Transcript

9.4.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of today's Washington Post. It is Thursday,
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the fourth of September of twenty twenty five. We are
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marching right in to fall with the wonderful reign that
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is needed and certainly being appreciated right now. I'm listening
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to it as I start to read this morning. I
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also want to say thank you to Bill Sale for
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a very kind article in this week's or this month's
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Radio Y newsletter. Very appreciated and RADIOI is indeed very
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much a part of both mine and Gary's live so
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thank you to build. I will start with the front
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page of the Washington Post. On the far left, Florida
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plans to end vaccine mandates. We'd be the first state
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in nation to require no student immunizations. David and Laurie
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Rosa in the middle. A picture of women and a
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camera with microphones in the face of Danielle Benski, who's
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embracing another woman as they are survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's
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abuse gather on Capitol Hill. There's one man on the
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far right wearing a bluose suit or a dark maybe
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black suit with the red tie, but mostly women, and
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this is entitled Epstein accusers call for disclosures. Women join
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lawmakers to demand release of fouls by Justice Department by
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Amy Hwang Marianna Alfaro. And I'll read the others when
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I can see them a little more clearly has to
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start new inquiry of January sixth. This is on the
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far right. GOP says previous panel was biased. Speak of
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pledges to seek full truth on Capitol riot by Kadia
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Goba and Paul Kane. And below the article on Epstein's
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accuses is an article judge says Harvard's funding cannot be withheld.
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Administration likely to appeal ruling which says it violated constitution.
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And at the very bottom, on the very far left,
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Putin and Kim at his side. She stages massive show
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of force and then a picture of the wildfires raging
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in Florida. In Florida, I'm sorry, raging in California, and
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it's a resident working to stop flames consuming a home
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which it looks like it's done spreading to a neighboring house. Tuesday,
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in the commun unity of Chinese camp in California's Colognumi County,
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thunderstorms and dry lightning caused dozens of blazers to break
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out in central and northern areas of the state poor California.
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And the last article on the right side bottom gop
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Way's raft of bills to intervene in DC policies. So
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with that, I will start with the front page first article,
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Hosts Republicans form new sub committee to probe January sixth,
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lawmakers slipped a resolution into a room on the host
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floor that would establish the controversial subcommittee. There is a
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picture of a crowd led by Zachary Rio left, who
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has on a camouflage Made America hat make America Great
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Again hat. He's wearing a black jacket zipped up with
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a hose must be the water bottle of something zipped
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up underneath, and a scarf around his neck. And Ethan
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Noridean who is holding a bullhorn at his mouth with
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his black cap on backwards. He's also in a black jacket.
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Both are members of the far right Proud Boys, and
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they are walking towards the US Capitol on January sixth,
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twenty twenty one, in support of President Donald Trump. The
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picture is about Carolyn Caster. There's a huge group of
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people behind him, Caddia Goba and Paul Kine wrote the
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article has Republicans voted on Wednesday to establish a new
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subcommittee to re investigate the January sixth, twenty twenty one
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attack on the United States Capitol, Moving to reopen one
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of the most polarizing chapters in American politics, lawmakers slipped
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a resolution into a rule on the Host floor that
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would establish the subcommittee, which is likely to be headed
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by Representative Larry Laudermilk, a Republican of Georgia. Barry Laudermilk.
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Republicans have complained that their original probe, which was led
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by Democrats, was biased against President Donald Trump, who has
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repeatedly denied he lost the twenty twenty election to Joe Biden.
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Lardermilk has already helmed one inquiry into January sixth. He
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used a subcommittee of the Host Administration Committee to conduct
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a follow up to the Democratic led investigation. After Republicans
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retook control of the House in twenty twenty three, Larimilk said,
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we're going to continue the work that we did last time,
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which is looking at the evidence to still try to
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understand how did the capital get breached. There was a
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huge security failure here, pouder Milk said, Democrats said they
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weren't aware the resolution had been added to the rule
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until it was debated in the Host Rules Committee on
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Tuesday night. Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, a member
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of the first committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol,
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said in his statement, we welcome yet another chance to
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remind Americans of Host Republicans ongoing complicity with and imparents
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seeing apologies for maga's violent insurrection against Congress and Vice
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President Mike Pence and Trump's sinister attempt to overthrow a
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presidential election. The resolution would establish a select committee under
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the Host Judiciary Committee, with a total of eight members
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to be appointed by Host Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of La. Louisiana,
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and not more than three to be appointed in consultation
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with the Democratic minority. Loudermilk said he believed Democrats would
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not be constrained in their choice of appointees. We're not
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going to do like Pelosi and veto theirs, Loudimilk said,
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referring to then how to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's refusal to
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allow to Trump alligned Conservatives to serve on the original committee.
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We're going to let them put whoever they want over there.
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The News Subcommittee is authorized and directed to conduct a
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full and complete investigation of the events on January sixth,
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when a pro Trump mob stormed the Capitol to prevent
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the certification of Biden's election. It is intended to be
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a response to the one hundred and seventeenth Congress's original
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January sixth Select Committee, which held high profile public hearings
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and released an eight hundred forty five page report after
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eighteen months of work. Laudermilk also said, I think it's
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clear there's a lot of information in that Select Committee
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report that is just not accurate. Thurther, it's just a
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rush to a conclusion. They had a predetermined narrative to
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get to It does not match with the information that
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we found the Trump led committees. The Democratic led Committee's
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work spawned many new investigative leaves, including inside Trump's west wind,
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and it prompted the Justice Department to seriously pursue an
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investigation into the origins of the attack, which helped lead
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to Trump's eventual indictment on a range of charges, including
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conspiracy to defraud the United States. The committee's final report
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found that Trump actively inspired his supporters to commit violence
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in his name as he attempted to remain in office
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despite losing the twenty twenty election. It also suggested that
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lawmakers consider banning Trump from running for office again. Trump
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ran again in twenty twenty four and won. Since then,
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he has granted nearly a blanket pardon to virtually all
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January sixth Capital riot defendants and commuted the sentences of
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the remaining fourteen, a sweeping move that gives some form
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of clemency to all those charged or convicted in the riot.
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Attackers entered the capital shortly after Trump concluded a speech
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to supporters near the White House on January sixth, twenty
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twenty one. Riot has battled with police officers as Secret
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Service members rushed Vice President Mike Pence, who was at
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the Capitol to preside over the certification of the twenty
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twenty elections vote to safety. Lawmakers later said they feared
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for their laves after hearing gunfire, breaking glass, and shouts.
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Five people died during the attack. Four officers involved that
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in the response later died by suicide. The January sixth clash,
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which spawned the largest domestic investigation in the FBI's history,
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left Congress, especially the host cleaved in a bitter partisan divide.
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Host Democrats have accused GOP lawmakers, including Laudermilk himself, of
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aiding and abetting the insurrectionists in the days leading up
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to the attack. The Select Committee, formed by Democrats four
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years ago eventually released video of Laudermilk leading a group
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of tourists around the basement of the House's office building
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ahead of January sixth, and event some Democrats used as
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a reconnaissance tool. Louder Milk said the tour was simply
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the group were simply tourists visiting his office, and Democrats
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never provided any further evidence of lawmakers being involved in
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the capital attack. Democrats also ordered magnetometers installed at the
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doors of the House so that all lawmakers could be
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screened for weapons before entering the chamber, a decision that
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Republicans cast as an accusation that members of the GOP
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caucus wanted to kill their colleagues. Once Republicans took charge
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of the House in early January twenty twenty three, Republicans
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took down the security devices of Lauermilk began his own
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follow up investigation. Larrimilk's inquiry focused on security lapses that
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allegedly led to the attack. These were often blamed on Pelosi,
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and the subcommittees worked both angered Democrats and helped further
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conspiracy theories that law enforcement was involved in fomenting the
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mob's attack on the Capitol. Nuttermilk said he expects the
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new subcommittee will again focus on questions concerning security failures
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and expressed interest in further investigation into the pipe bombs
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placed near the Republican in Democratic national committees the night
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before the attack on the Capitol. Republicans have long held
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that the first committee's work was unfair, yet until Wednesday,
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they struggled to establish the new subcommittee, which will have
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subpoena power. Host Republicans are prid of their work so
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far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically
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motivated January sixth Select Committee during the one hundred and seventeenth
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Congress that there is clearly more work to be done,
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Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana said last month before
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the resolution hit the floor. The subcommittee, Johnson said, is
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intended to uncover the full te truth that is owed
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to the American people. Has Republicans remained intent on delivering
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the answers that has Democrats skipped over. Representative Benny G. Thompson,
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Democrat of Mississippi, the chairman of the original January sixth committee,
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rejected the idea of the first subcommittee's work contained errors
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or that there are hidden truths about the attack on
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the Capitol. You can't rewrite history, even though you might
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not like what occurred and what people saw with their
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own eyes, Thompson said. Marianna Sodomayor contributed to this report.
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Next article Florida moves to end all school vaccine mandates,
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first in nation to do so. Florida Surgeon General Joseph A.
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Laedoppo criticized school vaccine mandates, which every state has, and
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likened them to slavery. There's a picture of Florida Surgeon
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General Joseph A. Ladappo at a news conference with Florida
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Governor Ronda Santis in twenty twenty two by David Oval
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and Laurie Rosa. Florida's surgeon general on Wednesday announced plans
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to end all state vaccine mandates, including for children to
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attend schools, which would make it the first state to
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completely withdraw from a practice credited with boosting vaccination rates
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and controlling the spread of infectious diseases. Speaking at a
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news conference outside Tampa with Governor Rond De Santis, Republican
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Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo said that every vaccine mandate
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is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery, and call
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the roll back the right thing to do. Laedappo's dances
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on vaccines and other measures intended to protect Floridians have
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drawn criticism from public health experts and advocates. Who am
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I as a man standing here now to tell you
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what you should put in your body? Leadapos said Wednesday. DeSantis,
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who was at the news conference in Dorsalatappo's measures, acknowledged
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ending certain vaccine requirements would require changes from the legislature.
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Florida law mandate students must be vaccinated against polio, diphtheria, rebella, robiliola, pertussis, mumps,
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and tetanus, while allowing exemptions for religious and medical reasons.
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Getting rid of those would require law maker approval. The
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Florida Department of Health could more immediately target four vaccines
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mandated under its own rules, chicken pox, hepatitis B, hemophilus
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influenza type B, and neumococco vaccine PCV fifteen slash twenty.
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The Trump Administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
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Kennedy Junior, the founder of an anti vaccine organization, have
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been pushing to upend US vaccine policy. Florida's move underscores
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the deepening political fault lines over vaccines, a divide certain
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to polarize parents, communities, lawmakers, and health providers across red
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and blue states California, Oregon, and Washington states led by Democrats.
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On Wednesday, unknownst they were forming an alliance to coordinate
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their own immunization guidelines and preserve access to vaccines. At
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the news conference, Desantus also announced to Florida version of
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Make America Healthy Again, a reference to Kennedy's slogan and
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agenda to address the root causes of chronic disease and
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childhood illnesses, such as nutrition. Kennedy is scheduled to testify
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before a Congressional committee on Thursday about upheaval at the
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, the White
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House fired CDC director Susan Manares, spurring the resignation of
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senior leaders, who cited efforts by Kennedy and his allies
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to restrict access to vaccines despite scientific evidence supporting immunizations.
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Before his appointment helming the nation's health agencies, Kennedy publicly
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questioned vaccine mandates, framing his skepticism as a personal choice
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involving parents, children, and doctors. He said in twenty twenty,
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if you know a vaccine is going to kill a
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certain number of children, do you have a right to
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mandate it for every child? An HHS spokesperson did not
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respond to request for comment. Kennedy's formal organization, Children's Health Defense,
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reposted video for Leadappo's announcement on x, adding, this is
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how you make America healthy again? Will other states follow
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Florida's lead? All states and the District of Columbia have
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vaccination requirements to attend public schools, while exemptions ferry state
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by state. US school vaccination laws date to the eighteen
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fifties and have always drawn controversy about the right of
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the government to compel people to inoculate themselves for the
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public good, said James Colegrove, a Columbia University professor of
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public health. Who has studied the history of vaccines, but
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he said debates and legislatures in recent years have focused
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on establishing or expanding exemptions, not lifting the mandates themselves.
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He said, it's a very troubling, troubling development. It's probably
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going to be catastrophic. Anyone who knows anything about public
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health can see this is a train wreck. Colgrove said.
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A KFF survey published in January found eighty three percent
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said public schools should require some vaccines for students, allowing
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for health and religious exemptions. This includes large majorities of
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Democrats ninety three percent, Independence eighty five percent, and Republicans
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seventy five percent. Florida's and the DOLOREE. Berman Democrat, a
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member of the state health Committe, said she feared of
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a Senate Health Committee. I'm sorry. Senator Florida Laura Berman, Democrat,
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a member of the Senate Health Committee, said she feared
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her Republican colleagues would support repeating vaccine mandates. She pointed
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out that they recently voted to ban fluoride from the
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state's drinking world, a cause championed in the past by Kennedy.
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I would hope my colleagues would listen to science, but
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I've seen them do some things in the last couple
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of years that make me question that. Berman said in
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an interview. She said the announcement left her in a
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state of shock. Florida's Republican legislative leaders did not immediately
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respond to requests for comment. Public health experts condemned Florida's
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move to lift the vaccine mandates. When everyone in his
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school is vaccinated, it's harder for diseases to spread and
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the easier for everyone to keep the fun and learning going,
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American Academy of Pediatric's president Susans Kresley said in the statement, adding,
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we are concerned that today's announcement by Governor DeSantis will
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put children in Florida public schools at a higher risk
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for getting sick and have ripple effects across their community.
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The incoming head of Florida Parent Teacher Association, Jude Bruno,
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said rollbacks of vaccine mandates could imperil the health of
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students and staff in a state with a high tourism economy.
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The consequences of opening the floodgates to preventable outbreaks are
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especially serious, Bruneau said in a statement. Ladappo has been
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widely criticized by public health experts and advocates for opposing
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mainstream public health guidance. He called for a halt to
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using m RNA coronavirus vaccines last year, citing debunked claims
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that the shots could contaminate a patient's DNA. He became
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the first statewide health official to urge communities to stop
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adding flora to drinking order, a practice widely credited for
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improving oral health. Trump's transition team considered Ladapo to serve
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as HHS Secretary before selecting Kennedy. He has also demanded
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that federal agencies rethink their decades long support of vaccination,
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saying last week that CDC leaders and other officials have
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a culturish relationship with vaccines. In an interview on an
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episode of Stephen K. Bannon's Warrum podcast. Nina HSN and
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Dan Diamond contributed to this report. Judge rules Trump administration
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cannot withhold funding from Harvard. The Trump administration illegally withheld
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federal funding for alleged anti seminism semitism violations. A federal
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judge in Boston ruled, and there is a picture of
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the spire of a residential host standing over Harvard University
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and the Charles River, taken in twenty twenty five. Very
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recognizable photo by Susan Slurmuga, Joanna Slater, and Laura Meckla.
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A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration violated
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the Constitution by freezing federal research funding at Harvard University,
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dealing the White House a setback in its efforts to
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force change at the country's oldest university and higher education wide.
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US District Judge Allison D. Burroughs said freezing and canceling
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more than two billion dollars in research grants and other
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federal actions violated Harvard's First Amendment rights and mounted to retaliation,
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unconstitutional conditions, and unconstitutional coercion. Her ruling, which is likely
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to be appealed, vacated the government's funding freeze and borrowed
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it from using similar reasoning to block grants to Harvard
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in the future. The government's actions had terminated nearly one
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thousand federal grants at Harvard, threatening cancer research and innovations
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in multiple fields such as quantum computing and efforts to
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lessen consequences of battlefield injuries. The Trump administration had said
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its actions were necessary to compel the university to do
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more to combat anti semitism. Burrows also granted Harvard's request
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for summinary judgment on civil rights law, ruling that the
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administration had not followed the requirements of Titled six, which
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borrows discrimination on the basis of race or national origin,
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before determining the research grants. She also found that the
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administration had violated the Administrative Procedures at, which sets out
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rules for how the government makes decisions. Citing federal law,
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Burroughs wrote that her review of the administration record makes
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it difficult to conclude anything other than that defendants used
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anti semitism as a smoke screen for a targeted, ideologically
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motivated assault on this country's premieer university, and did so
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in a way that runs a fall of the APA,
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the First Amendment, and Title six. Further, their actions have
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jeopardized decades of research and the welfare of all those
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who could stand to benefit from that research, as well
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as reflect a disregard for the rights protected by the
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Constitution and federal statutes. The White House did not immediately
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respond to request for comment. Harvard's President Alan M. Garber
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said in his statement to the university's community on Wednesday
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that the ruling validates the school's arguments in defense of
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the university's academic freedom, critical scientific research, and the core
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principles of American higher education. He said, the university will
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monitor the changing landscape in which we seek to fill
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in miss fulfill our mission, knowing that our successes will
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make a real difference for individuals across the country and
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around the world. It is a decisive win for Harvard
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and the faculty we represent, said Corey Stratton, an attorney
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for the plaintiffs who separately sued the administration to restore
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the frozen funding. A case heard concurrently with Harvard's her
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clients called the ruling of victory for academic freedom and
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research in the public interest. The court affirmed that the
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president cannot retaliate against universities, faculties, or researchers for their ideas,
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and the American Association of University University Professors and UAW
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members now have protections from ongoing attacks, they said in
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a written statement. David P. Corey, a neurobiology professor at
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Harvard Medical School who had about one million dollars in
28:02
federal grants terminated, said he welcomed the news but is
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bracing foreign appeal and prolonged legal fight. There is a
28:12
moment of relief, and a second later we say, this
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isn't the end of it, said Corey, whose research aims
28:19
to figure out how the selves in the inner ear
28:22
convert a sound wave into an electrical signal that the
28:26
brain can understand. But conservatives who have been bullied by
28:31
the White House's aggressive stand against universities were disappointed. Sabos Kastenbaum,
28:39
a twenty twenty four Harvard graduate who sued the university
28:42
over accusations of anti semitism on campus, called the ruling infuriating.
28:48
He noted that the judge affirmed that there were problems
28:51
with anti semitism on campus and questioned why the government
28:55
should be forced to fund a university that tolerated this discrimination.
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He said he immediately texted people he knows that the
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White Hose to urge them to fight the ruling. Burrows
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wrote that the Trump administration was right to use all
29:12
legal means to combat anti semitism and that Harvard was
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wrong to tolerate hateful behavior for as long as it did,
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but the records does not reflect that fighting anti Semitism
29:28
was the Trump administration's true goal, she wrote, and even
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if it were, it should not be done on the
29:36
fact of the First Amendment. She said that, according to
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the administrative record, before freezing nearly two point two billion
29:45
dollars in federal grants, the agencies considered little if any
29:50
data regarding the anti semitism problem at Harvard, disregarded the
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substantial policy and other changes Harvard had taken continuing to
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address the issue, and failed to weigh the importance of
30:04
any particular grant or to evaluate whether a particular grant
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recipient had engaged in anti Semitic behavior before cutting off
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critical research. This case has pitted the country's oldest university
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against the Trump administration, which is sought to force sweeping
30:27
changes in higher education. President Donald Trump and his allies
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have argued that they must take strong action against colleagues
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they say are dangerously anti sematic and liberal, and they
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have identified Harvard as a primary target. Harvard fought back.
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It has brought two lawsuits that are being closely watched
30:50
as an indicator of where the higher education can resist
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the administration's many demands related to alleged anti semitism, diversity, admissions, hiring,
31:02
and governments. The Trump administration has frozen federal research funding
31:07
at multiple schools and opened dozens of investigations. Three Ivy
31:13
League schools, Columbia and Brown Universities, and the University of Pennsylvania,
31:20
reached agreements with the Trump administration, while Harvard alone pursued
31:25
a path of confrontation in court. Marco Simmons, a lawyer
31:31
who graduated from Harvard in nineteen ninety seven, helped organize
31:35
an AMICA sprief in the case on behalf of more
31:39
than twelve thousand of the university's alumni. Harvard was taking
31:44
a risk in fighting back there, Simon said. Simon said
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he and other graduates field immensely proud of Harvard's stance.
31:54
Of the universities should follow Harvard's lead. He added, We're
31:58
hopeful that many backbones will be stiffened by this decision.
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Laurence Summers, Harvard's former president, has been critical of the
32:07
university's approach to issues of anti Semitism, but hailed Wednesday's ruling.
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Harvard has much work to do, but none of that
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justifies the Trump's administration's extra legal approach. Whatever you think
32:23
about issues that have been divisive on our campus. This
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is a day to be prone, some A said. Some
32:31
is added that the road ahead remains long for Harvard
32:34
and other universities. Not only is the ruling likely to
32:38
be appealed, but new authoritarian acts are taking place every day.
32:45
Tyler Howard, lead counsel for government affairs at the Foundation
32:51
for Individual Rights and Expression or FIRE, said, the rulings
32:57
showed that our federal government and cannot use civil rights
33:01
laws as a pretext for violating the First Amendment. We
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said from the beginning it was going to take a
33:07
big institution like Harvard or Columbia to stand up for
33:11
its rights, and if they failed to do so, if
33:14
they capitulated to unlawful demands from the administration, there was
33:19
little hope for smaller institutions down the line, Coward said.
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Fire found an ameeka's brief supporting Harvard. The decision was
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also welcomed by Peter McDonough, general counsel for the American
33:35
Council and Education, an association that represents colleges. We are
33:41
pleased to see a federal court affirm what we always
33:44
knew to be true. The Trump administration has ignored the
33:48
law in pursuing politically motivated attacks on Harvard and other institutions,
33:54
he said in a statement, adding, we urged the administration
33:59
to abandon in these harmful attacks and instead worked to
34:03
restore the partnership that has made colleges and universities the
34:07
engine of American innovation for decades. In July, the federal
34:13
judge in Boston heard arguments from a lawyer for the
34:17
government and attorneys for Harvard and its chapter of the
34:21
American Association of University Professes, which it filed a separate lawsuit.
34:27
Harvard argued that the government's efforts to coerce and to
34:31
control the university and suppress speech violated the First Amendment.
34:37
The university's lawyers called the actions arbitrary and capricious, and
34:43
they said federal officials had not followed the procedures of
34:47
the civil Rights law they invoked as a reason for
34:50
the funding cuts and other demands. The administration cast the
34:55
case as an argument over money and said that federal
34:59
court did to have jurisdiction over what it characterized as
35:03
a contract dispute. It alleges that anti Semitism has been
35:08
rampant at Harvard since the outbreak of the Israel Gaza
35:12
war and that the university's efforts to combat it have
35:16
been insufficient. Both sides asked the judge to issue a
35:20
ruling without a trial. By the day of the hearing,
35:25
Trump had indicated on social media that he expected Boroughs
35:28
to rule in Harvard's favor and voted to appeal. It
35:33
has been a bruising fright, with the administration's wielding the
35:36
full power of the federal government in blow after blow
35:40
designed to force the Ivy League schools to submit to
35:43
changes in government or oversight to squash anti Semitism, as
35:48
well as diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on campus. In April,
35:54
a federal antisemitism task force sent the university a letter
35:59
demanding changes to the school's governments, admissions, hiring, and student discipline.
36:05
Harvard refused to comply. No government, regardless of which party
36:12
is empowered, should indicate what private universities can teach, whom
36:17
they can admit and hire, and which areas of study
36:21
and inquiry they can pursue, university's president, Alan Garber wrote
36:27
in a letter to the campus community. Within hours, the
36:31
Trump and administration froze billions of dollars of research funding
36:36
to Harvard. Harvard responded by suing the cuts were only
36:42
one front. The Trump administration has unleashed a volley of attacks,
36:47
including multiple investigations, efforts to block international students and scholars
36:53
from Harvard, and threats to revoke its non profit status.
36:58
Justine McDaniel can tribute to this report a fourth Front
37:04
Page article. Epstein accuses join lawmakers to push for full
37:09
release of documents. Not since a twenty nineteen court hearing
37:14
after Jeffrey Epstein's death have so many of his accusers
37:18
gathered and told their stories. By Amy B Wang, Marianna Alfaro,
37:26
Kadia Gobler, Marianna Soda Mayor, and Katie Tarrant. And there's
37:33
that same picture I described of the women, one in
37:37
front of a camera with a microphone and a soul
37:40
man standing on the right hand side. About a dozen
37:45
accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein joined the host
37:50
lawmakers and a crowd of hundreds at the US Capitol
37:53
on Wednesday to push for the Justice Department to release
37:57
all of its files related to its investigations of the
38:01
disgraced financier and of his imprisoned associate, Gislaine Maxwell. In
38:09
emotional testimony. The women, some of whom were speaking publicly
38:14
for the first time, recounted how they were lured as
38:17
teenagers into an elaborate sex trafficking operation run by Epstein
38:23
and Maxwell and abused for years. All voiced their support
38:28
for lawmakers to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a
38:33
rare bipartisan measure led by Representatives Thomas Massey, Republican of
38:37
Kentucky and Roecana Democrat of California, that would compel the
38:43
Trump administration to publicly disclose far more documents on Epstein.
38:49
At least two hundred and one Democrats had signed on
38:52
to the discharge petition as of Wednesday afternoon. So far,
38:57
only three other Republicans besides Massey, Representatives Lauren Bobert of
39:03
Colorado and Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia and Nancy Mays South Carolina,
39:10
have joined Democrats. Wednesday's news conference was the first time
39:15
accusers of Epstein and Maxwell have come forward as a
39:18
group since the start of a polarizing debate this summer
39:23
over how much information the Trump administration can and should
39:26
release about the government's long running investigation into the matter.
39:33
This is not just my story, It's about every survivor
39:37
who carries invisible scars. It's about the weight we live
39:41
with daily. It's about the families broken and futures stolen.
39:47
So I ask you, President Trump and members of Congress,
39:52
why do we continue to cover up sexual abuse and assault?
39:56
Who are we covering for that? The public knows that truth,
40:00
we cannot heal without justice. We cannot protect the future
40:05
if we refused to confront the past accuser, Chante Davies said,
40:11
fighting back tears. Bipartisan pressure to release the entire trough
40:18
of documents has been rising since Attorney General Pambondi announced
40:23
in July that the probe was essentially closed, releasing a
40:27
memo denying the existence of a client list, naming powerful
40:33
man who may have engaged in improper behavior, and in
40:37
confirming that Epstein died by suicide in twenty nineteen while
40:41
in jail. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged people to
40:46
move on from the matter, and on Wednesday once again
40:50
call the focus on the abuse a hoax that never ends.
40:55
But much of the GOP base, including elected Republicans, was
41:00
unsatisfied and has been pressing for more transparency. And here
41:05
is a picture of Thomas Massey, Republican of Kentucky representative
41:12
after Wednesday's news conference at the Capitol. He's got his
41:15
signature curly hair, a black seed on and a black
41:20
um and white tie, with people surrounding him holding up phones, microphones, etc.
41:28
Under a blue clouded sky in DC at the Capitol.
41:34
Lawmakers have launched two efforts to secure more information, which
41:38
they say will re release to the public. One is
41:41
an effort by the House Oversight Committee, led by Representative
41:45
James Coma, Republican of Kentucky, to subpoena the Justice Department
41:50
and the Epstein Estate for documents in call witnesses for testimony.
41:55
A resolution sponsored by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana,
42:00
reaffirming support for Coma's approach, passed the House on Wednesday afternoon.
42:06
Comas Committee on Tuesday evening released roughly thirty three thousand
42:11
documents it received from Justice and what it says is
42:14
a first trench it plans to receive and release publicly.
42:19
Democrats claim that most of that information was already in
42:22
the public sphere yet Coma's committee has not yet imposed
42:28
to a timeline that the Justice Department has to comply
42:33
with will. The Massi and Kanna effort would require the
42:37
release of documents from the administration within thirty days. Massi
42:42
and Kana are hoping to circumvent leadership and send their
42:45
bill directly to the House floor via what's known as
42:48
a discharge petition. They must first gather two hundred and
42:53
eighteen signatures. Even if those efforts succeed, the bill would
42:57
have to be passed by the Senate and signed by Trump,
43:01
significant hurdles that may not be overcome. Johnson opposes the
43:07
discharge effort and has urged GOP lawmakers not to support it.
43:13
Massey emphasized Wednesday that he only needs two more Republicans
43:17
to sign the petition to force a vote, assuming all
43:21
two hundred and twelve Democrats are also on board. The
43:26
message is that there's two hundred Republicans who could do
43:30
something to protect to get justice for the victims and survivors,
43:35
and I only need two of two hundred, and none
43:38
of them was stepping up to the plate, Massey said. Green,
43:43
usually one of Trump's daunchest allies, stood alongside Connor, Massey
43:48
and Epstein accusers for more than an hour Wednesday, marveling
43:53
at the size of the crowd. She later threatened to
43:57
walk across the House floor and say every every damn
44:01
name of others allegedly collected to the abuse committed by
44:05
Epstein if it would benefit the victims. Conna said that
44:11
securing the release of the fouls requires work across political lines,
44:15
giving a nod to members of Trump's magabase who have
44:19
loudly demanded transparency in the Epstein investigation. A nation that
44:25
allows rich and powerful men to traffic and abuse young
44:28
girls without consequences, and nation that has lost its moral
44:33
and spiritual core, Conna said. On Wednesday afternoon, Johnson said
44:39
he had not watched the Epstein accuses testimony and still
44:43
opposed the discharged petition. Johnson has said that Massey's push
44:48
to release largely unredacted documents would endanger the victims. However,
44:54
all of the accusers who spoke outside the Capitol said
44:57
they unequivocally suppor voted the release of the Epstein files
45:02
through the discharged petition. I didn't see any of that.
45:08
I've been pretty busy today, but no, the Massy discharge
45:12
is poorly ridden. It does not adequate protect victims, and
45:17
because we have so much compassion for the victims. We
45:20
have to be very diligent of very protecting their identities.
45:23
The innocent victims who have already suffered great heart they
45:27
cannot be subjected to more. Johnson said the ramped up
45:32
pressure comes as the White House for weeks has for
45:36
weeks tried to tamp down fura over the administration's handling
45:39
of the Epstein fowls. On Wednesday, many of the victims
45:43
said that hearing Trump brush off their abuse as a
45:47
hoax was devastating, and several repeatedly insisted the issue was
45:52
not a bipartisan one. This is not a hoax. Haley Robeson,
45:57
who noted she is a registered republic and said Wednesday,
46:01
this is real trauma. Rad Edwards, an attorney who represents
46:07
many of the victims, told reporters that Trump had done
46:10
on about face since he spoke to him in twenty
46:14
twenty nine. Trump was friendly back then and did not
46:18
think that it was a hoax and was trying to help.
46:22
And now it seems like all of a sudden, somebody
46:24
is in his ear and he's not. So I'm hoping
46:28
he'll come back to where he was back in two
46:30
thousand and nine. Be on the side of the victims
46:33
and stand with us. Edwards said, not since a twenty
46:39
nineteen court hearing after Epstein's death have so many of
46:43
his accusers gathered together and told their stories. Nine spoke
46:48
at the news conference with lawmakers, while others appeared to
46:52
be at a rally beforehand. The rally included the brothers
46:56
of Virginia Girfrey, who was the most spoken of Trump
47:01
Epstein's victims, who died by suicide in April at the
47:05
age of forty one. By some estimates, there as many
47:08
as a thousand victims of Epstein and Maxwell. One woman said,
47:13
we are in a sorority. None of us has asked
47:16
to join. This is not a partisan issue. We are
47:20
here together to stand united. Liseteine's, an accuser who said
47:26
she was twenty one when she met Epstein and Maxwell,
47:29
said at the rally, some of the victims, Whencey said,
47:32
they are compiling their own client list among themselves, but
47:37
were scared to speak publicly about other abusers for fear
47:40
of legal action or other retaliation. Edwards said the list
47:45
includes friends of Epstein whom he farmed at the women
47:49
once they reached a certain age. We are not sure
47:54
how or if we're going to release that, said Lisa Phillips,
47:57
another accuser who edited that OUs is on the Justice
48:02
Department not them to release the names of Epstein's friends,
48:07
they alleged also abused them. Why did we have to
48:11
say the names when the government knows the names. Victims
48:15
also expressed outrage over the fact that Maxwell, who was
48:19
convicted in twenty twenty one on sex trafficking charges and
48:23
is serving a twenty year sentence, was moved to a
48:26
minimum security prison camp in Texas a month ago. They
48:31
also pushed back on transcripts and audio recordings the Justice
48:35
Department recently released of interviews Deputy Attorney General Tard Blanche
48:40
conducted with Maxwell in July, saying she could not be
48:44
trusted to tell the truth. There is a picture of
48:49
demonstrators holding up a banner of big placards in support
48:54
of alleged victims of disgraced financier and sex trafficker outside
48:59
the Capitol. This one says Katie r A peed At
49:09
at thirteen. At thirteen Marianna Leserta, who was identified only
49:18
as minor Victim one in Jeffrey Epstein's twenty nineteen New
49:24
York indictment. Spoke publicly the first time at the news
49:28
conference on Wednesday. Lacerta said she was one of dozens
49:34
of girls who were forced into Epstein's New York mansion
49:38
when they were just kids. She said she was only
49:41
fourteen when she met Epstein through a friend who told
49:44
her she would get three hundred dollars to give an
49:48
older guy a massage. Leserta said she dropped out of
49:54
high school in between the ages of fourteen and seventeen
49:57
worked for Epstein. I never thought that I would find
50:01
myself here, Lisserna said about her testifying at the Capitol.
50:06
The only reason that I am here is because it
50:09
feels like the people who matter in this country finally
50:12
care about what we have to say the government, Leserta added,
50:18
has documents with her name on it that can help
50:20
her piece or passed together. She said she would like
50:24
to see those files released, not only for transparency, but
50:29
for the American people. Death Rhinehart, Liz Goodwin, Anna Lesroy Dent,
50:38
Alec Dent, and Patrick Spittek contributed to this report and
50:45
our final article has GOP weighing bills to remove elected
50:50
dc AG overhaul's Justice policies. The fourteen proposals would usher
50:58
in some of the most tense interventions in the city's
51:02
justice system since the federal government took over many of
51:06
its functions in the nineteen nineties. By Megan Flynn and
51:11
Jenny Gathright, House Republicans are weighing a slate of legislation
51:17
that would overhaul criminal justice policies in DC and further
51:22
restrict home rule, including a proposal that we removed the
51:26
city's locally elected attorney general and replace him with a
51:30
presidential appointee. According to a draft summary of the policies
51:35
shared with the congressional staffers and obtained by The Washington Post,
51:40
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are considering the fourteen
51:45
proposals against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's ongoing effort
51:50
to federalize local police and to crack down on crime, immigrants,
51:56
and quality of life's issues in the nation's capital while
52:00
deploying armed National Guard troops on the streets. The draft
52:04
proposals are not final and could be subject to change
52:08
before the subcommittee meets to vote on them, which could
52:11
happen later this month. Any legislation that passes the House
52:15
could still face more difficulty in the Senate due to
52:19
the filibuster. Should the bills advance, they could collectively represent
52:24
a major step backward in the city's decades long pushed
52:28
to expand its home rule. They would also usher in
52:32
some of the most intense inner visions in the city's
52:35
justice system since the federal government took over many of
52:39
its functions in the nineteen nineties. Politically, the GOP effort
52:45
could test host Democrats. The city is looking to them
52:48
as allies at a time when its home rule is
52:51
under its greatest threat in decades, but also at a
52:55
time when centrist Democrats who could be politically vulnerable in
52:59
the mid term elections, have shown increasing willingness to back
53:04
GOP led the bills seeking to overhaul criminal justice or
53:09
policing policies in the district. A spokesman for the House
53:14
Oversight Committee Republicans said that the legislative agenda is designed
53:21
to ensure the nation's capital city is safe and prosperous
53:25
for all Americans, and that the details are being finalized,
53:30
adding that a formal notice and date for the legislative
53:33
meeting will be set soon. A spokesman for DC Mayor
53:40
Muriel E. Bauser, Democrats said the mayor's office is still
53:43
reviewing the proposals and pointed to the mayor's comments earlier
53:48
Wednesday when she highlighted the city's lack of statehood. That
53:54
is the only vehicle to us not having an intrusion
53:57
on air autonomy, said DC Attorney General Brian Schwab declined
54:05
to comment this later. Bills being waighed by the House
54:09
Oversight Committee, Republicans would repeat some of the efforts that
54:13
garnered bipartisan support in the past that having become law,
54:18
for example, once again seeking to repeal a major police
54:23
reform bill that includes a provision that prevents the police
54:27
union from negotiating disciplinary procedures and that restricts certain police tactics.
54:33
But the scope of the bills is much more substantial
54:36
than any recent efforts that have gone through the committee.
54:41
Abolishing the position of DC's elected attorney general would grant
54:46
the president new power over a major component of the
54:51
city's criminal justice system, namely juvenile justice and how youths
54:57
accused of minor or serious crime treated, such as facing
55:02
detention or rehabilitative programming. Most adult crime is prosecuted by
55:08
the US Attorney for d C, who is also appointed
55:11
by the President. But while the US Attorney must be
55:14
confirmed in the Senate, under the GOP proposal, the President's
55:19
d C Attorney General appointee would bypass the Senate, according
55:24
to summary a summary of the bills. Another bill would
55:28
abolish the DC Judicial Nomination Commission, which is the city's
55:33
one avenue to provide judicial candidates to the President before
55:38
the President makes a nomination. The city otherwise has no
55:42
say on its judges. The DC courts face a chronic
55:47
issue with judicial vacancies because the President and the Senate
55:51
do not always prioritize DC judicial nominations. Another proposal takes
55:58
aim at the DCA Council's legislative process, seeking to eliminate
56:04
the Council's ability to repeatedly extend emergency bills not subject
56:09
to review from Congress, which has the authority to repeal
56:13
DC laws. That bill would also borrow the DC Council
56:17
from passing bills that mirror legislation Congress has already overridden.
56:23
The summary of the bill, said DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelssohn, Democrat,
56:30
in a brief interview Innsday Evening, said He had not
56:34
reviewed the bills, which are still in draft form, but
56:37
neew of their existence some of their policy aims. He
56:40
was struck by the sheer number of them and by
56:43
the legislative process surrounding them, which he said stacked meaningful
56:48
open discussion and Rigo lacked meaningful open discussion and Rigo
56:54
fourteen bills really fourteen, and you're going to adopt them
56:59
without any public discussion, without any real analysis of how
57:03
they improve or hurt, said Mendelssohn, who added that some
57:08
of the proposals were counterproductive to an efficiently run democratic government.
57:15
The bulk of the proposals focus on crime and the
57:19
justice system, including one that would add new mandatory minimum
57:23
sentences to DC's code and amend existing mandatory minimums for
57:28
some crimes, including murder and carjacking. The bills would also
57:33
hand you as Attorney Jeanine Pirot, a Trump appointee, several
57:40
items on her policy wish list. One measure would lower
57:44
the age of elibility of eligibility for juveniles to be
57:51
tried as adults from sixteen years old to fourteen for
57:55
certain violent crimes, a change Bureau advocated last month following
58:00
the alleged assault of former US Doze Service staffer Chris
58:05
Edward Korstein by a group of teams in Northwest Washington.
58:11
For any juveniles, we are going to push to change
58:14
the laws so that if you commit any violent crime,
58:18
I have jurisdiction to persecute you where you belong in
58:22
adult court, Perro wrote in a knop ed in the Post.
58:27
And with that we conclude today's reading for the Washington Post.
58:31
Dot Santeender, the fourth of twenty twenty five, I will
58:37
see you or hear you, and be with you on Saturday.
58:40
Have a good day. May the rain irrigate your lawns
58:45
and smell that wonderful fresh reign smell. Have a good day,
58:51
and I'll be back on Saturday. Bye.