GOP Hides Smoking Gun on Trump’s Dark Past at Hearing

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3:43Ben Meiselas:So I want to very methodically go over with you what just went down in the past 24 hours as Republicans blocked our access, we the people, our access to critical information about Donald Trump's dark past. What the GOP did happened in plain view, And I don't want to resort to hyperbolic language or partisan tropes. I just want to show you the receipts of what went down at one of the House committee hearings yesterday. Now, I'm sure you know by now the Kash Patel testimony, which was an utter disaster for Patel. We covered it a ton on the Midas Touch Network. We showed Patel saying that there are no other co-conspirators involved with Epstein.

4:35Ben Meiselas:It was just Epstein as like a lone wolf. And then Kash Patel said he didn't know how many times Donald Trump's name was on the Epstein files. If it was one or 10 ,000 or 10 ,000 times, he has no memory. But there are other instances that I think are even more powerful that are not getting enough attention. And this occurred when Democrats tried to force votes to issue subpoenas on certain things, to get documents and records. Who would be opposed to getting documents and records regarding the financial transactions of Epstein, regarding why Ghislaine Maxwell was moved from a maximum security facility after she was sentenced for child sex trafficking in Tallahassee to a minimum security facility at Camp Ryan, Texas, after Donald Trump's former criminal defense attorney, Todd Blanche, who became the number two in charge at the Department of Justice, interviewed her and gave her immunity.

5:41Ben Meiselas:I want to show you why is it that Dan Bongino, who knows a lot, why isn't he testifying before Congress after he apparently threatened to quit for the cover-up of the Epstein files, also in its relationship to Donald Trump's dark past? So let's just go through it as I would if I were a trial lawyer like I was back in the day, and I was presenting the evidence to a jury. So why don't you be my jury and let me just bring out the receipts one by one of what went down yesterday. So at this House committee meeting, at this House committee hearing, all of the Republicans, everyone except for Republican Thomas Massey, blocked a motion from Democratic Congress member Raskin to subpoena the banks for information related to Epstein.

6:36Ben Meiselas:The banks, they block that. Why would you block subpoenas to the banks to get information about Epstein's financial transactions? Here, watch it go down for yourself. Play this clip. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So look, there are four banks, JP Morgan, Bank of New York, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank. um you know what can state his motion yeah but the motion is to subpoena the ceos of these four banks to bring in all records relating to their relationship to jeffrey epstein and to produce all records reflecting it these four banks have flagged to the government 1.5 billion dollars in suspicious transactions relating to i moved the table mr diamond just released a statement saying Chairman, happy to comply.

7:23The motion to table, the motion offered by the gentleman from Maryland, the motion to table is not debatable. The question occurs on the motion to table. Those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed, no. No. Pin to the chair. The ayes have it. The motion is tabled.

7:35Ben Meiselas:Now, in this next clip I'm going to show you, you will see all of the Republicans, again, it's other than Massey, but I'll just say all of the Republicans blocking an effort by the Democrats to subpoena Dan Bongino to testify on the Epstein files, right? Bongino had reportedly considered resigning from his position over the refusal to release the full Epstein files, but they want to prevent Dan Bongino from testifying. I thought Dan Bongino is a tough guy, right? He's a former podcaster. He was out there when he was a podcaster saying that the FBI was covering up the Epstein files and he was going to make it his life mission to release it.

8:20Ben Meiselas:Why wouldn't you show up and testify? Are you scared, Bongino? Are you scared? What's the Republican Party scared of? Why would they vote down this subpoena? Ask yourself that question. And let's not view it in terms of Democrats, Republicans, red, blue, purple. Just why wouldn't you go and testify. Here's what happened. Unless you're hiding something, right? Am I wrong about that? Here, play this clip. I moved that the committee subpoena Deputy FBI Director Dan Bagino to produce and testify what the director is unwilling to discuss and share with Congress the files related to Jeffrey Epstein, including witness interview records, including FBI Forms 302, search warrant materials, records relating to the initiation of investigations, records relating to financial transactions and payments, evidence collected from wiretaps.

9:10The FBI director said today that they've already released these documents. Bongino has reportedly considered resigning from his position over the refusal to release the whole Epstein file. I'm delighted to see that my colleague can read, and I move to lay his motion on the table. Motion is not debatable. The question occurs on the motion table. Those in favor will say aye. Aye. Those opposed, no. No. Opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the motion is tabled. I also can call for a vote, Mr. Chairman, recorded vote. Recorded vote being requested. The clerk will report or excuse me, call the roll.

9:40Mr. Chairman, there are 21 ayes and 16 no's. Motion to table is successful.

9:46Ben Meiselas:But it gets worse. Republicans also blocked the effort of Democrats to subpoena the head of the Bureau of Prisons to explain why Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred to a minimum security prison in violation of Bureau of Prison Policies because convicted sex traffickers are not allowed to go to minimum security facilities, especially when Camp Ryan is right on the Texas A &M campus. And there's a great degree of cooperation between the women in the minimum security facility in Camp Ryan and Texas A &M doing criminal justice research, rehabilitation. There's like puppy raising programs and restorative justice programs.

10:36Ben Meiselas:Watch Republicans block this subpoena. Play this clip. I move that the committee subpoena the head of the Bureau of Prisons, William K. Marshall, to discuss and produce all records relating to the transfer of Jeffrey Epstein, co-conspirator and child sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell, in apparent violation of BOP policies regarding sex offenders to include all BOP communications with DOJ, FBI and the White House. BOP transferred Maxwell to a minimum security champ following her interview with President Trump's former personal attorney and now Deputy Attorney General Ty Blanche. Motion to table is not debatable.

11:18This question occurs on the motion to table. Those in favor will say aye. Aye. Those opposed. No. No. Opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. I'd ask for a recorded vote. A recorded vote being requested. Clerk report. Mr. Chairman, there are 21 ayes and six noes. the motion to the table is agreed to.

11:35Ben Meiselas:And then finally, you will see here Republicans blocking efforts by Democrats to subpoena Trump's Treasury Secretary, who has in his possession records relating to, get this,$1.5 billion in suspicious transactions flagged by banks that are related to Epstein's sex trafficking ring. So why wouldn't the Treasury Department just turn this over? Why are Republicans blocking this subpoena? Just ask yourself, why would they block this subpoena? At the same time, you have Kash Patel now saying there's been no and no one else actually linked to Jeffrey Epstein. He was a lone wolf. Come on, we're not buying that.

12:20Ben Meiselas:We know you're covering this up and we know that Donald Trump's name appears repeatedly on the Epstein files. This is beyond pathetic and it's so offensive to the survivors. Here, play this clip. I move that the committee subpoena U.S. Treasury Secretary Besant to produce or otherwise make available to the committee all suspicious activity reports in the possession of the Treasury Department, identifying the roughly$1.5 billion in suspicious transactions. California is recognized. I move to lay the motion on the table. The motion is not debatable. I didn't finish. She hadn't completed the motion.

12:55is it proper to cut it off before it's completed mr chairman finish your last finish your last sentence there the gentlelady can finish okay so we're asking them to identify the roughly 1.5 billion in suspicious transactions related to the sex trafficking crimes of epstein maxwell and their co-conspirators and as we know mr patel said that the treasurer on the table yep uh the motion not debatable the question occurs on the motion table those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed, no. No. I request a recorded vote. Recorded vote being requested. The clerk will call the roll. Mr. Chairman, there are 23 ayes and 16 no's.

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14:55Ben Meiselas:Okay, so I just showed you four instances, right? I mean, I'm just bringing out the receipts. Democrats saying, let's get the records. Business records, bank records, records treasury department records bureau of prison records we should want the info we should want the data and by the way it was the republicans promising that they were going to make this stuff available that was there they ran on the issue and now the democrats are subpoenaing and republicans are blocking it i want to show you this though as well because during the testimony by Kash Patel, one of his latest lies was that the federal courts are blocking Trump and the DOJ from turning over the Epstein files.

15:44Ben Meiselas:We'd like to, but a court is blocking us from doing it. Okay. Well, then what I want to show you, because again, we're receipt-based, we're fact-based, we're evidence-based. I'm a former litigator. This is what I did. This is what I do. So then I want to show you what the federal judge actually said. Federal Judge Richard Berman from the Southern District of New York, the judge in charge of all of this. I'm going to read you portions of his order where the federal judge says, we believe, I believe, the judge says, I believe that this is in the possession of the federal government and the Trump administration should turn it over.

16:25Ben Meiselas:I'm literally going to read you the judge saying the exact opposite of what Kash Patel said. Why am I going to read this to you? Because facts matter. Orders matter. And I'm going to show you here that it would appear, it would appear that Kash Patel just committed perjury, that he just committed perjury, that he just committed perjury. Here, play this clip of Congress member Dan Goldman, who was a former federal prosecutor, questioning Patel. Then let's get right into the court order. Here, play this clip. Let's talk about the witness interviews, 302s of witness interviews. Those are not subject to the court order.

17:03Those are not subject to any fictional sealed order for a search warrant. Why aren't you releasing those with the redacted names of the victims? We are releasing as much as legally allowed. That's why we went back. How is that not legally allowed? Sir, do you know how court orders work? Do you know how protective orders work? Actually, Mr. Patel, I was a real prosecutor for 10 years. I know exactly how. So I was a fake one? And I want to understand what the court order prevents you from releasing witness statements that the FBI took. You should know that as a real prosecutor, when the court hand downs a protective order and a motion to seal, the material is sealed unless that just fazes it.

17:43is that all of those witness statements are under a court order, a protective order. We are providing everything we can legally provide. No, that's not my question. My question is, why are those witness statements that are not grand jury testimony, that if they were under a protective order are no longer under a protective order, why are they not being released? How are they not under a protective order? Why are you not going to the court like you did for the grand jury testimony to unseal those records? The DOJ did go to the court. No, not on those records. Why aren't you going? You just went on grand jury.

18:19Time of the gentleman has expired. You are hiding the Epstein files, Mr. I'm at the gentleman.

18:24Ben Meiselas:Okay, well, you heard that for yourself. Well, let's look at what the court ruled. August 20th, 2025. This order is in connection with the DOJ requesting that the court release grand jury transcripts, which the court would not otherwise be allowed to produce because there is a rule under the federal rules of criminal procedure, which basically say grand jury testimony is not allowed to be produced. It's not even helpful, the grand jury testimony here, because it's just one former FBI officer who was just testifying very broadly about the investigation just of Elaine and Jeffrey Epstein, no one else.

19:09Ben Meiselas:And it was done in a few hours. This is not the files. And this is not the stuff that the DOJ has. The DOJ has three to four terabytes of information, meaning enough info that could basically fill three or four skyscrapers from the basement to the tippy top of the skyscraper. So the federal judge is like, why would I turn over grand jury transcripts. That's against the law. But you have the files, DOJ. Turn over the files is what the judge said. Not it's subject to a protective order. It can't be turned over. The judge, what is it, a month ago at this point, like exactly a month ago, said, no, you turn it over.

19:47Ben Meiselas:So here's what the judge says. Having reviewed, among other things, the government's motion, the grand jury transcripts, et cetera, the court says the court denies the government's motion to unseal the Epstein grand jury transcripts and exhibits. But let's go to page six and seven. It says the government is seeking this disclosure of the grand jury testimony. And then the court says a significant and compelling reason to reject the government's position in this litigation, the Trump administration in this litigation is that the government has already undertaken a comprehensive investigation into the Epstein case, and not surprisingly, has assembled a trove of Epstein documents, interviews, and exhibits, and the government committed that it would share its Epstein investigation materials with the public.

20:39Ben Meiselas:See press release of Pam Bondi, Phase 1 Declassification. The government's 100 ,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70-odd pages of Epstein grand jury material. The government's Epstein files are something that should be produced. They are investigatory and not subject to federal rule of criminal procedure 6E. The government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein files. By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a diversion from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the government's possession. The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged conduct.

21:33Ben Meiselas:In February 2025, the government, as noted, was prepared to release their Epstein files to the public. But then on July 6, 2025, the government announced it would not make the files available to the public. Then the court goes on to say on the last page of the order, the information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation information and materials in the hands of the Department of Justice. For the reasons stated above, that's why the grand jury testimony was rejected, but basically produce the records is what is being said there. But Kash Patel continued on with his lies.

22:19Ben Meiselas:When Kash Patel was asked by Congress member Swalwell whether or not the FBI told or whether he told Bondi that Trump's name is in the Epstein files, take a watch at what Patel responds. Play this clip. Remembering your oath to tell the truth. Did you ever tell Donald Trump his name is in the files? I have never spoken to President Trump about the Epstein files. Did you ever tell the Attorney General that Donald Trump's name is in the Epstein files? The Attorney General and I have had numerous discussions about the entirety of the Epstein files and the reviews conducted by our team. Did you tell the Attorney General that Donald Trump's name is in the Epstein files?

22:59And we have released where President Trump's name is in the Epstein files. It's a simple question. Did you tell the Attorney General that the President's name is in the Epstein files? during many conversations that the attorney general and i have had on the matter of epstein we have reviewed the question is simple who can tell the attorney general that donald trump's name is in the epstein files yes or no why don't you try spelling it out yes or no director the alphabet yes or no no a b c director it sounds like you don't want to tell us did you tell the attorney general that donald trump's name was in the epstein files why don't you try serving your constituency by focusing on reducing violent crime in this country and the number of pedophiles that are legally covered in sanctuary cities in California.

23:42I'll work with you on that. I'm the lawless gentleman from California. Did you tell the attorney general that Donald Trump's name is in the Epstein files? Question has been asked and answered. You've not answered it. And we will take your evasiveness as a consciousness of guilt.

23:56Ben Meiselas:And so even Republican Senator John Kennedy is starting to feel uneasy about all of this. Here he is on CNN when he's asked, why do you think it is that the FBI won't release these files? Play this clip. I saw you there questioning Kash Patel, and I just keep coming back to this question. Why do you think it is that they won't put these files out? I don't know, but they're going to have to put them out sooner or later. Are they covering for people? I don't know. I have no idea. But I have been saying since the beginning of this, it's not complicated. Here's what the American people were thinking.

24:37They've been listening to all this for several years, and they followed it pretty closely. And here's what they're thinking. Okay, Epstein was a pig. Epstein trafficked young women, some of whom were minors. He trafficked them in part, or maybe in whole, to himself. But he had a lot of friends and a lot of important people. Who else did he traffic these young girls to? Now, that's a very appropriate question. And the Justice Department, to which the president has kicked this issue, is going to have to answer that. It's just that simple. It's not going away.