Whatever you might think of him, it’s indisputable that Rep. Thomas Massie possess a unique talent for shaking things up. And if events go according to Hoyle over the next few days, his latest bit of grandstanding might just exceed the 1906 San Franciso earthquake in terms of seismic episodes.
A little noticed special election occurred in Arizona earlier this week, sending Democrat Adelita Grijalva to Congress to replace her late father, Rep. Raul Grijalva. Once sworn in, Grijalva has vowed to sign the discharge petition championed by Massie, R-SomewhereorotherLewisCounty, that could force a House vote on a measure requiring the Department of Justice to publicly release a plethora of documents assembled as part of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a notorious scumbag who took pleasure in the sex trafficking of young women and who died in prison by suicide — or so they say — in August 2019.
While that might not seem like an earth-shaking event, it should be noted that Epstein had a lot of friends in high places, including former President Bill Clinton and the current occupant of the White House, President-cum-Dictator Donald J. Trump. That has led to speculation that some of those may have participated in Epstein sponsored sexual hijinks and may not want the information contained in the amassed documents to circulate too widely.
Massie has not been deterred, asserting the release of the documents is necessary for “justice and transparency.’’ He has paid a price. Trump, who was never in love with him despite their common political affiliation, has vowed to unseat Massie in next year’s GOP primary, launching Kentucky MAGA, a super PAC that has already spent a load of cash to chase him away without success.
And Massie, along with three other Republicans who support the discharge petition along with every Democratic House member, is feeling the pressure from the GOP leadership.
“They came back and tried to get the four of us to take our names off of the petition,” Massie told reporters during a district event with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, on Wednesday. “They asked some of my colleagues who are co-signers. And they actually threatened them politically, not physically.”
It’s been reported that Trump’s name pops up here and there in what might as well be called the Epstein papers. That shouldn’t really come as a surprise. The two men were ‘pallsy-walsy’ for a period beginning in the 1990s that extended into the early part of the new century, with Epstein claiming in one interview that the Lord of Mar-a-Lago was “his closest friend for 10 years.’’
At one time, Trump was gung-ho about releasing the Epstein papers, exciting members of his cult over the prospect of implicating some of his avowed enemies in wrongdoing of the worst kind. Just over a month after Trump was sworn into office In January, his newly selected attorney general, Pam Bondi, revealed that Epstein’s so-called client list — presumably those who took advantage of his nefarious sexual escapades — was “sitting on my desk right now to review.’’
Then, suddenly, it wasn’t.
Somewhere along the way, Trump lost his enthusiasm for releasing the Epstein papers, acting as if it all was just a big gag. Bondi, after asserting that the client list was on her desk in January, announced in July that she was only fooling, there was no client list and no further documents regarding the Epstein case would be released.
Some folks, including many in the Trump cult, were perplexed by this revelation, having been promised red meat in the war against the libs. The situation degenerated further when Trump got snarly over the whole thing, demanding that his followers get back in line and follow his commands faithfully, ranting on Truth Social, his social media platform, that the whole gestalt was a Democratic “scam’’ and that some of his supporters had bought into it.
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” he wrote.
Trump has never really provided the public with a rationale for using the Epstein files in a game of keep-away. There is, of course, one possible inference — the documents, given his close association with Epstein until a falling out over a real estate deal in 2004, contain his name in boldface.
But that’s speculation. It’s also been suggested he’s covering for others, although it’s rare for Trump to perform a service for anyone without exacting a price in return.
And there’s no real reason to keep it secret. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, an always reliable Trump lackey, opposes any document release, expressing a desire to “protect the innocent’’ victims of Epstein’s tawdry sexual dealings. But many of those victims have stepped forward and demanded that the papers be released so those exposed can stand in judgment. The Massie petition itself provides privacy for those who were exploited.
Johnson was so intent on keeping the Epstein files buried that he sent lawmakers home a day early on their summer break to essentially delay any effort to seek their congressional release.
There’s also the sham that the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, chaired by our boy Rep. Jamie Comer, R-TheFrankfortLoop, who is thought to be in rehearsals to transform Beavis and Butt-Head into a trio, is investigating this despicable turn of events and has already released some documents.
Comer will do the right thing here when pigs fly. He’s a hack who will do what he’s told. His probe is a canard to keep the information unexposed. As the committee chair, he has subpoena power, an authority he was more than willing to use in worthless probes into former President Joe Biden. He can get all the documents now if he so desires and release them.
Like the Norwegian Blue parrot in the infamous, but hilarious, Monty Python sketch, Epstein himself “is no more,’’ he has “ceased to be.’’ He has “expired and gone to meet its maker.’’ The FBI and the Justice Department can’t therefore claim that the investigation is ongoing. The perpetrator passed on six years ago.
Thomas Massie is a renowned crank who generally opposes legislative initiatives for the sole purpose of voting no. And he says really stupid things sometimes, like a recent X post when he belched, “At its core, leftist ideology is based on violence toward individuals.’’ And his devotion to guns is sickening.
Yet, at times, as has been noted here, he makes strong and succinct points, yelling out a warning, for instance, on the need to address the nation’s $38 trillion, and growing, debt. His solutions leave something to be desired — how do you voice support for tax cuts in the face of all that red ink? — but his points, on occasion, merit consideration.
And his effort on behalf of the Epstein documents release is one of those occasions.
“We all deserve to know what’s in the Epstein files, who’s implicated, and how deep this corruption goes,” Massie wrote on X.
Despite having the votes to move the process through the House, Massie’s initiative holds a murky future. The Senate voted down a measure to release the documents by a narrow margin. And Senate Republican Leader John Thune, of South Dakota, won’t commit to a vote if the Massie resolution passes the House.
But the public pressure is growing. And voters are curious, what do they have to hide?