Color me embarrassed for getting blindsided by something really good going on, and there were no clues here. This is absolutely great news and is certainly something we should support. Who started it is a surprise, since he had fallen in line with other Republicans more than he had said he would push back. Of course, the title gives it all away, so there’s no reason to talk around it now.
Today, Rep. Thomas Massie got the 218th signature for a discharge petition needed to force a House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. This would mean different groups or people could sue the Justice Department over the release of the Epstein Files. Todd Blanche had better buckle up because he has something coming. We are well aware that there are a lot more records than what has been released. And there is some BS reason for not releasing the remainder.
The last dump of files did not have survivors redacted, and that means a whole lot of people saw something they shouldn’t. We can bet it was deliberate. It practically had to be so. They might have been thinking this would end the push for the documents still under control of the government. Well, they guessed wrong. There are people now who support it, and there are people coming in January who will support it, so MAGA Mikey Johnson can’t ignore the discharge petition. Awww.
He probably will be happy to step down and just represent his state. Speaker is a tough job in general, and he probably had it even harder because of Trump, as well as the slim majority in the House. Stress, stress, stress. Trump is going to be pushing him in the next 8 weeks if he wants to have a chance at getting anything done, because, we hope, there’s going to be a lot of pushback after the new Congress is sworn in. Let’s not count our chickens yet. But Johnson now has a problem on his desk with this new petition.
Congress worked in unity a year ago. Well, not quite a year yet. But nevertheless, Congress almost unanimously agreed on a law to force the Epstein files to be released. The DOJ has deliberately been dragging its feet, releasing them in a trickle at a time. They think they are above the law. Blanche and Trump are in for a big surprise soon. The new Congress is (hopefully) going to be making some changes, and if we manage to get the new Epstein Files law pushed through, it’s going to be something.
Is there a way to force them to release the files? Unknown, but probably not, since the first law only got about half the files. It was like pulling teeth to get the DOJ to release *anything*. Would it be possible to get a judge involved? It’s certainly not something we could take to the Supreme Court. Being that most of them are in Trump’s hip pocket, they would either rule for him or reject it. Either way, it would be back to square one.
It makes us wonder if those 1,000 FBI agents are still trying to redact Trump’s name for the illegal and child-abusing things he did. We’re sure of it, even without the files the DOJ is hoarding. And don’t forget Trump wants to help his “friends” in those files. Blackmail from both sides? Since Trump will, even more officially, be a lame duck on January 3, 2027, we may be able to force something. Those agents would be better off redacting the names of the *victims*. Ohhh, if we could be so lucky as to get any more out.
But we have started on the next Epstein Files law. It has to develop legs and keep going. If we can even achieve a majority, enough to force it on, wouldn’t that be lovely? It would be amazing. If Johnson manages to put it off until a new Congress comes in, he doesn’t have to worry about Trump anymore. We will. And we are ready to go.
My gratitude to Raw Story for giving me a step up.
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