NPR’s Scott Simon asks Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., in regards to the Democratic Occasion’s push for extra info on the crimes and demise of Jeffrey Epstein.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
President Trump is suing The Wall Road Journal for reporting that he contributed a suggestive letter and drawing to a fiftieth birthday reward for Jeffrey Epstein. The president says he made no such drawing. He denies any involvement in Epstein’s crimes and instructed the U.S. Justice Division to ask a U.S. district court docket to unseal the grand jury recordsdata in Epstein’s case. It is all after a contentious debate this week in Congress and amongst a lot of President Trump’s supporters. Consultant Ro Khanna, the California Democrat, joins us now. Consultant Khanna, thanks for being with us.
RO KHANNA: Good morning.
SIMON: You’ve got referred to as for releasing all of the recordsdata on the Epstein case. What recordsdata and why?
KHANNA: We’d like full transparency. We’d like the interview memos to see which wealthy and highly effective males have been concerned with Jeffrey Epstein. We have to see the emails, the texts. We have to, after all, defend sufferer identification, however the president promised this when he campaigned. Pam Bondi, the lawyer common, promised this. And we’ve a majority of the Home that desires these launched.
SIMON: Why do you assume it is an necessary difficulty for the American individuals now?
KHANNA: It goes to the center of belief in authorities. It goes to the center of whether or not our authorities is granting impunity to the wealthy and the highly effective who could have abused, assaulted deserted younger women, or whether or not we will arise for youngsters and arise for fact. And many individuals view it as a problem of whether or not our authorities in Washington has been corrupted.
SIMON: While you say that many individuals view this as a problem of presidency corruption, are you amongst them?
KHANNA: I imagine the president has raised the stakes. I imagine that the truth that he campaigned on transparency and that he isn’t releasing this, one thing does not odor proper and that there’s – must be a launch. And if there’s not a launch, it should additional erode belief in authorities. My view is get every part on the market. In any other case, you are going to have new questions. And nobody is aware of what’s within the recordsdata as a result of they haven’t been launched and the president has made all these claims about them.
SIMON: You talked about on – the Home ground have even referred to as for – agree, because it seems, with the president releasing grand jury proceedings. As I haven’t got to inform you, grand jury proceedings are not often launched as a result of the protection is not represented there, and rumour and lies can go unchallenged and unproven. Do you are worried that harmless individuals may have their names dragged into this case?
KHANNA: Effectively, two issues. First, on the grand jury, he wants a court docket to grant the discharge, and that is one of many causes I feel he is accomplished that as a result of the courts could not. Second, most of that grand jury proof goes to be about Epstein and Maxwell. It isn’t going to be in regards to the different people. However your broader level is appropriate. DOJ coverage is that you do not launch issues except you cost somebody as a result of you do not need innocents caught up. The issue is that when you could have the lawyer common saying that there’s an Epstein shopper listing, when you could have the president campaigning on releasing Epstein recordsdata, when you could have individuals questioning whether or not there are nationwide safety leaders, overseas leaders concerned, the difficulty has turn into too huge. And so the president ought to do a one-time exception, say this isn’t precedent-setting, however we’re going to launch the recordsdata, and I’ve the USA Congress, Republicans and Democrats agreeing with me.
SIMON: I think I haven’t got to inform you in regards to the determine that Jeffrey Epstein reduce in excessive society, and he was photographed with many high-profile individuals, together with Invoice Clinton, former New Mexico Governor Invoice Richardson, former Maine Senator George Mitchell, all of them Democrats, none accused of against the law. Do you could have any considerations that this consideration to a now-dead man’s misdeeds simply provides gas to the worst sort of conspiracy theories?
KHANNA: Effectively, I imagine that daylight is the most important disinfectant. While you launch all the recordsdata, if it seems that there are politicians caught up in it as a result of he was giving cash to lots of people, and you understand that in Washington, individuals should solicit donations and run into individuals, I feel the American individuals can be truthful. I feel they’ll be capable to say, OK, these individuals have been caught up in it as a result of Jeffrey Epstein was a donor, however there additionally could also be proof of people that did incorrect issues, and that ought to come out. I imagine the American individuals can be truthful in making a judgment about any explicit particular person.
SIMON: And let me ask you lastly about this. Former speaker Nancy Pelosi stated this on Thursday on MSNBC.
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NANCY PELOSI: Whether or not it is Jeffrey Epstein or Alcatraz, it is all off the topic of what they’re doing with this finances that’s dangerous to the kitchen desk, assembly the kitchen desk wants of the American individuals.
SIMON: Is the Epstein difficulty only a distraction from the actual pursuits of the American individuals proper now?
KHANNA: It isn’t as a result of it goes to crucial difficulty, which is can authorities be trusted by the American individuals? Look, Donald Trump is reducing Medicaid, he’s reducing meals help, he’s destroying universities. He’s deporting individuals with out due course of. However on the core of taking again our democracy is restoring belief in authorities. And on condition that so many People really feel that this authorities is on the aspect of the wealthy and highly effective, individuals who have their thumb on the dimensions, we have to restore individuals’s confidence, and the discharge of the Epstein recordsdata is a primary step in doing that. Epstein has turn into a logo for corruption in authorities.
SIMON: California Democrat Ro Khanna. Consultant, thanks a lot.
KHANNA: Thanks. Recognize it.
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