This morning on CNN, Rep. James Walkinshaw gave a “lookahead” (aka, preview) of Pam Bondi’s “transcribed interview” today. See below for video and highlights. But first, some thoughts by Rep. Walkinshaw on the Iran war.
- “At the end of the day, Donald Trump campaigned on ending foreign wars, precisely the kind of foreign war that he got us into in Iran, and Americans are paying the price for him reneging on that commitment.“
- “We feel I feel is a huge catastrophic strategic failure to get into the war given the situation that we’re in now. I think any deal that actually opens the Strait, and remember the Strait was open before the war, any deal that opens a Strait and guarantees that it stays open and at least leads to a conversation around the nuclear weapons is the best case scenario given the catastrophic decision.”
- Now look, I don’t think Iran is going to agree to any significant certainly they’re not going to agree to completely dismantle their nuclear program. Why would they? They’re stronger today than they were before the war started. The regime is harder line. They control the Strait now in a way they didn’t before the war. We’re weaker. So we got to get the best deal that we can at this point.”
Next, here are Rep. Walkinshaw’s thoughts on the Pam Bondi interview taking place today.
- “…it’s important to acknowledge why you won’t be able to see it. That’s a decision that Chairman Comer, the Republican chairman of the committee…He chose not to based on negotiations with Pam Bondi.”
- “We have to understand why the law wasn’t followed, why the files weren’t fully released, why there were illegal redactions, why things that should have been redacted were not redacted. We need to understand why Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred to that lower security, cushier prison situation after the conversation with Todd Blanche. Those are things the survivors are asking. Those are answers we deserve from Pam Bondi today.”
- “Trump campaigned on releasing the files and the client list. Pam Bondi said she was reviewing the client list on her desk. Those social media figures had those binders that supposedly had the files. After that, we know that Pam Bondi went into the Oval Office or somewhere, met with Donald Trump and said, “Mr. President, you need to know you’re in the files.” 38,000 times. At that point, the administration’s posture changed and they shifted to cover-up mode.”
- “It’s a transcribed interview and the chairman hasn’t held her to the deposition that the subpoena called for, she’s technically appearing voluntarily. So, she could say, ‘I’m not going to answer that question.’ I think what she will have to think about is a future Congress where perhaps a subpoena is truly enforced and there is a deposition where she has to answer questions. Does she want to put herself through that in the future or just answer the questions openly and honestly today?”
- “From my perspective, [Bondi has] been at the center of this coverup…Democrats, independents, Republicans across the country feel like there’s been a cover up here of these Epstein files and conducting this interview behind closed doors without video, so the American people can’t see it, feeds that feeling out there that the American people have that there’s been a cover up.” – Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11)
- “I represent probably 50,000 brave, dedicated, patriotic federal workers who have faced incredible abuse at the hands of this administration. From the DOGE chainsaw to these latest proposals, when I read about the NDA proposal, to me it looks like another effort to cover up the waste, fraud and abuse that is taking place in this administration. I think this Trump administration is the most corrupt in American history. We’ve had whistleblower after whistleblower after whistleblower come forward and tell the world about some of that waste, fraud and abuse. And clearly, the Trump White House and Trump administration doesn’t want federal workers speaking out anymore. I’m fighting against it. I don’t think it makes any sense. The American people deserve to know what’s going on inside their government.” – Rep. James Walkinshaw
- “Just when I thought the Trump administration ran out of ideas to drive the national economy into the ditch, you know, their tariffs are driving up costs and harming our economy. This war in Iran, driving up gas prices, hurting the economy, shutting down airports. Whether you want to say it’s in sanctuary states or blue states would devastate the national economy, not just the economies in those blue cities or blue states. So, you know, if Trump wants an even weaker economy heading into the midterm elections, he should go with Secretary Mullin’s idea, because that’s all it would accomplish.” – Rep. James Walkinshaw
