| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
|
At C-SPAN.org. America marks 250 years, and C-SPAN is there to commemorate every moment, from the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the voices shaping our nation's future. | |
| We bring you unprecedented all-platform coverage, exploring the stories, sights, and spirit that make up America. | ||
| Join us for remarkable coast-to-coast coverage, celebrating our nation's journey like no other network can. | ||
| America 250. | ||
| Over a year of historic moments, only on the C-SPAN networks. | ||
| We're in open forum, whatever you'd like to talk about for about 25 minutes. | ||
| You can give us a call. | ||
| The numbers are on your screen. | ||
| While you're doing that, here is Senator Chuck Schumer. | ||
| He's a minority leader in the Senate. | ||
| He was on the floor yesterday slamming the GOP's response to the Epstein files. | ||
| Take a look. | ||
| Today marks the first day of the House embarking on their Epstein recess. | ||
| And already, the story Republicans hoped would quietly fade is growing louder by the hour. | ||
| Just yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice informed President Trump back in May that his name appears multiple times in the Epstein files. | ||
| Let me remind my colleagues, only last week, Donald Trump told a reporter that Attorney General Bondi never told him his name was in those files. | ||
| Now we know that this was a lie, plain and simple, a red-faced lie. | ||
| And this revelation raises not just serious questions about President Trump, but about Attorney General Bondi herself. | ||
| Bondi has proven to do all of Trump's bidding. | ||
| No matter what, no matter what way you slice it, General Bondi lied to the American people. | ||
| She told us we'd see the report. | ||
| She told us it's on her desk. | ||
| Then we're told there's no report. | ||
| So you can understand the deep skepticism Americans have when they hear that today Bondi's personal prosecutors, yes, the very ones under her direction, are preparing to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime accomplished accomplice behind closed doors in Florida. | ||
| Let me repeat, under no circumstances should anyone from Donald Trump's Department of Justice be allowed to privately interview Ghislaine Maxwell. | ||
| The conflict of interest just stares you in the face, and it's unacceptable. | ||
| If you've been following this saga and given how the White House and Speaker Johnson have so mishandled it, and who hasn't been following it, you know exactly why this moment is so dangerous. | ||
| There is every reason to fear that Donald Trump could offer Ghislaine Maxwell a pardon in exchange for silence or even worse, phony exoneration. | ||
| Let me be clear. | ||
| Trump is sending his personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, to try and execute a corrupt cover-up, potentially offering leniency to a woman who also abused the victims. | ||
| And to your calls now, Matthew Staunton, Virginia, Democrat, good morning, Matthew. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hi, good morning. | |
| Hello, everybody. | ||
| This is my first time calling to C-SPAN. | ||
| Great program. | ||
| Always loved it. | ||
| What's calling to speak with the previous guest who is an independent journalist known for her appearances on Fox News? | ||
| In regards to the confidentiality of the report that Tulsa Gabbard released, I enjoyed an interview by Senator Mark Warner of Virginia with a group called Todd Save America, who are known in the podcasting space as being retired Obama staffers. | ||
| So, you know, you can take that into account. | ||
| But Mark Warner is still part of the gang of eight, known for having the most access to sensitive intelligence. | ||
| And I recommend everyone who's interested in the story of the recent Obama materials being released to look up that interview with Senator Mark Warner and Todd Save America because of the conflicts having to do with the intelligence community. | ||
| And that Tulsa Gabbard did not go through the proper channels before she just dumped it on the public. | ||
| So the IC, as they call it, the intelligence community, did not know that she was going to release this report. | ||
| And there was sensitive information in it that could jeopardize our intelligence community staffer. | ||
| So in the spirit of independent journalism, I recommend everybody go check that out. | ||
| And thank you, C-SPAN. | ||
| I hope that the reporter who was just a guest on your show will also watch that interview with Senator Mark Warner because the confidentiality of the report is suspect. | ||
| It is important. | ||
| And it seems to be a politically motivated release. | ||
| All right, Matthew, on the Republican line, Woodbridge, Virginia. | ||
| Bill, you're on the air. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hey, thanks for taking my call. | |
| It was refreshing to hear Miss Harridge on your program. | ||
| She's joined a, unfortunately, a long list of female journalists have been ousted for various offenses. | ||
| According to their network, Cheryl Atkinson, I'm sure you'll remember, left her job at CBS News. | ||
| And when she left, she found out her computers had been bugged because she had the audacity to report on some things about Hillary Clinton and various other Democrats. | ||
| Amy Roebach, I don't know if anybody remembers her from ABC, but she had an interview with Virginia Roberts, who was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein. | ||
| And her report was not aired, and she left in disgust with ABC. | ||
| So this goes on and on. | ||
| I mean, if you go across the established hierarchy of people and you badmouth some people in the media or the politics, you're going to get ousted. | ||
| You're going to get, or at the very least, you're just going to get ignored. | ||
| These leaks go on all the time, but they never get reported because that's the major sin of the media is omission. | ||
| They will not report what they need to report, and the public never knows about it. | ||
| Thanks a lot for everything you do, C-SPAN. | ||
| Charlie, Independent Line, Sarasota, Florida, you're on. | ||
| Charlie, are you there? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, I'm here. | |
| Go right ahead. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you for stepping my call. | |
| First time call Independent. | ||
| Anyway, I wanted to say collusion is not a crime. | ||
| Collusion is talking is not a crime. | ||
| Conspiracy is the crime that Muller talked about that you couldn't find. | ||
| So it's a confusing conspiracy collusion, Americans. | ||
| Read the Mull report. | ||
| He was very specific on that. | ||
| He couldn't find a conspiracy, not collusion. | ||
| So it was plenty of talking between parties. | ||
| You're allowed to do that. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Please have my call. | ||
| Have a good day. | ||
| Charles, a Democrat in Hawkinson, Delaware. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hocus in Delaware. | |
| Hocus in Delaware. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you very much. | |
| I'm a proud Democrat for life. | ||
| My concern is a question that has never been answered or even asked. | ||
| What would have happened if the bipartisan border bill would have been signed and Trump had not stopped it because he wanted that for the election? | ||
| How much money would we be spending today if they had signed the border bill? | ||
| How much money has Trump really cost us now? | ||
| Why are we spending all this money? | ||
| It's a travesty. | ||
| I love EC Span. | ||
| I'm speaking to the United States. | ||
| That's the only way I could do it. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| Van, Paris, Ohio, Independent Line. | ||
| You're on Open Forum. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| I would like to make a statement about Donald Trump and his righteousness that the American people saw firsthand on January 6th, what we had for a president. | ||
| And they saw in Helsinki with Putin what we had for a president. | ||
| He went against seven or eight intelligence agencies that have the facts and believe Putin instead. | ||
|
unidentified
|
It was a disgrace. | |
| And I think that we should all look at that and understand what Putin might have on Donald Trump. | ||
| I never thought about it until this Jeffrey Epstein situation resurfaced. | ||
| Trump made a statement when he was head of the Miss Universe pageant, how he walked into the dressing room and was like a kid in a candy store looking at all these teams. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And he made statements to the fact in various forms of undress. | |
| And I think Putin, when he was in Moscow for that pageant, Putin provided him with what he needs. | ||
| And I don't want to call the former president a pedophile, but the facts really look good that he's a pedophile. | ||
| And he has all right, Van, and some news for you. | ||
| Politico reporting that the U.S. leaves Gaza ceasefire talks says Hamas doesn't want to end the fighting. | ||
| Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said, quote, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith. | ||
| Also, I wanted to show you the front pages of both the New York Times and the Washington Post. | ||
| Here's the New York Times with this picture of an 18-month-old and his mother. | ||
| She said he was born healthy but has been recently diagnosed with severe malnutrition. | ||
| A doctor said the number of children dying of malnutrition in Gaza has risen sharply. | ||
| That's the picture on the front page. | ||
| And this is on the front page of the Washington Post, a very similar picture: a woman holding her son who has cerebral palsy, and they are at a Gaza City school where they are sheltering. | ||
| Front page headline on the Washington Post: Deaths Rise as Gazans Face Starvation. | ||
| It's on the Washington Post. | ||
| Gary in Bowie, Texas, Republican. | ||
| Good morning, Gary. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hey, thanks for the program. | |
| I just wanted to say it's hilarious listening to Democrats cutting down Trump when they voted for Biden. | ||
| And then earlier, you put on Chuck Schumer. | ||
| Oh, my God. | ||
| Everything he said was a lie. | ||
| Nothing he said had any substance whatsoever. | ||
| And he's talking about you cannot have somebody talking to Maxwell. | ||
| Guess what? | ||
| Unless the Democrats are, listen, these Democrats had this file for four years. | ||
| So what's the problem? | ||
| I mean, are they all on it and say why they didn't release it? | ||
| I mean, this is just ridiculous stuff. | ||
| Anyways, the whole deal is we need to get the appointments put through. | ||
| The heck with the dang Epstein files. | ||
| I mean, I really don't care about it either way. | ||
| Don't know that much about it. | ||
| Don't really care about it. | ||
| The way I see it, that's not important to the country. | ||
| But I know a lot of people are upset. | ||
| And it's anytime anything happens to children, it's not good. | ||
| And this was happening for what, 20, 30 years? | ||
| And all of a sudden, America's outraged on this stuff. | ||
| And of course, who was covering who sealed the files? | ||
| All right, Gary. | ||
| Tony, Southfield, Michigan, Democrat, good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hello, good morning. | |
| I really wanted to talk to your former guest, but didn't President Trump just have a bill go through the judicial system and Supreme Court said that a president could not be prosecuted. | ||
| And now his administration is trying to prosecute President Trump, meaning President Obama. | ||
| I mean, what did he think that the law was just written for him? | ||
| But I'm sure this will exempt President Obama if he did anything, which I think he didn't. | ||
| And to the last caller, what he said, Chuck Schumer, had a lot of substance. | ||
| He's just not educated on what's really going on. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Johnny, a Republican in San Antonio, Texas, you're on the air. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, this is for all retirement people. | |
| And I just want to say this: that there's marijuana out there, and it's not to be foolish about it, but to be real about it. | ||
| And there's all colors out there, and not to be dumb about it or stupid, but there's pink and dark pink, and I want this stuff legal. | ||
| And it's very exciting. | ||
| And here's Jimmy, a Republican in East Palatka, Florida. | ||
| Good morning, Jimmy. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hello, America. | |
| And what I have to say about what Chuck Schumer said, you know, the simple fact is, is for two and a half years, especially before the election, you know, they tried to throw everything at Donald Trump, including, you know, raiding Marla, you know, baiting Mar-a-Lago, you know, going and, you know, going into his house, you know, you know, sending the FBI agents into his house and the deputies and marshals and all that, you know, | ||
| and then putting all kinds of charges against him and throwing everything that they could against him. | ||
| You know, if they didn't have something in the Epstein files that was, you know, there for years and years and years that they could use against him, don't you think that they would have used it against him already? | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Linda in Ogden, Utah, Independent Line. | ||
| Good morning, Linda. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| Thank you for taking my call. | ||
| I'm just kind of confused on the matter. | ||
| Maybe someone can help me understand. | ||
| If I'm in a food line trying to get food and someone shoots at me and starts killing me, and then they say to me, You don't want peace, I'm just confused. | ||
| Of course, I want peace, but do I want trust someone who's shooting at me and killing me for getting food? | ||
| I'm really confused. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| And this news caller mentioned it earlier in the program from Fox News: pro-wrestling icon Hulk Hogan is dead at 71. | ||
| He died in his Florida home. | ||
| Again, Hulk Hogan, wrestling, pro-wrestling icon, has died. | ||
| Frank in Aberdeen, Maryland, Democrat, good morning, Frank. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, ma'am. | |
| Project 2025 has become an experiment in unitary control of the United States government by the executive with no oversight by Congress and with no timely review by the courts allowed. | ||
| Trump is now able to create laws by executive order unilaterally by his royal fiat. | ||
| We are now governed by a monarch. | ||
| And God, I'm sad. | ||
| And as for the Epstein files, we had a real FBI and real DOJ will not release those files until the Maxwell trial and appeals are over because it would be against her interest. | ||
| And it is just the way the rules are written. | ||
| The rules are being broken by Trump. | ||
| Have a blessed day. | ||
| And Axios reporting this exclusive Massey leans into Trump Defiance and First TV ad. | ||
| This is Congressman Massey's for his reelection campaign. | ||
| Take a look at a new ad. | ||
| This is 30 seconds. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Sure, you've seen the attack ads by now. | |
| Look, it's simple. | ||
| They're attacking me because I'm holding the Washington machine accountable. | ||
| Whether it was being the lone no vote against Pelosi's $2 trillion COVID bailout or just this month voting against adding $4 trillion more to the national debt. | ||
| And now I'm leading the charge to force a vote to release the complete Epstein files. | ||
| I'm Thomas Massey, and I prove this message because I'm not folding. | ||
| I'm fighting, and I'm just getting started. | ||
| And here is Thomas in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania, Republican. | ||
| Hi, Thomas. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hi, how are you doing? | |
| It's a very good program he had this morning. | ||
| The Democratic woman that called earlier, if we don't talk to our enemies, we won't know how to deal with them. | ||
| And when she brought the fact that Trump went over to talk to Putin, well, he has to deal with everyone in the world because we're the policemen of the world. | ||
| I got a relative, the admiral in the Navy, and I worry about him all the time. | ||
| And, you know, he did a very good job this morning. | ||
| I appreciate your program. | ||
| And with Kathleen Heritage, Catherine, yes. | ||
| Herodge. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes. | |
| I had a stroke, so please bear with me. | ||
| And I really enjoy this program this morning. | ||
| But I wish I wish I'd understand. | ||
| We have to talk to our enemies, no matter who they are. | ||
| Alexander in White Plains, Maryland, Democrat. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| Just wanted to say a couple of things. | ||
| It's interesting that when these Republicans call in, they always talk about why they didn't release the files when Biden was in office. | ||
| We're not talking about that. | ||
| We're talking about right now what's going on with the Epstein files and why they won't release them now. | ||
| We don't know why they didn't release them. | ||
| I believe the reason they didn't release them then is because they have a lot of donors, and a lot of people on the Democratic side is as guilty as the people on the Republican side. | ||
| And it's a shame the way this government is going. | ||
| The gentleman just called a few minutes ago talked about how we're going to have a Unitarian government, which is what we have already. | ||
| I can't see how these so-called proud, patriotic Americans can sit back and see all the struggle that their forefathers and our forefathers went through to create somewhat of an equal system where we could all have access to our rights and the freedom of speech and all those wonderful things that we call ourselves a democracy for. | ||
| But it's the doggone shame. | ||
| And now the other thing on top of that is we have two branches of government, not branches, but two Democrats and Republicans both supporting an ongoing genocide where they're killing babies constantly every day. | ||
| What is wrong with these people? | ||
| Don't come to my face telling me you're a Christian, you're Muslim, you're this, you're that. | ||
| I don't care what you call yourself. | ||
| You need some humanity. | ||
| You need to understand that if this can happen to the people in Gaza and it can happen to the people in the Sudan and around the world, and you have these people in positions of power and all they care about is money, come on, people, wake up. | ||
| I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican. | ||
| The guy is an evil dictator, and whether or not you think it's going to affect you just because you have lighter skin, oh, it's going to come to you too. | ||
| Look at Daphne in Mountain View, Arkansas, Republican. | ||
| Did I pronounce your name right? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes. | |
| Go right ahead. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, I am very surprised about all the entertaining charade in the news now. | |
| They are on to Trump and how many others have done the same thing when they were younger. | ||
| And instead of talking about other important things, they just put on everyday soap stories, soap operas. | ||
| Now then, you don't hear about the targeting of American citizens by EMFs, microwave frequencies. | ||
| How come they want to talk about that? | ||
| Who's pointing microwaves at American citizens, Daphne? | ||
|
unidentified
|
They're coming from drones, satellites, cell towers. | |
| You study up on cell towers and see what they do. | ||
| And you tell me what they do. | ||
|
unidentified
|
They send microwave frequencies to certain individuals that's on targeted list, and it's very damaging to them. | |
| And this is on USA Today with the headline: Trump Signs Order Pushing Cities and States to Remove Homeless People from the Streets. | ||
| Amid record high homelessness, Trump wants to move homeless people from the streets and into treatment centers. | ||
| You could read that at USA Today. | ||
| And this is Thelma in Bronx, New York. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| Democrat. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, good morning. | |
| This is Democrat from New York City. | ||
| I have a question for Republican. | ||
| What else can Donald Trump do for them to say enough? | ||
| He's a 34 felon. | ||
| He is a 34 felon. | ||
| He assaulted a woman. | ||
| He was filed for rape. | ||
| And now he's in the file with a pedophile about children. | ||
| Children, I'm a mother. | ||
| Children. | ||
| What can Donald Trump do for a Republican to say, I had enough? | ||
| God help us. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Joining us is independent investigative journalist Catherine Herridge. | ||
| She puts out the Catherine Herridge Reports. | ||
| And Catherine, welcome to the program. | ||
| Thank you for having me. | ||
| First, tell us about your new site and how it's funded. | ||
| Well, a year ago, I made the decision to go independent and I set up the website and I started doing investigations on X. | ||
| And my goal was to tell the stories that I couldn't tell before because I really believe the facts have a power all their own. | ||
| And I had a number of stories that I had developed when I was at CBS News that they didn't want to proceed with. | ||
| In my view, they were somewhat risk averse to some of the topics, so I picked those up first. | ||
| We did a COVID vaccine injury in the U.S. military. |