Trump FBI Director Implodes Under Cross-Exam at House Hearing

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3:28Ben Meiselas:Watch as Democratic Congresswoman Lofgren had a very basic question for Kash Patel. How many times did Donald Trump's name appear in the Epstein files? One, 1 ,000, 10 ,000. Kash Patel refuses to answer. Here play this clip.

4:12Ben Meiselas:Next up, you have Democratic Congress member Dan Goldman, who says, why aren't you releasing the witness interviews? Why aren't you releasing all of the evidence that the DOJ can release tomorrow? And Kash Patel tries to squirm out of it. But Congress member Goldman says, I'm a former prosecutor. I know you can release this. Here, play this clip. 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 leaves it.

4:51Is 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.

5:27I'm the gentleman's expired. You are hiding the Epstein files, Mr. Kershaw. I'm the gentleman's expired. You are part of the cover-up. Can I respond? Sure can. Any allegations that I'm a part of a cover up to protect child sexual trafficking and victims of human trafficking and sexual crimes is patently and categorically false. And the work of my. So I hope you will talk to them when they have requested to speak with you. Because the victims have relevant yields and you are not responding to them.

5:59Ben Meiselas:Next up, you have Democratic Congress member Eric Swalwell cross examining Kash Patel. Patel refuses to give a direct answer whether he told Attorney General Bondi that Trump's name is in the Epstein files. 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.

6:37Did you tell the attorney general that Donald Trump's name is in the Epstein files? And we have released where President Trump's name is in the attorney's 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 be? Did you 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. Use the alphabet. Yes or no. No, ABC, EF.

7:06Director, 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? I'll work with you on that. Do you ever work with us on that? I'm the lawless and gentleman from California. Did you tell the attorney general that Donald Trump's name is in the Etsy files? Question has been asked and answered. You've not answered it. And we will take your evasiveness as a consciousness of guilt.

7:37Director.

7:38Ben Meiselas:And Congress member Swalwell continues down this line of cross-examination. So what are you saying? Trump's name can appear 1000 times? Even more? Tell us, Cash. Tell us, Cash. Here, play this clip. I appreciate the director reviewing the files. You said you don't know the number of times Trump's name appears in the files, so it could at least be a thousand times. Is that right? The number is a total misleading factor. We have not released anyone's name in the Epstein files that has not been credible. We have released every piece of legally permissible information. You can characterize the numbers however you want it.

8:19You're claiming my time, Director. It sounds like if you don't know the number, it could at least be a thousand times. It's not. It's not. Is it at least 500 times? No. Is it at least 100 times? No. Then what's the number? I don't know the number, but it's not that. Do you think it might be your job to know the number? My job is to provide for the safety and security of this country. My job is not to engage in political indivendo so you can go out to the sticks and get your 20-second hit in your fundraising article. Keep going, reclaiming your time, because the people of California are being underserved by your representation.

8:51If Trump is not implicated, why not release everything that involves a political party? We have released everything, the president and anyone else's side, that is credible and lawfully be able to be released. Your fixation on this matter and baseless accusations that I'm hiding, child pedophiles, is disgusting. Anyone that says that needs to look at the stats alone. And go back to the state of California, who's receiving the biggest surge in FBI resources through my redeployment, because the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco need it. I'm going to say, Director, remembering your oath to tell the truth, did you ever tell Donald Trump his name is in the files?

9:25I have never spoken to President Trump about the Epstein files.

9:29Ben Meiselas:Did you ever tell? But Kash Patel is willing to say that Donald Trump is not an FBI informant, despite the fact that the Speaker of the House, Maga Mike Johnson, previously said he was. Here, play this clip. Donald Trump ever provide information about Jeffrey Epstein as an informant. Donald Trump has not been, and I can only speak for the FBI, an informant of the FBI. So, Director, you've played this cute shell game. Now I want to show you Democratic Congressmember Moskowitz. Here's what he had to say. Congressmember Moskowitz says, you've seen the picture of the woman's body with the president's signature.

10:08Ben Meiselas:And so you're saying this is a forgery. So I guess, is the FBI going to open up a forgery investigation and watch Congressmember Moskowitz get Kash Patel to agree? a forgery investigation should be open based on Donald Trump now claiming that in the 2003 book that's property of the Epstein estate, someone planted this over 20 years ago. Here, play this clip. Okay, let me attack that. Let me move forward. The president has, you've seen the picture of the woman's body with the writing and the president's signature. The president says that's not his. Okay. President says it's not his. The Republican colleagues say it's not his.

10:46The administration say it's not his will you be opening up an investigation into the epstein estate for putting out a fake document with the president's signature linking him to the world's largest pedophile ring we'll be opening that investigation into that on what basis on what basis they literally put out a fake document according to the president with a fake signature it's a forgery of the president of the united states signature that's the basis sure i'll do Okay. I look forward to that investigation. Oh,

11:17am I over? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your doing.

11:19Ben Meiselas:Congressmember Moskowitz was really on fire during this hearing as well. And he said, other than Epstein and Maxwell, your testimony here is that the number of names in the Epstein files is zero. And what Congressmember Moskowitz gets Kash Patel to admit to is Kash Patel goes, I'm just talking about the charged names. Well, the only charged names is Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Those were the only people who were charged. The issue is the cover up. It's the uncharged names that should be charged and should be investigated and should be outed. That's the whole point. And Congress member Moscow, it's real brilliant cross-examination by him, gets Patel to admit it.

12:01Ben Meiselas:Here, play this clip. And yesterday in an answer to Senator Kennedy, you said the FBI is not in possession of any criminal evidence that Epstein trafficked girls to anyone but himself. So according to your testimony yesterday and in this committee, according to the evidence the FBI has, the number of names on the list are zero. Zero. The index has been released and the number of people involved in that trafficking operation were charged in 2008. Other than Epstein and Jelaine Maxwell, your testimony in the Senate and here is that according to the evidence you have, The number of other names is zero.

12:40That were charged based on credible evidence. Who are the other names? Give me the other names that weren't charged. We are not releasing the names of anyone because the Department of Justice never does that of anyone that didn't have any credible information. OK, let me attack that. Let me move forward.

12:56Ben Meiselas:I thought that was a very effective line of cross-examination. One more clip right here of Congress member. let's show Congress member Raskin at this point. Here's what Congress member Raskin has to say, where he shows clips of Kash Patel calling to release the Epstein vials. Let's play that. Oh, before you joined the FBI, you railed against it for covering up Jeffrey Epstein's human trafficking ring. Let me refresh your memory with this clip. It has Epstein's list. They're sitting on it. That doesn't seem like something you should do. You're protecting the world's foremost predator. That seems like an evil thing to do.

13:33regardless of who may be embarrassed in the release of that list. Why is the FBI protecting the greatest pederast, the largest scale pederast in human history? Simple, because of who's on that list. So you finished that December 2023 interview with a challenge to the FBI and harsh words for Republicans in Congress for not getting the Epstein files out to the public. You can see this clip. And let us know who the pedophiles are. put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are you said you emphasize that the president and fbi director each had complete authority to release epstein's client list you said epstein's black book is under the quote direct control of the director of the fbi look at

14:18Ben Meiselas:this clip this is way off the topic but who has jeffrey epstein's black book black book fbi but who that is that i mean there's that's under direct control of the director of the fbi all right so you were sworn in as director more than 200 days ago now the black book is under your direct control so why haven't you released the names of epstein's co-conspirators in the rape and sex trafficking of young women and girls the rolodex which is what everybody colloquially refers to as the black book has been released. Oh, no, you're talking about what the journalist got five years ago? No, that's not what we're talking about.

14:59We're talking about what you were talking about there, the black book under the direct control of the FBI director.

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16:24Director, the first time you saw Donald Trump's name was in the Epstein files. Did you close the files or keep reading?

16:34I have reviewed not the entirety of the files. So you haven't reviewed all of the Epstein files? Personally, no. You're the director of the FBI. This is the largest sex trafficking case the FBI has ever been a part of. Buck stops at the top, and your testimony today is you have not reviewed all the files. What I've been doing is busy providing the safest country this country has seen in modern U.S. history in historic speed, because the men and women of the FBI are given the resources to reduce the homicide rates, to reduce the drug trafficking rate, to reduce the amount of children that are being trafficked.

17:07It sounds like those children being trafficked appreciate the director reviewing the files. You said you don't know the number of times Trump's name.

17:14Ben Meiselas:Now, I'll show you a Republican, kind of one of the lone Republicans who have been really leading the charge here, Thomas Massey, who initiated the discharge petition to get a vote. But Trump said that if any Republicans sign on to this discharge petition, it's a hostile act against the regime. Here's Congressmember Massey's questioning. Watch this. So is the loophole here or is it your assertion that these victims aren't credible, that the 302s maybe didn't produce credible statements that rise to a probable cause? It's not my assertion, sir. It's the assertion of two different United States attorney's offices from three separate administrations who investigated those same materials in a lifetime.

18:02The 302 documents in the FBI's possession? They reviewed all that. Yes, sir. And so have you reviewed those 302 documents where the victims name the people who victimized them? If I personally know, but the FBI has. So how can you sit here and in front of the Senate and say there are no names? I said all information. I named one today. I said we are not in the practice at the Department of Justice and FBI of releasing victims' names. That is not what we do. We are also not in the habit of releasing incredible information. That's not what we do. But multiple authorities have looked at the entirety of what we have.

18:44OK, I got to move on here. Were you present?

18:47Ben Meiselas:Here's Congress Member Massey again saying, so let me get this straight. You were present when the attorney general and the influencers released the social, the Trump MAGA influencers held up the binders, the Epstein file binders back in February. But you're not there with the victims today. So what are you going to personally meet the victims? And Patel doesn't agree to personally meet Epstein's victims. Like maybe the FBI will handle it. Well, what their hatred of the victims is so freaking clear here. Watch this. I got to move on here. Were you present when the AG had the White House event when she released the binders to social media influencers?

19:28I was. Yes. So if you're willing to meet with social media influencers who stood to benefit from the sensational and sad stories of these victims, will you meet with the victims as well? The FBI will meet with anyone who has new information. Will you personally meet with them? The FBI and the professionals who are handling the cases will.

19:48Ben Meiselas:It's another clip of Thomas Massey cross-examining Patel. Let's play it. According to victims who cooperated with the FBI in that investigation, these documents in FBI possession, your possession, detail at least 20 men, including Mr. Jess Staley, CEO of Barclays Bank, who Jeffrey Epstein trafficked victims to. Victims including minors such as Virginia Roberts, Ufri, may she rest in peace. That list also includes at least 19 other individuals, one Hollywood producer worth a few hundred million dollars, one royal prince, one high profile individual in the music industry, one very prominent banker, one high-profile government official, one high-profile former politician, one owner of a car company in Italy, one rock star, one magician, at least six billionaires, including a billionaire from Canada.

20:45We know these people exist in the FBI files, the files that you control. I don't know exactly who they are, but the FBI does. Have you launched any investigations into any of these people? And have you seen these three 302 documents. Sir, I have asked my FBI agents to review the entirety of the Epstein files and bring forth any credible information. And we're working with Congress not only to divulge that information and produce it to you, but any investigations that arise from any credible investigation will be brought. There have been no new materials brought to me launching a new indictment.