Democrat frames Epstein files as winning issue while Republican admits White House 'misstep'
Progressive Democrat Ro Khanna appeared on Meet The Press Sunday, when he told host Kristen Welker that he considered the issue of the Epstein filed a winning one for his party.
'This is about trust in government. When John F. Kennedy was president, trust in government was 60%. Today it's in the teens. Speaker Johnson and I came to Congress together. He was on the reform side too. He wanted to make government work,' Khanna noted.
'This is a perfect opportunity for him to say, "Look, the past is the past." Okay, I didn't love that he shut down government. Maybe on your show today he'll commit that when we come back, let's have a vote. Remind him of what were like, the conversations we had in our freshman class. This is about being a reform agent of transparency,' Khanna continued, doing his best to put additional pressure on the Republican Speaker.
Voters as well are not happy with Trump's handing of the files, with only 16% of respondents to a recent Emerson College poll saying that they approve 'of the Trump administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.'
Emerson College Polling director Spencer Kimball noted Thursday that the Epstein files issue was the one Trump fared the worst on.
Khanna and libertarian-minded Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky teamed up earlier this month to introduce the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would compel Attorney General Pam Bondi to publicly release all unclassified materials relating to Jeffery Epstein.
The duo's resolution is receiving the the backing of a diverse set of members, including New York socialist darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michigan 'Squad' member Rashida Tlaib, as well as Boebert of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Greene of Georgia.
Khanna noted during a media appearance last week that his resolution had the backing of all 212 of his Democratic colleagues in the House.
Even if only the 10 GOP co-sponsors of the resolution were to support it, it would easily pass the House as just a simple majority is need, which is 218 votes out of 435.
Speaker Mike Johnson had choice words for the uncanny duo's push to release the files during his own Meet The Press appearance Sunday.
'The Massie and the Khanna discharge petition does not have adequate protections. For example, in the way that it was drafted, they cite that they don't want child abuse, sex abuse information uncovered, but they cite the wrong provision of the Federal Code, and so it makes it unworkable,' Johnson told Welker.
'It requires the DOJ to release grand jury testimony. They are prohibited by law from doing so. So it is not the right approach. There is another approach out there. The House Republicans on the Rules Committee have a resolution that is well drafted, that is thoughtfully drafted by lawyers, that would make this workable. That's the approach, we have to protect the innocent. We'll do it at all cost,' Johnson added.
Yet, even members of the President's own political party are calling the Administration's handling of the files a 'political mistake' and 'misstep.'
Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, 1997
Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, told CNN's Manu Raju Sunday that part of the issue is 'that there were false expectations that are created, and that's a political mistake.'
'I think that saying that you're going to be able to deliver when you haven't even looked at all of the files, what's available, was probably a misstep,' Burlison told Raju.
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