Congressional Cowards is a weekly collection highlighting the worst Donald Trump defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him—regardless of how disgraceful or lawless his actions.
It has been per 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 would 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 identify seems in as Trump and Jeffrey Epstein have been shut associates for a few years.
Different Republican lawmakers took Trump’s route 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 large deal and the general public ought to merely transfer on. That is significantly curious as Trump’s personal MAGA influencers had constructed the information up for years as a ticking time bomb that will 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 will 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.
Home Speaker Mike Johnson
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 achieve by telling Trump what he needs to listen to, as she is serving 20 years in federal jail and could possibly 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 put up on X: “A bill passed by the House is not ‘binding’ if it has zero chance of being signed by the President even if passed by both houses. Meanwhile—a strong Congressional statement of transparency asked of an administration similarly seeking transparency is what Americans seek.”
However then, when Johnson obtained wind that Democrats would pressure 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.
Different GOP leaders additionally tried to deflect criticism for Trump not releasing the paperwork.
“At the end of the day, look, Democrats are yelling and screaming,” Home Majority Chief Steve Scalise whined to Politico. “They spent four years covering up for Epstein, and you know, at least President Trump’s in the courts right now trying to get documents released, and I really think you’re gonna see, hopefully, a lot unsealed from that and then we’ve got some other options.”
Home Minority Whip Steve Scalise
Home Majority Whip Tom Emmer went a step additional, calling the Epstein scandal a “non-issue,” although polling exhibits People suppose 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 got a lot more important things to do for the American people than what happened eight, ten, twenty years ago… we need to move 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 function 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 need to look at exactly what happened back in 2016,” Gimenez mentioned, with out realizing the irony of his assertion.
Different GOP lawmakers additionally pushed the faux scandal.
“I also completely agree with President Trump, the major story should be what Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) mentioned in a tv look, after taking part in dumb concerning the Epstein information.
And Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina known as on Legal professional Common Pam Bondi to nominate a particular counsel to look into Obama’s function within the Russia probe. In fact, there already was a particular counsel named John Durham, whose probe discovered nothing about Obama—or anybody actually.
In the end, 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.
