Rep. Ro Khanna on WHCA Dinner Shooting, Political Violence, Epstein Files & More
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This is democracyow democracynow.org the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman.
5 seconds
More
details are emerging about the gunman who rushed a security checkpoint
at the White House Correspondents Association dinner Saturday night and
exchanged gunfire with law enforcement.16 seconds
The suspect was tackled and arrested before reaching the ballroom.21 seconds
Authorities have identified the man as Cole Thomas Allen, a 31-year-old who traveled by train to Washington DC from30 seconds
California through Chicago. He booked a room at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was taking place. He was armed37 seconds
with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. Allan was a graduate of the California Institute of Technology and44 seconds
worked as a tutor. In writing, sent a family shortly before the shooting.49 seconds
Allen reportedly described himself as the friendly federal assassin," unquote,55 seconds
and
referenced grievances with Trump policies. Allen's expected to be
charged today with two counts of using a firearm and one count of
assault on a federal1 minute, 3 seconds
officer using a dangerous weapon and maybe more charges. Officials believe Allen acted alone. Video from inside the1 minute, 11 seconds
ballroom shows a chaotic scene in the moments after attendees heard nearby gunshots shortly after the dinner began.1 minute, 42 seconds
Take it out.1 minute, 58 seconds
We just watched security racing up to the deis and taking President Trump and2 minutes, 6 seconds
first lady Melania Trump. Also, Vice President JD Vance and other top officials were rushed off the stage by2 minutes, 14 seconds
Secret Service as guests crouched under tables for cover. On Sunday, acting attorney general Todd Blanch appeared on2 minutes, 22 seconds
ABC this week and talked about the investigation.2 minutes, 26 seconds
Well, we're 12 hours into the investigation. The FBI and and other law enforcement worked through the night.2 minutes, 31 seconds
They executed search warrants on both coasts, both in DC at the hotel room where he was staying, which was inside2 minutes, 39 seconds
the
the conference center where we had the dinner, and also at at in Los
Angeles at at the suspected home. Uh we know that that he he had two
firearms on2 minutes, 47 seconds
him as been as has been reported along with some knives. We believe that he traveled by train from Los Angeles to2 minutes, 55 seconds
Chicago and then Chicago to Washington DC and and we've executed search warrants um on on his devices as well.3 minutes, 3 seconds
And we've started talking to folks that that know him or and and to try to just continue to gather information and3 minutes, 10 seconds
evidence.
This is I was on the phone with the director of the FBI after 1:00 last
night and and he they were working through the night. He was working3 minutes, 18 seconds
through the night and I think that that as the days go by, we'll certainly learn more, but that's that's what we know so far.3 minutes, 25 seconds
In his so-called manifesto, the gunman Cole Allen does not mention President Trump by name, but writes, quote, "I am3 minutes, 34 seconds
a
citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do
reflects on me. I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist,
and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes."3 minutes, 45 seconds
He also wrote he planned to target administration officials with the exception of FBI Director Cash Patel. On3 minutes, 54 seconds
Sunday, President Trump was interviewed on CBS's 60 Minutes by Norah O'Donnell.4 minutes, 1 second
The
so-called manifesto is a stunning thing to read, Mr. President. He
appears to reference a motive in it. He writes this quote,
"Aministration officials,4 minutes, 12 seconds
they are targets." And he also wrote this, "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat4 minutes, 19 seconds
my hands with his crimes." What's your reaction to that?4 minutes, 22 seconds
Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you're you're horrible people. Horrible people.4 minutes, 28 seconds
Yeah, he did write that. Uh I'm I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody. Uh,4 minutes, 34 seconds
oh, you think you think he was referring to you? Excuse me.4 minutes, 37 seconds
I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person. Uh, I got associated with all stuff that has4 minutes, 46 seconds
nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated. Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were4 minutes, 54 seconds
involved
with, let's say, Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, you
know, I'll do this interview and they'll probably I read the manifesto,
you know,5 minutes, 4 seconds
was
a sick person, but you should be ashamed of yourself reading that
because I'm not any of those things, Mr. President. And I was never
Excuse me.5 minutes, 13 seconds
Excuse me.5 minutes, 14 seconds
You shouldn't be reading that on 60 Minutes. You're a disgrace.5 minutes, 19 seconds
That's President Trump admonishing CBS's Norah Oddonnell on 60 Minutes. Trump has5 minutes, 26 seconds
sued CBS in 60 Minutes. CBS settled with him. We begin today's show with Congress5 minutes, 33 seconds
member Roana, Democratic Congress member from California, who's called for a bipartisan national commission for5 minutes, 40 seconds
political
violence. Thanks again for joining us. Good to have you in our studio.
Why don't we start off with this commission? What are you calling for?5 minutes, 49 seconds
Well,
first of all, the violence is never the answer in a democracy. And
we've seen too many incidents, not just assassination attempts on the5 minutes, 56 seconds
president's life, assassination attempts on Governor Shapiro, Paul Pelosi attacked uh by someone going to Speaker6 minutes, 4 seconds
Pelosy's
house. uh we need to uh lower the temperature and we need to look at
the causes of political violence whether that's social media algorithms,
whether6 minutes, 13 seconds
it's mental health issues, whether it is access to guns, whether it is heated rhetoric, uh and what we can do to lower6 minutes, 20 seconds
the temperature and prevent violence while not trampling on the first amendment.6 minutes, 25 seconds
So what would this mean? What would this commission look like?6 minutes, 28 seconds
Well,
I think it would look at uh what we can do first of all on social media
algorithms. Right now you have social media basically for profit uh6 minutes, 36 seconds
sensationalizing information and sending information uh to people who are vulnerable. Uh do we need reforms on6 minutes, 43 seconds
section
230? Uh we need to look at what sensible recommendations there can be
on uh gun laws. What sensible recommendations there can be for6 minutes, 52 seconds
security for elected officials. what are standards in terms of uh uh what we want elected officials how to communicate uh7 minutes
so that we aren't uh inciting uh violence in the ways that we've seen in our democracy not to regulate it but as7 minutes, 8 seconds
a a conversation about how we have more civility in our politics.7 minutes, 12 seconds
Let me ask you about gun violence. Um you have oh how many attacks we've been7 minutes, 20 seconds
talking about just in the last week numerous other cases of gun violence across the country. On Sunday nine7 minutes, 28 seconds
people were injured in a mass shooting near the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington. I bet most people in this7 minutes, 35 seconds
country didn't even hear about uh this shooting um with the number of victims of it in Indiana as people focused on7 minutes, 44 seconds
the
White House correspondents dinner shooting in Virginia. You have
Lieutenant Governor, the former Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax7 minutes, 52 seconds
recently fatally shot his aranged wife Serena Fairfax before taking his own life, a murder suicide. In Louisiana,8 minutes, 1 second
the 31-year-old Army veteran murdered eight children, including seven of his own, in a mass shooting rampage that8 minutes, 10 seconds
spanned
four locations across Shriefport last week. And we're just talking
about the last week. What about the easy accessibility of guns in this
country?8 minutes, 22 seconds
Well,
it's uh shocking and tragic and makes me angry. I've been in Congress
10 years. We haven't passed anything significant. We know what would
work. We8 minutes, 31 seconds
know that when we had the assault weapons ban of 1993, 1994 that had lowered violence, we let that expire. We8 minutes, 39 seconds
know we need universal background checks. We know that we need red flag laws to go to a court and take the guns8 minutes, 46 seconds
away
from people who have significant mental health issues where people
raise a flag and we just have not been able to pass that. But there is, I
do think, a8 minutes, 54 seconds
difference between political violence a and all of the horrific violence we're seeing with guns more generally. And9 minutes, 2 seconds
that
is that political violence strikes at the very heart of democracy. We
cannot have a democracy uh if people are saying we're going to kill you
if we9 minutes, 10 seconds
disagree with your viewpoint. And that has to be condemned in the most strong uh unequivocal terms. I remember years9 minutes, 18 seconds
ago
when President Clinton said something along the lines of this was after
the shooting at Coline. Um, we have to teach our children that violence9 minutes, 27 seconds
is not the answer. And this is when NATO was attacking Yugoslavia. And I'm wondering about that broader context of9 minutes, 34 seconds
the massive violence. We're looking at the US and Israel bombing Iran. We're looking at the attack on Venezuela. Um,9 minutes, 42 seconds
I was just reading in headlines about the attacks in the Pacific and Caribbean on uh these boats that the Trump9 minutes, 49 seconds
administration doesn't provide evidence but says they're carrying drugs. But this level of violence in the world. uh9 minutes, 57 seconds
if you can talk about what it means to have a government that10 minutes, 4 seconds
makes violence look acceptable in some cases, but then you have this horror at the White House Correspondents10 minutes, 11 seconds
Association dinner, this attempted attack on the mass dinner of hundreds of journalists and Trump administration10 minutes, 18 seconds
officials. Um that is clearly and rightly condemned. But what is considered acceptable and what isn't?10 minutes, 29 seconds
Well, I think that Dr. King said that militarism overseas uh leads to the corrosion of a society and violence at10 minutes, 37 seconds
home. Uh and we live in times where there has been violence. There was violence with Netanyahu in Gaza that our10 minutes, 44 seconds
country
supported. You have the president threatening to wipe off Iranian
civilization. You have a fuel blockade in Cuba leading to starvation.10 minutes, 53 seconds
As
you reported, we are shooting boats in the Caribbean. Some of those
people uh innocent. Uh and this has uh d not recognize the dignity of
human beings.11 minutes, 4 seconds
That does not in any way justify the assassination attempt. Uh but what it does uh suggest is that uh we have a11 minutes, 13 seconds
culture that has embraced violence inconsistent with our ideals. And interestingly, um, as you said, in no11 minutes, 22 seconds
way does this justify, but in this reported manifesto, and by the way, um,11 minutes, 28 seconds
this, uh, gunman Cole Allen, 31 years old, apparently sent this minutes before he engaged in his attack to family11 minutes, 37 seconds
members
and they went to law enforcement in their community quickly and they
said, "This is what our brother or whoever he was in relation to them
uh,11 minutes, 48 seconds
is saying. So in the manifesto, Cole Allen referenced US foreign policy. He wrote, quote, objection one, as a11 minutes, 56 seconds
Christian, you should turn the other cheek. Rebuttal. Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed.12 minutes, 4 seconds
I'm
not the person raped in a detention camp. I'm not the fisherman
executed without trial. I'm not a school kid blown up or a child starved
or a teenage12 minutes, 12 seconds
girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Uh that's what he wrote in the manifesto.12 minutes, 19 seconds
Well, sometimes uh just because he had intelligence of Celtech, it's not correlated with character or wisdom. Uh12 minutes, 26 seconds
it's a totally incoherent argument and he's doing real damage to the most vulnerable by uh engaging in violence.12 minutes, 33 seconds
Uh he is actually hurting the very causes uh that he seeks to uphold. Uh and what we need to say is very clearly12 minutes, 41 seconds
violence has no place. You have there's a democratic process to bring change.12 minutes, 46 seconds
You can go organize. You can stand in no king's protests. You can help uh lead uh new people to be elected. Uh but when12 minutes, 54 seconds
you take up arms, what you lead to actually is a a response of censorship or a a stronger security state. He's13 minutes, 3 seconds
undermining the very causes uh that he claims to care about.13 minutes, 7 seconds
What
do you make of President Trump, the way he attacked Norah Oddonnell? uh
once again uh particularly going after a woman journalist.13 minutes, 16 seconds
Well,
it's a pattern of his which is uh to attack the press. And this could
be a moment a normal president would have said this was an attack not
just on me.13 minutes, 27 seconds
This
was an attack on our democracy. It was attack on journalists. Uh and
I'm appalled by what's happening and this is a time to celebrate open
free society.13 minutes, 36 seconds
Instead, he takes his personal anger and he can't transcend that. And it's just very very sad to see to him attacking13 minutes, 43 seconds
it. And it's sad to see some people conflating the uh condemnation of political bonds which would be clear uh13 minutes, 50 seconds
with
criticism. I mean obviously you should be able to criticize the
president of the United States and say that he did a bad job and he's
bad for the country and that's very very13 minutes, 57 seconds
different than threatening him with violence.14 minutes
Now
you hear Nora O'Donnell in this when she talks about she's reading from
the manifesto and says he's referring to pedophiles and rapists. And
when14 minutes, 8 seconds
President Trump says, "I am not a rapist. I am not a pedophile." She says, "Oh, because he didn't name Trump." Uh,14 minutes, 15 seconds
he Are you saying he's referring to you?14 minutes, 20 seconds
I mean, that was a very interesting moment.14 minutes, 24 seconds
Well, as you know, Thomas Massie and I passed the Epstein Transparency Act to get the Epstein files released. Uh, this14 minutes, 31 seconds
has been the single biggest issue that has uh had a blow to the administration.14 minutes, 37 seconds
and they've been covering up these files and you can tell it's on the president's mind. He's aware of this. His own wife,14 minutes, 43 seconds
the
first lady said, "We need justice for Epstein survivors." He still has
not, his justice department hasn't released the documents. They aren't
prosecuting any of the Epstein class,14 minutes, 52 seconds
these
people who raped and abused these girls. And this is on his mind that
he says, "No, I have nothing to do with Epstein." But the reality is
this was15 minutes
bipartisan
legislation. It's the first time Congress has stood up to Donald Trump.
Uh, and we need to continue to demand the release of these files and
these prosecutions.15 minutes, 9 seconds
What do you make of Pam Bondi not coming forward on April 14th? I mean, granted, she was no longer attorney general. Uh,15 minutes, 18 seconds
and
would you say that Trump fired her because he didn't want her to come
forward on April 14th and they would say because she's not AG, she
doesn't have15 minutes, 27 seconds
to. But they have, isn't it? Your committee, the House Oversight Committee, has subpoenaed the exboyfriend of Gileain Maxwell.15 minutes, 38 seconds
Yes. Well, look, uh, I drafted the subpoena with Nancy Mace for Pam Bondi.15 minutes, 43 seconds
It was not as attorney general. It was in her personal capacity. So, she's in defiance of the subpoena, in violation15 minutes, 50 seconds
of
the subpoena. She should be held in contempt. But is she going to be
who holds her in contempt? Well, the oversight committee has to vote on
it and Congress has to15 minutes, 58 seconds
vote
on it and we are working to get the Republican votes, the same people
who voted for our subpoena to say, "Look, now you need to hold her in
contempt.16 minutes, 6 seconds
She's
not showing up to Congress." You were willing to hold the Clintons in
contempt when they didn't come uh before the committee. They then
testified, "Why wouldn't you hold Pam Bondi in contempt?" She was far
more relevant.16 minutes, 17 seconds
But
she was fired in part because of her mishandling of the Epstein files.
There is no issue, not the war in Iran, not prices, that has hurt Donald
Trump more16 minutes, 26 seconds
with
his own base than Epstein. And that is because he ran saying that the
government was corrupt, that he was going to expose that corruption. And
he16 minutes, 35 seconds
has
turned out to cover up for the rich and powerful people who wrote laws
for their own benefit and abused these young girls. And that has really
turned a lot16 minutes, 44 seconds
of
people who voted for Trump uh against him. and and and that's why I
believe Bondi was fired and that's why the administration is reeling on
this issue.16 minutes, 52 seconds
So what's going to happen next in the Epstein files case again 3 million files or pages have not been released.16 minutes, 59 seconds
Well,
first King Charles is coming tomorrow. I had requested that he meet
with the survivors. Uh he hasn't done that but the British ambassador
assures17 minutes, 7 seconds
me that he's going to address it in his remarks to Congress tomorrow.17 minutes, 10 seconds
Explain why you want the king to address it. Well, his brother is uh implicated.17 minutes, 15 seconds
serious allegations. Prince Andrews, a former Prince Andrew, of having a man formerly known as Prince17 minutes, 22 seconds
Yes. Uh of having abused, allegedly abused young girls and of course he engaged in financial impropriety. There17 minutes, 30 seconds
is
uh questions about the royal family's relationship with Epstein. And so
I thought he owed it to the survivors to acknowledge them and
acknowledge their17 minutes, 38 seconds
pain. Uh and if he's not going to meet them, he should very at least address that when he addresses uh the Congress.17 minutes, 44 seconds
But we are continuing to subpoena people uh including Bill Gates, including other people who uh came Howard Lutnik who17 minutes, 52 seconds
went
to the island. We're continuing to push for the release and we're
continuing to push for the prosecution of some of these individuals who
are in17 minutes, 59 seconds
these files who the survivors tell us raped and abused uh them as young girls.18 minutes, 4 seconds
There
have been no prosecutions yet in the United States, though there
prosecutions in many other parts of the world. President Trump said in
that interview with Noronnell that he was18 minutes, 13 seconds
exonerated uh when referencing pedophilia or rape. Um was he exonerated?18 minutes, 20 seconds
He has not been exonerated. If anything,18 minutes, 22 seconds
there's been a cover up. They first did not release the files of someone who made very serious accusations against uh18 minutes, 29 seconds
President
Trump. Uh then they released the files because of journalists reporting
saying they had selectively released files. Now, uh there is nothing18 minutes, 38 seconds
so
far that implicates him, but exoneration uh doesn't mean that there's
nothing also that exonerates him. The reality is we still don't have 3
million18 minutes, 47 seconds
files,
and there are a lot of unanswered questions. Political reports. Members
of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are divided over18 minutes, 55 seconds
whether President Trump should pardon Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator um convicted co-conspirator Gileain19 minutes, 4 seconds
Maxwell
in exchange for cooperation in the panel's Epstein investigation. Um
that's according to committee chair James Comr in an interview last
week.19 minutes, 13 seconds
That's
shocking. And when the survivors testified in front of the Capitol with
Thomas Massie and me and Marjorie Taylor Green, they said that it would
be a punch to their gut to pardon Maxwell.19 minutes, 25 seconds
She was part of the abuse. You are basically then pardoning a someone who committed pedophilia or uh emedded19 minutes, 33 seconds
pedophilia and you are uh totally ignoring the survivor's own sentiments.19 minutes, 40 seconds
It would be just catastrophic on a human level. Um, I want to finally ask you, Trump quickly moved to use the incident,19 minutes, 49 seconds
um,
the attack on, uh, the White House correspondents dinner to promote the
massive new ballroom he's constructing on the White House grounds,
posting on19 minutes, 57 seconds
Truth
Social. This event would never have happened with the military top
secret ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It
cannot be built fast enough. Um, if you20 minutes, 6 seconds
could address this, I was just watching Eugene Daniels, the former head of the White House Correspondent Association.20 minutes, 12 seconds
And
he said we would never hold it at the White House. There is a
separation of church and state incl uh meaning between press and uh the
state.20 minutes, 21 seconds
Yeah.
So he still doesn't understand the first amendment which is the freedom
of the press. Of course you would not have a gathering of journalists
with a20 minutes, 29 seconds
comedian
who's supposed to make fun of the president whoever the president is
doing it at the White House uh where the White House gets to dictate the
agenda.20 minutes, 38 seconds
Uh,
and so there there are other reasons we don't need a ballroom and we
don't need corporate donors basically currying favor with Donald Trump
giving millions20 minutes, 48 seconds
of dollars to this ballroom pet project of his to get policy. But certainly you would never have this event uh at the20 minutes, 56 seconds
White
House and it just shows that the president still does not get it after
all these years about the importance of the freedom of the press.21 minutes, 3 seconds
Uh,
finally the billionaires tax that you and Bernie Sanders are putting
forward. The biggest issue in this country is wealth inequality. We have
1921 minutes, 11 seconds
billionaires who have 12 and a half% of the economy. Three trillion dollars.21 minutes, 15 seconds
That is three times a concentration of the guilded age during Rockefeller or Vanderbilt JP Morgan's times. Bernie and21 minutes, 23 seconds
I have said tax them 5%. That means if you're worth $20 billion you'll now be worth $19 billion. By the way, their21 minutes, 30 seconds
returns are about 10 15% or more over the last few years. And if we did that,21 minutes, 36 seconds
we could have every teacher in this country paid at least $60,000. We could have universal child care. We could have21 minutes, 44 seconds
free public college. We could give every working family a $3,000 check. We could expand healthcare to include dental21 minutes, 51 seconds
vision hearing. Uh this is necessary for a new social contract in a country that is just uh seeing wealth inequality explode.22 minutes
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