by Paul Dragu, The New American:
California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna forced a vote in the House Rules Committee on an amendment that would have forced the entire House of Representatives to vote on whether to release the files on sex offender and suspected blackmailer Jeffrey Epstein. The vote failed 5-7, with all four Democrats in favor and Ralph Norman of South Carolina the sole Republican to join them. In other words, only one Republican on the House Rules Committee voted for the “full” release of the Epstein files Monday night.
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Norman has served in Congress since 2017. He just so happens to have the highest freedom score of all the Republicans who voted. His 86 percent cumulative freedom score in The New American’s Freedom Index is respectable. His voting pattern improved significantly over the last two sessions, during which he notched scores in the 90s.
The Republicans who voted against the release were North Carolina’s Virginia Foxx (Freedom Index score, 67 percent); Minnesota’s Michelle Fischbach (Freedom Index score, 76 percent), Indiana’s Erin Houchin (Freedom Index score, 60 percent), New York’s Nicholas A. Langworthy (Freedom Index score, 62 percent), Georgia’s Austin Scott (Freedom Index score, 63 percent); Virginia’s H. Morgan Griffith (Freedom Index score, 76 percent); and Georgia’s Brian Jack, who was elected for the first time in 2024. Texas’ Chip Roy, the other Republican on the committee, didn’t show up for the vote.
Whose Side Are You On?
Khanna said the ultimate goal was to get a vote on the House floor that would show which side everyone is on. He told MSNBC Monday night:
That’s really what this Epstein file issue has become. It’s not just about knowing who’s being protected — the rich and the powerful — in terms of who had interaction with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s the sense that people have that the government is too beholden certain interests who have their thumb on the scale and that they’re not working for ordinary people.
Khanna went on to say that the Democrats want to make sure “full justice” prevails, a laughable notion considering that Democrats made no such moves during the Biden years. Democrats are taking a politically expedient position in this saga, and it wouldn’t be happening if the Trump administration’s attempt to sweep the whole thing under the rug didn’t stir up great ire among the MAGA faithful.
Disaffected Voters
In the meantime, people close to Trump are issuing public comments suggesting the administration is feeling the pressure. Trump’s daughter-in-law and former co-chair of the Republican National Committee, Lara Trump, told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that “there will probably be more coming on this.” Johnson is among the gaggle of MAGA media voices to express gross dissatisfaction with the Trump’s administration’s attempt to close the Epstein case. Other influential voices include Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk, Steve Bannon, and Candace Owens. Lara Trump told Johnson:
I believe that there will probably be more coming on this. And I believe anything that they are able to release that doesn’t, you know, damage any witnesses or anyone underage or anything like that, I believe they’ll probably try to get out sooner rather than later. Because they hear it and they understand it.… To everyone out there that’s all worked up about it, there’s no great plot to keep this information away. I believe that it’s been slow rolled for reasons we’ll understand down the line.
Lara Trump also told Johnson that the president does “hear all the noise” his supporters are making about Epstein and wants to “set things right.” Time will tell what that means.
Benny Johnson also spoke to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in an episode released Tuesday. The speaker said he wanted to see the Epstein files released. He said:
I’m for transparency. We’re intellectually consistent on this. Reagan used to tell us we should trust the American people. I believe in that principle. I know President Trump does as well. And I trust him.… It’s a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it.
Speaker Johnson also said that Attorney General Pam Bondi needs to come forward and untangle the confusion her comments has created, specifically regarding what she did or did not have on her desk when she told Fox News in February “it’s sitting on my desk.”
The List
Meanwhile, former Epstein lawyer Alan Dershowitz penned an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday saying the FBI knows who the “clients” were. Dershowitz has also said he also knows who they are. While there is no precise “client list,” Dershowitz said, “the FBI interviewed alleged victims who named several ‘clients.’” He said the courts have ordered those names sealed. He added that they don’t include “any current officeholders” but the names “should be disclosed.” Dershowitz said the media should file legal petitions “for the release of all names and information so the public can draw its own conclusions.”
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