Booker: Trump Reaction To Calls To Release Epstein Files Shows He's Becoming 'More Authoritarian'

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Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill.

Transcript

00:00Senator, how much are you going to focus on signaling here?

00:03It depends. I'm a little bit further down the dais.

00:06Those questions need to be answered and need to be talked about.

00:08Do Democrats need to look into the Epstein matter and the Justice Department's handling of it?

00:13Let me be clear. We have literally been at this for six months now.

00:16The administration has been doing things that have been so outrageous

00:20that the constitutional framers wanted us to check, balance, give oversight.

00:25But time and time again, Republicans have done nothing.

00:28So whether it's signal gate, whether it's what's happening at the Justice Department in relation to this matter,

00:33or so many things, we are not giving oversight to the executive.

00:38That means we're surrendering our constitutional power,

00:40and he is becoming more and more authoritarian in his actions.

00:44This legislative branch has got to do its job,

00:47and I'm very frustrated that we're not having substantive hearings on matters of urgent need and concern.

00:52Should there be an investigation or hearings into the Epstein matter?

00:55There should have been hearings into the signal gate issue.

00:58There should have been hearings in the Justice Department's handling of these issues.

01:01I think there should be a lot of things that we should be doing,

01:03from tariff policy all the way to serious breaches of national security.

01:08What do you need to hear from Mike Walls today to sort of assure you that this signal gate issue is not going to happen again?

01:12There are basic questions that have not been answered.

01:15Like, how often were they using Signal, this commercial platform, to discuss classified information?

01:21We don't have basic answers to understand what the vulnerabilities here

01:26or what the challenges have been in terms of national security threats.

01:31Remember, this is the party that had dozens and dozens of hearings about Hillary Clinton's emails.

01:37This is the party that manufactured so much outrage over small things,

01:43and yet when it comes to this signal gate, where literally you had a member of the press being included

01:50on things with classified information, that we haven't had one hearing.

01:54The hypocrisy of this party right now, the Republican Party right now, is outrageous.

01:59And Donald Trump is doing things without any oversight, without any check and balance.

02:05That is dangerous for our democracy, regardless of what your party is.

02:08This is so contrary to our constitutional design and undermines what is every American should demand,

02:15which is good governance.

02:16You said he's acting like an authoritarian. Are you saying he's an authoritarian?

02:19When a president attacks the judiciary with such vile language,

02:24and we see threats against the judiciary going up,

02:27when the president is defying the orders, the direct orders of the Supreme Court,

02:34when a president is literally seizing power that belongs to our branch,

02:40like spending power and more,

02:42these are things that are definitely our behaviors that are more authoritarian.

02:45These are not normal times in our democracy,

02:47and we need to stop normalizing this kind of radical behavior,

02:52that he's been checked by conservative organizations,

02:55as well as people in the mainstream,

02:57that this president is doing things that, to me,

03:00violate the spirit of our Constitution,

03:02and I believe violate the law as well.

03:03What about the Ukrainian weapons deal?

03:05What do Democrats do to push back?

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