LEADER JEFFRIES ON CNN: "OUR FOCUS TODAY IS ON MAKING SURE THAT THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN FILES WERE RELEASED"
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN's The Source with Kaitlan Collins, where he made clear that Democrats will continue to focus on delivering results for the American people while Republicans continue to weaponize the government and engage in partisan political stunts.
KAITLAN COLLINS: My source tonight is the Democratic Leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries. And thank you, sir, for being here. Obviously, a lot of movement up on Capitol Hill today. And you heard Stacey Plaskett there. She was arguing her texts with Jeffrey Epstein were not illegal. But in your view, were they appropriate?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Stacey Plaskett is not accused of violating any House rule, any law, any statute, and she's clearly and unequivocally denounced Jeffrey Epstein. And I think what the survivors fought for today is the type of transparency that came out of the House, went through the Senate and is now on its way to Donald Trump's desk, where hopefully he'll sign it into law because at the end of the day all the American people are asking for is just the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, which is why these Epstein files that Donald Trump and his administration has been hiding for months need to be released.
KAITLAN COLLINS: But do you think it was appropriate for her to be texting with Jeffrey Epstein 11 years after he pleaded guilty?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I mean, I have not had a conversation with Stacey Plaskett to discuss this issue because we've been focused today on making sure that there was a decisive vote as it related to the Epstein files and the release. I'm thankful for the work of Representative Massie, of Ro Khanna, but most importantly, the survivors.
KAITLAN COLLINS: Do you plan to talk to her about it?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I think that we successfully defeated a resolution that lacked any basis, was not credible, and was being brought by an individual who was trying to weaponize this issue to reinvigorate his own failed gubernatorial campaign in South Carolina. It was rejected on a bipartisan basis on the Floor today. That's the end of the story.
KAITLAN COLLINS: Yeah, I was just asking if you personally believe messaging with Jeffrey Epstein who was, at that point, a registered sex offender, is appropriate for a member of the House Democratic Caucus.
LEADER JEFFRIES: That's the third time you've asked me this question and I'm going to give you the same exact answer. Our focus today is on making sure that the Jeffrey Epstein files were released. If you want to have a conversation with Stacey Plaskett about it, I'm sure she'd be willing to talk to you. It was an illegitimate effort to try to remove her from the House Committee on Intelligence and that was defeated in a bipartisan way.
KAITLAN COLLINS: Well, let me ask you about you, because the White House has been highlighting an email that I'm sure you've seen today that Jeffrey Epstein got in 2013. They say it shows you were soliciting money and dinner from [Epstein]. The email was not sent from you. It was sent from a political consulting firm called Dynamic SRG that says, 'we are thrilled to announce we are working with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. Shoot us an email or give us a call if you would like to get involved.' What's your response? Do you recall that email being sent to Jeffrey Epstein from that team?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, of course, I have no recollection of the email. I've never had a conversation with him, never met him, know nothing about him other than the extreme things that he's been convicted of doing. And that's why, you know, I'm just strongly supportive of the effort, backing the survivors to make sure that everything can come out, whatever is in those Department of Justice files.
KAITLAN COLLINS: So you never got a donation from Jeffrey Epstein or anything like that?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Certainly not.
KAITLAN COLLINS: And just on this passing today, to this point, I mean, this is something that, even Ro Khanna told me just a few moments ago, he never even thought it would get to this point today. I wonder what it says to you that the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, fought this so much and had a concern over—you know, he was saying this discharge petition would create new victims, as he argued, because it was requiring the DOJ to release information where maybe the FBI hadn't reviewed it and determined it's not credible. I wonder what you made of how this culminated tonight.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I think it was a decisive bipartisan vote that, you know, I think clearly, despite all of the efforts, seven weeks of Republicans being on a paid vacation and refusing to swear in Representative Adelita Grijalva. Why was that done? Because they didn't want her to become the 218th signature on the discharge petition that ultimately resulted in the vote today. And so I don't think the Speaker has any credibility as it relates to this issue. But I'm thankful for the outcome today, thankful for the decisive vote in the Senate. And now it's on its way to President Trump's desk.
KAITLAN COLLINS: And the Plaskett censure did not pass. There was a resolution rebuking Congressman Chuy García. He had timed the announcement of his retirement shortly after the state's filing deadline, and that was after his chief of staff had declared her own candidacy for that position, basically leaving her as the only Democrat able to run for that seat. There are 23 Democrats who joined Republicans on the disapproval resolution. You urged Members to oppose it. How come?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I think that it's an issue to be worked out by the people back in the great state of Illinois. Chuy García has been a consistent, progressive champion for the disenfranchised, a voice for the voiceless. He's done a lot of good. And I think it was a resolution of disapproval that I did not support. That there are a lot of issues, I think, of importance to the American people, including the failed Trump economy, the Trump tariffs that are crushing people, the Republican healthcare crisis, the refusal by my Republican colleagues to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, the fact that that is going to result in tens of millions of people experiencing dramatically increased premiums, copays and deductibles. People are going to be unable to go and afford to see a doctor when they need one. There are a whole host of issues that the American people just made clear two weeks ago during the general election that they want to see addressed. It's the reason why Republicans were decisively defeated across the country and up and down the ballot. And yet we continue to come to the Floor of the House of Representatives, and they play partisan political games as opposed to dealing with the issues that matter relative to driving down the high cost of living and making life better for the American people.
KAITLAN COLLINS: I think it's fair to say there's bigger issues people care about, but even some Democrats have said, this is why people don't like politics. This is slimy, and it disenfranchises voters by not letting them pick who they want to be running in that race. Did they have a point?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I think they can speak for themselves, and certainly, you know, my view on the situation was that there are things that we should be focused on in terms of solving problems for the American people that the American people just decisively told us two weeks ago during the general election they wanted us to work on.
KAITLAN COLLINS: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thank you for joining us again tonight. Really appreciate your time.
Full interview can be watched here.