Republicans skittish over Epstein votes close US House early
The furor around the disgraced financier, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for trafficking minors, is still roiling Donald Trump's administration two weeks after his Justice Department effectively closed the case, announcing there was no more information to share.
Democrats in the House—keen to capitalize on the simmering controversy—have been trying to force a vote that would compel the publication of the full Epstein case files. Desperate to avert the effort and unable to bring up anything but the most non-controversial bills, the Republican leadership canceled votes scheduled for Thursday—sending lawmakers home for the August recess a day early.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump loyalist who was under pressure from the president not to allow any Epstein votes, voiced hopes that the break would provide 'space' for a resolution.
But Democrats accused the majority Republicans of running scared of their own voters, many of whom have been demanding more transparency. 'Donald Trump, for quite a while now, has been exaggerating and exploiting this case and making a big deal out of it,' Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the powerful Rules Committee, told MSNBC. 'He wins the presidency, the Republicans control both chambers and, all of a sudden, we're told forget about it.'
In a July 7 memo, the Justice Department said the Epstein 'client list' that Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed to have been reviewing did not in fact exist, and reaffirmed that he died by suicide in his prison cell. It sparked a furious backlash from Trump's 'MAGA' support base, who have for years been told by their leaders that a 'deep state' cover-up was protecting figures in the Democratic Party whom they accuse of being Epstein's clients.
Trump's MAGA lieutenants—including two allies who have since been hired to run the FBI—made careers of fanning the conspiracy theories, including that Epstein's suicide was actually a murder ordered by his powerful clients. Prominent online influencers and media figures in the movement—as well as ordinary voters—have spoken of feeling betrayed after Trump began publicly castigating them for wanting answers. Trump's ties to Epstein are extensive. The pair were pictured partying together during a 15-year friendship before they fell out in 2004 over a property deal, and when Trump subsequently denounced his former ally.—AFP
The White House has been furiously pushing back against a Wall Street Journal report that said Trump had contributed a 'bawdy' letter with his signature for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003.
Under perhaps the biggest political pressure of his career, Trump has authorized Bondi to release 'credible' information and has asked courts to unseal grand jury transcripts in the case. Bondi's deputy Todd Blanche said this week he was seeking a meeting with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, 63, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and other crimes. With a Republican rebellion in the House in full swing, the Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee had already voted to subpoena Maxwell to talk with lawmakers at her Florida prison.
'We've got to send a message to these dirtbags that do this that this is not acceptable behavior,' said Republican Tim Burchett, who introduced the motion. Epstein admitted two state felony prostitution charges in 2008 as part of a plea deal—arranged by a prosecutor who would go on to serve in Trump's cabinet—that was widely criticized as being too lenient. -- AFP
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