U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury has been a vocal critic of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the U.S. Department of Justice over the handling of millions of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. This week, she joined U.S. Rep Summer Lee in filing articles of impeachment against Bondi, saying Bondi and the Department of Justice have failed survivors, obstructed justice, lied to the courts, and defied Congress and the law.
On Friday, Stansbury spoke with Santa Fe New Mexican politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón about the DOJ’s “complete and total mismanagement” of the Epstein case and what she said is "very truly a cover-up” of information in the case and a failure to prosecute crimes.
The New Mexico Democrat said she believes there’s a “complete obstruction of justice in the case” and a continuing effort to shield President Donald Trump, who is named thousands of times in the files. She discusses the Department of Justice’s failure to comply with the Epstein Transparency Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law in November and mandates that the DOJ release all unclassified records regarding Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Stansbury shares why she and fellow Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday walked out of a closed-door briefing on the Epstein files by Justice Department leaders, saying Bondi refused to commit to honor a subpoena and testify under oath over the Epstein files.
Chacón asks Stansbury if we’ll reach a point where Trump is deposed. Noting she supported former President Bill Clinton being deposed, she said “Congress is conducting an investigation into the most extensive sexual criminal enterprise in American history. You don’t get a pass just because you’re a former president or a current president.”
Stansbury goes on to describe some of the alleged crimes committed at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch near Stanley, New Mexico. She mentioned a lawsuit filed against Epstein by a man who claimed he was invited to a party at the ranch and was drugged and raped along with other young men.
Chacón also asks Stansbury about the Department of Homeland Security partial shutdown and her thoughts on the likelihood of the passage of the SAVE Act.
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