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Pressure Points on Legislation Vote
00:02:14
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unidentified
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Democracy. | |
| It isn't just an idea. | ||
| It's a process. | ||
| A process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with guarding its basic principles. | ||
| It's where debates unfold, decisions are made, and the nation's course is charted. | ||
| Democracy in real time. | ||
| This is your government at work. | ||
| This is C-SPAN, giving you your democracy unfiltered. | ||
| Here is the legislation that is going to be considered today, H.R. 4405. | ||
| It says to require the Attorney General to release all documents and records in possession of the Department of Justice related to Jeffrey Epstein and for other purposes. | ||
| Joining us now to explain a little bit more about the vote and what's expected afterward is Siobhan Hughes of the Wall Street Journal, who covers Congress. | ||
| Ms. Hughes, thanks for giving us your time. | ||
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unidentified
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Good to be here. | |
| Walk us through the events of today. | ||
| What do we expect to see happen? | ||
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unidentified
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So the focal point for the day is very much the vote on releasing those Epstein files. | |
| But before we get to that point, there is going to be a buildup. | ||
| Early in the morning, you are going to see people like Thomas Massey with the victims for a press conference. | ||
| When it was scheduled, the idea was to put pressure on the House to pass this legislation. | ||
| At this point, with the bill likely to speed through, it's going to be putting pressure on the Senate. | ||
| We also are expected to hear from House Speaker Mike Johnson after Republicans meet this morning. | ||
| That's going to be important because there is an emerging conversation among Republicans about whether the bill needs to be revised, maybe when it hits the Senate, in order to protect the identities of some people whose names might be revealed in these records. | ||
| And then finally, of course, that vote, which I believe, as you've been reporting, is going to be on the so-called suspension calendar, meaning it's going to need two-thirds support to pass. | ||
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What Are 302s?
00:00:55
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unidentified
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And while the expectation is that's likely, it's not a lock yet. | |
| Before we go a little bit more into what you just said, talk us, what does the actual legislation do? | ||
| I know I explained in the first sentence of what's purpose is, but what will it do? | ||
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unidentified
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And so the goal is basically to get the Justice Department to release all of these records that have not yet been shared with Congress or publicly. | |
| But the big set of records that Congress wants are something called 302s. | ||
| This is a special terminology for memos related to interviews conducted with witnesses. | ||
| And what Thomas Massey has said, based on his conversations with the victims lawyers, is that there are at least 20 individuals named in those records whose names would then become public. | ||
| And you would see really the full scope and extent of very high-level and prominent individuals who were caught up in this. | ||