Rather than get steamrolled by a House vote to compel the Department of Justice to release the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, U.S. President Donald Trump acted like he teed it all up himself. The vote passed easily Tuesday in the House, after Trump tried everything to stop it from happening. U.S. Senators unanimously voted in favor on the same day. The U.S. president then signed the bill.
It is a reversal that was forced on him by his allies, particularly three Republican women (Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Lauren Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene) who refused to cave to Trump. In trying to forestall the vote, he has looked weak and error-prone, and sounded like a man who has something to hide. He is now acting like he needs the power of Congress ¡ª a branch of government he has largely ignored all year ¡ª to release more information on Epstein, the well-connected financier who committed suicide in 2019 as he awaited trial in prison on federal sex trafficking charges.
In fact, Trump ¡ª who hasn¡¯t been accused of any crimes in connection with Epstein ¡ª could simply order Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the files, just as he has ordered her to investigate his political opponents.
Tuesday¡¯s votes do, however, mark a new chapter in this MAGA-manufactured conspiracy theory.
¡°He got tired of us winning and he decided to join us. They could have done this four months ago, and instead, they fought us every bit of the way,¡± Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who led the effort to get a floor vote for the release of the files, told CNN¡¯s Anderson Cooper. ¡°Now they want to be on our side. We¡¯ll accept their support. But we¡¯re ... a little bit suspicious of this sudden turn of events, so we¡¯ll keep an eye on things. We¡¯re worried that maybe they¡¯ll try to muck it up in the Senate.¡±
Suspicion is certainly in order, given Trump¡¯s broken promises on the Epstein documents. As a candidate, he said he would release the files. FBI Director Kash Patel called for transparency back when he was a podcaster. Bondi echoed these demands after she became attorney general.
Now Trump is acting like it¡¯s all up to Congress.
In the House, the majority of Republicans were expected to back the measure, with some predicting that the bill would get unanimous support. It almost did, passing 427-1.
That marks a defeat not only for Trump, but also for Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who had tried to prevent a floor vote by keeping the House in recess for weeks. Rather than buck Trump, Johnson proved again...
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