CNN "The Lead With Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida
Interview
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TAPPER: All right, Rene Marsh.
Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida who wrote that letter to the Justice Department, demanding that their inspector general look into how this plea deal happened.
First of all, I'd like to get your response to what Alex Acosta said. He said basically, the deal that they got he was U.S. attorney, that was the best deal that he could get at the time and facts that have come out since then are ones he didn't know.
What's your response?
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: That's what investigations are for. It's in the job description of a United States attorney general to fully investigate and fully prosecute a case like this in which you had Jeffrey Epstein who was a serial sexual abuser, a serial sexual trafficker and essentially a pedophile who was trafficking dozens of girls who would likely if the case had been fully prosecuted potentially gotten a life sentence, and what he did was he cut a sweetheart deal to protect him because he was afraid of Jeffrey Epstein's high-powered legal team? Thirteen months in county jail, was able to go to work six days a week in his office and no justice or even notification to these victims? It's disgusting. It was a dereliction of duty, and now, he is the
secretary of labor in charge partially for child labor laws and protecting people who -- working people.
TAPPER: So, Democrats just recaptured the House. What are you going to do about it? You now have power, and your colleagues have power. What are you going to do about Epstein and what are you going do about Acosta?
SCHULTZ: Well, first and foremost, we need an answer from the Department of Justice about whether their inspector general is going to take up the investigation. I'm glad that Senator Ben Sasse is also demanding answers.
TAPPER: Republican from Nebraska.
SCHULTZ: Yes, and is a chair of key oversight committee on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
It's absolutely critical that they take this on themselves. They have to get to the bottom of how this sweetheart deal was cut. There are dozens of girls who have never had the opportunity to be able to be heard, to be able to have their day in court and this was in violation of a Victims' Crime Rights Act. How the U.S. attorney --
TAPPER: Not notifying the girls about the deal.
SCHULTZ: Not notifying the girls, no notification and now, the civil suit that was just settled, again, gives them no opportunity to have this case publicly aired and for accountability to be ensued.
TAPPER: Now, the suspicion a lot of people had is that Jeffrey Epstein got away with this because he was unbelievably wealthy and unbelievably well-connected, initially by the way, even though he was friends with Donald Trump, initially a Democratic donor. He has a lot of powerful friends and the suspicion is a lot of those friends leaned on different politicians when this happened, when this settlement happened because they didn't want testimony. They don't want those girls testifying about all the different men that came to the parties.
Are you ready for all the names to come out because they might be some contributors? They might be some high-profile, not just Republicans, but Democrats. It might be -- who knows who went to those disgusting parties.
SCHULTZ: Exactly, this investigation --
TAPPER: You don't care.
SCHULTZ: I do not care. I have a 15-year-old daughter. It could have been her or any one of our teenage girls. They were middle school aged girls who he trafficked and sexually abused and shopped to his wealthy friends to have sex with. It's outrageous.
And Alex Acosta was the U.S. attorney and instead of being willing to take on his so-called high-powered legal team, he cowered in the corner and threw the towel in and waved the white flag as soon as he could and gave him 13 months in county jail and a slap on the wrist for two misdemeanors when he trafficked dozens of girls sexually, young girls, it's outrageous.
[16:25:12] TAPPER: I don't disagree with you.
"The Miami Herald" is out with a new op-ed, calling for Acosta to resign as labor secretary. It says, quote --
SCHULTZ: And thanks to "The Miami Herald" --
TAPPER: Well, yes.
SCHULTZ: -- because without this kind of investigative reporting, we would not -- never know --
TAPPER: Absolutely.
We're recommending that Acosta resign his current position for allowing a rich, powerful, politically connected man to avoid justice and get off easy, and also for having no qualms about denying all the women victimized by Epstein the justice they had every right to expect.
Do you agree? Does Acosta need to resign?
SCHULTZ: I'll tell you, initially, I want the office of inspector general and DOJ to get to the bottom of this. I want this fully investigated and when it is fully investigated, we need all the fact to come out. We need the victims to get essentially their de facto day in court and we need to make sure that we can hold Alex Acosta accountable, and if that leads to his -- effectively to his resignation, that's exactly what should happen.
TAPPER: OK. So, you're not calling for him to resign right now, but --
SCHULTZ: I want to make sure that this OIG investigation is made a priority, taken up immediately, and I want to work with Senator Sasse to ensure that that happens and we get answers as soon as possible because, you know, what I don't want to have happen is we immediately default to resignation and then all of this gets swept under the rug and the girls who were victims here never actually get any justice.
TAPPER: OK. Well, stay in touch with us because we've been covering the story as soon as "The Miami Herald" broke that incredibly powerful story.
SCHULTZ: Thank you for --
TAPPER: Thanks so much for coming in. Really appreciate it, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.
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