Robert Garcia calls for Vance to testify amid Epstein implication

[00:00:00]I'm joined now by the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia. Congressman, we have some new news here as it relates to Epstein and J.D. Vance, the vice president, that hasn't been in the spotlight before. Can you explain what that news is?

[00:00:14]>> Yeah, I mean, look, this is pretty bombshell reporting. The New York Times has obviously put out a pretty significant report. We also hear there's there's more to come about J.D. Vance actually now being centered in this Epstein scandal and cover-up. We had no idea that Vance had really been involved in the past. He's made comments, but now we learn that J.D. Vance is basically hosting and leading meetings in the situation room about the Epstein investigation. Now, the situation room is used for national security, for issues of war and peace, for major issues around the country. And J.D. Vance, Susie Wiles, Kash Patel, Todd Blanche are having these meetings about Epstein in the actual situation room. And it's clear from this reporting that they're talking about ways of protecting Donald Trump.

[00:01:01]So, it's very significant. It's the first time Vance is now at the center of this cover-up, directing, giving ideas, making suggestions like it's including really bizarre ones. And so, we've said we've got to talk to J.D. Vance and the rest of the folks in that room. Why are they playing cover-up for Donald Trump?

[00:01:19]>> In terms of getting J.D. Vance in front of the House Oversight Committee, what is the likelihood of that happening and what action can and are you taking in in service of that?

[00:01:28]>> Well, we just made the formal request to get J.D. Vance, to get Patel, Susie Wiles, some of the communication staff, folks that were in that room in front of the committee to Comer. At the end of the day, it's Comer's decision. Now, look, he may not go along with this, but we can put the pressure on. When we've put pressure on, we've heard from folks if they we forced people to come in. And certainly when the majority, we're going to expect these people are in front of our committee actually answering these questions. Look, J.D. Vance made some wild wild accusations as well as provided some crazy ideas. He suggested that Tucker Carlson interview Ghislaine Maxwell. He they're talking about how they can maybe pardon what a pardon would mean for Ghislaine Maxwell. How can we get Ghislaine Maxwell to to say that she had nothing to do with Donald Trump or that Donald Trump would had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. This is a cover-up that we are reading about in real time. And now we know that J.D.

[00:02:22]Vance and Susie Wiles have been in on it. So, they have a lot to answer for and quite frankly, they have a lot to answer for to the survivors.

[00:02:30]>> How can Republicans justify potentially having wielded contempt powers for Hillary Clinton to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee as it relates to the Epstein files, but not J.D. Vance who is on record perpetuating the cover-up? I mean, he seems a lot more involved in this thing than Hillary Clinton ever did and yet they were willing to use whatever tools they had at their disposal and whatever punishments and accountability methods they had at their disposal to make sure that she appeared. So, how do you justify bringing in one but not the other?

[00:03:02]>> You don't. I mean, the reality is is that J.D. Vance has clearly now been a playing a big role in this cover-up and we just did we just found out about it.

[00:03:11]And the fact part of this is the fact that they're having these meetings in the situation.

[00:03:15]Why are they there? They clearly viewed this as a massive security threat. To who? To to Trump?

[00:03:22]To their administration?

[00:03:24]They know that in that room it's very obviously there there is technology in that room that really ensures that folks don't find out what they're talking about. And so, it's it's concerning that through the reporting for the New York Times, they're giving us a snapshot. But I want to know how many times did they meet in the situation room? How many times with J.D.

[00:03:46]Vance involved? The reporting talks about certain instances, but they're clearly if we're reading about some, there have to be a lot more. Right. And and so we we have I think J.D. Vance has a lot to answer for and I hope he's asked by by the press and the mainstream media of what the hell is he doing? And why is he trying to play cover-up for Donald Trump? What does actually J.D.

[00:04:06]Vance know? Does he know what's in the files? Why haven't the rest of the files been released? These are all important questions.

[00:04:12]>> If Democrats are able to take the majority in Congress and you become chairman of the oversight committee, what will that mean in terms of you being able to wield your power to compel the testimony of someone like J.D. Vance given what given the questions we now have?

[00:04:28]>> Look, I think that J.D. Vance first of all is clearly and we already know that he's a liar and he he does whatever Donald Trump wants him to do.

[00:04:35]That's been clear throughout this whole administration. He refuses to ever stand up to Donald Trump. And I think what we're learning here is that he's a much more central player in the Epstein cover-up than we had ever thought before. And so we're going to have to do everything we can to compel him to testify, to to push the media, get public opinion. And I'll say, look, I I was just looking at some reports and polling that the Epstein investigation and this broader kind of Epstein case is the single most bipartisan thing in the country. And it's where Donald Trump is actually the weakest. More people care, Republicans care about this and believe that Donald Trump is failing at this than any other topic. More than the economy, more than immigration, more than anything else. Democrats as well.

[00:05:17]And so it's united the country. So if J.D. Vance thinks he's just going to walk around and we're going to allow him to tell lies and not answer questions, he's mistaken.

[00:05:26]>> Have you gotten any sense from your Republican colleagues whether there is an I'm sure there's not an appetite to call J.D. Vance in to testify, but an openness, a willingness? Do you think that those people could be pressured to call J.D. Vance to testify?

[00:05:40]>> I think there are going to be some Republicans, Tom Massie, Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert that might be supportive of some of that type of effort, but I think that J.D. Vance the bigger question in the Republican Party broadly speaking is he never been a part of this investigation before and there was no evidence linking him to any sort of the cover-up. But now it's clear he is not only part of the cover-up, he's leading cover-up meetings in the situation. We can't get more serious than that. And so he has a lot to answer for and I going to encourage I've encouraged my my congressional colleagues over the last few days to stay on this. We've got to hold J.D. Vance's feet to the fire here.

[00:06:20]He's the vice president of the United States, second in line to the presidency, and he's playing cover-up for Donald Trump. It's got to end.

[00:06:27]>> You know, some of those colleagues that you had mentioned, Nancy Mace is in her last term in the house. She obviously lost her primary for South Carolina governor. I believe came in fifth in that primary.

[00:06:39]You have Thomas Massie also was ousted thanks to help from Donald Trump. And so given the fact that these people are are kind of freed from the shackles of what is expected of you if you want to remain a member in good standing of Donald Trump's Republican Party. Do you expect that they'll be a little bit more outspoken in terms of their support for transparency on this issue?

[00:07:00]>> I mean I do hope. I I I do expect that they will be. Obviously wait and see, but look at Marjorie Taylor Greene. I mean I think that she's a good example of someone that has kind of broken free from Donald Trump and you know, very much has a strong political opinion of which I strongly disagree with, but overall she's not in it anymore to please President Trump, which is what she did the entire time almost that she was in Congress. And so I hope that Nancy Mace, I hope that Thomas Massie in these months ahead continue to show some courage and push on the Epstein files.

[00:07:31]We need to get more answers. And we need to now why the hell is Suzy Wiles so obsessed also with the Epstein files?

[00:07:38]And she's directing all sorts of things.

[00:07:40]We're hearing from Bongino, who of course was at the FBI, uh saying some pretty crazy stuff. And so, again, there's just more more to look at, more to investigate. Another really critical part of those in the reporting was, you know, Pam Bondi liked to throw Todd Blanche under the bus a lot in her in her deposition, saying that somehow he was included in charge of everything.

[00:08:00]Obviously, Todd Blanche was in these rooms, but so was Pam Bondi. Pam Bondi would attend these meetings sometimes by phone.

[00:08:06]And so, this idea that Pam Bondi had no idea what was going on, she certainly never mentioned to us she was having meeting meetings in the situation room.

[00:08:13]And so, I think it's very concerning.

[00:08:15]>> Especially because like, you know, this is where the the operations took place to take out Bin Laden and and Soleimani and Al-Zawahiri and like and like to equate those missions with the well, I guess what is now a mission to protect Donald Trump from the Epstein files is pretty telling in terms of what this admin how important this administration views this entire cover-up effort. Um but, you know, something that was also striking in terms of Donald Trump going after these people who dare speak out against him as it relates to Epstein is Donald Trump also decided to create a new website as part of whitehouse.gov and that was what he's calling a media offenders list. There's a bunch of content creators Thank you. Yes, it is it's something that I wear as a badge of honor. I'm I'm one of the names of those content creators who were included on that list.

[00:09:06]And so, I just wanted to get your reaction to the fact that you had a Republican Party that predicated so much of its identity on this idea that they are staunch opponents of censorship and they're going to be these champions for free speech, now publishing an enemies list of content creators, like YouTubers and podcast hosts on whitehouse.gov.

[00:09:29]Just your reaction to the fact that this is where their priorities are at the hands of a party that would beat its chest as as being anti-censorship.

[00:09:37]>> These people are just a total joke. I mean, they're they're a joke. They're they weaponize the government. Um It's it's it's crazy to be like both so incompetent and so crazy about attacking people at the same time. I mean, look, I think they have worked to destroy anyone that opposes them. It's part of their authoritarian playbook. They have gone after, whether it's large companies like obviously CBS and large institutions to successful new media channels, right? Like yourself, other podcasters that are out in this space, people I mean, you you and others have these enormous audiences in the digital space through YouTube and so many other ways. And I think they're intimidated by that. The right we've allowed the right for so long to dominate the digital space, to dominate YouTube, to dominate so so the podcasting space. And it's just been in the last, you know, few years. You look about the whole time in the last 5 years, 3 years for us on on the progressive front, we're actually making some headway now. There's investments that are happening. So, of course, Donald Trump is going to attack that.

[00:10:46]He's going to try to bring folks down and intimidate. Cuz you know, you for as you know, you have a a great operation. There's also some very some some smaller operations that intimidation can have an impact. People don't have the ability to to defend themselves often times or the resources to to to fight Trump's Trump's Department of Justice.

[00:11:06]>> Yeah, I I completely agree. I mean, the whole point of this is to have a chilling effect. Um what do you think your Republican counterpart in the Oversight Committee, James Comer, or Jim Jordan, who chaired the the subcommittee on the weaponization of government, what do you think that those Republicans would say if Joe Biden had created an enemies list and published it on the taxpayer-funded whitehouse.gov website?

[00:11:28]>> Insane. I mean, I can't believe that um they went after Joe Biden for, you know, using an using an auto pen. Uh and that was the the their the thing they're mad at or or they were mad that he was old. Um I mean, Donald Trump is literally stealing everyone's money and giving it to himself and his family.

[00:11:46]They're going after journalists. They're attacking the courts. They're stealing um money. They're they're cutting real estate deals. They're destroying the White House, building cage matches in front of it. I mean, it's it's beyond. You know, they destroyed our relationships around the world.

[00:12:03]He is just the worst person to ever lead our country by far. And his administration is and I I think we're all just waiting for the day where we can turn the page on Donald Trump.

[00:12:13]>> Well, look, I I know that I speak for a lot of people watching in saying, first off, thank you for the work that you're doing and keeping these important issues to hold Trump to account at the forefront. And uh and second of all, um you know, in terms of that work starting, hopefully just a few months from now you do become the chairman of the House Oversight Committee and we can start digging into some of this stuff that I think the American people have very valid and legitimate questions about. First and foremost on the Epstein matter, but a whole raft of things that you just mentioned, whether it's the financial corruption, you know, these these deals that Trump is engaged with, these vanity projects that he is that he's doing right now, the fact that his kids are involved in all of these military endeavors, and the list goes on and on. So, again, you know, the work to to begin holding this administration, this overtly corrupt administration accountable, uh hopefully starts sooner rather than later. And I know that a lot of that is going to be in your jurisdiction. So, with that said, uh we'll leave it there. Congressman, I appreciate your time.

[00:13:08]>> Thank you.

[00:13:09]>> [music]