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I had a change of heart about something this week that I wanted to share with you. On Sunday, I posted this about the Jeffrey Epstein case [ [link removed] ], which has been dominating the headlines lately (and frankly I was sick of hearing about it):
Many of you responded here and on other social platforms, and you made some damn good points. You convinced me that we need to care about both of these issues. Here’s why:
Transparency and justice matter. First and foremost, there were real victims [ [link removed] ] in the Epstein case—and real perpetrators [ [link removed] ]. The same transparency and justice we’re seeking with regard to the treatment of migrants are due to the young women abused at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and his “clients.”
“Nothing to see here” is a HUGE red flag. The very fact that Donald Trump is pushing back as hard as he is (here [ [link removed] ], here [ [link removed] ], and here [ [link removed] ]) against the release of any relevant evidence [ [link removed] ] in the case suggests that something is amiss. Calling it fake news [ [link removed] ] cooked up by Barack Obama, Jim Comey, and Joe Biden? Telling MAGA world to “move on” from the “hoax” [ [link removed] ]? Demanding that we forget about Epstein—even though he never forgets about anyone ever? It just doesn’t add up.
Trump is facing an internal civil war. It’s crazy, isn’t it? Trump tried to overthrow an American election, he literally works for Vladimir Putin, and he thinks he’s above the law. None of it mattered to MAGA voters. But the Epstein files could be, at long last, his Achilles heel [ [link removed] ]. Much of the criticism of Trump is coming from his own “guys and gals [ [link removed] ].” Good! That’s as it should be.
MAGA Inc. is being exposed. Dan Bongino, Kash Patel [ [link removed] ], and Pam Bondi [ [link removed] ] (as well as Charlie Kirk [ [link removed] ] and the entire MAGA ecosystem [ [link removed] ]) were ranting about the Epstein files and the “deep state” for years—-and making good money at it. Now they’re the deep state, and they’re being revealed as the performance artists they are. With any luck, MAGA voters may start to wonder what else they’ve lied about.
This is a unifying issue. Americans across the political spectrum are dissatisfied [ [link removed] ] with how this case has been handled. That’s enough for me. I’m new to the Democratic Party [ [link removed] ], but there are no sacred cows here. Release the evidence and let the chips fall where they may.
There’s a slim chance that Congressional Republicans might actually grow a spine around the case. Breaking with Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson [ [link removed] ] has called for “transparency” on Epstein—before voting against an amendment to release the Epstein files not once [ [link removed] ] but twice [ [link removed] ]. But all is not lost. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, along with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, have introduced a bipartisan bill [ [link removed] ] that would require the release the Epstein files within 30 days. Johnson is reportedly amenable to bringing it up for a vote. Democrats are also calling for Bondi and Patel to testify before Congress [ [link removed] ]. So stay tuned.
Personally, I hate conspiracy theories. And in the end, there may not be much more to this story than what we already know. There may be no solid evidence [ [link removed] ] of sex crimes or pedophilia against Trump or any other powerful elites. But we still deserve to know that with certainty. Especially since Trump and the MAGA right spent years dangling the Epstein files in front of Americans like a juicy, conspiratorial carrot. If you’re going to rile people up like that for clicks and power, you shouldn’t get to walk away from it quite so easily.
Thanks for helping me to see that.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC:
Epstein fallout poses a loyalty test: Trump—or MAGA? [ [link removed] ] —CNN
Maxwell, Epstein's ex-girlfriend, said she would speak before Congress [ [link removed] ] —The National Desk
Dan Bongino Strands Himself on Epstein's Island [ [link removed] ] —National Review
Fox News falls in line with Trump’s Epstein plea—but will the rest of MAGA media comply? [ [link removed] ] —CNN
Attorney General Pam Bondi fires top Justice Department ethics official [ [link removed] ] —ABC News
Trump's Troubling History with Young Girls [ [link removed] ] —Salty Politics with Julie Roginsky
We Want a Special Counsel [ [link removed] ] —Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
Detention without trial. Camps built overnight. Isolation by design. Government tours meant to sanitize the horror. What’s happening at “Alligator Alcatraz” mirrors 1930s Germany—before the gas chambers. That’s how it started. This is how it starts. Don’t look away. And share the stories with everyone you know.
ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz just toured Alligator Alcatraz [ [link removed] ] —@allenanalysis on X/Twitter
Florida lawmaker Anna Eskamani on her ‘horrific’ visit to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center [ [link removed] ] —WBUR
Frost on ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ visit: ‘I saw myself in those cages’ [ [link removed] ] —The Hill
‘It’s a concentration camp’: Everything we know about Trump’s new ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in the Florida Everglades [ [link removed] ] —The Independent
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ showcases Donald Trump’s penchant for visual cruelty [ [link removed] ] —The Conversation
More 'Alligator Alcatraz' centers to be built by states flush with cash [ [link removed] ] —News from the States
The Young GOPer Behind ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Is the Dark Future of MAGA [ [link removed] ] —The New Republic
ICE POLICIES & ABUSES
‘I have my family to take care of’: California artist detained by ICE [ [link removed] ] —NBC News
ICE detained a disabled vet and won’t tell his family where he is [ [link removed] ] —@Acyn on X/Twitter
California farmworker dies after falling from rooftop during ICE raid [ [link removed] ] —New York Daily News
ICE vehicle runs through a group of protesters [ [link removed] ] —CNN
Millions of undocumented immigrants will no longer be eligible for bond hearings, according to ICE memo [ [link removed] ] —ABC News
Immigration court gets riskier for asylum-seekers amid ICE arrests [ [link removed] ] —San Francisco Chronicle
ICE agents blasted by families, officials for arresting migrants in NYC courts despite open cases [ [link removed] ] —New York Daily News
ICE memo outlines plan to deport migrants to countries where they are not citizens [ [link removed] ] —The Washington Post
ICE Set to Vastly Expand Its Reach With New Funds [ [link removed] ] —The New York Times
Trump Slams Democrat-Sponsored Bill To Make ICE Agents Show Faces, IDs [ [link removed] ] —Newsweek
OTHER POLICIES & ABUSES
Whistleblower Emails Expose Fresh Trump Abuses in Abrego Garcia Case [ [link removed] ] —The New Republic
Law used to kick out Nazis could be used to strip citizenship from many more Americans [ [link removed] ] —CNN
‘I want my vote back’: Trump-voting family stunned after Canadian mother detained over immigration status [ [link removed] ] —The Guardian
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