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Trump foe Thomas Massie wins over MAGA allies with his push for Epstein files
Trump foe Thomas Massie wins over MAGA allies with his push for Epstein files

Yahoo

time7 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Trump foe Thomas Massie wins over MAGA allies with his push for Epstein files

WASHINGTON — Once fighting a lonely battle against President Donald Trump, GOP Rep. Thomas Massie has found an issue that is winning him more Republican friends and political allies than he has had all year: his push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Many of Trump's MAGA allies on and off Capitol Hill are frustrated with Trump and top officials in his administration for dragging their feet in releasing the government's remaining documents and records related to Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender. But they're rooting for Massie, who has leaned into the fight in recent weeks and made it his sole mission to get the files released. It is a rare issue on which Massie aligns more closely with many of Trump's own supporters than Trump himself. That's a big shift for Massie, a Kentucky conservative who was swimming against the current in his opposition to Trump's megabill by raising debt concerns that fell on deaf ears with other Republicans. Nearly a dozen House conservatives have signed on to Massie's resolution to defy Trump and force Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish 'all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials' that the Justice Department and FBI possess. Thirteen Democrats, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi of California and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, have joined the effort, as well. 'I have the people on my side,' Massie told reporters, pointing to a CBS News/YouGov poll that found that 89% of U.S. adults want all of the Epstein files released. Republicans split evenly in the CBS poll when they were asked whether they're 'satisfied' or 'dissatisfied' with Trump's handling of the Epstein case. That's very unusual for Trump, who tends to win lopsidedly high marks from self-identified Republicans on his handling of issues. A recent Quinnipiac University poll also found the GOP split about evenly when it comes to Trump's handling of the Epstein matter. The CBS poll found that Trump's overall approval rating has fallen to 42% but that 89% of Republicans approve of the job he has done in his first six months back in office. Massie leans into confrontation with Trump Massie is boldly going where no other Republican in Congress dares go: running for re-election while leaning into a confrontation with Trump, who has threatened to support a primary challenger to oust him in the GOP contest. Massie told NBC News that Trump and his allies are wasting their time, vowing that their efforts to unseat him will not only fail but also backfire. 'They've spent $1.8 million against me so far in my congressional district. I think it's had very little effect, but they're trying to beat up on me to keep everybody else in line here. and I think it's not working,' Massie said. 'I think it's going to backfire tremendously.' 'They're wasting millions of dollars against me, and they're going to lose the majority because of that,' he said. 'I think it will embolden Republicans who are right now, quietly, agreeing with me but saying: 'I'm afraid of winning my primary. Let's see if you can win yours, Massie.'' Massie's confidence drew a clapback from Calvin Moore, a former House GOP campaign operative, who said on X, 'How'd that work out for [Bob Good?],' referring to the former Virginia congressman who lost his 2024 primary to a Trump-backed challenger. Massie's foray into the Epstein saga has also sparked a personal, very public row between him and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Johnson, a Trump loyalist, said Wednesday that 'Republicans stand for maximum transparency and truth' and are 'pushing for the release of all credible information' about the Epstein matter, but he added that Massie's Epstein resolution with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., would provide no protection for victims' identities. 'We have ... a moral obligation to protect people who have been the victims of these unspeakable crimes so that their names are not drug through the mud,' Johnson said. A day earlier, Johnson invoked Massie at his weekly news conference, showing unusual frustration and saying that he was baffled by Massie's motivation in the Epstein matter and that 'some people seem to enjoy trying to inflict political pain on their own teammates.' Massie later told reporters that introducing his Epstein resolution now would give his effort momentum over the House's five-week summer recess, which begins Thursday. He and Khanna, Massie said, plan to file a so-called discharge petition to force a vote on their resolution when the House returns in September if they can win support from 218 members. Then, in a midnight post on X, Massie shot back at Johnson: '@SpeakerJohnson, why are you running cover for an underage sex trafficking ring and pretending this is a partisan issue? MAGA voted for this.' Johnson's office didn't respond to a request for comment about Massie's post. Johnson has repeatedly said anyone who has committed sex crimes should be prosecuted. And Massie's effort has been elevated by some podcasters credited with boosting Trump in the 2024 election, including Theo Von, who recently said on X, 'Why cant we put the @RoKhanna @RepThomasMassie bill for a vote this week @SpeakerJohnson @JDVance??' Von also publicly questioned why Vance isn't standing by his earlier comment on Von's own show that 'we need to release the Epstein list; that is an important thing.' Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Cory Mills of Florida and Nancy Mace of South Carolina are among the Republicans who have signed on to the Massie-Khanna resolution. Massie also has an ally in Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a fellow self-described libertarian who describes Massie as a good friend. 'I'm a big supporter of his, and vice versa. I'm planning a 10-city tour with him in September to support him, and we will do what it takes. We both represent sort of the liberty wing of the Republican Party,' Paul said. 'We want to make sure that we don't allow anybody to come in and try to defeat him.' Paul is the only GOP senator who voted against Trump's megabill because of debt concerns, but, unlike Massie, he doesn't face re-election until 2028. Paul said he's 'very confident' Massie will beat a Trump-backed challenge. 'He's the most fiscally conservative member of the House. He's the most pro-gun member of the House, most pro-Bill of Rights person in the House,' Paul said. 'Good sense of humor, travels the district and is somebody who pays attention to his constituents. I think he'll do well.' This article was originally published on

WATCH: Nancy Pelosi silent on why Biden did not release Epstein files
WATCH: Nancy Pelosi silent on why Biden did not release Epstein files

Yahoo

time4 days ago

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

WATCH: Nancy Pelosi silent on why Biden did not release Epstein files

Leading Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says President Donald Trump should release the Epstein files, but is silent on why former President Joe Biden did not anytime in his four years in the Oval Office. Democrats have seized on the issue since the case became a political controversy for the Trump administration. However, despite their current calls for transparency on the case, the Biden Justice Department also failed to release additional documents on Epstein. Asked by Fox News Digital whether she thought the Trump administration should release the Epstein files, former House Speaker Pelosi responded, "Absolutely." Fox News Digital then asked, "Why do you think Biden didn't do it for four years?" to which Pelosi simply turned around and began walking away. Trump Directs Ag Bondi To Work On Unsealing Grand Jury Transcripts In Epstein Case: 'We Are Ready' Fox News Digital pressed, "Do you know why they didn't do it? Do you think they should have?" However, Pelosi ignored the reporter and stepped into a car. Read On The Fox News App Pelosi served as House speaker, one of the most powerful positions in the country, from 2019 to 2023, two of those years occurring when Biden was in the Oval Office. Other Democrats have similarly struggled to answer why a president of their party did not release the files as they demand action now. On Thursday, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was pressed on the issue by "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough, but he could not give an answer. "But, Congressman, you could have gotten that from '21 to '25, when Democrats controlled the DOJ. Why — it was a crisis then. It's a crisis now. Why didn't Democrats call for it from '21 to '25?" Scarborough asked. "So, I mean, you'd have to go back and look specifically at particular prosecutorial decisions and what was taking place in terms of the other cases. So, I don't know, we could try to reconstruct that record," Raskin replied. Democrats Hit Rock Bottom As Party Plummets To All-time Low: Poll Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was also caught off guard when a CNN anchor challenged her on why she never called for transparency on Epstein while Biden was president, despite her hammering the Trump administration over the case. "I would have been happy to raise it then as well. Frankly, we were focused on so many different pieces," Jayapal replied. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas told Fox News Digital, "What I think is really rich is this, Epstein dies in 2019 and the Biden administration does nothing for four years, absolutely nothing." "I didn't hear any Democrats call for it. And, you know, I never heard the legacy media on TV saying one thing about it either. And suddenly, it's a code blue. Suddenly, every Democrat and the legacy media wants to see these reports. I think that's hypocritical," he said. Marshall went on to say that "beyond that, there may be a lot more going on than meets the eye." Twice-deported Migrant Rapist Freed As Dems Face Heat For Sanctuary Policies While noting that he does not have any special information, he said, "I think something else is going on that may be affecting national security," and "I think President Trump deserves a little bit of grace here. But hopefully, at the end of the day, everything will be released. I'm all for the transparency." Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., said that while U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi may not need to release all the files, "if there's information in those files that shows that somebody committed a crime, that there's somebody that she has knowledge of that knowingly had sex with an underage girl, they need to be prosecuted and I would hope that she would be doing that." "Pam Bondi made quite a show out of what she had, and we need a better explanation than what we've got," said DesJarlais. He suggested that a bipartisan panel be given access to the files for review. "Do you need to release everything? I don't know. But anything that's criminal, I think, needs to be exposed," he said. Trump Directs Ag Bondi To Work On Unsealing Grand Jury Transcripts In Epstein Case: 'We Are Ready' Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital, "I'm sure that the president is going to want to release whatever he can release." Johnson went on to say, "I am concerned about the chain of custody" of the files. "The Democrats have had control of these files. What have they added? What have they deleted? I don't know. I have no idea. I'm as curious as anybody else," he said, adding, "I'll trust the Trump Justice Department to do what is right."Original article source: WATCH: Nancy Pelosi silent on why Biden did not release Epstein files

Gavin Newsom says Alcatraz will reopen the ‘same day Trump releases the Epstein files'
Gavin Newsom says Alcatraz will reopen the ‘same day Trump releases the Epstein files'

Yahoo

time6 days ago

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Gavin Newsom says Alcatraz will reopen the ‘same day Trump releases the Epstein files'

Gavin Newsom has called the Trump administration's bluff, joking that the notorious Alcatraz prison in northern California will reopen the same day that the so-called 'Epstein files' are released. A spokesperson dismissed the idea previously touted by the president, following a visit to the island by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and embattled U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday. 'Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So, never,' Izzy Gardon, Newsom's director of communications, told SFGATE. The visit by the two cabinet officials comes two months after Trump mulled over the idea of reopening the historic prison, announcing on Truth Social in May that he had directed the FBI and Homeland Security to look into the idea. Gavin Newsom has called the Trump administration's bluff, joking that the notorious Alcatraz prison in northern California will reopen the same day that the so-called 'Epstein files' are released (AP) Democrats have blasted the idea, including California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who called it Trump's "stupidest initiative yet." Administration sources told Axios that converting Alcatraz into a functioning prison could come with a $2 billion price tag. The visit to San Francisco may have come as a welcome break for Bondi, who has been mired in controversy since the contentious release of the Epstein Files last week, which has caused a schism in the MAGA movement. Hardline supporters of Trump, both in and out of government, reacted with outrage after Bondi's office announced that – contrary to popular conspiracy – there was no so-called 'client list' belonging to the disgraced financier. The ongoing fallout has also been latched onto by the Democrats. As well as his snarky comments on Thursday, Newsom has also referenced the president's attempts to continue as normal. Doug Burgum and Pam Bondi shared this photo of themselves on their way to Alcatraz Island on Thursday (X/@AGPamBondi) On Wednesday, in response to a post by Trump about the possible use of cane sugar in Coca-Cola products, Newsom wrote: 'Oh thank god! I've totally forgotten about the Epstein files now!' However, despite the president's own personal frustration, he seemingly bowed to pressure on Friday, announcing that he would allow Bondi to release grand jury testimony on the 'Epstein files.' 'Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!' he wrote. In a follow up post, Trump added: 'If there was a 'smoking gun' on Epstein, why didn't the Dems, who controlled the 'files' for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!'

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