Trump:". . . House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics . . . "
The GOP herd was about to stampede without him. He jumped in front to lead it where it wanted to go.
Reporting from multiple sources says that in the event of a roll-call vote, some 50 to 100 Republicans would have joined Democrats in voting to release the files.
The Epstein files cover-up looked weird even to Republicans. My congressman, Cliff Bentz, a standard-issue Republican in a bright-red district, felt it necessary to tell me and other Rotary Club members that he opposed releasing the Epstein files so that Republicans could later do an even better job of releasing files.
The argument wasn't remotely plausible in light of Trump's condemning release of the files, calling the issue a hoax, and House Speaker Johnson so clearly following Trump's instruction to block release. The important takeaway from witnessing Bentz's speech is recognition that he felt it necessary to make a preposterous argument in public.
He has no electoral fear from Democrats. His only real electoral risk is in a Republican primary, from an even-more-MAGA candidate attacking him from the even-more-populist right. As an establishment stick-to-the-herd Republican, Bentz is one of Speaker Johnson's team members not signing a discharge petition to force a vote. This creates an opening for a candidate representing the populist conspiracy-oriented wing of the GOP, the segment that Trump aroused by telling them that Democrats were guilty of pedophilia and he would expose them. This segment did not suspect Trump as a prime predator until the Department of Justice's sudden announcement that the files were empty. Really? Why wasn't Trump exposing Democrats? The conspiracy-oriented MAGA people had already committed themselves to moral disapproval of sex with teenagers, and now Trump acts guilty. They wanted transparency.
Bentz was offering a cover story to protect his right flank. Bentz's story: He is blocking release of the files because he wants the files released. He has it both ways. Elegant.
I received off-line criticism from Republican readers yesterday, complaining that yesterday's post described in unnecessary detail the behavior in the now-released emails. The criticism was useful because a common theme ran through it: denial. They weren't arguing that Trump isn't guilty. They are minimizing and discounting the evidence. Who knows what is true? The emails are just talk. It is all just rumor. It is speculation. It might be a hoax. It might be AI. Trump made a decision about believability. When people saw a mystery, they filled the void with answers and those answers raised new questions. Mystery was real.
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| "I see nothing. I hear nothing." |
Upton Sinclair observed: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
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3 comments:
The more Trump hides the files, then the more that people think that his name is listed in them. Transparency is the best policy. Release the files, and whomever is named will have to deal with the consequences. I suspect that Bil Gates' name will be in the files.
Under 18 U.S.C. 1519, it is a crime to destroy, change, or falsify records in conjunction with a federal investigation. 18 U.S.C. 1519 makes destroying or altering records in an investigation a federal criminal offense.
There are people who defend Trump, claiming that “Epstein, Epstein, Epstein” is the new “Russia, Russia, Russia,” as if parroting a notorious liar somehow proves him right. If repeating a big lie often enough can make people believe it, then the same can be said for the truth. We all know that Epstein pimped little girls to wealthy men. He and Trump were best buddies for ten years. Let’s keep it front and center: Trump & Epstein.
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