Rep. Massie Calls Out Speaker Johnson As Choosing Trump/Pedophiles Over Children

The MAGA Wars continue. Trump ordered, ORDERED his MAGAs to STFU and ‘move on’ from Jeffrey Epstein and those files.  For the first time and in significant numbers MAGA is saying “NO, we won’t” to Trump on something. A week ago Moses Mikey Johnson, Speaker of the House was making noises about releasing Epstein files and letting the chips fall where they may. Not anymore, and his change has one of his GOP colleagues, one who’s name is becoming known calling him out.

I’ll try to keep this short. Johnson came out of nowhere in the House GOP when he suddenly became Speaker. House GOPers, having not been satisfied with the self-inflicted humiliation of the process where McCarthy was finally given the gavel had done it to themselves again. After tossing McCarthy aside they couldn’t pick a new leader and in the end decided to go with someone the Party, including Trump who still ran the show thought would be easily manageable. To whatever Trump said the GOP should say and/or do.  Mild looking, whitebread Mike Johnson fit the bill perfectly.  Bland, at least in appearance and pretty much clueless about the job which meant others would tell him what to do.

It’s always been the case in the House that under the best of times/circumstances a Speaker of either Party would have their ‘moments’ as the place has always been unruly. Successful Speakers have been able to knock heads when they needed to but that takes juice. Stature, whether in gravitas, behind the scenes connections and institutional knowledge or ability to grant or choke off funding and other resources for member’s re-election come to mind.  Sometimes it’s a combination of all that. Mike Johnson became Speaker with NONE of it and doesn’t seem to have acquired much, if any of it.

Johnson’s one hole card has been having Trump’s backing. Alas for the famously transactional Trump that backing has come with “You’ll do as I say g-dammit!” and while there have been some minor blips here and there Johnson has followed orders. However, as I said earlier and was noted in this article on MSNBC’s Maddow Blog for a while there Johnson was a high profile person in MAGA who chose to ignore Trumpty’s order to move on from Epstein.

Not long ago Johnson spoke on a Right-Wing podcast and said of the DOJ/Epstein matter “We should put everything out there and let the people decide. I agree with the sentiment that we need to — we need to put it out there.”  I hope ketchup bottles within Trumpty’s reach learned Johnson said that (publicly!) before Trump did.  It was a given that Johnson was going to have a very unpleasant talking to from the boss.  Clearly such a chat (more like old-fashioned trip to the woodshed) happened and Moses Mikey is squarely back on Team Trump.

Politics is said to make for strange bedfellows, and it has in this case. Rep. Thomas Massie is from Kentucky but has gotten known to some degree nationally for spats with Trump in recent months. Now that the budget busting bill has passed the focus can remain mostly on Epstein and Trump’s own reversal on releasing any and all information the government had. It was ‘YUGE’ during the campaign but as I’ve written before I think Trump continuing for a while after being sworn in was due to a mistaken assumption on his part.

Trump assumed when Epstein died that when Barr said his worries were over that Barr had gotten rid of any evidence of HIS crimes and lesser misdeeds. No, all Barr did was the same thing he did with Bush 41 and Iran-Contra – shut down any and all investigations and seal up any evidence in the legal equivalent of a bank vault.  That frantic effort that involved a thousand FBI Agents working round the clock in the latter half of March was a gigantic “UH OH” for Bondi and Trump.  Clearly they took some time trying to figure out how to defuse the matter.  Hoping people (MAGAs) would forget the promise to release it all didn’t work.  Going proactive made it worse.

MAGAs in large numbers, but especially huge influencers they worship only a little less than Trump are refusing to let the matter go. All that led to the strange political bedfellows I mentioned as Massie got Democrat Ro Khanna from California to join him in pushing a discharge petition on a House vote to release the evidence.  Almost everything in the House has to pass through the Rules Committee and now things (not just regarding Epstein) are at a standstill.  For Massie the Epstein Scandal is THE thing to be concerned with and he’s not happy with the Rules Committee (in which Democrats have kept pushing for a vote on Epstein)  or Johnson. And boy did he throw a sh*t bomb in Johnson’s lap:

Just as importantly, Massie is taking aim at his own party’s leadership over its handling of the controversy.

“Whose he gonna pick?” the congressman told Punchbowl News, referring to House Speaker Mike Johnson. “Is he going to stand with the pedophiles and underage sex traffickers? Or is he gonna pick the American people and justice for the victims? This is the ultimate decision the speaker needs to make. And it’s irrespective of what the president wants.”

The linked article notes Massie has gotten his answer. Johnson has taken Trump’s side. You’re probably aware Johnson in the last couple of days has made it clear as far as he’s concerned the sooner the House starts it’s traditional summer/August recess the better. Since the Rules Committee can’t move on the Epstein matter Democrats have made it so they can’t move forward with anything else. In effect, the House can’t debate and vote on ANYTHING right now so they might as well get out of town.

At this point it’s what most of them want to do anyway. Trying to avoid journalists and cameras on Capitol Hill asking them Epstein-Trump questions is no way they figure to spend their days.  They’d rather be stuck in a clearing surrounded by poisonous snakes trying to fix a flamethrower! Politizoom’s own Murfster has pointed out going home and dealing with MAGAs isn’t something they want to do either. However they don’t HAVE to go home. Hell, Ted Cruz can bank some extra coin with a special for GOP Congress Critters only service on nice places to visit when you don’t want to be back home!

Still, in the end I find it remarkable Massie called out Johnson the way he did. Johnson’s choice actually gives US an opportunity if only our leaders are willing to seize it.  Of Speaker Johnson Massie said ‘Either you’re with Trump-pedophiles or you’re on the side of children.’ Johnson chose not children but rather to help Trump ‘move past’ the Epstein scandal.  So, I say let’s on this one support Massie and refine his argument slightly:

MAGAs can be on the side of Trump-Epstein-pedophiles or protect kids.  Every day Trump holds back Epstein related information is a day the well-being of children is ignored by him.  That’s also true of every conservative who tries to cover for Trump on Epstein!

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