He's talking about your committee, your response.

I mean, look, I think first we should always remember that Todd Blanche was Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, and he continues, obviously, to play that role.

I mean, it is ridiculous that we have the attorney general saying to the American public that somehow he's going to defend administration officials when his job is to defend the Constitution and the Department of Justice, to be the people's lawyer.

And he's anything but that.

And quite frankly, what Todd Blanche is doing right now is a threat.

He is threatening our committee.

He's trying to stop us from doing real oversight.

Why are you going to investigate him? Do you think that he committed a crime?

Look, first

of all, this is not about revenge.

This is about real accountability and justice.

And in order to move forward, there has to be justice for the folks that have been killed on our U.S. streets by ICE and DHS agents.

There has to be justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, who were brutally, as children, raped, trafficked, and yet have received no justice out of the Department of Justice.

So...

At this moment, I think the American public, people want to have their costs lowered.

But how is coordination going to work? And has Jeffries weighed in yet on everyone's individual lanes?

That's what I hear every day, Congressman.

I hear the same thing.

I mean, people came out in droves because they're angry.

They're angry at looking at the gas pump and how expensive it is.

They're angry when they're feeling they're being ripped off at the grocery store.

They're angry seeing their money being spent on a war that nobody asked for.

And they're angry at government, at the corruption.

Do you think, and have you been hearing so far that, look, there's probably the cult's going to cult, they're going to do what they're going to do, but do you see yourself going back to Congress next week and maybe seeing some cooperation by people who didn't want to help saying you know mag is dead these people screwed me and there's a world without trump and i have to think about that now do you think there may be that when you return next week

So please tell us in specific what you meant.

Well, look, if you are a member of the Trump crime family and you're grifting off the American public, you should lawyer up.

If you are involved in corruption and turning ICE and DHS into a deportation machine where only some are profiting and you're treating people inhumanely, you should lawyer up.

If you're an American CEO or a corporation that is ripping off the American people, you're colluding with the Trumps, you're causing harm, making people to choose between the gas and the groceries, you should lawyer up.

The reality is, is that the American public at this moment are focused on ensuring that we have both affordability and accountability.

There must be justice for the enormous harm that the Trump crime family, that folks like Corin Lewandowski and Kristi Noem, the CEOs are taking advantage of people and stealing people's data.

And, of course, for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, they deserve justice.

So what do you say to the Democratic voter who's worried about this idea of running a very what sounds like a complex set of investigations?

But how does that all inform how you're going to act moving forward?

Look, I think, you know, when President Biden came into office and there was this kind of worldview of, you know, we got to do better than the Trump era.

And, you know, we got to kind of hold hands, kumbaya, and move forward.

And, you know, we ended up with, I think, Attorney General Merrick Garland that did not meet the necessary moment of what we had to do.

And we can't do that again.

You know, people we've got to be tougher than them.

We've got to be smarter, more aggressive than the extreme far right, because they're going to continue trying to rip away people's rights and harm others and enrich themselves.

Can you reiterate that now that it's official that you're going to be chair of the House Oversight Committee, what the four planks of your focus is going to be?

Do you think the election results have given Democrats a mandate to investigate the Trump administration?

I think they have, and especially because right now, when you think about the key issue, which is affordability, in large part, the reason why people can't afford to pay the gas, the groceries, they're struggling with the rent or the mortgage, is because the Trump family continues to enrich themselves, steal people's wealth, and enrich their billionaire friends and donors.

They continue to support companies and CEOs that are ripping off the American public.

And so we have to, of course, focus on affordability But there also has to be accountability and there has to be justice.

It has to be justice for families that are being picked up by ICE agents and that are removing due process from the system.

There has to be justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.

So there is a lot of work to do, but I think there's definitely a mandate to ensure we have accountability and affordability.

But are you worried that the Attorney General Todd Blanch could potentially ignore these subpoenas and the Justice Department could ignore them, especially if they involve executive privilege?

Does that give you a stronger mandate to uncork some large investigations? And if so, what are you thinking of jumping into?

Well, I think we've been saying, you know, we've got four major investigative lanes.

The first is Trump family corruption, you know, the red wedding, the crypto scheme, affinity partners, two billion from the Saudis, the son sitting on board where they're getting contracts from.

Our second major lane is gonna be the abuses of ICE and DHS.

pay to play from Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, turning our detention centers into a for-profit operation at the expense of human beings.

Third investigative lane is gonna be corporate corruption.

If you've ripped off the American public, we're coming after you.

just kind of remind people quickly congressman what happens now with a majority in the house with you being able to be in the driver's seat to be able to propel forward all of these accountability investigations

Do you think the election results have given Democrats a mandate to investigate the Trump administration?

I think they have, and especially because right now, when you think about the key issue, which is affordability, in large part, the reason why people can't afford to pay the gas, the groceries, they're struggling with the rent or the mortgage, is because the Trump family continues to enrich themselves, steal people's wealth, and enrich their billionaire friends and donors.

They continue to support companies and CEOs that are ripping off the American public.

And so we have to, of course, focus on affordability But there also has to be accountability and there has to be justice.

It has to be justice for families that are being picked up by ICE agents and that are removing due process from the system.

There has to be justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.

So there is a lot of work to do, but I think there's definitely a mandate to ensure we have accountability and affordability.

But are you worried that the Attorney General Todd Blanch could potentially ignore these subpoenas and the Justice Department could ignore them, especially if they involve executive privilege?

Do you think the election results have given Democrats a mandate to investigate the Trump administration?

I think they have, and especially because right now, when you think about the key issue, which is affordability, in large part, the reason why people can't afford to pay the gas, the groceries, they're struggling with the rent or the mortgage, is because the Trump family continues to enrich themselves, steal people's wealth, and enrich their billionaire friends and donors.

They continue to support companies and CEOs that are ripping off the American public.

And so we have to, of course, focus on affordability But there also has to be accountability and there has to be justice.

It has to be justice for families that are being picked up by ICE agents and that are removing due process from the system.

There has to be justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.

So there is a lot of work to do, but I think there's definitely a mandate to ensure we have accountability and affordability.

But are you worried that the Attorney General Todd Blanch could potentially ignore these subpoenas and the Justice Department could ignore them, especially if they involve executive privilege?

Is anyone with the last name Trump, his kids, his wife, off limits?

No.

I mean, look, if you are part of that family, you have been involved in grift, and we've seen that, right? I mean, think about everything from Don Jr.'s red wedding, getting an oligarch to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for the wedding, sons sitting on boards of companies that are getting essentially contracts from the Pentagon, trying to buy private islands, $2 billion from the Saudis, right when you walk out of the White House from Jared Kushner, the crypto schemes.

I mean, the list goes on and on.

So there are There are serious, serious issues here.

There are serious allegations of what they've been involved with, pay to play.

And so we've gotta investigate, we've gotta have real hearings, and we've gotta demand there to be justice.

Is that something you guys are going to be looking into? ICE agents, specifically what happened in Minnesota during the initial surge earlier this year?

Just take me through how that work starts and when people start to see the fruits of it.

Well, people are going to see our agenda really fast, and people are pumped up.

It was great to hear those messages we just heard right now.

I just got back from a college campus right now.

I've been out all day talking to voters, campaigning, checking on poll places, and the energy is high.

And what you hear people talk about is affordability.

People talk about how they can't afford the gas, the groceries, the rent, the mortgage, and also about accountability.

How do you keep it that way? You know, how do you keep your corruption investigations and subpoenas focused on the things that enrage the most Americans so you keep that political wind at your back?

How are you and other lawmakers in the state planning on responding to what's happening here?

So first, we should remind folks that elections, especially here in our home state, but across the country, they are essentially done county to county.

These are state functions.

They're localized at the county level.

They're not federalized elections.

So you have dedicated people that are career folks within the registrar kind of county clerk system that are dedicated their lives to fair votes and accounting ballots.

These are good people.

What are you seeing? What are you hearing about another supposed surge just in the days leading up to the midterms in Southern California?

And so will there be any difference once Democrats take control of Congress?

One of the things that will be really important is that we obviously not just use every power that we have in Congress, power of subpoena, power of public hearings, the power of public opinion.

Those are going to be really important because those move, that moves legislation, it moves people.

Having hearings, bringing Todd Blanchard, asking the tough questions, getting other folks to DOJ that maybe aren't the...

the Attorney General, but other folks that are career folks that can actually give us real information on what happened that actually care about their careers and reputation.

We're also going to have the power of contempt, of going to the courts on behalf of the House.

Those are going to be really important powers in getting these documents.

Can you explain what that is?

Congressman Garcia, in response to that reporting about Haben Mildon, what does it tell you that the president's reaction wasn't this is wrong, but rather I want this money for my presidential library?

I mean, not a surprise.

The only person that should be making money off the American public and involved in corruption as far as Donald Trump is concerned is himself and his family.

And anyone else that profits should be somehow funneling that money to him.

I mean, it's comical that Donald Trump is going to be upset At somebody else involved in corruption, considering he is the king of corruption and certainly the most corrupt person to ever be president.

Look, first, we should be clear about what's happening here.

You have a member of Trump's inner circle.

Is he someone you plan to pursue through the Oversight Committee?

How concerned are you that there could be a disruption in this count and potentially that it could impact what is already a famously slow counting process in California?

Look, there's no question Donald Trump is obsessed with trying to cause chaos in our election process, whether it's here in my home state of California or across the country.

And so this is nothing new.

I mean, he has been obsessed with and pushed all sorts of election conspiracy theories.

He has tried to intervene in elections in the past.

He won't actually ever admit that he lost the last presidential election to Joe Biden.

The list goes on and on.

Do you want to see that as the number one priority? And what do you think the president meant by that?

Do you think that's something that Congress should look at if you guys take control?

It will be looked at.

I mean, let's let's first be very clear.

Elon Musk spent the better half of over the course of the last year trying to destroy the federal government, trying to use Doge, as we know now, which is essentially taking people's data.

Social security numbers were exposed.

People had access to all sorts of information that has not been fully accounted for.

And now, of course, there's reports around Starlink or what's happening in Ukraine around foreign policy interventions.

And then the question becomes, what are the consequences? Are you open to potentially impeaching these Trump cabinet members if they're breaking the law?

We just can't do this.

Yeah, I mean, look, that is a bunch of BS.

I mean, the Trump children have been involved in some of the most horrific actions we've seen by anyone in the White House.

This is the most corrupt family to ever occupy the White House.

When you have the son of the U.S. president getting their wedding paid for at the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars by a Russian oligarch, And with no disclosure, it's basically discovered by the press.

I mean, give me a break.

I mean, this is pure corruption when that same son is sitting on boards on boards of companies that are getting massive contracts from the Pentagon.

What are you particularly hopeful about after we deliver a shellacking and Democrats have some power again?

Congressman, should I tell him it's you?

Look, I've already had the wrath of Elon Musk.

And I took him on early on an oversight.

And in fact, Donald Trump's DOJ opened up an investigation because I was criticizing Elon Musk.

The truth is, is that coming into what is likely gonna be a democratic majority in the house, we've got to be fearless in the work that we do.

And it's not just Elon Musk, but anyone that is trying to rip off the American taxpayer, If there is any sort of allegation as it relates to government corruption, we have to take that on.

And look, just take Doge as an example.

What else do you want to know about this? How could this potentially support the congressional investigation into Epstein?

Officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training." What's your reaction, Congressman, to that statement from the Department of Homeland Security?

We all have eyes.

I mean, we've all seen the videos.

It's very clear what happened there.

And I know this neighborhood really well.

I was mayor of Long Beach for eight years.

There are narrow streets.

If ICE is abolished, Congressman, who would be tasked with removing these kinds of violent criminals from society?

Officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training." What's your reaction, Congressman, to that statement from the Department of Homeland Security?

We all have eyes.

I mean, we've all seen the videos.

It's very clear what happened there.

And I know this neighborhood really well.

I was mayor of Long Beach for eight years.

These are narrow streets.

If ICE has abolished, Congressman, who would be tasked with removing these kinds of violent criminals from society?

Let's say that you subpoena Todd Blanche, and he says, "Tough titties, I'm not coming in." What do you do next?

That's where, for us, where we've got to be aggressive when it comes to the powers of the Congress.

And, uh, the c- the power of the Congress in the majority is different than the power of those in the minority.

And so we will have the ability to go to the courts, which we did not have and do not have currently in the minority.

We'll have the ability to look at contempt charges, which of course we don't have majorities in, in the House.

And so the administration, whether it is Todd Blanche, whether it's...

And by the way, the thing about contempt is people say, "Well, you c- you know, you can, you can, you can go for a contempt and that could just go to the DOJ." Sure.

So answer those two components pertaining to Elon Musk and the larger one about taxing billionaires.

Like, how are you going to force them to comply with laws with regards to open records, et cetera, so you can get access to what they're doing when it comes to government business?

I, I mean, first, obviously, you know, whatever we can actually get a hold of, uh, we're gonna work to get, whether that's through the courts, whether that is through subpoena.

We have to be prepared that, uh, Todd Blanche, particularly the, the DOJ, has a very, uh, warped view of what actually is considered executive privilege.

He's actually trying to expand the idea of what is privileged information so that we can't access those documents.

There, there is a ton of information that they have been hiding from committees and essentially saying that they have privilege over which they don't.

So that's gonna be decided in the courts, and so we're still in that process.

But, but beyond that, uh, they are also communicating extensively with American business and private companies and non-profits and other organizations that don't have the same level of executive privilege to claim that we also are going to get information from.

What's the oversight look like when it comes to ICE and, and, and cases like that?

Do Republicans on your committee support this investigation and what can you compel her to do at this point?

Well, no, no Republicans are coming out in favor yet, but we hope they do.

We welcome them to.

I mean, look, the former ambassador herself tried to pass off, apparently, these text messages that we've all seen with our very own eyes.

We've read these messages as AI generated.

I mean, you have the person that is the donor himself coming out and talking to the public and the media and making these very serious allegations.

And so there's there's no question that we need to investigate this.

What more evidence do you have about these oligarchs pouring all this money in there and what you plan to do about it as a member of the Oversight Committee?

Um, why this one?

W- well, first, let's be really clear.

I mean, this is someone that has been incredibly close, I mean, really part of the extended Trump family.

So when you think about all of the Trump family corruption, it, it is now clear that Kimberly Guilfoyle was a part of that, and certainly engaged in some type of pay-to-play scandal as being, uh, reported.

And, and that's just one piece of it.

I mean, the idea first that she's gonna ask a MAGA Trump donor for $100,000, then try to cover it up, I mean, that is just insanity.

The fact that she has information about what she was engaged with, Trump donors, possibly the Trump family.

Um, have you been in touch with him? Are you gonna talk to him about this as well?

And so what would that look like from 2027 to 2029 if you are chair of the House Oversight Committee?

So for oversight, we're gonna have...

Look, we're gonna be the lead investigations committee in the House.

Obviously, that is our job.

That's our role.

Uh, we will be focused on four major investigative lanes.

There's a lot of other work to do, of course, but our focus will be first on Trump family corruption.

But can you talk a little bit about what you're hoping for in terms of maybe setting the stage for a future DOJ to be able to step in, in this v- vacuum that's being created by the inaction of somebody like Todd Blanche?