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Inside Politics
Epstein Survivors Say His Former Assistant Lied To Congress; Trump Likely To Not Sign Affordability Bill Before It Becomes Law; White House Hangs Drapes Depicting Columns Over Actual Columns; Congressional Daughters Co-Author Children's Book. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired July 09, 2026 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:30:00]
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: -- frustrated. We have the latest example why. In a CNN exclusive, six survivors say Jeffrey Epstein's longtime assistant, Lesley Groff, lied to Congress in June. And they say it went well beyond claiming she had never met the victims.
CNN's MJ Lee has that reporting and joins me now. MJ, this is really important information that you're uncovering here.
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you know I should say for starters, Lesley Groff may not be a household name to most people, but in the Epstein world, she is a huge figure. She worked for Epstein for some 18 years, basically managed every aspect of his life.
And so when her transcript in her interview with the House Oversight Committee came out a few weeks ago, survivors were really angry. We should note, Groff has not been charged with the crime and she told lawmakers, I never knew anything about his abuse of girls and women, but there were several things that she said that survivors told me and Nicky Robertson, these things are not true -- for starters.
Groff told lawmakers that she never met any of the girls and women who were coming to Epstein to give him massages. We interviewed six Epstein survivors and all six of them told us basically, is she kidding? Of course we have met her.
Listen to Marina Lacerda. She was 13 or 14 when she first met Epstein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARINA LACERDA, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: There's just no way. In order for you to introduce Jeffrey Epstein to a girl or if a girl wanted to meet Jeffrey Epstein, you had to go through Lesley Groff. And those questions were asked. How old is she? Where is she from? What does she look like? Where does she live? Is she going to school? These were top five questions by Lesley Groff.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEE: Groff also told Congress that she never knew these girls' ages. One woman that we spoke with anonymously, she said that she was attending a Catholic school and that Epstein liked to see her in her school uniform. And so she said Groff saw me multiple times wearing my school uniform and would ask me to leave school early to come see Epstein.
This is also something else that Sharlene Rochard, one of the other survivors we spoke with on camera, said about why she is sure Groff knew exactly how old she was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARLENE ROCHARD, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Of course, she knew how old we were because she had to look at our IDs to book our flight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: And Groff also said that she never directly paid money to these women. One person and some of the women we talked to describe these white envelopes stuffed with cash, fresh cash that Groff would hand them. They said essentially Groff was how we got paid. I'll also note that Groff's lawyer did not respond to our request for comment for this story.
BASH: Yes. Well, hopefully, these members of Congress who are conducting this investigation will look into this to see if she perjured herself or if she lied to Congress, which is a crime. And this isn't just about Groff, although this is incredibly important reporting, but it speaks to the overall credibility of the congressional probe.
LEE: That's right. And I think, you know, there has been a lot of gratitude from the survivors for the lawmakers being willing to bring in people for these interviews. But I think coupled with that is a real concern. What actually is going to come from these interviews that they are conducting? Are there going to be prosecutions? Is anyone going to be charged?
And including for this Groff interview, I think survivors are kind of wondering what is accountability look like if it is determined that she may have lied to Congress? A spokeswoman for the House Oversight Committee told us this, Dana. She said, "We are currently reviewing Ms. Groff's transcript against the available evidence. We welcome any additional evidence from individuals who possess information."
I think the word evidence there is key. You know, these interactions for so many of them took place so many years ago. They were maybe teenagers and it was all before the proliferation of smartphones. So I think this is a point of real frustration for many survivors too.
BASH: Well, now they have your and Nicky's excellent reporting. They can put that in the record and hopefully --
LEE: Thank you.
BASH: -- talk to these survivors and get them to come in and talk to them officially under oath.
Thank you. Appreciate it.
A major affordability bill is set to become law without any pomp and circumstance, maybe even without the President's signature. So why isn't the President taking any kind of victory lap on this? We'll explain after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:39:05]
BASH: It's the biggest housing affordability bill to pass Congress in decades, and tomorrow it is set to become law, but without much fanfare, likely without President Trump's signature. Republicans had hoped President Trump would sign it last month at a big capital ceremony. The stage was set literally.
Lawmakers were ready to go. They were excited about it, talking about it publicly. But then that stage sat empty. The President canceled that signing because Republicans won't take up his elections bill that doesn't have enough support to pass.
So instead, tomorrow, 10 days after the bill was sent to the President's desk, it will quietly become law, assuming the President doesn't decide to veto it.
My panel is back now. Marianna, this was the thing that the lawmakers you cover every day we're hoping to talk about and tout over this recess when they were home for July 4th.
[12:40:05]
MARIANNA SOTOMAYOR, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: And some of them are. The thing is, is it's not getting any attention, right? Like --
BASH: Because the President has the bully pulpit.
SOTOMAYOR: Correct. And he is not talking about affordability. I mean, Republicans on the Hill have privately communicated to the White House, like, please get him on message. He has tried, but we've seen even events that are billed as affordability turn out to just be him talking about the 2020 election, and he wants to say back pass.
And he's made it very clear. He thinks this bill is a yawn, it's boring and that his supporters don't talk about housing. And his sole focus on just that small sliver of the mega base does not help Republicans, right? They need so many more voters, all of whom are talking about affordability and housing.
BASH: Also, I find it -- I mean, I don't have data in front of me, but I find it hard to believe that all of the MAGA base find it easy to buy housing or to rent housing. I mean, it's really, really hard right now. Let's just turn to aside from the Iran war and some other things. One of the issues or the projects that the President is spending a lot of time on, and that is redoing the White House. We know about the East Wing. We know about other changes that he has made, a lot of the gold, but there's something else that is coming.
Betsy, what is that?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, we know the President, former real estate developer, has been really fixated on these construction projects. But the latest project is the North Portico, that front of the White House and those columns. We saw him spend a lot of time a Memorial Day inspecting the columns, looking at them very closely. A couple days later, we started to see them stripping paint, and then a few days after that, scaffolding starts going up.
BASH: And let's just -- and I'm going to show some video, but he specifically doesn't like the architecture or the artistic look of the current columns. He wants them to be Corinthian columns, correct?
KLEIN: He does want them to be Corinthian columns, but there's been a lot of blowback to that. So as of now they are staying ionic. This is stone restoration we're told.
BASH: OK. All right, so it's the moment you've all been waiting for folks. We're going to show you a video of a scrim or a piece of tarp, I guess, that was unfurled over the Portico that Betsy was just talking about. And that tarp shows what the new columns will look like. So this is the actual act of changing that clearly at the direction of the President himself.
Now let's look at a live picture of the White House. So you see there the North Portico? That's not really the North Portico. That's a tarp with the columns that the President likes painted on it. This is taking place at the White House as the American people are really hoping that, yes, maybe there are some beautification projects that need to be done in Washington, but there's also some help that they need in their lives.
KLEIN: But for Trump, this is the foundation of his legacy. He believes that this is how he will be remembered. He started in the Oval Office. He demolished the East Wing to make way for his ballroom. This is just the latest example of him trying to impose his style and taste on Washington, D.C.
JOSH DAWSEY, POLITICAL INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: And if you walk around D.C., particularly down by the White House, the city looks like a construction site. I mean, the staggering number of things he's doing, whether you like these projects or think he should be spending time on other things, city parks, the reflecting pool, you know, the White House, obviously, the ballroom part of the White House, like Lafayette Park, Logan Circle in D.C., Meridian Hill Park. I mean, the whole city is looking different.
The big golf course that he's trying to build to replace, the public course in D.C., other parts of public land, the art that he wants to build. I mean, it's just a staggering number of projects. And if you talk to people in the White House, he spends so much time on these projects.
I mean, you saw Doug Burgum, the Interior Secretary, did an interview with Jonathan Martin from Politico, where he said he's calling me at 8:00 in the morning. He's calling me at midnight. He's calling me all day long, asking me about all of these various projects. I mean, the President is so focused on these projects.
And maybe you love the President and think this is what he should be spending his time on. I just don't know that in midterm elections that it's going to be the number one issue for voters. I guess we'll see.
BASH: Yes. As a D.C. resident, I think the fact that the fountains are working and they look nice again is tremendous.
DAWSEY: Yes.
BASH: The column --
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's fantastic --
DAWSEY: And a lot of the parks do look better in D.C.
BASH: Yes, they do. But --
ZELENY: For sure. But the priority in which he places on it, when he talks about it out on the road, the crowds don't seem quite as enthused as he does.
BASH: All right. Coming up, while Washington bickers, two teenagers try to turn the page. You're going to hear from the daughters of a Democrat and Republican trying to teach kids about bipartisanship.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:49:31]
BASH: Democratic Congressman from New Jersey Josh Gottheimer and President Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former House and Senate member, have an unlikely friendship that crosses party lines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D), NEW JERSEY: Families know one another, and I think, you know, Markwayne is a very good person.
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Our daughters are actually writing a book, a child's -- children's book together.
E. GOTTHEIMER: Yes.
BASH: Is that right? E. GOTTHEIMER: Yes.
M. MULLIN: Yes.
E. GOTTHEIMER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: That book is done and it's out. It's called "Shmoo and Ozzie Go to Washington." I spoke with the young co-authors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[12:50:05]
BASH: Ellie Gottheimer and Larra Mullin, thank you for being here. This is such a great book. It's fantastic. I wish my son was still young enough for him to sit and listen to me read books. He's almost as old as you two.
But so my first question is -- and we just heard your dads talk about their friendship and about how it's extended to you. And Larra, I'll start with you. How did you get to know each other?
LARRA MULLIN, DAUGHTER OF SECRETARY MARKWAYNE MULLIN: Well, we really got to know each other just from our dads, really. We they do a workout group and we get voluntold to go a lot.
BASH: Voluntold?
L. MULLIN: Voluntold.
BASH: I've never heard that. I'm going to use that from now on.
L. MULLIN: Yes.
ELLIE GOTTHEIMER, DAUGHTER OF REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER: Yes.
L. MULLIN: Yes. We get voluntold to go. So we kind of just, you know, trauma bond over that because it's not an easy workout. And we also just -- we grew up together in D.C. with our dads being such close friends and so.
BASH: Yes.
E. GOTTHEIMER: Yes. So like Larra said, we kind of just grew up together because our dads have been such good friends. They did the workout group and they also have done a bunch of legislation together. So we've kind of gone to know each other through that.
And then also through the book, I went to Oklahoma the other week and she taught me how to ride and drive a UTV and she -- guns.
L. MULLIN: It was scary. It was scary.
E. GOTTHEIMER: It was scary. But, yes, it's been really nice to get to know Larra.
BASH: And did you go to Jersey?
E. GOTTHEIMER: Well, yesterday was my first day in New Jersey, so we got --
BASH: And you live to tell about it.
E. GOTTHEIMER: Yes. Let's tell the tale. I drove around and she --
L. MULLIN: She drove me around. That was also scary. I think that was scarier than riding UTVs in Oklahoma, so.
BASH: All right. Let's talk about the book. So in this book, it's about two dogs. It's about a dog, Shmoo, who lives in New Jersey.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BASH: And Shmoo's father is in Congress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BASH: And so they go to Congress. Ozzie lives in Oklahoma. Ozzie's father is in Congress from Oklahoma and goes. And these two dogs are in this imaginary dog world and they can't find anything in common until what happens?
E. GOTTHEIMER: So the dog park shuts down and the dog park is both of their favorite places, even though they're so different from each other. And they realize they have to work together to be able to come up with legislation to be able to reopen the dog park.
So it's kind of just about -- and what Larra and I are trying to send this message across that even though the dogs are so different from each other, there's always common ground. And even if you're different from one another person, you know, you can always still be friends and there's always something to agree with. And we kind of want to send that message to kids today.
L. MULLIN: Yes, we just -- we see the side of social media that the kids see and with us being kids ourself. And we really wanted to change the outlook on that and show them what she said, show them what we see.
BASH: And you've done this through the dogs. And your actual dogs in real life are Shmoo and Ozzie.
L. MULLIN: Yes.
E. GOTTHEIMER: Yes.
BASH: And your dog is a --
E. GOTTHEIMER: My dog is a golden doodle.
BASH: Golden doodle. E. GOTTHEIMER: Yes. She's five. She's like the most energetic thing in the world. And, you know, she's very excited to be the co-star of this book. And, you know, wish she was here with us, I think.
BASH: And in the book, Ozzie is a Dalmatian.
L. MULLIN: Yes. But in real life, he is a small little Cavapoo, spoiled little dog. But we based him off of our ranch dog, Rusty, that sadly passed away right before we started writing the book, so.
BASH: Sorry to hear that. OK, so one of the things in this book that you write, this is from the perspective of Ozzie. Ozzie said, "I've got it. We need a law that will give money to the dog park." Shmoo shouted, "Brilliant. Let's ask our dads in Congress! Congress fixes everything, right?" Ozzie shrugged, "Well, almost."
That's my favorite part of the book.
E. GOTTHEIMER: Thank you.
L. MULLIN: It's really cute. The whole book is really cute. I love it.
E. GOTTHEIMER: We wanted, obviously, for it to have a deeper meaning, but we didn't want, you know, the message of the -- real message of the book, of just being able to work together and develop friendships with those who are different from you to get lost and, you know, more of a political meaning.
So we tried to keep it fun and simple. Everyone loves dogs, hopefully. And yes, unfortunately, Larra and I both don't have a lot of artistic talent. So we found someone to illustrate it for us. But yes, we -- I personally love how it turned out and I think Larra does as well.
L. MULLIN: I joke and say if we were the ones to illustrate the book that you wouldn't be able to tell the capital in between a dog.
E. GOTTHEIMER: Yes.
L. MULLIN: So.
BASH: I can relate to that.
L. MULLIN: Yes.
BASH: Well, I think you mentioned this, but I'll just say spoiler alert. They saved the dog park.
L. MULLIN: Yes.
E. GOTTHEIMER: They saved the dog park.
BASH: Along with the help of their fathers and Congress coming together. It's really terrific that you're using the platforms that you were given by way of your fathers to do something really important, not just for your generation, but for any every generation.
L. MULLIN: Thank you so much.
E. GOTTHEIMER: Thank you so much for having us.
BASH: Thanks to you both.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Coming up, from PBI to DJT. We'll show you the moment one of Florida's busiest airports officially changed its name to honor the President.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:59:32]
BASH: Topping our political radar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Attention all aircraft, effective immediately, Palm Beach International Airport is officially President Donald J. Trump International Airport. President Donald J. Trump International Airport.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: That cockpit audio posted by President Donald Trump's daughter- in-law, Lara, as Trump's children become the first to land at the newly named airport this morning. The airport is a frequent stop for the President and a very short drive from his Mar-a-Lago club.
This was his son, Eric's take.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC TRUMP, THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION EXECUTIVE VP: I don't think there's anybody more synonymous with Palm Beach than Donald Trump and maybe all of Florida. And, you know, it's his home. He's fought like hell for all of us. And as a son who worked so hard to make this happen, I couldn't be more proud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: The official call letters change from PBI to DJT next month.
Thanks for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts right now.
