The Epstein Hearing, The Kennedy Center, and the Concert Walkouts

Mimi Brown breaks down the day. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi admits to redaction errors in the Epstein files — and points the finger at Trump's acting AG. A federal judge orders Trump's name off the Kennedy Center. And a growing list of artists are pulling out of the Trump-aligned Freedom 250 concert on the National Mall. Plus, your Monday Brief  four  things to watch this week.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi admitting mistakes were made in
the Epstein files investigation.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
It you refuse to answer any questions about President.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Trump and a federal judge ordering President Trump's name removed
from the Kennedy Center.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Clearly the Congress has to say in this and.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
More artists are pulling out of the Trump aligned Freedom
two fifty concerts on the National Mall. This will be
a time like you've never had in your lives America
till fifty. It's Monday, June First, from the Black Effect
Podcast Network.

Speaker 4 (00:38):
I'm Mimi Brown. This is front page.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Here are the day's biggest stories, plus your Monday Brief,
the headlines and stories.

Speaker 4 (00:47):
You need to watch this week. Stay with me.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
One of the biggest unanswered stories in America is back
in the spotlight. Former Attorney General Pambondi is now admitting
the Justice Department made mistakes handling the Jeffrey Epstein files,
including releasing sensitive information that should have stayed private. Now
lawmakers are trying to figure out what was released, what
is still being hidden, and who inside the Justice Department

(01:14):
signed off on it all now. Bondi sat down behind
closed doors on Friday with the Oversight House Committee for
her first congressional interview since being fired by President Trump.
Earlier this year, when Bondi was Attorney General, she publicly
promised the Justice Department would release information connected to Jeffrey Epstein. Eventually,
millions of pages were turned over, but millions more were withheld,

(01:37):
and many documents released to the public had heavy blackouts.
At one point, some victims' names they were even released,
and explicit images were accidentally released before even being removed.
Now during the hearing, Bondi tooled lawmakers the process was
complicated and that the Department released everything legally required, but
she also said she personally did not oversee all the

(01:59):
document reviews. Instead, she pointed to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,
who was now leading the Justice Department and previously worked
as one of Trump's personal attorneys. Democrats say Bondi is
trying to shift the blame. Here's Congressman Robert Garcia.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
She continues to push all of the investigation and the
blame on Acting AG Todd Blanche. She said, and I
quote Acting AG Blanche was managing the entire investigation end quote.
All of the mistakes that we saw, the reactions not
protecting survivors. She continues to push that back onto the

(02:36):
acting AG, Todd Blanch, who, by the way, with Donald
Trump's former personal lawyer. I also personally asked the former
AG five times and five different questions about her conversations
with President Trump, whether he directed her at any given
time on the Epstein files, what he knew when he
asked her to redact or not, and she refused to

(02:58):
answer any questions about President Trump. In fact, she said
that she would not speak or respond to any questions
that had anything to do with President Trump. It's also
interesting that sitting next to her is DOJ Council, somebody
who currently works for the Department of Justice, who on
multiple occasions stepped in and told the former Attorney General

(03:18):
that she was not going to answer those questions, and
especially when we ask questions of what the president directed
her to do.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
Lawmakers now planned to release the transcripts of the interview,
but there will be no video and Bondi was not
under oath. A federal judge is now blocking President Trump
from renaming the Kennedy Center and ordering his name removed
from the building within two weeks. The ruling came down

(03:46):
on Friday, on what would have been President John F.
Kennedy's birthday. So last year, President Trump took control of
the Kennedy Center board and appointed several members only loyal
to him. The board later voted to make him chair
and to rename the famous art institution the Donald J.
Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

(04:07):
Trump's name was placed first on the building. The Congresswoman
Joyce Batty sued, arguing that the board did not have
the legal authority to change the name.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
Clearly, the Congress has to say in this this center,
the Kennedy Center, was created by the Congress. I think
it's important for us to know that this is just
another attempt to evade the law and not let the
people have a say.

Speaker 4 (04:35):
And now a federal judge agrees.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
The judge said that Congress originally created and named the
Kennedy Center after President Kennedy, which means only Congress can
legally change the name. The Trump administration argued this was
just an additional name, not a full rename, but the
judge rejected that argument. The ruling also blocks plans to
shut down the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations.

(04:58):
President Trump says he plans to fight the decision and
is now calling on Congress to take control of the building.
It's Monday, which means it's time for your Monday brief.
Four stories you need on your radar this week. First,
a major supplement recall. Two Maranga based supplements sold on Walmart, Amazon,

(05:22):
TikTok Shop, and Target are being recalled over possible samonella contamination.
The FDA says the outbreak has already been linked to
more than one hundred illnesses and dozens of hospitalizations. If
you purchase the item, check your cabinets and throw them out. Second,
California is suing twenty three and Me. The state says

(05:42):
hackers had access to customer accounts for months during the
company's massive data breach and exposed genetic and ancestry information
tie to millions of people. If you've ever used twenty
three and Me, this is definitely one to watch. Third,
neurovirus is spreading again. Health officials are track banking outbreaks
across the country. Doctors say neurovirus spreads fast through food

(06:05):
surfaces and close contact, and hand sanitizer alone does not
kill it. And Forth, Washington is back in session. Congress
returns this week with immigration fights back on the table,
more questions surrounding the Justice Department, and growing attention around
the plans for a possible USC event.

Speaker 4 (06:22):
At the White House next month.

Speaker 1 (06:25):
That's your Monday, bris, You're walking into the week well informed.
A growing number of artists are pulling out of a
major concert tied to America's two hundred and fiftieth birthday
celebration after realizing the event had closer ties to President
Trump than they expected. The concert is called the Great

(06:47):
American State Fair and is scheduled for next month on
the National Mall in Washington, d C. Artists including Martina McBride,
Brett Michaels, Young mc more day, in the Time, and
the Commodores have now all backed out. Performers say they
originally believe this was a nonpartisan event celebrating America's birthday
in all fifty states, but after the lineup was announced,

(07:09):
several artists say they learned the event was connected to
Freedom to fifty, a group helping to organize the celebrations.
Here is a spokesperson, Julia Friedlan, for the group.

Speaker 5 (07:19):
So I can't speak to negotiations that were made for performers.
But what I can say is we're selling it the
same way to every single person in this country. This
is a celebration of America two hundred and fifty years,
glorious years. It's inherently non political. We're coming together to
celebrate our country. We live in the best country on Earth,
and we're putting on a huge birthday party because America

(07:41):
deserves it.

Speaker 4 (07:42):
But not everyone has dropped out.

Speaker 1 (07:44):
Vanilla Ice is still scheduled to perform, and Flowrida has
not publicly announced a decision.

Speaker 4 (07:51):
That's your front page. I'm Mimi Brown.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
This podcast was brought to you by the Black Effects
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