Oversight Dems to file impeachment articles for Pam Bondi ‘within the next week’ over Epstein files

We have New Mexico Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury. She's a member of the Oversight and Natural Resources Committees. Welcome back to the show, Congresswoman. So this morning the president posted, today Iran will be hit very hard and is under consideration for complete destruction. And NBC reports Trump has privately expressed serious interest in deploying troops on the ground inside Iran. How long can Trump continue sidestepping Congress and ignoring the majority of Americans who oppose this war? Well, I think the primary question on everyone's mind is why did the president launch an unauthorized war against Iran? It's very clear that the American people do not support this war, that overwhelmingly the American people don't understand what our objectives are, why the president launched strikes to begin with. And certainly Congress has not been provided with an adequate legal explanation for any sort of eminent threat. There is no strategy on the ground. There is no apparent exit strategy. And we don't understand how they plan to stabilize the region after this attack. So I think many of us, it's not just that he has launched an unauthorized war. We don't even understand the foundation for why they did it. And they can't provide a clear explanation. Which on the basis of what you just said makes the fact that both the House and Senate failed to pass war powers resolutions rather stunning, though it was expected. Some Democratic leaders are sharply criticizing Trump for not seeking congressional authorization. I know you are one of them, however, stopping short of saying whether they oppose the military action itself. So is this war with Iran a mistake or are Democrats hiding behind process complaints because the party is divided on policy? I don't think we're divided on policy because we don't even know what the administration's policy is. Now, is Iran the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world? Yes, absolutely. Is Iran a country that has attacked its own citizens? Yes. Are our allies in the Middle East been under constant terrorist attacks from Iranian affiliates? Yes. All of these things are true. But part of why past presidents have not unleashed military efforts on the ground against Iran is because of the potential to unleash chaos, the potential for American troops to lose their lives, as they already have, with six service members already losing their lives. And because it is very clear in the United States Constitution that only Congress has the authority to declare war. And while this president has already, of course, launched strikes, it's very clear he does not have the authority to put boots on the ground, to declare war against Iran. And in addition to that, there is no clear objective here. What it seems to be is that he is essentially doing the bidding of the Israeli government in Netanyahu and has launched this war at their bequest. But why is the American taxpayer dollars, American lives and our resources being put on the line? And he needs to come to Congress to ask for permission and to explain what he is trying to accomplish there. And to that end, the dignified transfer of six American service members killed in Kuwait is set to begin shortly. And when asked about the fallen soldiers, Hegseth, Defense Secretary Hegseth said, quote, When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it's front page news. The press only wants to make the president look bad. What is your response to Hegseth's seeming lack of accountability or empathy and framing soldier deaths as a media problem? I think that this administration's entire approach is disgraceful. When they came to brief us earlier this week in Congress, they made no bones about the fact that they expect more deaths of more service members. I have never in my entire life seen an administration with less concern for basic human life and dignity than I've seen with this administration, including for our troops. And I think that's reflected by the number of active duty military who are quietly saying they don't understand what this war is for, why they are being sent abroad, and the many millions of veterans across the country right now who are angry watching as the commander in chief is deploying troops over to the Middle East after he promised the American people that he would not entangle us in more foreign wars. I think that it is not just disgraceful, but completely irresponsible. And when our troops sign up to serve this nation, there is a contract with the government that we will not put their lives on the line if not for the defense of this nation. And this president cannot explain, even in the most basic terms, why this war is in America's interest right now. I'm going to switch gears here, because after Kristi Noem's firing, you posted a video of you and your dog, writing, quote, we're all celebrating out here at the Capitol. By the way, not sure if you or your dog was happier about it, given Noem's sordid past shooting her dog. But President Trump reportedly fired Noem over her $220 million taxpayer-funded, self-promoting DHS ad campaign and her poor performance testifying on Capitol Hill this week. Do you expect meaningful change at the DHS with her departure and Senator Mark Wayne Mullen's likely arrival? Well, let me just clarify that adorable wiener dog is not mine, but he was absolutely celebrating outside the Capitol as millions were across the country, which is why we posted that video. But, you know, listen, I think it's very clear that this administration's policies are violating the Constitution, due process rights of Americans and immigrants seeking asylum in this country. But Kristi Noem's own personal accountability and lack of leadership at DHS is, in part, what has led to the direct murder of two U.S. citizens and dozens of other Americans in detention under DHS, as well as the absolute violation of rights that we've seen under this administration. In addition to that, as you mentioned, she's misappropriated $220 million in taxpayer dollars to support her own media campaign. And ultimately, these are criminal activities which we intend to hold her accountable for. But the fact that this administration didn't remove her completely from the taxpayer dollar in terms of employment indicates that they are not actually seeking accountability, because if they were, they would have actually removed her from federal service and be seeking to hold her accountable for her actions and instead have put her in charge of another office somewhere else in the government. Despite having no time, I want to quickly ask you about whether House oversight and how is going to hold DOJ accountable for this most recent release of more Epstein files, way past the legal date upon which to do so, and the fact that it does include these three interviews, if you will, with someone who has made an allegation against the president. Yeah, well, this week we issued a bipartisan subpoena of Pam Bondi for her mishandling of the Epstein case. It's very clear that the new files provide greater detail about the allegations against the president. And I can tell you that within the next week, we will be filing articles of impeachment against Pam Bondi for her handling of this case. Extraordinary. All right. We will look ahead to all that. Melanie Sandsbury, despite not having that adorable dog, we do appreciate your time with us. Thank you so much. We'll see you again soon.