GOP Leaders Lose It On Air as Trump’s Plan Backfires

0:00Ben Meiselas:Well, that backfired in their faces. MAGA Republican leaders went on the various weekend shows to try to help Donald Trump with his cover up of the Epstein files. But each MAGA Republican leader looked more pathetic than the next. Bring in MAGA Republican Congress member Eric Burleson, who claims he never even knew about the Wall Street Journal article about Donald Trump sending Epstein a birthday card for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003, where Donald Trump says our enigmas will never age and our beautiful secrets will always remain like the height of Epstein sex trafficking. I'm sure you never heard about that, Burleson.

0:34Ben Meiselas:Here play this clip. And Congressman, your committee, the Oversight Committee, now is planning to issue a subpoena for these files. And also two Democrats on your committee, Robert Garcia and Ro Khanna, now want the Epstein estate to turn over the birthday book from his 50th birthday where Trump and dozens of others were listed as contributors. Would you like to see that book, the birthday book, in the name of transparency?

0:59I haven't heard about the birthday book. I don't know if that has any kind of bearing on as evidence on who was being arranged to have sexual encounters with girls. I'm more concerned. That's what I'm actually concerned with is trying to, instead of finding out who he went to a party with or a birthday party with, I care more about who actually went to the island and who was arranged to sleep with a minor.

1:26Ben Meiselas:Then you have MAGA Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen on CNN with Jake Tapper. And Mullen tries to claim that it was Obama's prosecutors that entered into the sweetheart deal with Epstein back in 2009 and gave Epstein the non-prosecution agreement. It was Obama's fault, the MAGA Republicans were saying on live TV. know. It was a George W. Bush prosecutor named Alex Acosta, who was the federal prosecutor from the Southern District of Florida, who entered into the non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein. The attorney general also during the relevant time period for the cover-up was Pam Bondi in Florida.

2:05Ben Meiselas:And it should also be noted that Alex Acosta was Donald Trump's former labor secretary during Donald Trump's first term. To Jake Tapper's credit, he called Mark Wayne Mullen out and said, you're just lying. Like it was absolutely not an Obama prosecutor, was a Republican prosecutor, Alex Acosta, who then worked for Donald Trump. Here, play this clip. And that's why attorney general Bondi was saying for months. Well, then tell me why for months she was saying that she's going to release the information tomorrow. We made the assumption that the judges would release the order and allow the evidence that they had, that it could be heard if it, but it's all been sealed.

2:41And so if it's been a sealed case, we can't release it until the judges allow us to release it. And you would think common sense would play. That's why they asked for transparency. We want transparency. We want the judges to have transparency in this too. But remember, there was a plea deal that was struck in 2009, way before I was in office, way before Trump was even considering to be in office, way before Pam Bonney was in office, way before Kash Patel was the director. 2009, there was a sweetheart plea deal that was made underneath the Obama administration with Epstein. And that sweetheart has not been exposed.

3:15It was 2008. It was the U.S. attorney at the time was a guy named Alex Acosta. He was a Bush appointee. He went on to become President Trump's secretary of labor. It all took place in 2008. Who was in office at the time? 2008, George W. Bush. Who was in office at the time. George W. Bush. No, 2009 is when the case came out and Obama was in office at the time. It's not true. But let me ask you a question.

3:43Ben Meiselas:I mean, how utterly pathetic was that for Mark Wayne Mullen? And give Jake Tapper credit there for calling it out. Then you had Mark Wayne Mullen, though, just to see how he kind of digs further and further. Mark Wayne Mullen then says the real issue here is that Pam Bondi can't release any of the files in the DOJ and FBI's possession because they were provided to a grand jury and thus they're subject to grand jury secrecy. Okay, that's entirely false. I mean, these people just show up and say the most egregious lies. The issue about grand jury secrecy involves grand jury testimony. The grand jury testimony is not the Epstein files.

4:25Ben Meiselas:The testimony is not what people want. That's about 1%. We don't want the testimony. We want the files. The DOJ and the FBI can share those files. You redact the names of the victims and you release it. It's very simple. Has nothing to do with the grand jury at all. Just a blatant lie right here. Here, play this clip. Now the administration is saying they can't release this information. Now, I understand you're talking about a resolution you offered calling for the grand jury to release transcripts from the grand jury investigation into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and a judge said no. But there's troves of information that the administration could release tomorrow if they wanted to, and they've been promising to, and they haven't.

5:11Well, Jake, that's not true. You know better than that, too, because you know every piece of file that they have, every video, every document, every flight log has all been heard by a grand jury. They've all been seen by a grand jury. And we want the judges to release it. Pam Bondi has called on the judges release it. Trump has called on them to release it. And the Congress has called on them to release it. But we can't because there is a true co-equal branches of government. So we can't force a judicial branch to do anything. All we can do is ask them to do it. We assume that the judges would release it.

5:46Pam Bondi released it. I'm not talking about the grand jury stuff. No, there isn't, Jake, there isn't one piece of document that Cash would tell at the FBI or Pam Bondi in her office has that a grand jury hasn't seen. So everything that they have would have to be released by the judges. She was talking about releasing this information. She could release it tomorrow. She doesn't. She was, but she can't, no, she can't release it until the judges release it. Because if it's been heard by a grand jury, and Jake, you know this, if it's been heard by a grand jury, regardless if Pam Bondi has it or the FBI has it, the judge that overseeing the case that the grand jury listened to and saw the documentation and the evidence has to be released by the judge.

6:28And you know that. I don't think that that's correct. I think that the FBI and the Southern District of New York and the Southern District of Florida, and because just because something has been shown before a grand jury, that doesn't mean it is only going to be, it can only be released to the public by a judge. If the FBI has it, they can release it. Then why did the judge refuse to release the records in Florida? Because once it's been heard in a case, it is a sealed case. It is sealed by the grand jury. And you have been through this. I don't know why we're even debating this because if it is considered evidence in a case, then it is sealed.

7:06The information that has been released. Bring a separate judge on and ask them the same question. Grand jury hearings and transcripts, the judge has control over. Absolutely. That doesn't mean that everything that went into the grand jury is therefore locked from the public. It does not work that way. And that's why Attorney General Bondi was saying for a month. Well, then tell me why for a month she was saying that she's going to release the information tomorrow. We made the assumption that the judges would release the order and allow the evidence that they had that it could be heard. But it's all been sealed.

7:45Ben Meiselas:And again, I give Tapper credit for calling it out. All right. Time for some life talk, life insurance talk. That is, you probably have it, but do you know how much you're paying for it? And for how much are you being covered? Odds are you pay too much for too little. And did you know, if you receive life insurance through your job and you're unexpectedly laid off, you could suddenly be covered for nothing. Scary to think about, but simple to get right. Thanks to select quote where I'm headed to sort out my life insurance policy today for over 40 years. Select quote has been one of the most trusted brokers and insurance helping more than 2 million Americans secure over 700 billion dollars in coverage.

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9:45Ben Meiselas:So he goes on Face the Nation, and he says, he's asked a very basic question. Are you going to release the cancer research funding? You've currently deprived, like, cancer research centers of critical funding to try to stop cancer. What are you doing? And then Russ Vogt, I mean, this guy is pure filth. This guy's pure evil. And he's like, we're going to put it through the same rigorous review that we do with everything. And we will see about that. We're talking about cancer research here. What are these maniacs doing? Here, play this clip. Some of the funds that do expire in September have also been held up on the health front.

10:26Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, 13 other Republicans came out with a letter saying that you've been slow in releasing funds for the National Institute of Health for research into cardiovascular disease, cancer. Are those funds going to be released? Again, we're going through the same process with the NIH that we did with the education. I mean,$2 million for injecting dogs with cocaine that the NIH spent money on,$75 ,000 for Harvard to study blowing lizards off of trees with leaf blowers. That's the kind of waste that we've seen at the NIH. And that's not even getting to the extent to which the NIH was weaponized against the American people over the last several years with regard to funding gain-of-function research that caused the pandemic.

11:08We have an agency that needs dramatic overhaul. Thankfully, we have a great new head of it. But we're going to have to go line by line to make sure the NIH is funded properly. Are you going to release the cancer funding research? We're going to continue to go to the same process that we have gone through with regard to the Department of Education at every one of these agencies. Before September, that money will be released. And we will release that funding when we are done with that review.

11:33Ben Meiselas:Then they bring on MAGA Republican CIA director John Ratcliffe, who basically talks about, yeah, I've basically issued a referral to the Department of Justice to prosecute Obama and Clinton for treason. I think that the statute of limitations can still exist to this day. You're talking about for what? What are you even talking about? Like, isn't it just so pathetic the length that they're all going through to protect Donald Trump from his connections with Epstein? And now that we know Donald Trump's all over the Epstein files, it's just so pathetic here. But play this clip. I think I hear you saying is there is still an opportunity for indictments, potential prosecutions, accountability from those people who may have lied under oath, like John Brennan, James Comey, and perhaps Hillary Clinton.

12:27Well, that's why I've made the referrals that I have. D.N.I. Gabbard has made referrals and why we're going to continue to share the intelligence that that would support the ability of our Department of Justice to make fair and just bring fair and just claims against those who have perpetrated this hoax against the American people and this stain on our country. Director, one other question on this. Tulsi, as well as President Trump, use the word treason. Is there a statute of limitations on treason? Well, Maria, what I would say is this is is there is no doubt in my mind that the people that we just talked about conspired.

13:05They conspired against President Trump. They conspired against the American people. And so I'll leave it to Pam Bondi and our Department of Justice, Kash Patel and our FBI to investigate the conspiracy to do what and what charges that they're capable of bringing. But again, I don't think statute of limitations are going to impact because in a conspiracy, Maria, the statute of limitation doesn't start to run until the last act in furtherance of that conspiracy. And Maria, part of why this is so important is the people behind this are still furthering the conspiracy.

13:39Ben Meiselas:OK, then you have Lindsey Graham, MAGA Republican senator. You know, he's previously on camera saying over and over again that Russia did interfere with the 2016 elections. It's not a controversial topic. Donald Trump shouted, Russia, if you're listening, can you please interfere with the election? And can you hack Clinton's emails? Can you hack the emails? And whether or not that changed a vote or didn't change a vote, we know Russia interfered. And Lindsey Graham said as much. But here, Kristen Welker plays Lindsey Graham a video of the montage of his own comments showing that back in 2017, he said that Russia interfered.

14:17Ben Meiselas:And now he's changing his mind and saying, well, actually, we need to prosecute Obama. Prosecute Obama, why? Because you're trying to hide the Epstein files. It's so pathetic. Here, play this clip. There was already a Trump appointed special counsel at the time investigating the origins of the Russia probe. It did not find any evidence of political interference. And Senator, at the time, you agreed with the findings of the intelligence community. I want to play back what you said at the time. Take a look. Yep. The Russians did it. It was the Russians who tried to interfere in our election. Every member of the committee agrees it was the Russians.

14:53They didn't change the outcome, but they did release information embarrassing to the Democratic Party. It did affect Hillary Clinton. There's only one person in Washington that I know of that has any doubt about what Russia did in our election and as President Trump. Senator, are you now saying that you don't believe that Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 election? Well, what I am saying is that you left a lot out here. It's called the Horowitz Report. It's the Mueller investigation was crooked and rotten to the core.

15:26Ben Meiselas:Oh, and then Lindsey Graham is asked about the fact that Palestinians in Gaza are being starved to death right now. You have innocent people that are being starved to that. So Lindsey Graham's Well, what do you think about that? And then Lindsey Graham's response is, well, I think Israel's come to the conclusion that it's just going to have to do what we did with Tokyo and Berlin. I think it realizes that it needs to just basically take the place by force and then start over again. Take the place by force. They're just saying it out loud now. Here, play this clip. I think what the topic we're talking about today is a change in strategy.

16:06I think President Trump has come to believe, and I've certainly come to believe, there's no way you're going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization who is chartered to destroy the state of Israel. They're religious Nazis. They hold Israeli hostages. I think Israel's come to conclude that they can't achieve a goal of ending the war with Hamas that would be satisfactory to the safety of Israel. And if they're going to do in Gaza, what we did in Tokyo and Berlin, take the place by force, then start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians, hopefully having the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza.

16:49But I think going forward, Christian, you're going to see a change in tactics, a full military effort by Israel to take Gaza down like we did in Tokyo and Berlin.

16:59Ben Meiselas:And here's Lindsey Graham again, How pathetic does this look? Oh, yeah, we need someone to look in. Just look into Obama for treason. Here, play this clip. All right. Well, let me ask you about this twist that happened this week. President Trump seemed to want to try to shut down questions about the Epstein files by accusing former President Obama of treason. This came as his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, declassified documents which alleged top Obama officials manufactured information related to Russian interference in the 2016 election. Now, Senator, as you are well aware, this actually contradicts a bipartisan Senate intelligence report led by Marco Rubio, which found that Russia did in fact interfere in the election.

17:44Do you actually believe that former President Obama committed treason? Well, I think somebody needs to look at what we found. The Intel Committee looked at the matter and they said in 2017, the intelligence analysis of 2017 showing that Russia was trying to interfere in our election was real. They didn't achieve their goal. But what she found, Ms. Gabbard, is that in 2016, the intelligence community told President Obama, there's no evidence that Russia was involved in trying to change the outcome of the election. And he supposedly told her group of people, keep looking and the analysis changed.

18:31Ben Meiselas:And at least here, Kristen Welker says, are you just trying to rewrite history because Donald Trump doesn't want the Epstein files getting released? Like, we're not falling for this. Here, play the clip. Russia was involved. Well, now we all say Russia was involved. But in 2016, they said Russia wasn't involved. What the hell happened? Let's get a special counsel. Hold on, Senator. As you know, former President Obama has weighed in through a spokesperson. He says that's just patently false. I actually spoke to Susan Miller, who's a former senior CIA officer who helped oversee the 2017 intelligence assessment on Russian interference.

19:04She says it's completely false that Obama or anyone else asked them to change or sway their investigation. She says, and she's a Republican, says they all would have quit if that had happened. Senator, are you trying to rewrite history to distract from the Epstein matter, Senator? I'm trying to let you know and the media know that we found something we didn't know before. At the end of the day, I'm not calling for a prosecution against President Obama for treason, but I am calling for an investigation.

19:38Ben Meiselas:Back to Russ Vogt right here. And Russ Vogt says, we actually should applaud Donald Trump in the way he's dealing with the federal, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. Donald Trump hasn't fired him yet. So that shows that Donald Trump is exercising restraint and respects the chairman of the Federal Reserve. So pathetic. Here play this clip. I realize it's not unprecedented for a president to speak about what they want in terms of the interest rates, although this is probably taking it to a new level. But do you not have any concerns with all this back and forth about firing Powell about the concept or the perception of undermining the independence of the Fed, which therefore could then undermine confidence that global investors have in the United States?

20:24As you know, the idea of an independent federal bank is an important part of that. No, in fact, I think the patience that the president has demonstrated towards Chairman Powell is in fact a defense of that independence. You had Secretary Besson out there talking about the independence of the Fed. But we also have to articulate the views of the American people and the president with regard to needing lower interest rates and not having a largesse monstrosity on the National Mall.

20:51Ben Meiselas:So back to Mark Wayne Mullen. He continues to insist, again, just a total lie, that Obama was the one who oversaw the Epstein non-prosecution agreement in 2009, which did not happen. And again, Tapper, fortunately, fact checks him. Here, play this clip. Even weigh in on that. But I'll go back to what you're saying, but it wasn't true. The case was sealed in 2009. That's absolutely true. It was heard in 2008. It was sealed in 2009. The point is that the sweetheart deal, which was completed in 2008, was under the Bush administration, U.S. attorney Alex Acosta. That's why Alex Acosta resigned in the first Bush administration, because the Miami Herald had written this story in 2018 about how Epstein got away with so much.

21:41And then in 2019, the U.S. attorney under President Trump, Jeff Berman, in the Southern District of New York, then brought charges against him. So, I mean, there is stuff to say that you could you could point to that say like President Trump did this or President Trump did that. And remember, in 2019, President Trump and his administration called for it to be unsealed at that time, too. It went silent and not a word was said during the Biden administration. Not a word. Nothing was said by administration. People can look it up. The sweetheart deal was 2008 during the George W. Bush administration.

22:12But I always appreciate your coming on the show.

22:15Ben Meiselas:And then this even just gets even more strange. You have Nancy Mace. She goes on Fox and she says that she loves watching YouTube videos of ICE torturing migrants. Here, play this clip. New sheriff in town. I have to tell you, one of my favorite things to watch on YouTube these days are the court hearings where illegals are in court and ICE shows up to drag them out of court and deport them. I can think of nothing more American today than keeping our streets safer by getting those violent criminals out of the United States of America. And we all have Donald J. Trump to thank for it. Take a look.

22:49Ben Meiselas:And then she says that she may be forced to run for governor of South Carolina because South Carolina has become too woke. Here, play this clip. Box, let's talk about your political future. Here is a headline from the New Hampshire union leader. It says in the first New Hampshire appearance, Nancy Mace all but confirms a run for South Carolina governor. Is that in the cards for you, Congresswoman? Well, I will be making a decision over the next couple of days about my future. I believe I may be forced to run for governor because I can't watch my beautiful red state of South Carolina go woke. It's gone woke over the last couple of years.

23:32This is a two-man race if I get in between me and Alan Wilson, the South Carolina attorney general who likes to put pedophiles on trial and give them one day in jail serve. And so I don't believe that the South Carolina people will go for that, but we'll be making a decision about my future over the next couple of days. And we're excited about it.