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<v Speaker 1>With justice in America on the line, let's bring on

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<v Speaker 1>Rhode Island Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. He is on the

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<v Speaker 1>Judiciary Committee and is the first committee member to join

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<v Speaker 1>ms NOW since the vote this morning, Senator, thank you

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<v Speaker 1>so much for being with us. You were in the

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<v Speaker 1>room where it happened. Tell us what it looked like,

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<v Speaker 1>what it felt like, and how you were feeling. Not

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<v Speaker 1>the vote is over.

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<v Speaker 2>Was astounding. Was at the end of the day, after

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<v Speaker 2>the long negotiations and the delay in confirming Todd Blanche,

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<v Speaker 2>how little the Republican senators got for their efforts. Basically,

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<v Speaker 2>Blanche did nothing more than write down what he had

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<v Speaker 2>already told them, but none of it was in the

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<v Speaker 2>form of any kind of an enforceable agreement. It did

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<v Speaker 2>nothing to solve the problem that Senator Cornyn himself raised

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<v Speaker 2>that Trump still had claims against the government under the

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<v Speaker 2>original agreement. It doesn't prevent Trump from pursuing those, It

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't prevent Blanche from doing slush fund two point zero

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<v Speaker 2>just giving it a new number and a new name,

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<v Speaker 2>and it certainly doesn't prevent them from opening what I

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<v Speaker 2>call the drive by window like a scream store where

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<v Speaker 2>Maga offenders cop meaters from January sixth can come in

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<v Speaker 2>and get a quick and easy free settlement under the

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<v Speaker 2>Federal Court Claims Act and dole out money that way.

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<v Speaker 2>So it was really kind of stunning how weak the

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<v Speaker 2>result was at the end of the day.

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<v Speaker 1>So then why do it if you're corning, if you

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<v Speaker 1>are till us, why drag your feet for what amounts

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<v Speaker 1>to a pinky promise.

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<v Speaker 2>I can't go to their motives. To me, it doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>make sense. First of all, it doesn't solve the problem

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<v Speaker 2>they said they wanted to saw off. Second, it doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>change the character of the man who entered into those

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<v Speaker 2>sleazy deals. I use the example of a burglar. The

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<v Speaker 2>burglar gives back some of the jewelry he stole, he's

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<v Speaker 2>still a burglar. He still was engaged in that misconduct.

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<v Speaker 2>And if you had any doubt about that, just go

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<v Speaker 2>down to the Florida court where Todd Blanche's conduct is

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<v Speaker 2>being examined for potential fraud upon the court. The worst

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<v Speaker 2>thing that a lawyer can be accused of so rare,

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<v Speaker 2>that has never happened before to any senior Department of

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<v Speaker 2>Justice lawyer in the entire history of the Department of Justice.

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<v Speaker 2>And yet for this guy, it's still an open incurding.

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<v Speaker 1>I think for a lot of folks, they watch what

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<v Speaker 1>transpired today, they understand everything you're saying about the ways

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<v Speaker 1>in which a fund like this could re emerge in

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<v Speaker 1>any number of forms. What then, can the Senate do

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<v Speaker 1>about it? What's the backcheck on a future fund? The

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<v Speaker 1>future deal?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I suppose that in the immediate term, senators who

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<v Speaker 2>are up for reelection or who are not facing re

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<v Speaker 2>election could object and say, until this is fixed, we

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<v Speaker 2>are going to stop allowing nominees forward, we are not

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<v Speaker 2>going to clear bills. They could use the tools of

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<v Speaker 2>the Senate to try to enforce their objection. The problem

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<v Speaker 2>is they had those tools right now and failed to

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<v Speaker 2>use them. So it doesn't set a very high bar

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<v Speaker 2>for what they might do in the future. But do

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<v Speaker 2>bear in mind that he still needs to clear the

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<v Speaker 2>floor and there are plenty of other Republican senators who

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<v Speaker 2>are not yet sold on all of this. Again, go

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<v Speaker 2>back to that fraud on the court thing. This has

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<v Speaker 2>never happened before in the United States history. The guys

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<v Speaker 2>being put forward while there's a fraud on a court investigation.

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<v Speaker 2>It's kind of unbelievable, and it puts Republicans in a

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<v Speaker 2>terrible for November.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, we're going to come back to what you

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<v Speaker 1>think that full vote looks like. But I want to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about Blench's in this handling of the Epstein files,

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<v Speaker 1>of something you focused on today as a key reason

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<v Speaker 1>why you opposed him. Epstein survivor Danny Benski was in

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<v Speaker 1>the committee room to watch the vote firsthand. Our own

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<v Speaker 1>Michael Schnell. Talk to Danny. Talk to Danny about what's next.

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<v Speaker 1>Take a listen.

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<v Speaker 3>What would be your message now to Senator Murkowski, Senator Collins,

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<v Speaker 3>Senator Cassidy as Again, this was a significant hurdle for

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<v Speaker 3>Todd Blinch, but it's not the entire ballgame. What would

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<v Speaker 3>be your message to them in the lead up to

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<v Speaker 3>this final vote?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, to please take a meeting with us, because there's

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<v Speaker 4>so much information that we have to share, not just

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<v Speaker 4>investigative leads, but just how this process has gone down

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<v Speaker 4>for the five administrations and thirty years. You know, there's

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<v Speaker 4>just a lot of ground to cover. So I would say,

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<v Speaker 4>take a meeting with us, and we'll be able to

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<v Speaker 4>get you the information you need.

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<v Speaker 1>Senator helped me understand what you think could happen between

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<v Speaker 1>now and the final vote that could keep Todd Blanche

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<v Speaker 1>from being confirmed.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I think Republicans have they're between an Epstein

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<v Speaker 2>in a Blanche place, between a rock and a hard

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<v Speaker 2>place over the Epstein stuff. Because Blanche is put squarely

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<v Speaker 2>in charge by Pambondy. She's testified that the buck stops

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<v Speaker 2>with him, and she's been hiding stuff and they know it.

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<v Speaker 2>He first tried to hide the FBI three oh twos,

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<v Speaker 2>the agent reports that specifically referred to allegations that President

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<v Speaker 2>Trump Donald Trump sexually and physically assaulted a girl around

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<v Speaker 2>fourteen years old. When those got caught out, they had

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<v Speaker 2>to produce the three oh twos, But they still haven't

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<v Speaker 2>produced the agents notes that they use to review to

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<v Speaker 2>write up the three oh two. We know that they're

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<v Speaker 2>thirty seven pages missing, so like, what's up with that?

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<v Speaker 2>And then you've got billions of dollars of Epstein transactions,

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<v Speaker 2>the generated Treasury suspicious activity reports, and evidently them being

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<v Speaker 2>called suspicious activity reports wasn't enough of a clue to

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<v Speaker 2>Blanche to investigate for suspicious activity. So that whole arena

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<v Speaker 2>of Epstein's financial misconduct was left just completely uncovered. And

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<v Speaker 2>then his trip down to Gilean Maxwell to buy her

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<v Speaker 2>silence about Trump with an improvement in her status to

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<v Speaker 2>a club fed prison situation. You know, you pile all

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<v Speaker 2>that stuff up, and it's really hard to not have

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<v Speaker 2>Jeffrey Epstein stick to people who vote to confirm Todd Blanche.

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<v Speaker 1>I heard a lot of people refer to this not

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<v Speaker 1>as a job interview but a performance review. Given the

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<v Speaker 1>amount of time that Todd Blanche has already had an

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to show us what he would be like as

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<v Speaker 1>AG in his acting capacity, we've got another indication of

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<v Speaker 1>what he might do if he gets the job full time.

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<v Speaker 1>He dialed into a White House faith call just a

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<v Speaker 1>few days ago, and on that call, he talked about

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<v Speaker 1>plans to roll back aborsh access nationwide. Take a listen.

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<v Speaker 5>Rest assured that we're working hand in hand with AHHS

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<v Speaker 5>and the FDA and the White House and President Trump's

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<v Speaker 5>team to get permanent solutions so that the Dobbs decision

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<v Speaker 5>becomes permanent in every single state.

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<v Speaker 1>Beyond the weaponization fund, beyond the IRS settlement, beyond the

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein files. What other horrors could await on the other

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<v Speaker 1>side of this confirmation.

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<v Speaker 2>It is the question that has to worry Republican senators.

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<v Speaker 2>His record is so bad looking backwards that it's very,

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<v Speaker 2>very hard to say that looking forwards is going to

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<v Speaker 2>be any better. And having voted for the guy, they're

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<v Speaker 2>going to own all of his future misconduct, all of

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<v Speaker 2>his future political decisions, all of his future defense of

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<v Speaker 2>his primary client, Donald Trump. It isn't going to be pretty.

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<v Speaker 1>And as you said when you were in the first

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<v Speaker 1>hearing with Todd Blanche and he will own cash battel.

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<v Speaker 1>Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, thank you so much for being with us.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you