Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Tom Suozzi Says He Didn’t Pay Attention To Epstein Story Because It Wasn’t ‘Big Issue’

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Democratic New York Rep. Tom Suozzi acknowledged on Thursday that he did not closely follow the story of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein under former President Joe Biden’s administration because it was not a significant issue for him.

Suozzi made the remark on “CNN NewsNight” after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee related to Epstein on Thursday. After Suozzi suggested that the committee’s investigation amounted to political gamesmanship rather than a pursuit of justice, conservative radio host Jason Rantz asked why he had not raised similar concerns during the Biden administration.

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“I was never paying attention to this issue,” Suozzi said. “I have to be honest. It was not a big issue.”

Rantz and CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings pressed the Democrat on why he suddenly seemed animated about the matter.

“It’s not my big issue,” Suozzi said. “You’ve never heard me talk about it before.”

Jennings noted the Democrat appeared “pretty passionate.”

“Because I’m here tonight to talk about this issue,” Suozzi said. “And I’m disgusted by the fact that the American people don’t know who to trust about anything anymore.”

Democrats have faced backlash for only focusing on the Epstein files after President Donald Trump returned to office.

“Ladies and gentlemen, keep in mind that the Epstein files were in existence and free to have been open during the Biden administration! You were there for four years!” SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith exclaimed on “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.” in November. “How come you didn’t open it as a Democratic party then!? What am I missing!?”

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman also called out Democrats for not releasing the files under the Biden administration on “Morning Joe” in November.

“[O]ne of my questions is like … we sat on those for four years, too,” Fetterman said. “So, I mean, I don’t really understand, you know, either. I mean, there are a lot of questions.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released more than 3 million pages of records about Epstein in January. The documents revealed communications the deceased sex offender had with figures like former White House adviser Steve Bannon, Elon Musk, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and multiple European officials.