It's Time to Release the Epstein FilesPeople who fight this hard to hide something have something to hide.
For months, Donald Trump, who campaigned on releasing the Epstein files, has been doing everything he can to distract from calls to release them. In July of 2025, the Department of Justice announced it had reached the end of the investigation and that there would be no further charges or files released. Instead of putting an end to the questions, that announcement only fueled them, especially when Deputy FBI Director Don Bongino, who as a podcaster had called for releasing the files, intimated he was considering resigning over the matter. Sending Congress home early, taking over the District of Columbia, and now threatening Illinois. We don’t know whether some of these increasingly desperate moves by Trump, like destroying a boat that was allegedly being used to run drugs to “send a message to drug cartels,” are a part of an effort to distract, but they may well be. They are hard to explain otherwise. The boat was over 1,000 nautical miles away from the U.S., off the Venezuelan coast, and 11 people were killed. Trump has been telling supporters to focus on investigating Democrats and to move on from the Epstein issue. They haven’t. As recently as today, he claimed calls to release the Epstein files are a “Democrat hoax that never ends,” something survivors who held a press conference today explicitly took on, insisting that they were real—not a hoax. One survivor went so far as to identify herself as a registered Republican in an attempt to refute the allegation.
A release of documents by Congress on Tuesday seemed to be designed to forestall additional controversy on the eve of the survivors’ press conference on Capitol Hill. But it was simply a charade. There was virtually nothing new in the release, and nothing in it advanced public understanding of who, to put it clearly, was committing crimes against girls and women with Jeffrey Epstein. That’s what the public wants to know. That’s what the victims need to know so they can get closure, especially since they were denied the closure of a trial after Epstein’s death in prison. We still don’t have a public list of the people who interacted with Epstein. The people who flew on his planes. The people who visited him on the island or at one of his homes. One of the survivors’ lawyers told Ana Cabrera on MSNBC this morning that there are also videotapes from inside Epstein’s residence and financial transaction records detailing payments made to Epstein. Everyone who was in contact with Epstein may not have participated in his crimes. But this sort of information will be telling. DOJ doesn’t normally release its case files, but this could be different. For one thing, Epstein is dead; there will be no trial. For another, this is now a congressional oversight investigation into whether DOJ corruptly favored the rich and powerful at the expense of underage girls. Without prejudging what happened, Congress is entitled to review materials, and some public release of them, redacted to protect victims and survivors, can be justified by the public interest. At a minimum, the release of information about elected officials who are mentioned in the investigative files could be considered. All of this started with the then-U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida, Alex Acosta, who gave Epstein a sweetheart plea deal that was so lenient it demands scrutiny it has never fully received. The public deserves to know the details of what happened. Acosta will now testify before the House Oversight Committee on September 19. This week, survivors got together and announced they were going to fight back.
Epstein survivors say they will compile their own list of Epstein’s clients. One of them, Lisa Phillips, said during today’s press conference: “Epstein survivors have been discussing creating our own list. We know the names. Many of us were abused by them. Now, together as survivors, we will confidentially compile the names ... it will be done by survivors and for survivors. No one else is involved. Stay tuned for more details.” They have been threatened individually. They seem to have found strength in numbers. Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie filed a discharge petition in the House to force the Justice Department to release the files. If it passes, the petition would result in a floor vote on legislation that would require DOJ to release virtually all of its investigative files regarding Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It will take 218 votes for it to pass. All 212 Democrats are expected to approve it, but it will take six Republican votes for passage. Four Republicans have already signed on: Massie, Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Trump White House’s response? They said that anyone who signed on was engaging in a “hostile act.” This Justice Department does not function by normal rules, so trying to fall back on regular procedures in this moment is ludicrous. Trump promised to release the investigative files repeatedly during the campaign. Unlike grand jury material, which requires a judge’s permission for release, Trump can do this by executive fiat. You don’t need to have my 25 years of experience as a prosecutor to understand that people who fight this hard to hide something have something to hide. It’s time to release the files. You’ve just read today’s breakdown without a paywall because paid subscribers make that possible. If you want to help me keep this work available to everyone—and get the extra benefits of being a paid subscriber along the way—please join us. We’re in this together, Joyce You're currently a free subscriber to Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance . For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
|
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
It's Time to Release the Epstein Files
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
U.S. Strike in Syria, Greenland’s Dark History, and a 100-Year-Old Letter
Tune in for today's headlines. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ...
-
17 Personal Finance Concepts – #5 Home Ownershippwsadmin, 31 Oct 02:36 AM If you find value in these articles, please share them with your ...
No comments:
Post a Comment