In a joint press conference with survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, House lawmakers bashed President Donald Trump and Republican leadership ahead of the lower chamber’s vote to compel the release of the so-called “Epstein files.” Standing before survivors, longtime Trump sycophant and MAGA standardbearer Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told reporters that the debacle over the Epstein files has been “one of the most destructive things to MAGA.” “I wasn’t ‘Johnny come lately’ to the MAGA train,” Greene said. “Watching the man that we supported early on [.] Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart.” Greene has long supported transparency in the Epstein case, while Trump has pressured the nation to move on from the scandal. The president whose was once close friends with Epstein and whose name reportedly appears in the files recently revoked his endorsement of Greene, and repeatedly bash her as a “traitor” to his movement. The congresswoman addressed the president’s attacks on Tuesday. “I gave him my loyalty for free,” she said. “I’ve never owed him anything. But I fought for him for the policies and for America first. And he called me a traitor for standing with [survivors] and refusing to take my name off the discharge petition.” A bipartisan coalition of House members, led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), bucked House leadership and Trump’s efforts to silence calls for the administration to follow through on its campaign promise for transparency regarding the cases against Epstein. The members spent months shoring up support for a discharge petition that would allow them to bring “The Epstein Files Transparency Act” to a floor vote without the approval of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has been allied with the president on the issue. Johnson for seven weeks stalled the swearing-in ceremony of Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who ultimately cast the vote to bring the resolution to the floor When it became clear the petition would be coming to a vote, Trump flipped his position, encouraging House Republicans to vote yes. Editor’s picks Survivors were not buying it. Halye Robinson, who worked closely with members of Congress to secure a vote to release the files, spoke directly to Trump: “To the president of the United States of America who is not here today. I want to send a clear message to you: while I do understand that your position has changed on the Epstein files and I’m grateful that you have pledged to sign this bill I can’t help to be skeptical of what the agenda is.” “I am traumatized. I am not stupid, I am traumatized,” she added. “You have put us through so much stress: the lockdowns, the halting of these procedures that were supposed to have happened 50 days ago. Adelita Grijalva, who waited to get sworn in. And then [you] get upset when your own party goes against you because what is being done is wrong. It’s not right.” Survivors and lawmakers who spoke called on the Senate to also pass the resolution, and criticized lawmakers including Johnson who only decided to lend their support after it became clear the vote had enough momentum to pass. “I think the speaker wants to save face,” Massie said. “He’s going to vote for a piece of legislation today that he’s disparaged for four months.” In a subsequent press conference, Johnson said “if and when” the legislation makes it to the Senate Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-Mont.) would take the time to carefully amend the act in order to assuage “concerns” about its scope. Trending Stories Johnson expressed worry that releasing the files “could ruin the reputations of completely innocent people, such as those who may just have known Epstein but knew nothing of his crimes or whose names he exploited and used to try to get close to his intended victims.” The American justice system exists precisely as the mechanism to try those accused of crimes, and fear of reputational damage is no reason to continue denying Epstein’s survivors the justice they deserve.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mtg-epstein-survivors-files-vote-press-conference-1235467233/