White House offers new shiny objects to distract from Epstein scandal

In a desperate ploy to change the subject from the bungled Epstein files saga, Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday released documents relating to the late Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails.

Neither case is timely, but releasing documents related to the case offers red meat for right-wing propaganda networks to run with. That way  they can ignore the fact that President Donald Trump’s MAGA base is enraged that Bondi said there are no files in the Department of Justice’s possession that incriminate the powerful people who were friends with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"The American people deserve answers decades after the horrific assassination of one of our nation’s great leaders," Bondi said in a statement, which said that the DOJ was releasing 230,000 pages of documents relating to the assassination. "The Department of Justice is proud to partner with Director Gabbard and the ODNI at President Trump’s direction for this latest disclosure."

Bondi announced the release of the MLK files, even though his daughter, Bernice King, said she did not want them released because they would not be instructive and would only open painful wounds.

"I wonder why I have to be confronted once again with something that was very confusing and distressing for me as a five-year-old. I am, honestly, not prepared to revisit the gruesome details of this painful history. For me, there is no real value in it; there is only reliving the trauma," she wrote in a piece published in Vanity Fair.

No sugar-coating it: Daily Kos needs your help. Can you chip in $5 today?

Bernice King went on to post an image of her father looking displeased with the text, "Now, do the Epstein files."

Bondi on Monday also said she turned over documents relating to the Clinton email investigation to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who is still probing the non-issue eight years later. It’s likely an effort to throw a bone to Trump's base, which is enraged about the administration's claim that there is nothing more to be released about Epstein.

Apparently realizing that this wouldn't be enough to make the Epstein scandal go away, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday released a statement reiterating that there are no documents in the DOJ's possession from the Epstein case that incriminate other people, but said that the DOJ will speak with jailed Epstein associate Ghislane Maxwell to see if she has any information about Epstein that could lead to future investigations.

"This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead. The joint statement by the DOJ and FBI of July 6 remains as accurate today as it was when it was written. Namely, that in the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties," Blanche wrote.

He added, “President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.”

No billionaire backers, no paywalls. Daily Kos news exists because of YOU, our donor community. Now, we need your help. Please donate today.

Meanwhile, over on Capitol Hill, the House is mired in a state of paralysis due to the Epstein files brouhaha.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)—who is blocking a bipartisan bill that would legally compel the Trump administration to release the files—is refusing to put his own toothless resolution on the floor that would urge the release of files relating to Epstein, but holds no legal weight to actually force them into public view. He wants to wait to put his nothingburger resolution up for a vote after Congress returns from a five-week-long August recess, hoping that maybe the scandal will have blown over by then.

That has congressional Republicans fuming.

"Dangling bits of red meat no longer satisfies," GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia—who is defying Trump to fight for the release of the Epstein files—wrote in a post on X. "They want the whole steak dinner and will accept nothing else."

What's more, Democrats on the House Rules Committee—a powerful committee that tees up legislation for votes on the House floor—planned to offer other amendments relating to the Epstein files to bills this week. But because Republicans on that committee didn't want to have to vote against those amendments, as directed by GOP leadership, Republican leaders decided that the Rules Committee simply wouldn't meet at all.

Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman wrote: "THE HOUSE FLOOR is frozen because House Republicans are rebelling against @SpeakerJohnson strategy for dealing with the EPSTEIN FILES. The HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE is supposed to hold the line for the leadership and vote down any Democratic amendments. But they are unwilling to kill Epstein amendments, which means Johnson's leadership team cannot bring anything to the floor. JOHNSON tried to push a non-binding resolution, but declined to bring it to the floor. JOHNSON is caught between a House Republican Conference that is wary about voting against Epstein related measures and a president who wants nothing to do with revisiting the sordid episode."

Ultimately, the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein is haunting Trump and the Republican Party. 

Click here to check out this story on DailyKos.com.

We're not asking for much

The average donation to Daily Kos has been just $9.44. These donations may seem small, but they're a big deal to us. In fact, they are our largest source of income. We literally couldn't do the work we do without them. Can you join thousands of other Daily Kos readers and help us with a donation of $9.44 right now?