The pretense is over, Donald Trump is no longer pretending he wants the Epstein Files released, he’s going all out to prevent a bipartisan attempt to see them released.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA are rallying supporters to back a discharge petition, forcing a floor vote on whether to release the complete files, with names of victims redacted. The discharge petition is needed because House Speaker Mike Johnson, under Trump’s orders, has no intention of bringing the vote to the floor otherwise. Johnson sent the entire House of Representatives home early last month, in the hope that the issue would die down during the weeks the House was out of session. Instead, a rally featuring dozens of Epstein victims speaking out brought a new spotlight on Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and the men who have gotten away with their abuse for more than twenty years since the sweetheart deal preventing their prosecution.
A discharge petition is a procedural tool used in the U.S. House of Representatives to bypass leadership and force a vote on a bill that’s stuck in committee. It’s a way for rank-and-file members to challenge the gatekeeping power of committee chairs and the Speaker. This particular petition is not only a challenge to the Speaker, but also to the president, who desperately wants the files to remain hidden.
- Any member of the House can file a discharge petition.
- To succeed, it must gather 218 signatures — an absolute majority of the House of Representatives.
- Once the petition reaches that threshold, there’s a seven-day legislative waiting period.
- After that, any signer can move to discharge the committee, and the House votes on whether to proceed.
One of Epstein’s survivors, Anouska de Georgiou, issued a direct plea to the president:
“President Trump, you have so much influence and power in this situation. Please use that influence and power to help us.”
For his part, Trump denounced the whole effort to release the files as a “Democrat hoax,” hoping he would be as successful as he was in declaring his ties to Russia a hoax, his two impeachment proceedings a hoax, and initially proclaiming COVID-19 coverage, climate change, and negative media coverage of himself a hoax. Anything Donald Trump dislikes, he calls a hoax, but this one isn’t going away.
Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene is among Republicans leading the charge for the release of the files. The administration has attempted to slow-walk the release of information. Hoping to appease the masses with an attempt to release the 1% of information contained in Grand Jury transcripts, knowing judges were unlikely to release them. We got a softball interview between convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The Justice Department has begun complying with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, but thus far has released almost exclusively previously known material and redacted not only victim identities but also sexual abuse material. The victims want the information released, so why doesn’t Donald Trump?
Trump is aware that his name is mentioned several times in the Epstein Files, having been informed by his former Attorney General, Pam Bondi. Bondi once accepted a $25,000 campaign contribution from Trump while Florida Attorney General. Coincidentally, she kept Florida out of a lawsuit against the fraudulent Trump University. Trump was also told that many other high-profile individuals are in the files, which doesn’t necessarily mean they are guilty.
Republican Thomas Massie said about Trump:
“I don’t think he’s implicated in these files, but I think his donors are. I think his friends are. And I think our own DOJ and government are implicated in this too. So you can’t trust them.”
Democrats appear willing to go along with the suggestion that Trump isn’t implicated. Waiting until his name appears in context, which is when they’ll pounce. Among the documents they’re waiting for is the Epstein “birthday book,” which contains celebratory letters from many high-profile people, allegedly including Trump. Trump has outright denied having sent the letter, which will place a new emphasis on the Trump/Epstein relationship when the letter is produced. Trump has denied ever flying on Epstein’s private plane, yet he is listed in the plane’s flight logs several times. The truth will eventually come to light.
I’m waiting to see which of Trump’s cronies will repeat the line about the “Epstein hoax?” The victims are speaking out and will be heard. They are reported to be assembling their own list of abusers should the over 20-year-old records and interviews never see the light of day. We’ll see if the Republicans yield to Trump’s demand not to sign the discharge petition, or will some of those who have daughters think about whether they will protect abusive men and sex traffickers because Donald Trump wants them to?