Madeleine Dean Directly Calls For Epstein Files To Be Released During CNN Roundtable Discussion

Forbes Breaking News

During a roundtable discussion on CNN on Sunday, Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) called for the Epstein Files to be released.

Transcript

00:00As the president went to Scotland, there were a lot of anti-Trump protests there in the streets.

00:05Not surprising, of course, that they're not big fans of his in Scotland.

00:09But this trip comes as the president is facing a lot of new challenges,

00:12including the horrific starvation we're seeing in Gaza.

00:15How much pressure do you think there is on the Trump administration

00:18to take action from inside the United States?

00:22I think there's tremendous pressure, and I'm glad, finally, there is pressure.

00:25And I'm very glad that CNN and others are covering the starvation in Gaza,

00:30the suffering that is going on, and the truth about it,

00:35what's actually happening with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

00:39so ineptly bringing food in and, of course, the blockade of the aid coming in.

00:45You see now what is going on is that my constituents are calling me about Gaza,

00:51are calling me about the other issues that the president is not dealing with

00:55as he's off in Scotland promoting his golf courses.

00:58Another issue the president's not really dealing with is the Epstein files,

01:02which is some promise that he and his administration made both before he won and after.

01:07How much do you think this is a self-inflicted wound?

01:10Well, points on strategy for sending him to Scotland

01:13to focus on some meetings with the EU and other things,

01:15because sometimes when you've got a bad news story,

01:17the best thing you can do is just move away and focus on something else.

01:21This did not need to be a weeks-long story

01:23that's now permeated pop culture and beyond just politics.

01:27Donald Trump, many people around him ran on getting to the bottom

01:30of what happened with Epstein, bringing people to justice.

01:33He needs to somehow get this back to the Department of Justice,

01:37say he's not talking about it,

01:38don't be talking about pardons for Ghislaine Maxwell and others,

01:41and be able to focus on his agenda.

01:43The fact that this has dragged out for so long

01:45is just pure malpractice by those advising him

01:48and the president's inability to stay on message.

01:50He's got to get back to a proactive message,

01:52because this is something that we're a year and a half out from the midterms.

01:55There's going to be 20 other news cycles that happen before then.

01:58But people actually care a lot about this,

02:00and it will matter to House members who are up.

02:02And, Jamal, the latest of President Trump's attempt to change the subject,

02:06he went on Truth Social last night

02:07and said that Beyoncé, Oprah, and Vice President Kamala Harris

02:12should all be prosecuted for receiving or giving endorsement money

02:16during the last election.

02:18I don't think that that's going to work,

02:20but, I mean, do you think he's just going to keep throwing anything he can at the wall?

02:23Yeah, I think people are more happy that Beyoncé

02:26had a Destiny's Child reunion at her last concert show

02:29than whatever Donald Trump has to say about Beyoncé.

02:32The reality here is that the president's trying to change the subject,

02:35and he's not having a very good job at it.

02:37What the Democrats know is that because this scandal has erupted,

02:42they're not able to move anything else out of the House.

02:44There was an immigration bill they wanted to move out of the House

02:45that they weren't able to get done

02:46because they had to get everybody out of town.

02:49The reality is this is keeping the Trump administration from moving forward,

02:52and that might be the thing that's most important for the American people,

02:56is that bad things aren't happening

02:57because this guy can't get out of his own way.

02:59And a lot of this is, as Jamal just noted,

03:02a lot of this is Republicans who want these files released.

03:06Look, I think you released the files,

03:07but look, I think when you look at the data, what does it tell us?

03:10The president still maintains 90% approval among Republicans.

03:13You look at, from a Democratic perspective,

03:1663% of young voters are not in favor of what Democrats are doing in terms of leadership.

03:21Around 26% to 30% overall are looking at the Democratic Party

03:25and saying this is a party that doesn't have a cohesive message and strategy

03:28to challenge Republicans, which is something you certainly wouldn't want

03:31coming from your constituency.

03:34And so as it pertains to what the electoral odds are moving forward

03:38as we get ready for midterm,

03:39I think Republicans are looking at something that maintains competitiveness

03:43in terms of running against Democrats,

03:45in terms of forming a cohesive message that Republicans can run on.

03:48And I predict, Jake,

03:49if you're looking at some of the data we've seen thus far economically,

03:52the economy is probably going to get stronger towards the end of Q4,

03:56going into Q1 of 26, which again is a strong message for Republicans to run on.

04:00So, Congresswoman, it feels like every few weeks

04:03a new polling organization comes out with a poll saying

04:05Democrats are at the lowest level they've ever been,

04:07and the latest was Wall Street Journal.

04:09Democratic approval ratings hit a record roll.

04:1063 are voters having an unfavorable view of your party.

04:14What does your party need to do to climb out of that?

04:15I have to speak to two issues that just came up here.

04:19What I regret around the Epstein files is nobody talks about the victims.

04:23We need truth, transparency, and justice.

04:26Every time we talk about this, these now adult women,

04:30they were children. Let's remember this.

04:31Many of them were children who were trafficked,

04:34That's the whole reason.

04:35There needs to be justice for these women.

04:37Justice for the women.

04:38They are just re-victimized every single time.

04:40Release the files.

04:42It isn't just Maxwell and Epstein who knows what happened here

04:45when you traffic hundreds of girls and women.

04:48On the polling, I haven't seen polling that shows the president

04:52at 90% of anything.

04:54Well, with Republicans, among Republicans.

04:56Some small slice of Republicans.

04:58Even his base is getting very upset with him over Epstein

05:01and the conspiracies and the failure to be transparent.

05:06What do I make of that Democratic poll?

05:09Yes, we're in the doghouse yet again.

05:12What I see and what I hear from my constituents,

05:14whether I'm answering the phone in my office

05:16or I'm out at the supermarket,

05:19everybody is anxious, upset, worried.

05:22They're worried about Gaza.

05:24They're worried about war crimes in Ukraine.

05:27They are worried about tariffs.

05:30They can't plan because businesses can't plan.

05:34They're also now worried about things they weren't worried about.

05:38Medicaid.

05:39Tens of thousands of my constituents

05:41are at risk of losing Medicaid support,

05:44whether it's for substance abuse

05:45or for their disabled child.

05:47So they're worrying about things

05:49they didn't have to worry about before

05:50and they see a president not solving the big issues

05:53that are, some of them, very man-made like Gaza.

05:57I think the challenge continues to be

05:58that Democrats just do not have a clear leader.

06:00So the message ends up being very scattershot.

06:02And while I completely agree,

06:04release the Epstein files,

06:05I think most Democrats have come around to that position.

06:07You just have these earnings calls

06:08where you have major companies

06:10that are having significantly less economic success

06:13than they had predicted they would

06:15when Trump came into office.

06:16Because of the unpredictability of the tariffs?

06:17Of the tariffs.

06:17But this is not the lead story among Democrats,

06:20the economic impacts

06:21of some of the more reckless aspects

06:22of the president's agenda.

06:24Instead, it's sort of,

06:25well, now we're on board

06:25with releasing the Epstein files,

06:27something they really didn't talk about

06:28for the four years that Joe Biden was in office.

06:30And I'm just waiting for that moment,

06:32you know, a year out from midterms

06:33where they're going to unite around,

06:35this is our proactive message,

06:37this is what we're going to do

06:37different than Donald Trump,

06:38here's our economic plan.

06:40And it seems, again, to just be scattershot

06:42where it's an issue here, it's an issue there,

06:43but not one cohesive plan.

06:45That's incredibly important.

06:46I've been saying this for months on these shows.

06:49Democrats are doing a fantastic job

06:51at the anti-Trump messaging.

06:52And the reason why we have the big,

06:54whatever, bad bill,

06:55the reason that that bill is where it is

06:57is because Democrats are making

06:58those effective messages.

06:59What we do not know yet

07:01is what the Democrats want to do,

07:02what's their vision

07:03for making the country a better place,

07:04and how is it going to work

07:05for working people.

07:06And I would just say to you,

07:08Democrats are still beating Republicans

07:09by three points

07:10in generic head-to-heads

07:11in the congressional races.

07:12And yet that message

07:12is not going to increase

07:14in their support numbers.

07:15The stock market has added

07:1610-plus trillion dollars.

07:17Look at the big five tech companies

07:19in this country.

07:19They are adding value

07:21to investors in real time.

07:23You can't dis-

07:24Okay.

07:24I serve on Foreign Affairs Committee.

07:26We travel to different countries,

07:28and leaders are baffled

07:29by what's going on around tariffs.

07:31And as many of you,

07:35it gives you a decision

07:35for your actions to get

07:36theoriek course,

07:37and the individual

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