Representative Jamie Raskin delivered a forceful speech on the House floor urging immediate release of the remaining Epstein files, arguing that the American public deserves full transparency. Raskin declared that “even the British monarchy wouldn’t put up with this,” challenging Congress to refuse any further delays and to end what he described as an unacceptable “coverup.”
00:00I'll take the opportunity of the Speaker's presence to respond to some of the things that he said.
00:06In the very presence of the victims and the survivors who come to join us today,
00:10the Speaker said that now would be a time we should be working on urgent legislative work.
00:15Mr. Speaker, justice is urgent legislative work.
00:19The truth is urgent legislative work.
00:25The Speaker says, why now? Why now?
00:28Well, Mr. Speaker, you were the one who refused to swear in Adelita Grijalva for 50 days.
00:33We would have done it 50 days ago, but she provided the 218th signature on the discharge petition.
00:39So why now? It was because of your dilatory tactics, your delay, your postponement of it.
00:46Now, the gentleman says that there are not sufficient protections.
00:51There are protections in the bill for the victims to make sure that their names will be redacted.
00:57And yet we hear even the Speaker of the House of Representatives openly inviting the U.S. Senate
01:02to start finger painting on this bill, which we have waited more than five months to bring to the floor.
01:09The Senate should pass the bill exactly as it's written.
01:12The President should sign it exactly as he said he would when he finally changed his mind.
01:17And the Epstein file must be released.
01:20Moreover, if the President is serious about what he's saying, he's got the power to release the Epstein file right now.
01:28Nobody's stopping him. It's within his possession. It's within his control.
01:33He can release the whole thing and he can redact the names of the victims and others who are innocent in this process.
01:42Mr. Speaker, Speaker Johnson said that these are unspeakable evils.
01:53Well, because of the bravery and the invincible courage of the women who've joined us today, they're no longer unspeakable.
02:01They're spoken. They're articulated.
02:04The cat is out of the bag and we know what's been going on for decades.
02:08It's been a double standard of justice.
02:11Going all the way back to Alex Acosta, who later got rewarded with a cabinet appointment in the Trump administration.
02:17Alex Acosta had a 60 count federal indictment ready to go against all kinds of people for an interstate sex trafficking conspiracy with solicitation, with child sex abuse, all of it.
02:32And he traded that 60 count federal indictment for one count in state court.
02:39And Jeffrey Epstein ended up getting the sweetest of sweetheart deals ever on the plea bargain front.
02:46He was free from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to do whatever he wanted in continuing to perpetrate his crimes and run his conspiracy.
02:55And then he would come and he would watch TV and spend the night in jail.
02:59And it was over in about a year after the rape and sexual abuse of hundreds and hundreds of girls.
03:06And he kept going. And he kept at it.
03:09We want the whole truth to come out. This is the United States of America.
03:14Even the British monarchy wouldn't put up with this.
03:17How about the American democracy?
03:19How about we say, no way, we're not going to allow this cover-up to go on for one day more.
03:25And I'm glad the president changed his mind after pulling out all the stops to try to get one of our Republican colleagues to change their mind,
03:36to remove their name from the discharge petition he gave up.
03:41And I want to salute the gentlelady from Colorado from having the courage to stand her ground in the Situation Room in the White House
03:49and say, no, she wasn't going to be bullied. No.
03:52So I'm glad the president changed his mind.
03:56But let's be clear, Mr. President, you've got the power today to release the entire file.
04:02That's what you called for. That's what Pam Bondi called for. That's what Kash Patel called for.
04:08So we don't need anybody calling for the Senate to slow things down for more weeks and more months.
04:14The American people have had it. We'll reserve.
04:17Gentlemen reserves.
04:19The gentleman is reminded to direct your comments to the chair and not your colleagues.
04:23The gentleman from Ohio.
04:32There's being Series 3, which student wants to else this mic, but please take care of yourself and take care of yourself.
04:37It will go along for the first quarter to this point.
04:38In the meantime, if you've looked for sure to Cruise the ship, you will also show me some grace.
04:41Then I'll switch over to the last quarter to next quarter to next quarter.
04:44For the next quarter to the今天 this menu that you found here,
04:47it means that there aren't peopleening both their parents and they are.
04:48You know, no.
04:50If you don't need to need a good line, if you've got your regulars,
04:53that they're not just for us the thing they're not just for you,
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