Congressional Cowards is a weekly sequence highlighting the worst Donald Trump defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him—irrespective of how disgraceful or lawless his actions.
It has been every week of clear makes an attempt at misdirection by GOP lawmakers, who’re making an attempt to appease Pricey Chief Donald Trump by heeding his demand to distract the general public from the Epstein information—a scandal his personal administration created after they mentioned the federal government does not possess any information from the disgraced intercourse predator that incriminate highly effective third events.
GOP leaders within the Home have gone to nice lengths to dam the discharge of the Epstein information, which Trump’s title seems in as Trump and Jeffrey Epstein have been shut associates for a few years.
Different Republican lawmakers took Trump’s course and are calling for former President Barack Obama to be investigated, after Trump and Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made up a bullshit accusation that Obama dedicated “treason” within the 2016 election when it was mentioned Russia meddled in that contest.
Different rank-and-file Republicans even got here to Trump’s protection, saying that the Epstein information aren’t any massive deal and the general public ought to merely transfer on. That is notably curious as Trump’s personal MAGA influencers had constructed the information up for years as a ticking time bomb that might take down the elites who palled round with Epstein.
Let’s check out this week’s cowards, we could?
First there’s Home Speaker Mike Johnson, who sought to beat again bipartisan laws that might compel the Trump administration to launch the Epstein information by crafting his personal toothless decision. That invoice says the Trump administration ought to launch the Epstein information, however would carry no authorized weight to really compel the paperwork into public view.
However Johnson then refused to place that laws up for a vote, saying he would wait till after the Home returned from a five-week-long August recess to permit the Trump administration time to interview convicted Epstein affiliate Ghislaine Maxwell to see if she had any incriminating proof to share. (In fact, Maxwell has quite a bit to realize by telling Trump what he desires to listen to, as she is serving 20 years in federal jail and might be launched if Trump pardoned her or commuted her sentence.)
Some Republicans defended that ridiculous laws, with Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) writing in a publish on X: “A invoice handed by the Home isn’t ‘binding’ if it has zero likelihood of being signed by the President even when handed by each homes. In the meantime—a powerful Congressional assertion of transparency requested of an administration equally searching for transparency is what People search.”
However then, when Johnson received wind that Democrats would drive Republicans on the Guidelines Committee—a robust committee that tees up payments for votes on the Home flooring—to vote on Epstein-related amendments, he shut down the Home and despatched members residence early.
“Nobody in Congress is obstructing Epstein paperwork,” Johnson mentioned at a information convention on Capitol Hill, although he was completely working protection to make sure Trump wouldn’t must launch the information. “Nobody in Congress is doing that. What we’re doing right here, Republicans, are stopping Democrats from making a mockery of the principles committee course of as a result of we refuse to have interaction of their political charade.”
Different GOP leaders additionally tried to deflect criticism for Trump not releasing the paperwork.
“On the finish of the day, look, Democrats are yelling and screaming,” Home Majority Chief Steve Scalise whined to Politico. “They spent 4 years protecting up for Epstein, and you recognize, not less than President Trump’s within the courts proper now making an attempt to get paperwork launched, and I actually assume you’re gonna see, hopefully, quite a bit unsealed from that after which we’ve received another choices.”
Home Majority Whip Tom Emmer went a step additional, calling the Epstein scandal a “non-issue,” although polling reveals People assume Trump is hiding one thing by not releasing the paperwork.
Then, there are the opposite GOP lawmakers who mentioned everybody wants to only transfer on.
“We received much more vital issues to do for the American folks than what occurred eight, ten, twenty years in the past… we have to transfer on,” Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez mentioned.
However Gimenez went on to say simply seconds later in the identical interview that the federal government must look into former President Barack Obama’s position within the authorities’s probe into Russia’s interference within the 2016 election. Trump had inspired Republicans this week to push this new faux conspiracy that his administration cooked as much as distract from the Epstein information scandal.
“We have to take a look at precisely what occurred again in 2016,” Gimenez mentioned, with out realizing the irony of his assertion.
Different GOP lawmakers additionally pushed the faux scandal.
“I additionally fully agree with President Trump, the key story needs to be what Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard launched,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) mentioned in a tv look, after enjoying dumb in regards to the Epstein information.
And Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina referred to as on Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi to appoint a particular counsel to look into Obama’s position within the Russia probe. In fact, there already was a particular counsel named John Durham, whose probe discovered nothing about Obama—or anybody actually.
Finally, Republicans are a bunch of cowards who will go to nice lengths not solely to appease Trump, however on this case to additionally shield a pedophile like Epstein.
Shameful.
