Attorney General Todd Blanche gets the ultimate Trump reward

0:01Brian Tyler Cohen:Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche gets the ultimate reward from Trump. And I've got two interviews, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia, and the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Iowa, Josh Turek. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie. So we have all watched as Todd Blanche performed for an audience of one during this week's congressional hearings, pretending that the immunity deal that he signed for Trump that would prevent the federal government from ever auditing him or his family again was somehow not exactly what it is, pretending that the DOJ is complying with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, even though they've sat on three million documents.

0:36Brian Tyler Cohen:If you watch that and thought, this is clearly an audition, not only were you right, but it looks like Todd Blanche booked the role. Trump came out into the Rose Garden and made this announcement. He's acting attorney general. Tomorrow I'm instructing Dan and everybody else that's involved in that very complicated process, which is going to go, I think, very quickly, that we are going to make him permanent, Attorney General. And of course, Blanche had this to say in response. Obviously, I'm honored and humbled that the president indicated he was going to nominate me today. I was with him last night at the dinner when he said that.

1:10I was confirmed a year ago to be the Deputy Attorney General. I still am the Deputy Attorney General. I will work with the senators. I have a good relationship with the Senate of both sides. I don't say no to phone calls. I'll meet with anybody that wants to meet with me. And I think the work that this department has been doing since President Trump took office, if you look at any stat across the board, it's much better. We're much safer. Our communities are better off. Drugs are coming off the streets. And that's what President Trump expects. And that's frankly what I think everybody in this country expects.

1:44So I'm looking forward to working with the senators and getting them the information they need through the confirmation process.

1:51Brian Tyler Cohen:Now, you'll notice that Blanche says, I don't say no to phone calls. I meet with anybody who wants to meet with me, which may be true as far as politicians are concerned. But you know, one group of people who haven't benefited from that courtesy, the Epstein survivors. In fact, in the aftermath of this comment by Todd Blanche, the survivors themselves released a statement saying, quote, survivors have repeatedly sought meetings with DOJ leadership, including acting AG Blanche and his predecessor, Pam Bondi, to explain how the release process has failed survivors, identify problems with redactions and withheld records, and seek clear answers about what the DOJ intends to do next.

2:24Brian Tyler Cohen:Those requests have gone unanswered. DOJ cannot keep asking survivors for information while refusing to meet with the very people offering it, failing to review the leads they have identified, or even provide clear answers about what has been done with the evidence in the files. Additionally, the DOJ's post on X calling a woman hysterical for demanding that obvious leads be pursued is insulting, unserious, and revealing. Survivors and their advocates are not being hysterical. they are asking the DOJ to do its job, review the evidence, pursue credible leads, meet with the people who have come forward and provide honest answers about what has been withheld and why.

2:56Brian Tyler Cohen:Acting AG Todd Blanche and the DOJ cannot continue to claim it is protecting victims while refusing to meet with survivors, failing to explain what it has done with their evidence and dismissing legitimate outrage as hysteria, end quote. But the truth is that Blanche didn't get the promotion in spite of his actions toward the Epstein situation. He got the promotion because of it. It is his shameless advocacy for Trump and his willingness to lie with abandon as it relates to Epstein that got Blanche the job, because at the end of the day, the role of attorney general, as far as Trump is concerned, is not there to serve as the top law enforcement official for the country.

3:30Brian Tyler Cohen:It is there to serve as the top law enforcement official for Trump. And as his former personal criminal defense attorney, that's clearly a role that Blanche feels comfortable in. And I'll even concede Blanche is slick. He can lie as easily as he breathes. He can sit in a congressional hearing and say that the DOJ has fully complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act when it has obviously not. He can go on podcasts and say stuff like this. There's not. I mean, listen, I'm not trying to defend Epstein. I'm not. And I do defend the work that this department is doing today right now, which is going after every single perpetrator anywhere.

4:06And if there's a narrative that exists that we're ignoring Epstein victims, that is false. They know that every victim, and I'll say it again right now, if you're a victim, if you're a victim's lawyer, you can contact the FBI, you can contact the Department of Justice, and we will do everything we can to investigate anything that you have to say.

4:26Brian Tyler Cohen:When it's obviously not true, according to the survivors themselves. But that's why he's there, because he is shameless, because he is not hindered by any allegiance to truth or decency. He is a hack attorney looking out for his criminal client, no matter what title he holds. And so long as he can do exactly that, Trump gets what he needs. He gets somebody to protect him from his obvious implication with Epstein and to do so with confidence, just like the rest of his cabinet is in place not because they're competent, but because A, they're loyal to him and B, they can perform on TV. That's it.

4:59Brian Tyler Cohen:It's just optics. Pete Hegseth is not there because he is capable of overseeing the military. He's there because he was a weekend anchor on Fox. Sean Duffy was a reality TV star. Donald Trump is looking for empty suits to put on a performance for him. That is the cabinet he assembled. So while I'm not surprised that Todd Blanche will be nominated, it's a testament to the rot that has pervaded this administration. And while Democrats don't control the Senate, hopefully even a few Republican senators can recognize the obvious fact that Todd Blanche is not there to uphold the law or the Constitution, but rather to protect his client.

5:33Brian Tyler Cohen:And if they have even a modicum of concern for the Epstein survivors, They would keep this person as far from the levers of power as humanly possible.

6:06Brian Tyler Cohen:work. I'm going to put that link in the show notes of this episode. So again, if you want to show some support for the work I do and amplify the message of Democrats actually fighting back, which is the basis of this book, that is a great way to do it. Okay, next up are my interviews with ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia, and the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Iowa, Josh Turek. No Lies brought to you by Helix. So I sleep on the midnight Helix elite. As a terrible sleeper, I need all the help I can get, and I wouldn't trade my mattress for anything. And in fact, I'm able to track my sleep.

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7:11Brian Tyler Cohen:That's helixsleep.com slash BTC for 20 % off site wide. helixsleep.com slash BTC. I'm joined now by the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia. Congressman, we just watched as Pam Bondi did a transcribed interview with members of the House Oversight Committee just days ago. And something that was especially striking was the extent to which, according to what you and other members said in the aftermath of that interview, the extent to which Pam Bondi redirected attention onto Todd Blanche. So can you speak a little bit about Todd Blanche's culpability in this as it pertains to Pam Bondi's own testimony?

7:49Look, I think first, Pam Bondi was the attorney general. At the end of the day, she's responsible for what happened at the Department of Justice. Obviously, when she came in to interview with us, after she had been essentially fired by Trump for being AG. And it was just really striking how over 30 times she deflected blame to Todd Blanch. So why were the redactions made mistakes and survivors docked? Well, that's a Todd Blanch of the redactions. Why was the files missing? You know, three million documents still missing. Well, Todd Blanch was in charge of the Epstein files. Why was Ghislaine Maxwell moved?

8:22I have no idea. Ask Todd Blanch. And so, look, when the transcript and the full transcript is reviewed by everyone, I think it's very clear that she is deflecting to Todd Blanch. So we need to talk to Todd Blanch. And at the same time, Pam Bondi wouldn't take responsibility. I mean, I asked her directly five separate times questions about President Trump, what he knew, if he directed anything, and she refused to answer any questions about President Trump. In fact, she had a Department of Justice lawyer next to her basically telling her not to answer the question. So it was pretty clear that she's part of this cover up and that she's putting blame on Todd Blanche.

9:01Brian Tyler Cohen:What rationale is there for the DOJ to have a lawyer with Pam Bondi if Pam Bondi is no longer at the DOJ? She's she's there in her capacity as a private citizen. It was it was Pam Bondi who was who was called in to testify, not the attorney general because she's no longer the attorney general. And so what like what grounds is there for the DOJ to even be involved in that transcribed interview? So we actually raised the exact questions with James Comer and the DOJ. No response. James Comer has the ability as the chair to allow the rules of the TI. We've found it to be highly unusual and unethical for a DOJ lawyer who currently works for the DOJ to also serve as private counsel to Pam Bondi.

9:48And especially when that lawyer was turning to Pam Bondi and basically telling her, don't answer that question or responding on her behalf. And when I mentioned President Trump, this lawyer would basically say, you know, we're not answering those questions about President Trump. So it's obviously pretty clear what's going on here. They're controlling the testimony. And at the same time, Bondi wants to deflect all this to acting AG Todd Blanchett. So frustrating, but also really clear that Pam Bondi won't answer questions about President Trump. We want to know why. And it puts the blame on Blanche for the investigation.

10:26Brian Tyler Cohen:So I had mentioned that this was a transcribed interview and this wasn't a closed door deposition. So can you speak about the difference between a transcribed interview and an actual deposition and why this was the interview and not the deposition? So the deposition has much stricter ground rules. And so a deposition would almost always be under oath. It would be oftentimes videotaped and released to the public. There's strict ground rules about the amount of time and the length of depositions. You essentially are compelled to answer every question that you're asked. A transcribed interview is oftentimes not under oath.

11:04It's oftentimes not videotaped. You're not compelled to answer these questions in the same way. And so it was pretty clear that Comer wanted to give Pam Bondi a pass. He could have made this a deposition, and he chose not to do it. And unfortunately, the majority and the chair have the power to set the rules of these depositions and these interviews. And so James Comer continues to play cover up for the White House. Pam Bondi should have been on both under oath and that should have been, quite frankly, should have been a hearing with the public there in the room. And of course, we don't see that because I think a lot of these folks are being protected.

11:42Brian Tyler Cohen:What what possible rationale could there be for James Comer to not have this be an actual deposition under oath other than other than like, you know, the the obvious, which I think we can all see, which is that the Republican Party, all of these members of the Republican Party are engaged in this cover up. But what rationale is there not to have this thing under oath? Well, there isn't one. I mean, you just said it right there. There's no real reason for doing it this way. I think his reasoning was because she's no longer the attorney general. I mean, that's B.S. Hillary Clinton was no longer the secretary of state when she was deposed, when there was a clear transcript of that interview, that videotape that was blasted all across the country.

12:28So he could have videotaped this. He could have set rules that were much more strict, but he really chose not to. And I think it points to this broader Republican Party that continues to play cover up for the president and for the White House.

12:42Brian Tyler Cohen:Can you speak about some action that you're taking as it relates to Bondi, Patel, and Blanche? So we've formally requested to Comer to bring in both Blanche and Kash Patel. Kash Patel was actually mentioned also by the former AG multiple times as someone who kind of oversaw the redactions piece and the FBI agents that were brought in and how certain things would get redacted and so forth. And so clearly she continued to mention both our names. And so we told James Comer, look, we've got to talk to both of them as part of this broader investigation. And so that request has been made. We have yet to hear from him on that, but we need them to come in.

13:22And if not, we're going to make efforts, of course, to try to get bipartisan subpoenas in place. They've got to come in and testify about the Epstein investigation.

13:31Brian Tyler Cohen:Going back to Todd Blanche, you know, something that was striking was when he was testifying just a couple of days ago, I believe he was speaking with Representative Dean and and basically just defiantly claimed that the DOJ had complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, that they had released all of the documents that the law required them to release. It is it is as as clear and egregious a lie as you can possibly make. I mean, there are three million files that have been released. Three to three and a half million files still remain hidden. And yet and yet Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, just seems not to want to acknowledge that objective reality.

14:11Brian Tyler Cohen:And so it doesn't seem like that is the behavior of somebody who intends on releasing the rest of these files. And so what happens next? I feel like we're at an impasse where you have the DOJ that's just opted not to comply with the law and you have a criminal defense attorney of the former president who continues to serve in that job as opposed to the one he's actually acting in, which is the attorney general. Look, I think what happens next is we have to continue to put pressure on Todd Blanch to do the right thing, to release the remainder of the files. Survivors are asking for that. We have to continue to bring in and interview folks.

14:44Look, over the next few weeks, we've got people that are coming in that we are interviewing, former Epstein employees, folks like Bill Gates, who's coming in here pretty soon in the next, within the next, what, 10, 12 days. So there are important interviews that we're going to have to try to get more information about what actually happened. But the public pressure is really important. I mean, you see what happened right now with the slush fund that Trump tried to do. There was so much public pressure and the court stepped in and did the right thing. The same is happening through the Epson investigation.

15:13There's numerous lawsuits that have been filed by both private citizens as well as good government organizations. There are numerous efforts by the Congress to pass new laws as well to really get to the truth. And we've got to ensure that they comply with the law and subpoena that have already been passed, but they have yet to do so. So even if that takes us getting into the majority to actually get the subpoenas in place, compel people to testify, we're going to do whatever it takes to get convictions so the survivors actually get justice.

15:42Brian Tyler Cohen:And that's the part I want to dig into a little bit here. Talk about how things would look differently if Democrats win the midterms and we have Chairman Garcia leading the House Oversight Committee as opposed to James Comer. I mean, well, first, we're actually going to subpoena all of the folks that were in Epstein Circle. We're going to bring back folks like Alice Acosta and put them under oath. We're going to bring back folks like Pam Bondi. We're going to have Todd Blanchett in front of us. We're going to make sure that people are in hearings. We're going to have real oversight hearings on the Epstein files, which we have not had.

16:18There have been no hearings on the Epson files that James Comer has actually scheduled. We've had to have shadow hearings. We've had to collect testimony ourselves. People deserve to be heard, and there deserves to be a real investigation. And we've said that we don't really care who is essentially called out here. We don't care who has to face justice, whether they're a Republican or a Democrat. We just want justice for the survivors and for the truth to come out about why the cover up and who abuses women and girls.

16:46Brian Tyler Cohen:Last question on this, and that is, let's say that these subpoenas are issued and Todd Blanche, Pam Bondi, Alex Acosta, Cash Patel refuse to comply with these subpoenas and the DOJ refuses to hold any of those people to account for their failure to comply with congressional subpoenas. What happens next? Look, I think we begin the process that we did for Pam Bondi. I mean, Pam Bondi, we forced, we were going to force a contempt resolution on the floor of the House. Later that day, she agreed to testify. If we have to hold people in contempt of Congress, which has multiple different types of consequences, we're going to move forward and do that.

17:23And so we're going to have hopefully that majority to get those votes to hold folks in contempt. but first we're going to need to get the truth. We need to have real hearings. We're going to have to make those tough requests. We're going to have real subpoenas and get people to testify under oath. I can't emphasize enough how important it is for people to know that can't lie to Congress. You've got to be honest with the American public.

17:44Brian Tyler Cohen:We'll leave it there. Congressman, thank you for your leadership on this issue, for not letting it slip by the wayside as James Comer is trying to do and thanks for your time today. Thank you.

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19:07Brian Tyler Cohen:Senate in Iowa, Josh Turek. Josh, when we think about Iowa, I think most people don't think of this as a swing state. And so, you know, as we look toward midterm elections, as we look toward where folks are going to allocate resources. Why is Iowa in play right now? Yeah, thanks for having me. I would say that for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, Iowa is in play because we are a state that has really bottomed out. We are dead last for economic growth. I mean, 50th out of all 50 states. We are 48th for personal income growth. We are one of two states already in economic decline. We're basically dead last for every single healthcare metric, OBGYNs, rural hospital quality, mental health providers, mental health supports.

19:53We're a state that we've closed 250 more healthcare clinics and we've opened in the last 15 years. We're the only state with a growing cancer rate, second highest rates behind only Kentucky. And now we're leading the nation in foreign foreclosures because of the Trump tariffs. Then you add that into the fact that there's no power of incumbency. This is the first time since 1968 you've got an open Senate seat together with an open governor's race and two open congressional races. And this is a state in Iowa where in Trump's first midterm, we won three of the four congressional races. We are three points away from winning all four.

20:29You know, the state that twice voted for Obama, three times for Trump. We have more Obama Trump counties than any other state in the union. And in our last midterm, 2022, which was not a good year for Democrats, we were only 1.5 % away from having three of our six statewide officials being Democrats. So that means your average Iowa voter went to the polls and voted for three R's and three D's. You add that into as well. You've got great candidates like myself and I think our gubernatorial candidate, Rob Sand, with proven results of being able to win in red areas and win over independents and moderate Republicans.

21:05And then lastly, I would say you look at what they've done with federal policy, what people like Ashley Henson have voted for, 110 ,000 Iowans to lose their health care, thousands more to lose their food assistance just to give tax breaks to billionaires. 119 ,000 Iowans seeing their health care premiums double or triple. Henson voted four times in favor of the tariffs, which have decimated our rural communities and led us to leading the nation in farm foreclosures. And she's somebody that is a multimillionaire that's 10 times more wealthy in her time in D.C. and only six years initially didn't support a ban on members of Congress owning and trading stock.