It’s no secret President-cum-Dictator Donald J. Trump doesn’t have a whole lotta use for Rep. Thomas Massie, who, truth be known, really can be a pain in the “tuchus.”
Massie, R-SomewhereorotherLewisCounty, has been the target of the sociopath’s ire for some time now for opposing key presidential initiatives, including the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill — aka One Massive Ugly Bill — because of their respective impacts on the national debt, standing at $37 trillion and mounting. To Trump, Massie is a “loser” and the Lord of Mar-a-Lago is actively recruiting a potential primary opponent to bring Massie’s tenure in the lower chamber to an abrupt halt.
Now Massie is adding to the Mussolini wannabe’s angina. He is sponsoring a resolution with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-CA, to release the so-called Epstein files, something Trump is desperately hoping to avoid.
“We all deserve to know what’s in the Epstein files, who’s implicated, and how deep this corruption goes,” Massie said in a statement. “Americans were promised justice and transparency.”
Ah, the Epstein files, a rather irksome hemorrhoid on the body politic that induces pain in the usual suspects, including Donald J. Trump.
Jeffrey Epstein, aka scum of the earth, was a flashy, jet-setting millionaire who maintained close ties with any number of A-listers, including the likes of former President Bill Clinton, and was renowned for throwing bashes that provided attendees with plenty of wine, women and song.
Mostly women.
Anyway, despite his overflowing bank accounts and his bevy of close pals, Jeffrey had a problem – he fancied underaged girls and, various reports maintain, he may have made some of these youngsters available to those in his social circle.
That proclivity eventually caught up with him. Epstein was busted in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2006 for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. She was not alone. Federal authorities subsequently held that Epstein sexually abused 36 girls and ultimately did time for procuring a child for prostitution.
It doesn’t end there by a long shot. Epstein was arrested again on July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges for incidents involving underage girls in Florida and New York. He died before trial in a New York City jail cell that August in what was ruled a suicide by hanging, a finding that Epstein’s lawyers dispute.
Epstein’s legacy lingers. There’s a popular notion that he was murdered to prevent him from identifying those in the haut monde who took advantage of his procurement services. And there exists the widely popular claim that his client book – part of the Epstein files — rests in the hands of the feds.
Thus far, six years after Epstein’s death, the claims remain unresolved. Trump, during his successful 2024 presidential campaign, vowed to his supporters to release the Epstein file. At one point earlier this year, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the infamous file was sitting on her desk, awaiting her perusal. Yet curiously, earlier this month, Bondi suddenly declared the file doesn’t exist, an apparent figment of the public’s imagination. Furthermore, the statement asserted Epstein committed suicide and that the Justice Department would have nothing more to say on the matter.
That, frankly, didn’t sit well with those in the MAGAverse who were promised the gory details. Many were holding out hope that the file would implicate Clinton and other individuals they hold in contempt, perhaps even resulting in a murder indictment.
No dice to this point and the disappointment is toxic. Advocates demanded Bondi’s resignation and the outcry proved so thunderous that Trump, whose disclosure enthusiasm has waned considerably, took the unusual step of ordering his fan base to knock it off and that he no longer desired the support of those who persisted.
Then it was reported in the Wall Street Journal, a publication generally sympathetic to the MAGA movement, that the file indeed exists and that Trump is mentioned within its pages several times. It was subsequently revealed that Trump was notified of such by Bondi.
Trump and Epstein, at one time, where thought to be close – a 2017 recording found Epstein claiming to be “Donald’s closest friend for ten years” — and that they travelled and partied together. A 2002 article on Epstein that appeared in New York magazine quoted Trump as saying, “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
The two had a falling out in 2004 over a real estate deal and the relationship ended.
Trump is no longer bent on releasing any files, although he suggested that grand jury testimony regarding Epstein’s penchants could be released – unlikely since such transcripts are closely held. His reluctance is understandable – who wants to be associated with a pervert? Even Trump, who once famously boasted he could shoot someone and not lose any voters, might not get away with it.
Enter Massie, who claims he initially sought the release of Epstein’s records years ago, before reports of Trump’s involvement began circulating.
“Americans deserve transparency and the victims deserve justice,” he posted on X.
Massie filed a resolution, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, on July 15, a move to force a vote on the complete release of the government’s files related to Epstein. If the House failed to address the proposal within seven days, it read, a discharge petition would be circulated.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, Trump’s sniveling lackey, responded by moving up the chamber’s scheduled August recess before the measure could be considered, postponing any action until members return in September.
“It will resume when we return in September and that’s when I can force a vote on this,” Massie said, adding in a separate interview, “Let’s get all this out there. We promised the people this. I think it could be painful but, look, Speaker Johnson, he should understand that this isn’t just good policy, this is good politics. What are my colleagues hiding? Why do they not want to take this vote? Why is the speaker sending us home early trying to let the air out of this balloon?”
“I don’t think this issue is going to go away,” Massie told reporters. “It’s going to fester.”
Appearing on Newsmax on July 22, Massie asserted that “the files exist’’ and the situation “is not a hoax.”
“… I don’t think it implicates the president,” he said. “I think it would be very embarrassing for the rich and powerful in this country and in other countries to have these revelations out there and that’s probably why they’re not releasing them.”
It may even involve officials from foreign governments like Israel, Massie said, citing a court document indicating Epstein was linked to the Mossad.
The issue, Massie said, is too important to ignore.
“Look, there have been plea deals, there have been bargains, there are things we don’t know about that we need to know about,” he said. “There’s been pay-offs, there’s been hush money. I thought the Republican Party was the party of family values, not underage sex rings and sex trafficking. If it’s embarrassing, okay, we’ve got to lance this. Let’s get it out there.”
Part of the reason Trump proved victorious last November, Massie said, centered on voters who “thought for so many years their votes didn’t matter because there was a group of people that were untouchable because of their power, influence or money and the DOJ couldn’t get to them, that no matter who they elected nothing ever changed and that Trump would come up here and disrupt that.
“So, the Epstein thing is symbolic and encapsulates why people were so excited to vote for Trump. And so it’s not going to go away after August. I think it will grow stronger…”