Trump AG Implodes Under Cross-Exam at Senate Hearing

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1:00Ben Meiselas:A complete meltdown by Attorney General Pam Bondi during an explosive Senate hearing this morning. Let me bring you the receipts. Senator Whitehouse asked Attorney General Bondi if she had seen the photographs that have been widely discussed that may or may not exist of Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein, which Michael Wolff said were kept in Epstein's safe, potentially, that would show Donald Trump with naked girls of indeterminate age and with Donald Trump potentially having a stain on his pants as the girls are laughing at him. Watch Pam Bondi refuse to deny it and look at Pam Bondi's face during the question.

1:44Ben Meiselas:It reveals a lot. Play this clip. Let me ask you something else. There's been public reporting that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half naked young women. Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein's safe or premises or otherwise? Have you seen any such thing? You know, Senator Whitehouse, you sit here and make salacious remarks once again trying to slander President Trump left and right when you're the one who was taking money from one of Epstein's closest confidants, I believe. I could be wrong. Correct me. Reid Hoffman, who was with Jeffrey Epstein on multiple occasions and the senator sitting right next to you tried to block the flight logs from being released.

2:39Yeah, you're grilling me on President Trump and some photograph with Epstein? Come on. The question is, did the FBI find those photographs that have been discussed publicly by a witness who claimed Jeffrey Epstein showed them to him? You don't know anything about that. Okay.

3:07Ben Meiselas:And Bondi is asked by Senator Whitehouse about the$50 ,000 in cash that is alleged to have been taken by Tom Homan, the border czar. Where is the cash? Did he take the$50 ,000? Whatever happened to it? Did the FBI give it to him? Did he return it? She refuses to answer. Again, watch her body language and her face. As you can see, she goes into her lie mode. Here, play this clip.

3:42Senator, as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche recently stated, the investigation of Mr. Holman was subjected to a full review by the FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors. They found no credible evidence of any wrongdoing. And that was not my question. My question was, what became of the $50 ,000 in cash that the FBI delivered, evidently in a paper bag, to Mr. Homan? Senator, I'd look at your facts.

4:16Are you saying that they did not deliver$50 ,000 in cash to Mr. Homan? Senator, as recently stated, the investigation of Mr. Homan was subjected to a full review. by FBI agents, by Department of Justice prosecutors. They found no evidence of wrongdoing. That's a different question. What became of the$50 ,000? Did the FBI get it back? Mr. Whitehouse, excuse me, Senator Whitehouse, you're welcome to talk to the FBI. The report to you, can't you answer this question? Senator Whitehouse, you're welcome to discuss this with Director Patel. Did Holman keep the$50 ,000? As Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche recently stated, the investigation of Mr.

5:06Holman was a full review by the FBI agents and the DOJ. They found no credible evidence of wrongdoing. You know, you're very concerned about money and people taking money and you rail against dark money. You work with dark money groups all the time, Senator Whitehouse.

5:26Ben Meiselas:Next up, you have Senator Durbin asking Pan Bondi questions about the Epstein files. Who gave the order to flag Donald Trump's name in the Epstein files to redact and remove his name? Who flagged that? And you'll see Pan Bondi say, I'm not discussing anything with you about that. The cover up continues. Here, play this clip. The quarrel with you is to read somebody that you mentioned I never heard of. Reid Hoffman. So who gave the order to flag records related to President Trump?

6:03To flag records for President Trump?

6:06Ben Meiselas:To flag any records which included his name. I'm not going to discuss anything about that with you, Senator. Eventually you're going to have to answer for your conduct in this. You won't do it today, but eventually you will. I yield, Mr. Chairman. Then Senator Blumenthal asks Pam Bondi questions. What happened the night before the indictment of James Comey, the former FBI director? There's a photo that you all posted on social media sitting around the White House in the Rose Garden area, which Donald Trump destroyed and turned into a private club for Republicans called Club Rose Garden. So was Comey discussed at that dinner, at that table with you and Donald Trump?

6:52Ben Meiselas:Watch what she says. Here, play this clip. The night before James Comey's indictment, you had dinner with President of the United States. Pretty intimate group. Actually, there were a lot of people there that night. That's a great picture. Was James Comey discussed at that dinner? I love that picture. That's a great picture. And there were a lot of people there that night. I think the entire cabinet was there. Did you discuss James Comey with the president of the United States? He was sitting just to your left. Well, two seats down. Yes, two seats down. And I am not going to discuss any conversations I've had or not have with the president of the United States.

7:29Because the American public is entitled to know, Madam Attorney General, whether you took instructions from President Trump after he told you very directly to indict James Comey, which is weaponization of the Department of Justice.

7:46Ben Meiselas:So she's just saying, I will not tell you anything, despite Donald Trump publicly posting messages. Pam, go after my political opponents. She goes, I'm not discussing anything. Oh, the most transparent presidency ever, huh? No, the most criminal presidency ever and the biggest bunch of gangster liars ever. Then Senator Durbin says, well, you made a public claim that the Epstein list was sitting on your desk for review. Can you explain that? And she's like, if you listen to my full statement, I actually said I hadn't reviewed it yet. Thus, it doesn't exist. Here play this clip. In February, you made a public claim that the Epstein client list was, quote, sitting on my desk right now for review.

8:31Ben Meiselas:End of quote. You then produce already public information and no client list at a major media event hosted at the White House. Attorney General Bondi, why did you publicly claim to have the Epstein client list waiting for your review and then produce nothing relevant to that claim? Senator Durbin, if you listen to my entire clip on that, I said I had not reviewed it yet, that it was sitting on my desk along with the JFK files, the Martin Luther King files. And I said I had not yet reviewed it. And if you see our memo on Epstein, you will see, excuse me, our memo on Epstein clearly points out that there was no client list, our July 6 memo.

9:14Ben Meiselas:Then you have Senator Hirono ask Pam Bondi, who approved closing the Holman investigation, the bribery investigation? Did you approve it? To which Pam Bondi's like, are you a member of Antifa? are you a member of antifa because you hang out around antifa you see what they're doing i don't discuss any things and then just accuse senators of being antifa these are the tools of authoritarian fascists and you're watching them here here play this clip two weeks ago did doj officials reportedly shut down the bribery investigation into mr holman miss bondy did you approve closing the Holman investigation, bribery investigation.

10:01Just get rid of that. Senator Hirono, as I stated earlier, the Department of Justice and the FBI conducted a thorough review and they found no credible evidence of any wrongdoing. You were also on video outside the White House protesting with a group called CASA where Antifa members were. Does that mean you're a member of Antifa? You know, I simply asked the question as to whether or not you approve the shutting down of the investigation, Mr. Holman. I have to assume that you did because the FBI reports to you. But the American people would look at the situation where this person is taking$50 ,000 in cash, no less, and you testified today that a thorough investigation was done.

10:58Now, I have to assume, I conclude that since no wrongdoing was determined, that in answer to Senator Whitehouse's question, he kept the money. He kept the money, and I hope that he put that on his tax returns as income.

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13:07Ben Meiselas:Right. Right. Then Pam Bondi speaking to Senator Blumenthal. This is one of the ways they try to handle questions is they just attack the person asking the questions because they're babies. No offense to babies. Like this is how like petulant children behave. I'm going after. Just answer the question. Be a grown up. You're an attorney general. Act like one. Here, play this clip that took place. Which merger? You've listed. involving American Express GBT.

13:40I understand that Brian Ballard, longtime backer and head of the law firm where you work, was instrumental in lobbying the Justice Department to drop that lawsuit. It was dismissed. So it's not subject to a court review. What conversations did you have with Mr. Ballard? Senator Blumenthal, I cannot believe that you would accuse me of impropriety when you lied about your military service. You lied. You admitted you lied to be elected a U.S. senator. You lied. How dare you? I'm a career prosecutor. Don't you ever challenge my integrity. I have abided by every ethics standard. Do not question my ability to be fair and impartial as attorney general and anything with my former firm Ballard partners.

14:40Thank you.

14:40Ben Meiselas:Next, you have Senator Coons asking a very important question. How did you conclude that these strikes on the boats, Venezuelan boats, are legal? What was your conclusion? Work us through the mindset at the DOJ that would authorize just killing people instead of interdicting, just killing people, and then not providing the American people with information about what the hell is going on. And then she goes, I will not discuss anything with you. I mean, that's your job. But when you have the Republican Party senators and House of Representative members who control both chambers who don't want to conduct oversight, this is what you get.

15:22Ben Meiselas:This is what you get. Watch Pam Bondi's response. Play this clip. So the government's asserting the authority to summarily kill people. It says our cartel members through military strikes against boats on the open ocean in the Caribbean. Congress has never authorized such a use of military force. And it's unclear to me how the administration has concluded that these strikes are legal. I'm concerned with what the limiting principle is, whether the government could summarily kill people. It just declares our cartel members as well as unlawful combatants inside the United States or if they were American citizens.

15:56Ben Meiselas:This isn't about defending cartels. These aren't hypothetical questions. President Trump assembled military leaders and said they would be needed to fight the enemy from within and to train in cities in the United States that he describes as chaotic and violent. Due process is the cornerstone of our Constitution. I'm deeply concerned about the authority our president seems to be asserting to summarily kill people suspected of criminal activity outside the law. As the chief lawyer for our federal government, you have a unique responsibility to ensure maintenance of our constitutional standards.

16:30How did you conclude that these strikes on ships or boats in the open ocean are legal? senator coons i'm not going to discuss any legal advice that my department may or may not have given or issued at the direction of the president on this matter regarding venezuela what i can tell you is maduro is a narco terrorist then senator durbin from illinois says were you consulted by

17:00Ben Meiselas:the White House before they deployed the National Guard troops to cities in the U.S.? Here, play this clip. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Madam Attorney General, let me ask you this question. Were you consulted by the White House before they deployed National Guard troops to cities in the United States? I am not going to discuss any internal conversations with the White House. You won't even say whether you talked to the White House about this? I am not going to discuss any internal conversations with the White House with you, Ranking Member. I noticed that. What's the secret? Why do you want to keep this secret?

17:39Ben Meiselas:The American people don't know the rationale behind the deployment of National Guard troops in my state. The word is, and I think it's been confirmed by the White House, they are going to transfer Texas National Guard units to the state of Illinois. What's the rationale for that? Yeah, Chairman, as you shut down the government, you voted to shut down the government, and you're sitting here, our law enforcement officers aren't being paid. They're out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump. And currently, the National Guard are on the way to Chicago.

18:10If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.

18:15Ben Meiselas:I've been on this committee for more than 20 years. That's the kind of testimony you expect from this administration. A simple question as to whether or not that a legal rationale for deploying National Guard troops becomes grounds for personal attack. I think it's a legitimate question. It's my responsibility. She refuses to answer as to whether she had any conversation with the White House about deploying national troops to my state. That's an indication, I'm afraid, where we are politically in this place. So you may be wondering, Ben, you showed me clips of the questions that Democrats were asking.

18:48Ben Meiselas:We saw Pam Bondi deflecting, distracting, denying, ignoring. So what were the Republicans talking about. Can you show us what was Ted Cruz talking about at this hearing? Surely something important. Nope. Ted Cruz and MAGA Republican Senator Kennedy, these both MAGA Republicans talking, were joking about Ted Cruz having Backstreet Boys tattoos on his lower back and that this is a funny way to appeal to young men. This is what these weirdos are talking about. Weird, deranged. They're enjoying the shutdown. Do you see what they're enjoying your suffering? That's what I see taking place here. Anyway, play this clip.

19:36And I'll point out Senator Kennedy has a new book about testing negative for stupid. So I hope I test negative for stupid. I hope I meet the

19:43Ben Meiselas:the threshold of you do meet it. And I talk in the book about the tattoo of the backstreet boys on your back. Look, I can't help that you don't want to reach young people. I think young people are the future, damn it. And I'll do whatever steps are backstreet boys. That would be on Vice President Vance's playlist. I heard that got hacked. and then here you have pam bondy um saying to senator durbin of illinois like why are you grilling me the national guard from texas is already deploying to invade chicago why are you grilling me he's like that's my job this is literally called oversight that's what i do here play this clip and i will work with you but you have not done that and again the national The National Guard is on the way right now as we speak.

20:38Oh, by the way, so is Director Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. You're sitting here grilling me, and they're on their way to Chicago to keep your state safe.

20:47Ben Meiselas:Madam Attorney General, it's my job to grill you. Investigation of your agency is part of my responsibility in this committee. You may not like the experience, but others have weathered the storm and answered questions in a respectful manner. Can you tell me the grants, ranking member, please? Take a look at the president's budget on Heidegrants. What happens to it in his proposed budget? I'd be glad to meet with you on the grant. It's cut by one third. Okay, sorry. Chuck Grassley, I'll show you what another MAGA Republican senator was talking about, because you may be, give me other perspectives, Ben.

21:20Ben Meiselas:Don't just show me what the Democrats are saying to Panbond. Okay, I'll show you the chair of the judiciary in the Senate, Chuck Grassley. He's like 91 years old, this guy, but he's the head of this committee. So what do you think his issues are with Pam Bondi. Is it Epstein cover up? Is it killing people off the coast of Venezuela? Is it Tom Homan taking$50 ,000 in cash? Is it 90 ,000 square foot golden ballrooms that reek of corruption? What does he care about? Oh, surely, surely it's Bill Clinton post-presidency speeches, getting$250 ,000 a speech and that that's corruption. Are you looking into Bill Clinton's speeches.