order to get justice. A victim have to testify about their sex abuse. And Todd Blanche says, call us, call me, call me, re-report the crime. That's disgusting too. Let's play the clips. Let me ask you this about the Epstein case, because as we speak, many Epstein survivors are in New York. They're reading portions of the Epstein files about the abuse that they suffered. Otherwise, they might have been here with us today. At a House hearing, your predecessor refused to acknowledge the pain experienced by some of those victims when the administration improperly released their names in identifying information.

5:48So I want to know where you stand. I spoke to the representatives of some of the Epstein survivors yesterday. They are extremely frustrated that you keep calling for people to come forward with more evidence, but you have not met with them to hear their stories. So simple question. If I connect you with these survivors, will you meet with them? Absolutely. And what you just said is false. I have met with them. I've met with many, many of the lawyers for the survivors of victims, as did Attorney General Bondi. So whoever told you that, unfortunately, gave you bad information. But I would encourage them.

6:24I would encourage them to reach out to the Department of Justice because like we do every single day, we absolutely care for victims and we absolutely want to hear from them and their lawyers. Well, I've been told directly from the representatives they've not had a chance, at least this group, to meet with you. So I'm glad to hear that. Did they represent they asked for a meeting? Can I ask you to commit that the Justice Department will not recommend a pardon for anyone named in the Epstein files? Can you repeat that question? I'm sorry. I didn't hear what you said. Can you commit that the Justice Department, you, the acting attorney general, would not recommend a pardon for people named in the Epstein files?

7:10When you say people named, I have no, there's tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of quote, people named. How about Jelaine Maxwell? Can you commit that you? Yes, I can commit to that. Of course. I want to go on to the Epstein investigation. Is it closed or open? When you say the Epstein investigation, what are you referring to, Senator? Well, the FBI said in last year in July that it had closed the Epstein investigation. So I'm just using their words. Is it open or closed? I don't believe the FBI said that.

7:40Well, if you're head of the Department of Justice, is Epstein investigation open or closed? I guess I don't understand what Epstein investigation means. The investigation of Jeffrey Epstein himself, yes, he's dead. Any investigation into potential other bad guys will always be open if we have evidence that supports in any way, shape or form that we can make a case. Okay, so Trump said in November, this was after the FBI, and it was the FBI Awards when they said the investigation was closed. But what Trump wrote in November of last year, I'll be asking the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great Patriots FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's involvement and relationships with, and he gave a specific list, Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, people at J.P.

8:28Morgan, and many other people to determine what was going on. Is there a list particularly targeted at Democrats as opposed to being, if you will, blind, blind to party affiliation, investigations that are being pursued under your direction? The, any investigation, no matter Republican, Democrat, man, woman, old, young, any investigation will be open if the Department of Justice and the FBI have evidence that a crime has been committed. And that doesn't, I mean, you're talking about... You commit to pursue, regardless of political affiliation... Excuse me, Senator? You commit to pursuing investigations free of prejudice about party affiliation.

9:09Of course, yes. Well, you say of course, but this enemy has repeatedly, this president has repeatedly spoken of an enemy's list that he wants to go after. and I must say it's one of the symbols of the breakdown of a democratic republic when a president uses his department of justice, which you now head, to go after his perceived political enemies. I hope you won't be party to that. Thank you. I mean, I couldn't agree with you more and that's why what happened during the Biden administration was so disgusting.

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11:09Michael Popok:You can't spend a year running away from your own abuse, your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, your close proximity to child sex trafficking and people accusing you in whispers and or in evidence of having close connections to those young girls, then use your Department of Justice and your FBI to drag their feet to hide, to obfuscate, and then just act like, just doing my job, everybody. Why are we still talking about this. Donald Trump has confided, according to leaks, people in his administration, including Susie Wiles, he just doesn't understand why the story won't go away.

11:58Michael Popok:He thought firing Pam Bondi would make it go away, but it can't because Todd Blanche is still there. Todd Blanche was asked this about Ghislaine Maxwell. He says, do you think, do you really think Donald Trump asked me to go interview Ghislaine Maxwell? Yes! Play the clip. You had an opportunity to go down and talk to Ghislaine Maxwell. And then a few days later, she was transferred from a high security prison to a very comfortable, very comfortable. It's just not true. She was not in a high security prison. She was transferred from a low security prison to a low security prison. I mean, you're looking at me like that's verifiable.

12:43Well, I don't think at the other prison she had her own room. She had access to a private shower. She could have pet therapy. I don't know if any of that is true. I'm not disagreeing with you. It is true, and you should know it, Mr. Attorney. I should know that? You should know. Whether an inmate has access to her own shower? No, no. This is a person of extra special interest to the President of the United States. He's known her. Why did he send you down to talk to her? He didn't send me. I went. But what do you mean? Do you think President Trump called and asked me to go interview a witness in federal prison?

13:19Yes, I do, frankly. Because you know why? Because the deal was in. He needed somebody to rely upon to talk to her and say, what would she say if she was asked about Jeffrey Epstein? And you were the perfect choice. And you went down there. And suddenly, shazam. she's out of what is a more confining situation into a much more relaxed federal prison. Every word that I asked her is recorded and available to you to review. If there's criticisms of the question that I asked her, go ahead and make them. But the president did not have anything to do with my choice to go interview Ms. Maxwell. If I wouldn't have went and a career would have went, you would have said, why didn't you go yourself?

14:02Just like you expect me to know whether she has access to her own shower. You should. Everyone in the United States who reads the newspapers know that. I guess you don't, you know, read things like that. You know, this whole hearing, I think, is exposing something, which is, to me, very frightening. You're a very gifted lawyer. But from my perspective, you have very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America, and you're the president's consigliore. Your perspective is completely wrong, Senator. Well, I think the facts will prove me right. Thank you.

14:39Michael Popok:Yes, Todd, that's exactly what we think. Either that or you're an idiot and you are committing professional malpractice. Because you went into an interview with a convicted child sex trafficker, five counts serving 20 years. You gave her immunity and you didn't bring with you, next to you, alongside of you, the lead prosecutor for her conviction, Maureen Comey. Oh, oops. Sorry. Right. You fired her three weeks earlier. So you went in blind, willfully blind, head in the sand, didn't want to know the facts, didn't want to know the documents. I've been in witness proffers like this on behalf of defendants.

15:19Michael Popok:And I know what happens when a prosecutor's in the room or a lawyer's in the room who knows the case. And when somebody lies, they say, well, that's inconsistent with Exhibit 123. No, that's not what she said. Oh, and they have computers and laptops and they pull up the transcript and you're effed. That's a legal term. But he didn't want that. He wanted her. Remember that interview? He wanted Ghislaine Maxwell to vouch for his boss, who he loves. that's how low that the presidency and the attorney general sank they needed a convicted child sex trafficker to vouch for donald trump's reputation yeah so we do think that and where do you get off demanding anything from the survivors let alone that they now phone in again to a tip line, their victimization and the evidence of it is in the three million pages, which are now touring America as the Donald J.

16:20Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Library, in the three million

16:25Michael Popok:or more pages that were not produced, in the documents that sit within other agencies of the executive branch that weren't even the subject of the original Epstein Transparency Act. How about all of that? Why don't you admit to the dirty secret that Trump never needed Congress to give him permission to release executive branch documents? That's a violation of the separation of powers, something this administration complains about all the time. Oh, Congress can't tell us what to do. We're the president. It's our documents, right? So you said to the American people to delay, delay, delay. We got to get permission from federal judges, which you never did.

17:03Michael Popok:We need to get permission from Congress, which you never did. And months went by. Donald Trump thinking, maybe the air will go out of the balloon and people will stop talking about it. Except you got 1 ,200 survivors and victims who won't let the American people forget about their tragedy. Where is their victim compensation fund? That is what should be demanded. and will continue to support Epstein survivors. Lisa Phillips, a friend of mine, I've represented her in a matter. She's going to be on with me on Legal AF, talk about her response, her impression of Attorney General Todd Blanche. Remember, this is an FBI that has never, under Donald Trump, never scheduled an interview with one of the 1 ,200 Epstein survivors.

17:57Michael Popok:This is a president who's never had his attorney general or his director of the FBI meet with the Epstein survivors. This is a president who has never gotten in a room with the Epstein survivors and said, I feel your pain, I'm going to do something about it because he hasn't done anything about it. That's why whenever you see Epstein survivors, they're either in the back row in a gallery in Congress or they're on the steps of the Capitol. They should be in the room where things happen, where decisions are made. And if I were ever advising Trump, that's shocking. The only way he could have resolved this, but he never could get there because of his own immorality, is at the top of his administration.

18:43Michael Popok:He appointed through his Department of Justice an independent special counsel. independent of the Department of Justice with its own funding and its own untouchable group of investigators to investigate the Epstein files at the time that they were being produced. The production of the Epstein files, that was a consolation prize for the failure to prosecute. So you have a special counsel. You give a three-minute speech in the White House saying, you will not rest until the Epstein predators are brought to justice. but you can't say that because you don't really know what's in those files at that time.

19:20Michael Popok:And later on, when you learn that your name is all over them, mentioned more, Donald Trump's name is mentioned more in the Epstein file than Jesus's name is mentioned in the Bible, or Harry Potter's name is mentioned in the Harry Potter series. So he can never get right with the American people. That's why every month he loses, every month he loses one to two points on his favorability, and it never comes back. It's just the drip, drip, drip, drip, drip of unfavorability and voters scorn. That's why he's down 15 to 20 points since last February. How he handles this was an example to the American people of his lack of leadership and morality and caring and compassion and possible involvement with a child sex trafficking rig.

20:14Michael Popok:A lot of firsts in this administration. First time a president ever had to say he wasn't involved with a child sex trafficking ring. First time a first lady had to take to a podium and say the same thing. You have the first ladies from Abigail Adams to Martha Washington to Betty Ford to the elder Bush, Barbara Bush. They must be spinning in their mausoleums watching Melania Trump. We're not going to let them off the hook and neither are the Senate and House Democrats. Neither will Legal AF and Midas touch. So in the meantime, hit the free subscribe button over on Legal AF YouTube channel. Watch for my interview of Lisa Phillips, one of the leader of the survivors, in her response to Todd Blanche.

20:59Michael Popok:Till my next report, I'm Michael Popak.