Top Senate Democrat moves on legal action over Epstein files release – US politics live

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In the email, Alfonsi wrote:

“If the standard for airing a story becomes ‘the government must agree to be interview,’ then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state.

These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.”

CBS' Bari Weiss spikes 60 Minutes story on CECOT

Bari Weiss reportedly killed a CBS 60 Minutes investigation into El Salvador’s CECOT prison just three hours before it was set to air Sunday night because the White House refused to grant an interview.

In an email to colleagues, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi blasted the decision, saying the segment on Trump deportees was fully vetted and “pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.” Alfonsi said that Weiss did not discuss the decision with them to spike the story.

She warned that CBS had effectively given the government a “kill switch” for inconvenient reporting. The story was replaced with another segment on classical musicians.

My colleagues have more on the story here:

Senate minority leader Schumer announces legal action for Epstein files

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday morning he is introducing a resolution to force the Senate to initiate legal action against the justice department for refusing to release the complete Epstein files.

“I am introducing a resolution directing the Senate to initiate legal action against the DOJ for its blatant disregard of the law in its refusal to release the complete Epstein files,” Schumer posted on social media. “The American people deserve full transparency, and Senate Democrats will use every tool at our disposal to ensure they get it. This Administration cannot be allowed to hide the truth.”

Other reactions from lawmakers after the document release:

Ahead of the weekend, top democrat on the oversight committee Robert Garcia and top Democrat on the judiciary committee Jamie Raskin announced they are examining all legal options after the heavily redacted document dump, which they say violated federal law.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer accused the administration of deliberately hiding the truth and said Senate Democrats would work with victims’ attorneys to determine what’s being withheld.

Before the deadline, five lawmakers from both parties – including Republican senator Lisa Murkowski and Democrat senator Jeff Merkley – had already written to Bondi requesting a briefing on compliance plans.

And on Friday evening, representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on social media “Bondi should resign tonight” and “Everyone involved will have to answer for this”.

After slow rolling the Epstein file release, and failing to drop them all on the 19 December deadline, representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie are moving towards penalties that would hold attorney general Pam Bondi in inherent contempt of Congress.

Speaking on CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday, Khanna said the move would fine Bondi for every day she fails to release the documents, and would only require House approval.

“We only need the House for inherent contempt, and we’re building a bipartisan coalition, and it would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she’s not releasing these documents,” he said.

The California Democrat added that he’d spoken with survivors who were outraged that their abusers’ names remain redacted while their own identities were accidentally released – noting there are 1,200 victims still waiting for accountability.